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Attitudes and attitude certainty guiding pro‐social behaviour as a function of perceived elaboration
Author(s) -
Moreno Lorena,
Requero Blanca,
Santos David,
Paredes Borja,
Briñol Pablo,
Petty Richard E.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2798
Subject(s) - elaboration , psychology , prosocial behavior , social psychology , certainty , perception , cognition , task (project management) , developmental psychology , philosophy , management , epistemology , neuroscience , humanities , economics
This research examined the effect of perceived elaboration on the relationship between attitudes and prosocial behaviour. Study 1 revealed that group fusion was more predictive of pro‐group behaviour (donation to in‐group members) when perceived elaboration was high rather than low. In Study 2, attitudes toward helping were more likely to guide prosocial behaviour (helping others in a learning task) for participants who reported higher levels of perceived elaboration. Studies 3 and 4 manipulated perceptions of elaboration, demonstrating that attitudes guided subsequent hiring decisions (Study 3) and an actual behavioural choice in a natural setting (Study 4), and that this link was stronger for those participants induced to believe that they engaged in high (vs. low) elaboration. Furthermore, Studies 2 and 4 revealed that the effects of perceived elaboration on attitude‐behaviour correspondence were mediated by attitude certainty. The present research reveals that prosocial behaviour can be facilitated by taking into consideration meta‐cognitive processes that accompany evaluation (perceived elaboration and attitude certainty).