Dual Attitudes

Definition

Dual attitudes refer to the idea that an individual can have two different attitudes about something—both an implicit attitude and an explicit attitude. The implicit attitude refers to an intuitive response or gut reaction, whereas the explicit attitude refers to a more deliberate, thought-out response. Thus, a past love may evoke both a positive intuitive response (a positive implicit attitude) and a negative deliberated response (a negative explicit attitude). When an individual has different implicit and explicit attitudes toward something, he or she is said to have dual attitudes.

Context

Debate exists about whether intuitive and deliberated responses truly represent different attitudes. One alternative theory is that intuitive and deliberated responses are part of a single attitude. For example, a positive intuitive response to a past love could combine with deliberated thoughts to form a single negative attitude. Another alternative theory is that intuitive responses represent true attitudes, whereas deliberated responses are inauthentic and tainted by conscious concerns with appearance. For example, an intuitive positive response to a past love would be the true attitude, whereas a more negative deliberated response would be inauthentic, perhaps tainted by concerns with appearing to be over it. In contrast to these theories, the view endorsed by dual attitudes is that intuitive responses are one type of attitude (implicit attitudes), deliberative responses are another type of attitude (explicit attitudes), and individuals may have both implicit and explicit attitudes toward a single object or idea.

Evidence

The strongest evidence in favor of dual attitudes is that implicit attitudes and explicit attitudes are related to different types of behavior. Implicit attitudes appear to be most strongly related to nonverbal behaviors and behaviors that are not consciously controlled. Thus, an individual with a positive implicit attitude toward a past love would be expected to lean toward, and maintain eye contact with, that past love during conversation. In contrast, explicit attitudes appear to be most strongly related to verbal behaviors and behaviors that can be consciously controlled. Thus, an individual with a negative explicit attitude toward a past love would be expected to complain about and not return the phone calls of that past love. The fact that some behaviors can be predicted on the basis of implicit, but not explicit, attitudes is consistent with the view that implicit attitudes are indeed distinct from (not part of) explicit attitudes.

Other evidence consistent with the dual attitudes perspective is that there is often little relationship between measures of implicit and explicit attitudes. If implicit attitudes were actually a component of (or a pure form of) explicit attitudes, then some relationship between the two would be expected. Although a dual attitudes model does not prohibit a relationship between implicit and explicit attitudes, such a model does not require a relationship between the two.

Distinctions

The clearest distinction between implicit and explicit attitudes is that the former are effortlessly and unintentionally activated in the presence of the attitude [Page 268]object. For example, for an individual with a positive implicit attitude toward candy, passing the candy store on the drive home should elicit a positive response, even when the individual is busy driving and is trying to concentrate on the road. In contrast, explicit attitudes are only activated with effort and intention. Thus, implicit attitudes can be ascertained even if a target person is busy or does not wish to express an attitude; explicit attitudes can only be ascertained if the target has resources and motivation to express an attitude.

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