Social psychologists have long recognized the possibility that attitudes might differ from one another in terms of their strength, but only recently had the profound implications of this view been explored. Yet because investigators in the area were pursuing interesting but independent programs of research exploring different aspects of strength, there was little articulation of assumptions underlying the work, and little effort to establish a common research agenda. The goals of this book are to highlight these assumptions, to review the discoveries this work has produced, and to suggest directions for future work in the area. The chapter authors include individuals who have made significant contributions to the published literature and represent a diversity of perspectives on the topic. In addition to providing an overview of the broad area of attitude strength, particular chapters deal in depth with specific features of attitudes related to strength and integrate the diverse bodies of relevant theory and empirical evidence. The book will be of interest to graduate students initiating work on attitudes as well as to longstanding scholars in the field. Because of the many potential directions for application of work on attitude strength to amelioration of social problems, the book will be valuable to scholars in various applied disciplines such as political science, marketing, sociology, public opinion, and others studying attitudinal phenomena.

Social psychologists have long recognized the possibility that attitudes might differ from one another in terms of their strength, but only recently had the profound implications of this view been explored. Yet because investigators in the area were pursuing interesting but independent programs of research exploring different aspects of strength, there was little articulation of assumptions underlying the work, and little effort to establish a common research agenda. The goals of this book are to highlight these assumptions, to review the discoveries this work has produced, and to suggest directions for future work in the area. The chapter authors include individuals who have made significant contributions to the published literature and represent a diversity of perspectives on the topic. In addition to providing an overview of the broad area of attitude strength, particular chapters deal in depth with specific features of attitudes related to strength and integrate the diverse bodies of relevant theory and empirical evidence. The book will be of interest to graduate students initiating work on attitudes as well as to longstanding scholars in the field. Because of the many potential directions for application of work on attitude strength to amelioration of social problems, the book will be valuable to scholars in various applied disciplines such as political science, marketing, sociology, public opinion, and others studying attitudinal phenomena.

In this book, Dr Are Holen discusses the importance of the free mental attitude in Acem Meditation. He explains how to cultivate and maintain a free mental attitude while meditating and suggests the kinds of change that this attitude can bring about.

Attitudes - cognitive representations of our evaluation of ourselves, other people, things, actions, events, ideas - and attitude change have been a central concern in social psychology since the discipline began. People can - and do - have attitudes on an infinite range of things but what are attitudes, how do we form them and how can they be modified? This book provides the student with a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the basic issues in the psychological study of attitudes. Drawing on research from Europe and the USA it presents up-to-date coverage of the key issues that will be encountered in this area, including attitude formation and change, functions of attitudes, attitude measurement, attitudes as temporary constructs, persuasion processes and prediction of behaviour from attitudes.

Written by two world-leading academics in the field of attitudes research, is a brand new textbook that gets to the very heart of this fascinating and far-reaching field. Greg Maio and Geoffrey Haddock describe how scientific methods have been used to better understand attitudes and how they change. With the aid of a few helpful metaphors, the text provides readers with a grasp of the fundamental concepts for understanding attitudes and an appreciation of the scientific challenges that lay ahead.

In this volume, a diverse group of leading social psychologists explores topics central to to work of W.J. McGuire (considered one of the pioneers of cognitive psychology), including self-concept, language, mass media and political communication, the history of social psychology, and contextualist philosophy of science. Each chapter delivers a perspectivist analysis of the questions central to the authors' own area of study. As a result, new and emerging agendas for social psychology have emerged, united under the theme of perspectivist methodology and the study of thought systems. Like McGuire's own work, these chapters balance the ideal scientific components of theory, methodology, and empirical data. This provocative volume illustrates the broad influence of McGuire's theories and methodologies and will serve as an important catalyst for research in social psychology for years to come. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).

The Science of Attitudes is the first book to integrate classic and modern research in the field of attitudes at a scholarly level. Designed primarily for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, the presentation of research will also be useful for current scholars in all disciplines who are interested in how attitudes are formed and changed. The treatment of attitudes is both thorough and unique, taking a historical approach while simultaneously highlighting contemporary views and controversies. The book traces attitudes research from the inception of scientific study following World War II to the issues and methods of research that are prominent features of today’s research. Researchers in the field of attitudes will be particularly interested in classic and modern research on the organization, structure, strength and function of attitudes. Researchers in the field of persuasion will be particularly interested in work on attitude change focusing on propositional and associative learning, metacognition and dynamic theories of dissonance, balance and reactance. The book is designed to present the integration of the properties of the attitude with the dynamic considerations of attitude change. The Science of Attitudes is also the first book on attitudes to devote entire chapters to work on implicit measurements, resistance to persuasion, and social neuroscience.