1988-JAP-Self-Generated-Validity-and-Other-Effects-of-Measurement-on-Belief，Attitude，-Intention，-and.pdf

Journal of Applied Psychology Copyright 1988by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 1988, Vol. 73,No. 3, 421-435 0021-9010/88/$00.75 Self-Generated Validity and Other Effects of Measurement on Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior Jack M. Feldman John G. Lynch, Jr. School of Psychology Department of Marketing Georgia Institute of Technology University of Florida Drawing from recent developments in social cognition, cognitive psychology,and behavioral decision theory, we analyzed when and how the act of measuring beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors affects observed correlations among them. Belief, attitude, or intention can be created by measure- ment if the measured constructs do not already exist in long-term memory. The responses thus created can have directive effects on answers to other questions that follow in the survey. But even when counterparts to the beliefs, attitudes, and intentions measured already exist in memory, the structure of the survey researchers questionnaire can affect observed correlationsamong them. The respondent may use retrieved answers to earlier survey questions as inputs to respons