Ambivalence

For the Neon Genesis Evangelion episode, see Ambivalence (Neon Genesis Evangelion episode).

Ambivalence[1] is a state of having simultaneous conflicting reactions, beliefs, or feelings towards some object.[2][3][4][5] Stated another way, ambivalence is the experience of having an attitude towards someone or something that contains both positively and negatively valenced components.[6] The term also refers to situations where "mixed feelings" of a more general sort are experienced, or where a person experiences uncertainty or indecisiveness.

Although attitudes tend to guide attitude-relevant behavior, those held with ambivalence tend to do so to a lesser extent. The less certain an individual is in their attitude, the more impressionable it becomes, hence making future actions less predictable and/or less decisive.[7] Ambivalent attitudes are also more susceptible to transient information (e.g., mood), which can result in a more malleable evaluation.[7][8] However, since ambivalent people think more about attitude-relevant information, they also tend to be more persuaded by (compelling) attitude-relevant information than less-ambivalent people.[9]

Explicit ambivalence may or may not be experienced as psychologically unpleasant when the positive and negative aspects of a subject are both present in a person's mind at the same time.[10][11] Psychologically uncomfortable ambivalence, also known as cognitive dissonance, can lead to avoidance, procrastination, or to deliberate attempts to resolve the ambivalence.[12] People experience the greatest discomfort from their ambivalence at the time when the situation requires a decision to be made.[13] People are aware of their ambivalence to varying degrees, so the effects of an ambivalent state vary across individuals and situations. For this reason, researchers have considered two forms of ambivalence, only one of which is subjectively experienced as a state of conflict.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Webster's New World Collegiate Dictionary, 3rd Edition.
  3. ^ Kaplan, K. J. (1972). "On the ambivalence-indifference problem in attitude theory and measurement: A suggested modification of the semantic differential technique". Psychological Bulletin. 77 (5): 361–372. doi:10.1037/h0032590.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ van Delft, Merijn (2004). "The Causes and Consequences of Attitudinal Ambivalence". Universiteit van Amsterdam. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  6. ^ Crano, Prislin, William D., Radmila (2011). Attitudes and Attitude Change. Psychology Press. pp. 262–285.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b Moss, Dr. Simon (March 16, 2010). "Attitudinal Ambivalence". Psycholopedia. Psych-it.com.au. Archived from the original on August 29, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  8. ^ Bell, D. W.; Esses, V. M. (1997). "Ambivalence and response amplification toward native peoples". Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 27 (12): 1063–1084. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1997.tb00287.x.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Maio, G. R. 1996 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Newby-Clark, I. R.; McGregor, I.; Zanna, M. P. (2002). "Thinking and caring about cognitive inconsistency: When and for whom does attitudinal ambivalence feel uncomfortable?" (PDF). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 82 (2): 157–166. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.82.2.157. PMID 11831406. S2CID 13825623. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-18.
  11. ^ Song, Hyunjin; Ewoldsen, David R. (2015). "Metacognitive Model of Ambivalence: The Role of Multiple Beliefs and Metacognitions in Creating Attitude Ambivalence". Communication Theory. 25: 23–45. doi:10.1111/comt.12050.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Van Harreveld 2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Van Harreveld, F.; Rutjens, B. T.; Rotteveel, M.; Nordgren, L. F.; van der Pligt, J. (2009). "Ambivalence and decisional conflict as a cause of psychological discomfort: Feeling tense before jumping off the fence". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (Submitted manuscript). 45: 167–173. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2008.08.015. S2CID 51997082.