The two-component model of behavior factors: The phenomenon of anticipatory engagement of a situationally dominant factor

Abstract

One of the debatable issues in the theory of social action is the interaction of explicit and implicit factors in their influence on human behavior. The ‘parallel’ influence models oppose the ‘sequential’ models. The former argue that one factor determines another, and the last one influences behavior. The latter argue that factors are of an independent nature and affect behavior each in their own way. In practical terms, agreeing with one of these models means rejecting or accepting the idea of a conflict of factors and of behavior as a result of this conflict. In the previous article, we showed that the influence of ideologically biased statements on the explicit and implicit components of the attitude towards the object of these statements can be exactly the opposite. It is necessary to check whether this phenomenon is stable. If so, it will be necessary to recognize the independent nature of the factors of behavior. Such a check was carried out and (within the limits of the empirical data) confirmed the correctness of the ‘parallel’ models. This conclusion is all the more convincing because it was obtained by observing the dynamic reaction of the associations between the components of the attitude and the assumed factors of its formation. As the criticality of respondents increases, the nature of this relationship predictably changes. But it changes differently for the explicit and implicit component of the attitude. Moreover, we identified a phenomenon of the “anticipatory engagement of a situationally dominant factor”. If we are not mistaken in understanding its nature, the very foundations of theories of the ‘sequential’ influence are under a question.