Attitudes and attitude certainty guiding pro-social behaviour as a function of perceived elaboration

Abstract

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)