Individual Differences in Attitude Structure and the Accessibility of the Affective and Cognitive Components of Attitude

Research has demonstrated that some individuals possess attitudes that are highly consistent with both their feelings and beliefs, whereas other individuals possess attitudes that are less consistent with these sources of information (Haddock & Huskinson, 2004). The current research investigated whether individuals with strongly versus weakly structured attitudes differ in the accessibility of their affective and cognitive responses. In two experiments, participants provided timed affective and cognitive judgments toward different attitude objects. Overall, individuals with highly structured attitudes provided faster affective and cognitive attitudinal responses. Affective responses were also made more quickly than cognitive responses. Two additional experiments ruled out the possibility of a generalized response latency advantage for individuals with highly structured attitudes. The results speak to the importance of considering individual differences in how people organize their attitudes, as well as the distinction between the affective and cognitive components of attitude.