Abstract
This thesis addresses the measurement and manipulation of value accessibility, the influence of value accessibility on the value-attitude relationship and its implications for attitude change. Studies 1 and 2 assess whether value accessibility (as measured by response latency) is a reliable and valid measure of value strength, as indexed by ratings on the Schwartz Value Inventory (Schwartz & Bilsky, 1990). The results are promising but inconclusive. It is suggested that further work is necessary in order to determine if both measures tap the same aspects of value strength. Study 3 examines whether manipulated increases in value accessibility raise the accessibility of semantically related attitudes. Attitude accessibility is determined by measuring the speed with which individuals respond to a query concerning the positive or negative connotation of an attitude item. Results indicate that response latencies are shorter when attitude items are preceded by a related, as opposed to an unrelated value prime. Furthermore, for related primes, this effect is strongest when the values are perceived to be personally 'important' than when they are considered to be 'not important'. These results provide evidence for the structural link between semantically related values and attitudes in individuals' minds. Studies 4 and 5 examine the impact of value accessibility on attitude change, specifically its impact on the elaboration of persuasive appeals. Although the results of study 4 are insignificant, following some methodological changes, the results of study 5 provide support for such an effect. When value relevance and importance are high, increases in value accessibility lead to the increased elaboration of related persuasive messages, as indicated by greater differentiation between strong and weak persuasive arguments. The implications of these findings for the conceptualisation of value strength and value structure are discussed, as well as limitations of the present studies and some directions for future research.