Implicit Measures in Applied Contexts: An Illustrative Examination of Antiracism Advertising

Abstract

The earliest research on attitude formation and change was inspired by important social problems. What factors can cause people to like each other in social housing? How can people be made to remain favorable to the war against the Third Reich? How can we reduce prejudice? The list of applied research on attitude formation and change has grown over the years and now examines issues in the formation and change of attitudes toward a variety of objects, policies and behaviors. These include employment (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment), health promotion (e.g., food attitude, sunscreen use), politics (e.g., campaign design, policy preference), product consumption (e.g., brand preference, methods of marketing), the environment (e.g., recycling, reduction of consumption) and sexual behavior (e.g., condom use), among other topics. It is now safe to say that the volume of applied research on attitude formation and change is truly enormous and important.