Attitude Formation and Change through Association: An Evaluative Conditioning Account

H ardly any topic in social psychology has attracted more attention than attitude research. Because attitudes are seen as providing guidance in a complex world, social behavior without attitudes is diffi cult to imagine. Beyond the question of how attitudes guide behavior (e.g., Ajzen, 1991; Fazio, 1990), two major topics have been of primary interest in attitude research: attitude formation and attitude change.