Inter-individual differences in attitude content: Cognition, affect, and attitudes

In this chapter, we describe and integrate advances in the study of inter-individual differences in attitude content. Research within this area has addressed how people differ in the extent to which their attitudes are primarily guided by the favorability of their cognitive and affective responses. We begin by describing work that prompted researchers to address this topic and how these individual differences have been measured. We then highlight the implications of individual differences in cognitive and affective content in relation to attitude formation, attitude change, attitude strength, and how individuals perceive and evaluate people, groups, and other attitude objects. Taken together, these lines of research lend support to the argument that people differ in their use of cognitive and affective information as bases for attitudes. We conclude the chapter by addressing new questions that we believe will stimulate further interest in the topic.