Response to three discussion posts (50-100 words)
Respond in one or more of the following ways:
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
- Offer and support an opinion.
- Validate an idea with your own experience.
- Make a suggestion.
- Expand on your colleague’s posting.
Please see the example before you start!
Please include at least one references in the response.
Attitude-Behavior Relations
Since starting this course, you have explored the relationship between attitudes and behavior. Research has shown that numerous factors can influence the strength and consistency of this relationship. These factors include, but are not limited to, attitude strength, attitude function, individual personality variables, and issues of research design and measurement.
For this Discussion, select an attitude you currently hold. Consider the various factors that affect your own attitude-behavior consistency.
Post 1 (Write a 50-100 words response)
Healthy weight. For the purpose of this discussion, I have chosen to elaborate on my attitude regarding maintaining a healthy weight.
Consistency between my behaviors and attitude. There is a lack of consistency between my attitude and behavior when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight. My healthy weight attitude was formed and positively reinforced through many years of direct personal experience with healthy weight. However, since the loss of our son two years ago, I have struggled to maintain a healthy weight for a variety of reasons. My attitude towards weight has not changed, but I believe the attitude has gotten weaker, thus making it more difficult to carry out the behaviors necessary to maintain a healthy weight.
Two factors that affect this attitude-behavior relationship. Kraus (1995) explains that when there is consistency between the affective component (i.e., I have positive feelings about healthy weight) and the cognitive component (i.e., I believe healthy weight is essential) that the attitudes are usually stronger. I believe that there is a lack of consistency because I am unclear as to whether I worry, if you will, as much about healthy weight (my feelings) as much as I believe healthy weight is important. A second factor that could be affecting the consistency between the attitude and behavior is that there was a long period for which I thought little about this issue (a time interval), and during this time interval, the attitude became weaker. Davidson and Jaccard (1979) explain that the process that occurs when there is a time interval (i.e., exposure to new information) between the original attitude measurement and the behavior, the more room for attitude change. Finally, I have undergone some psychological changes in the past couple of years which may have affected the strength of the attitude and how accessible it is to me all the time.
Attitude strength. I stated above, I believe the attitude has become weaker recently making it challenging to carry-out specific behaviors. The lack of strength in the attitude varies during the day, and I find when it is late at night, and I am tired, I am most likely to eat unhealthily (a behavior inconsistent with the attitude).
Challenge attitude researchers face in predicting behaviors. The research indicates that there are mixed results regarding the certainty of attitudes predicting behaviors. For instance, in 1969 Wicker (Davidson & Jaccard, 1979) completed a comprehensive study that posited that there was little or no relationship between attitudes and overt behaviors. However, recent studies have indicated that there is a relationship when attitudes are easily retrieved from memory, are expressed repeatedly, and the individual has direct experience with the object (Glasman & Albarracin, 2006). The biggest challenge researchers have is making sure that their research methodology is comprehensive, specific and rigorous. If a researcher wants to understand how attitudes predict behavior, both must be measured at the same specificity (DeBono, 2013).
References
Davidson, A. R. & Jaccard, J. J. (1979). Variables that moderate the attitude-behavior relation: Results of a longitudinal survey. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(8), 1364-1376.
DeBono, K. (2013). Attitude-behavior consistency. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health. Retrieved from Walden Library databases.
Glasman, L. R. & Albarracin, D. (2006). Forming attitudes that predict future behavior: A meta-analysis of the attitude-behavior relation. Psychological Bulletin, 132(5), 778-822.
Post 2 (Write a 50-100 words response)
The attitude that I selected for this discussion is my attitude towards hotels. I have a real bad hotel phobia. If I don’t feel like its a clean or expensive hotel then I won’t stay in it. I have a fear of filthy beds and bed bugs. The thought of millions of people sleeping in one bed bothers me. Upon arrival to hotels I have to check the bed mattresses for bed bugs and the covers for stains.
There is definitely a consistency with this attitude. I can say with confidence that I will never not have this attitude. I’ve had it ever since I had the ability to understand what a hotel was fully. I’m sure when I was a small child I slept face first in the pillows, but in this day and age that would never happen.
