1. The study of LaPiere (1934):LaPiere (1934): © POSbase 2008Contributor In this classical study, Richard LaPiere examined the question whether people act according to their attitudes. In order to do that, La Piere – a white professor from California – accompanied a Chinese couple to over 200 hotels or restaurants. At that time, there were strong prejudices against Asians in the US, and no anti-discrimination laws. Attitudes and Actions

2. © POSbase 2008 Despite those prejudices, the couple was given a hotel room or served at restaurants, with only one exception. A couple of months later, the hotel or restaurant owners got a letter, asking them whether they would serve a Chinese couple. From the 128 respondents, 92% said „No“! However, this attitude did not result in corresponding action. Attitudes and Actions

3. © POSbase 2008 This shows that attitudes assessed in questionnaires do not predict behavior accurately. Later studies confirmed this low correlation between attitude and behavior (e.g., Wicker, 1969). However, this contradicts the fact that there are people committing crimes based on prejudice. Therefore: When do prejudices predict behavior? Attitudes and Actions

4. © POSbase 2008 Newer studies revealed the following conditions:  The attitudes are strong and stable over time.  The attitude is conscious.  A prejudice is based on direct experience. This would have been the case if the hotel owners had had direct, negative experiences with Chinese hotel guests. However, this apparently was not the case. Attitudes and Actions