Attitudes and Attitude Change (Social Psychology: A Modular Course

by Tobias Vogel, Michaela Wanke

Attitudes have been a central topic in social psychology from its early beginnings. But what exactly are attitudes, where do they come from, and how can they be modified? The overall aim of Attitudes and Attitude Change is to provide students with a comprehensive and accessible introduction to these basic issues in the psychological study of attitudes.

In four parts, readers learn about how attitudes can be measured, how attitudes are shaped in the course of life, how they are changed by other people, and finally, how attitudes in turn affect our thoughts and behavior. This completely revised and updated second edition covers many recent developments and reports cutting-edge research while also addressing the classic findings and theories that advanced the field. In addition to integrating the newly emerged topics of implicit attitudes and recent models regarding the coexistence of explicit and implicit attitudes, this edition also adds chapters on social influence and resistance to persuasion.

This comprehensive and user-friendly book carefully balances theoretical underpinnings and empirical findings with applied examples to enable readers to use the insights of attitude research for practical applications. Critical discussions also instigate readers to develop their own thinking on key topics.

354 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2016

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This coursebook on attitude was required reading for my social psychology class this semester. It seemed daunting at first, but reading 1 or 2 chapters per week was manageable.
The very complex topic of attitude formation, change and measure was explained in a simple yet scientific way. The frequent use of examples and references to former studies helped make the contruct easy to understand. I'm going to be honest, I never would've picked this book up on my own, but now I'm glad I had to read it.
My only issue with this book (which might be indebted to the topic and not the authors) is that sometimes, it really seemed like A LOT to remember and I felt like I had to read certain passages over and over again so I'd not forget them at the end of the page.
If you're interested in attitudes (and the scientific viewpoint of them) or need a reference book on the topic, I can recommend this.