One factor that has affected this attitude-behavior relationship is the fact that I have developed a habit of booking more expensive hotels. “This hypothesis is conceptually similar to the one above; the longer the time interval between the measurement of attitude and behavior, the higher the probability of exposure to new information and, in turn, attitude change.” (Davidson & Jaccard, 1979) This gives me a sense of security, because I assume the more expensive hotels take better cleaning precautions and have better bedding. When I book at a more expensive hotel I will actually leave my blankets home and sleep under their covers after checking the bed. Another factor is whether or not I’m able to control the situation. If I’m on a trip planned by someone else and I was not able to choose the hotel then I will be very anxious. If they book a hotel I’m particularly not fond of I will being my own pillows and blankets and sleep on a chair or air mattress. The utilitarian attitude function comes into play in regards to a peaceful night of sleep. My attitude towards hotels comes from the need to feel comfortable and safe enough to sleep peacefully. That is the reward for me when being meticulous about where I sleep.
This is a very strong attitude that I have no intention on losing. It affects the way I sleep and where I sleep. It determines whether or not I will attend a trip or not. On one occasion when a group of friends went to St. Louis, they chose a hotel that was not up to my standards. I refused to sleep or shower in the hotel room, and ended up sleeping on the bus.
One problem that researchers may face is the fact that they tend to not understand that all behavior is not the result of an attitude and that all people don’t react the same to the same situations. This can cause researchers to assume a lot and not be accurate due to their misguided beliefs.
Davidson, A. R. & Jaccard, J. J. (1979). Variables that moderate the attitude-behavior relation: Results of a longitudinal survey. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(8), 1364-1376.
Correlation and Bivariate Regression
Similar to the previous week’s Discussion, this Discussion assists in solidifying your understanding of statistical testing by engaging in some data analysis. This week you will once again work with a real, secondary dataset to construct a research question, perform a correlation and bivariate regression model, and interpret the results.
Whether in a scholarly or practitioner setting, good research and data analysis should have the benefit of peer feedback. For this Discussion, you will post your response to the hypothesis test, along with the results. Be sure and remember that the goal is to obtain constructive feedback to improve the research and its interpretation, so please view this as an opportunity to learn from one another.
Post 3 (Write a 50-100 words response)
This week we are tasked with conducting a research question which can be answered using a Pearson correlation and bivariate regression. A correlation is a measure of association used to determine the existence and strength of the relationship between interval-ration variables (Frankfort-Nachmias & Leon-Guerrero, 2018). The bivariate regression examine how changes in one independent variable affects the value of a dependent variable. Using the SPSS GSS dataset, I was able to construct a research question that could be answered using a Pearson correlation and bivariate regression.
- What is your research question?
My research question seeks to determine the existence and strength of the relationship between the number of hours usually worked in a week and respondents income in constant dollars.
- What is the null hypothesis for your question?
The null hypothesis is that there is no significant relationship between the number of hours usually worked in a week and respondents income in constant dollars.
- What research design would align with this question?
Due to the fact that I am attempting to find out if there is a correlation between the two variables, I do believe that the Pearson correlation and the bivariate regression serve as the best research design to obtain the data that I am seeking.
- What dependent variable was used and how is it measured?
The dependent variable for my research question is number of hours usually worked in a week. It is a metric value measured at the interval-ratio level.
- What independent variable is used and how is it measured?
The independent variable for my research question is respondents’ income in constant dollars
- If you found significance, what is the strength of the effect?
There is a correlation coefficient of .717 between the number of hours usually worked in a week and respondents income in constant dollars. The test of significance is .000 which is well below the conventional threshold of .05. Therefore I can reject the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between the number of hours usually worked in a week and respondents income in constant dollars. Looking at the Pearson correlation coefficient I can tell that there is a positive relationship.
- Explain your results for a lay audience; explain the answer to your research question.
In terms of lay audience, I was seeking to identify the correlation between the number of hours usually worked in a week and respondents income in constant dollars. The Pearson correlation coefficient values range from -1.0 to 1.0, with zero indicating no relationship and closeness to -1.0 or 1.0 means the stronger the relationship.
Thanks,
LJ Favor
References
Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Leon-Guerrero, A. (2018). Social statistics for a diverse society (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
