ABSTRACT
E valuation is a fundamental and immediate reaction to any object of psycho-logical signifi cance (Jarvis & Petty, 1996; Osgood, Suci, & Tannenbaum, 1957; Zajonc, 1980). We like certain individuals or groups and dislike others; we support some policies and oppose others; we prefer some products or brands over others; and we approve of some activities and disapprove of others. The term attitude is used to refer to these dispositions to respond with some degree of favorableness or unfavorableness to a psychological object (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). The evaluative disposition itself is a hypothetical construct; it cannot be directly observed. We can only infer it from observable responses to the object, such as verbal expressions of like or dislike, physiological reactions, cognitive biases refl ected in response latencies, or overt actions in relation to the object. Manifest responses of this kind are, however, merely fallible indicators of the latent evaluative disposition. Verbal expressions of liking are subject to social desirability biases (Paulhus, 1991), physiological reactions may refl ect arousal or other reactions instead of evaluation (Kidder & Campbell, 1970), and response latencies may be indicative not of personal attitudes but of cultural stereotypes (Devine, 1989).
