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31 - Attitudes and Persuasive Communication Interventions

from Part III - Behavior Change Interventions: Practical Guides to Behavior Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2020

By
Kyra Hamilton  and
Blair T. Johnson
Edited by
Martin S. Hagger ,
Linda D. Cameron ,
Kyra Hamilton ,
Nelli Hankonen  and
Taru Lintunen
Martin S. Hagger
Affiliation:
University of California, Merced
Linda D. Cameron
Affiliation:
University of California, Merced
Kyra Hamilton
Affiliation:
Griffith University
Nelli Hankonen
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki
Taru Lintunen
Affiliation:
University of Jyväskylä
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Summary

Attitudes are people’s stored evaluations of entities (e.g., behaviors, people, ideas, objects). Attitudes are interesting from a behavior change perspective, given theory and research suggesting that attitudes guide behavior; thus, changing attitudes may be an effective means to change behavior. This chapter provides an overview of the attitude change literature and interventions targeting attitude change in order to change behavior. The chapter also provides example materials used in attitude-based behavior change interventions across a broad range of behaviors. First, the chapter provides an overview of the conceptualization and measurement of attitudes and the psychological theories that have been employed to explain how attitude change occurs. Next, research evidence of various attitude change techniques is reviewed, including information provision, communication-persuasion, and cognitive dissonance approaches. In addition, step-by-step instructions for select attitude change techniques are provided as templates for interventionists to formulate effective attitude change interventions. The chapter also provides a range of evidence-based materials that can be delivered in a variety of delivery modes (e.g., face-to-face, online, mass media). Finally, a review of the evidence on the effective implementation of these techniques is presented. The chapter concludes with a summary of the attitude change literature and presents some challenges and future directions in moving the attitude research forward.

Keywords

attitude changeattitude theorytheories of persuasioncognitive dissonance theoryinformation provisioncommunication persuasion
Type
Chapter
Information
The Handbook of Behavior Change , pp. 445 - 460
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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