Sources of implicit attitudes

ABSTRACT—Response latency measures have yielded an explo-sion of interest in implicit attitudes. Less forthcoming have been theoretical explanations for why they often differ from explicit (self-reported) attitudes. Theorized differences in the sources of implicit and explicit attitudes are discussed, and evidence con-sistent with each theory is presented. The hypothesized causal influences on attitudes include early (even preverbal) experi-ences, affective experiences, cultural biases, and cognitive consistency principles. Each may influence implicit attitudes more than explicit attitudes, underscoring their conceptual distinction. KEYWORDS—implicit attitudes; implicit social cognition; re-sponse latency measures Attitude researchers have long been wary of taking people’s reports of their own attitudes at face value, particularly when the topics bein