Examining the Link Between Neutral and Ambivalent Attitudes: Their Association and their Co-Occurrence

Abstract

We examined the link between neutral and ambivalent attitudes. First, we examined whether they are mutually exclusive, in that when one attitude is present, the other is not, or if they co-occur. Second, we examined whether they are negatively associated, such that as ambivalence increases, neutrality decreases. In three studies, participants indicated their positive, negative, neutral, and ambivalent attitudes toward various stimuli. In contrast to both ideas, (objective and subjective) ambivalence and neutrality co-occurred (no mutual exclusivity), and they, at best, depending on how one looked at the association, were only weakly positively or negatively associated (no strong, negative association). Univalent attitudes co-occurred with and were strongly negatively associated with neutral attitudes. These findings conflict with theories and methodologies that assume mutual exclusivity or an inverse association between neutral and ambivalent attitudes, suggesting that researchers should not assume that presence of neutrality suggests a lack of ambivalence.