15C (LaPiere: hospitality study, 1934)

Background- what did LaPiere believe attitudes were

attitudes were actions

• did this mean we can measure actions by asking people about their attitudes?

the study he did to see if behaviour predicted attitudes

common assumption was attitudes predict behaviour

asked french and english if they would:

• let a good black person live in their home

• admit a non-white guest to their hotel

findings:

french- around 70% for both

english- 20% for both conditions

what did LaPiere comment upon

disagreed with the common assumption and suggested:

• questionnaires rests on the unproven assumption that there is a simple link between the symbolic (verbal) and non-symbolic (behavioural) response to an attitude object

extension

wanted to know if these different attitudes align with hotel policies

assumption: hotel policies tend to reflect the public opinion

findings: more policies in the UK excluded non-whites than France

criticism: asking people and looking at hotel policies are only symbolic representations, none measure actions

The study- social context at the time

US attitudes to Chinese in the 1930's

• Chinese immigration restricted

• Chinese are barred from landownership

• Intermarriage with other races such as Chinese forbidden

• Strong stereotypes against Chinese immigrants

  • Depiction of Chinese in movies as untrustworthy characters

method

1930-1932- LaPiere travelled across the US with a young Chinese couple

• visited 251 establishments

  • 67 hotels/autocamps/tourist homes

  • 184 restaurants/cafes

behavioural findings

• only refused service once at a ‘rather inferior autocamp’

• received ‘more than ordinary consideration’ in 72/184 restaurants/cafes

how attitudes were measured

sent a questionnaire to 250 establishments 6 months after their visit

• received 128 responses (51% response rate) rom establishments visited

• received responses from 128 establishments not visited

questionnaire asked ‘will you accept members of the Chinese race as guests in your establishment’

findings

118/128 responded no from establishments visited

only 1/128 responded with ‘yes’

• but when Chinese guests actually visited, they were only refused service once- why the discrepancy?

interpretation from LaPiere

questionnaire may or may not predict behaviour

• can only capture a verbal reaction to an entirely symbolic situation

the survey answers reflected prejudiced attitudes of the time, not behaviour

→ but why would they behave less prejudiced?

debate and controversy

generaliseablility

research from 1980’s and 2020 shows the opposite inconsistency between attitudes and behaviour

• many white people claim not to be prejudiced against people from other ethnic groups but discrimination against ethnic minorities is still evident

• social desirability changed

example:

Rosen et al (2021)- discrimination against Arab or black names in the rental market

problems with the research (methodological)

1. Six-month gap between observed actions and reported attitudes

   • Attitudes may change over time (but usually not this fast)

2. Did attitudes and action come from the same person?

   • Behaviour = desk clerk/waiter; Attitude = manager/owner

3. LaPiere’s presence

   • Couple was served 31 times in LaPiere’s absence

4. Chinese couple didn’t conform to stereotype

   • Couple was personable and charming, well-dressed, spoke in unaccented English, and were “skillful smilers” (LaPiere, 1932, p. 232)

the method

Ajzen et al (1970)

5. the survey question and observed attitudes were different

survey: ‘will you accept members of the Chinese race as guests in your establishment?’

observed: ‘will you accept a young, well dressed, pleasant, self-confident etc Chinese couple accompanied by a European American gentlemen?’

conceptual issues

1. LaPiere may not have been measuring attitudes

• attitude→ positive or negative evaluation (e.g. rate serving a Chinese couple in my establishment from 1 (very negative) to 7 (very positive))

LaPiere was measuring behavioural intention: ‘would you accept a Chinese couple?’

2. norms of politeness

• norms of politeness would have been salient in the face-to-face interactions and outweigh social norms, but not when responding to the letter

ethics

lack of informed consent by

• the Chinese couple

• the service providers

cant really observe people with informed consent without social desirability

Impact and legacy- generation of future studies

LaPiere’s (1934) study led to much more research testing the attitude-behaviour relationship:

Wicker (1969): meta analysis- found the average correlation between attitudes and behaviour to be very low (r= .15)

• same conclusion as LaPiere that you cannot rely on questionnaires

theories to the attitude-behaviour relationship including moderator variables

a. Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen)

b. Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen & Madden)

theory of reasoned action

attitudes and subjective norms influence intentions which influence behaviour

theory of planned behaviour

attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control influence intentions and behaviour

how did Ajzen and Fishbein suggest attitudes should be measured

the principle of compatibility or correspondence

have to ask particular questions: ATCT

1. action: have to be clear what action

2. target: who?

3. context: in which situation?

4. time: when?

attitudes and behaviour need to be measured on the same level of specificity or generality

test of the principle of compatibility or correspondence

Davidson & Jaccard (1979)

analysis of the correlation between married women’s attitudes toward birth control and their actual use of oral contraceptives during 2 years following study

• ‘attitudes toward birth control’ r= .08 (no prediction)

• ‘attitudes towards using oral contraceptives during the next 2 years’ r= .57

another impact

‘privacy paradox’- Acquisti et al (2015)

• attitude: most people think formal websites are more secure than informal websites

• behaviour: people are more likely to disclose private information (sex life, drugs, cheating) on informal websites than formal

also find explicit attitudes are better predictors of deliberative behaviour, whereas implicit are better predictors of spontaneous behaviour

conclusion

LaPiere was disappointed by the perceived lack of impact of his work

his key message- should not take the attitude behaviour relationship for granted and his work continues to shape the field today