Social Psychology Laboratory, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2013 Sep;39(9):1139-51. doi: 10.1177/0146167213490806. Epub 2013 Jun 12.
We tested whether individuals can exert control over the expression of attitudinal ambivalence and if this control is exerted with self-presentational concerns. Using the self-presentation paradigm, participants reported more ambivalence about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in a standard and a self-enhancement (present yourself positively) conditions than in a self-depreciation (present yourself negatively) condition, on felt (Experiments 1a and 2a) and potential ambivalence, in its cognitive (Experiments 1b and 2b) and affective components (Experiments 1b and 2c). The role of ambivalent attitudes in conveying a positive social value was confirmed by the fact that the above effect was found on a controversial attitude object (GMOs), but the opposite appeared on a noncontroversial one (e.g., tooth brushing, a truism; Experiment 3). Such a reversal was obtained by directly manipulating the perception of controversy on GMOs (Experiment 4). Attitudinal ambivalence may thus serve an adaptive function, that is, achieving a positive social value.
我们测试了个体是否能够控制态度矛盾的表达，以及这种控制是否受到自我呈现关注的影响。使用自我呈现范式，参与者在标准条件和自我增强（积极呈现自己）条件下报告对转基因生物（GMOs）的态度矛盾更多，而在自我贬低（消极呈现自己）条件下则更少，无论是在感觉（实验 1a 和 2a）和潜在的矛盾，在其认知（实验 1b 和 2b）和情感成分（实验 1b 和 2c）中都是如此。矛盾态度在传达积极的社会价值方面的作用得到了证实，因为上述效应是在有争议的态度对象（GMOs）上发现的，但在非争议性的对象上则相反（例如，刷牙，一个不言而喻的事实；实验 3）。通过直接操纵 GMOs 上的争议感知（实验 4），可以获得这种逆转。因此，态度矛盾可能具有适应性功能，即实现积极的社会价值。
