Recall that in the 1930s, when anti-Asian prejudice was commonplace in the United States, LaPiere (1934) had no trouble finding pleasant accommodations for himself and his Chinese traveling companions. Surprised, LaPiere later sent letters to the establishments they visited, asking whether Chinese visitors would be welcome. More than 90 percent of those who responded replied that they definitely would not accommodate Chinese. Although LaPiere's study suggests that there is a weak link between attitudes and behavior, his results should be interpreted with caution. Why?

LaPierre (1934): The attitude-behavior problem. In a classic study, LaPierre drove through the U.S. with a Chinese couple. They stopped at over 250 restaurants and hotels and were refused service only once. Several months later, the owners were surveyed on whether they would serve Chinese people. The response was overwhelmingly negative, 92 percent of those surveyed said that they would not. In this case, clearly, their behavior gave less evidence of racial bias than their expressed attitudes did.

Different time…about six months later, Different people, Chinese couple spoke flawless English; accompanied by Stanford professor.

Nevertheless, subsequent research did show that in some cases, attitudes did not predict behaviors.

Example: Busing, Self erasing predictions.

When Do Attitudes Predict Behavior?

When you ask for specific attitudes rather than general ones, Wicker: Yosemite Park and littering, When you sample across many behaviors, When you ask a low self monitored, When situational forces are not so strong, When you aren’t asked to explain your attitude.

Attitudes

An evaluative reaction to something or someone (called, an attitude object) that is exhibited in one’s beliefs, feelings, or intended

behavior.

Three components, Affect (Feelings), Behavior (Intentions), Cognition (Beliefs), Changing attitudes: Persuasion