The role of belief accessibility in attitude formation

Abstract

A widespread technique of persuasion involves altering attitudes by modifying beliefs. Information integration models of attitudes posit that an individual's beliefs about an object are related to the attitude toward that object. This study examined the hypothesis that for attitude formation, those beliefs that are more accessible from memory exert a greater influence on the resulting attitude. Knowledge structures involving three positive, three negative, and three neutral beliefs were created toward four novel altitude objects. The accessibility of either the positive or negative beliefs was manipulated. As predicted, the resulting attitudes were more strongly affected by accessible beliefs. These findings demonstrate that belief accessibility influences attitude formation. Implications for persuasion are discussed.