Valence asymmetries in attitude ambivalence
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Existing models of ambivalence suggest that as the number of conflicting attitude components increases, so too does the experience of ambivalence. Interestingly, though, these models overwhelmingly assume that this relationship is independent of valence. Across three studies we observe that this effect is in fact heavily influenced by two established valence asymmetries: negativity bias (greater impact of negative reactions than positive reactions) and positivity offset (baseline positive reactions even in the absence of positive information). Consistent with a negativity bias, we observe that subjective ambivalence is greater when conflicting reactions are negative rather than positive. However, we also document an opposing effect of positivity offset as attitudes become less mixed (i.e., more univalent) that counteracts the valence asymmetry due to negativity bias. This is the first work to describe the opposing roles of these valence asymmetries in attitude ambivalence. Our investigation also uncovers an interesting consequence of these asymmetries: when reactions conflict, people do not experience maximum ambivalence at equal levels of positivity and negativity, as is suggested by canonical ambivalence theory. Rather, subjective ambivalence peaks when positive reactions outnumber negative reactions.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Snyder, Aaron Isaac |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. |
| Primary advisor | Shiv, Baba, 1960- |
| Primary advisor | Tormala, Zakary L |
| Thesis advisor | Shiv, Baba, 1960- |
| Thesis advisor | Tormala, Zakary L |
| Thesis advisor | Wheeler, S. Christian |
| Advisor | Wheeler, S. Christian |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Aaron Isaac Snyder. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Graduate School of Business. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2016. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2016 by Aaron Snyder
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...