Question

Sara believes in the importance of regular exercise for maintaining good health. Despite this belief, she rarely engages in any form of physical activity. With respect to Sara, explain the reasons for the lack of consistency between her attitude and behaviour.

Answer 1

Psychologists have found that there would be a lack of consistency between attitudes and behaviour when:

1. The attitude is weak and does not occupy a central place in the attitude system.
2. The person is unaware of her/his attitude,
3. There is a lot of external pressure for the person to behave in a particular way.
4. The person’s behaviour is being watched or evaluated by others.
5. The person does not think that the behaviour would have a positive consequence and therefore intends to engage in that behaviour.