Some Dynamic Properties of Attitude Structures: Context-Induced Response Facilitation and Polarization

Attitudes can be seen as object evaluations stored in memory. Accordingly, attitude structure may be seen as a memory structure with dynamic implications for information processing. In this article, an associative network model for the representation of stored attitudes was assumed, and 2 manifestations of the notion of spreading activation within the confines of such a model were examined. Study 1 demonstrated that giving one attitude response could facilitate a 2nd attitude response if the 2 shared a structural link in long-term memory. Studies 2 and 3 showed that spreading activation could also result in polarization of attitude responses, so that answering questions on 1 attitude issue might result in more extreme responses to a 2nd linked attitude issue. These results have implications not only for theories about attitudes but also for measurement issues in political survey research.