THE ROLE OF AROUSAL IN THE CREATION AND CONTROL OF THE HALO EFFECT INATTITUDE MODELS

Within the framework of attitude theory, this study investigates the c onditions under which the halo effect can be (a) created where none no rmally exists and (b) reduced or eliminated where it does occur. A lab oratory experiment was conducted to induce physiological arousal as a mechanism for influencing halo. Using a spreading activation model of semantic memory to frame predictions, it was hypothesized and found th at arousal produced a halo effect for positive beliefs, tended to redu ce halo for negative beliefs, and eliminated halo (marginally) for all beliefs treated as an aggregate. The context for the study was attitu des toward blood donation. A total of 220 people participated in a ful ly randomized two-group posttest-only design with multiple covariates and measurement error taken into account explicitly. Theoretical and a pplied implications are discussed. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.