Attitudes, polarization, and diagnosticity: Exploring the effect of affect.

Examines the various judgmental effects of attitude intensity or commitment. 28 feminist and 26 nonfeminist undergraduates estimated the prevalence of both pro- and antifeminist attitudes in various segments of the population. They then estimated the prevalence of various personality traits and demographic characteristics among others with either pro- or antifeminist attitudes. In accord with a "false consensus" hypothesis, both S groups perceived profeminist attitudes to be more common among all population groups. In addition, however, committed Ss viewed the population as significantly more polarized on the women's rights issue. Relative to the remaining Ss, committed feminists overestimated the prevalence of both pro- and antifeminist attitudes. Although both S groups found information concerning others' position on women's rights to be highly diagnostic of personality traits and attitudes, committed feminists saw this information as significantly more diagnostic for both pro and anti others. Implications for both attribution and attitude theories are discussed. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)