Triarchic Model of Opinion Social Comparison

意见激发个人和集体行动的力量是有据可查的。同样戏剧性的是，观点的变化速度。观点的这些特性可以归因于这样一个事实，即观点的形成部分是社会背景的函数，特别是通过与其他人或群体的比较。然而，作为意见形成和变化基础的社会心理过程仍然没有得到很好的理解。该项目包括七个实验，以测试一种新的方法来理解与其他人的比较如何有助于形成意见。新理论提出，有三种主要类型的意见比较。一种是关于人们如何验证他们的个人偏好。在这些案件中，其他一般背景相似的人似乎提供了最相关的信息。第二种类型涉及对信念的评估，最好通过与具有更多专业知识的人进行意见比较来解决。然而，专业知识是不够的-这些“专家”还需要被视为共享某些与信仰主题相关的潜在价值观。这方面的理论有可能阐明我们的知识，我们与外群体的相互作用。专家外组成员的意见（例如，来自不同种族或社会经济群体的人）尽管知识更丰富，但可能会被拒绝。第三种主要的观点比较涉及对未来情况或选择的预测。在这种类型中，与已经经历过这种情况的其他人进行比较可以提供最有用的信息，但前提是他们也有类似的背景或在过去的情况下表达了一致的反应。七个实验室的实验将测试三过程理论的预测有关选择和影响的比较使用各种意见的问题。由于意见比较在决策、群体行为和说服中发挥着重要作用，因此提出的理论和研究应该推进有关涉及这些过程的社会问题的基本知识。

The power of opinions to inspire individual and collective action is well-documented. Just as dramatic is the speed with which opinions can change. These properties of opinions can be attributed to the fact that opinions are formed partly as a function of the social context, particularly by comparisons with other people or groups. The social psychological processes that underlie opinion formation and change, however, are still not well-understood. This project includes seven experiments to test a new approach for understanding how comparisons with other people contribute to the formation of opinions. The new theory proposes that there are three main types of opinion comparison. One type concerns how people validate their personal preferences. Other persons who are similar in general background seem to furnish the most relevant information in these cases. A second type concerns the evaluation of beliefs which is best addressed through comparison of opinions with persons who have more expertise. However, expertise is not sufficient -- these "experts" also need to be perceived to share certain underlying values connected to the belief topic. This aspect of the theory has the potential to elucidate our knowledge about our interactions with outgroups. The opinions of expert outgroup members (e.g., someone from a different ethnic or socioeconomic group) might be rejected despite their greater knowledge. The third major type of opinion comparison involves prediction about future situations or choices. In this type, comparisons with other people who have already experienced the situation provide the most useful information, but only if they also have a similar background or expressed consistent reactions in past circumstances. The seven laboratory experiments will test the three-process theory predictions concerning selection and impact of comparison using a variety of opinion issues. Because opinion comparison plays a substantial role in decision-making, group behavior, and persuasion, the proposed theory and research should advance basic knowledge about social problems where these processes are involved.