The relationship between involvement, attitude accessibility and attitude–behaviour consistency

A study was conducted to examine the simultaneous influence of attitude accessibility and involvement with the attitude object on the attitude–behaviour relationship. Ninety students reported their attitudes towards a number of consumer products and their involvement with the underlying product categories. In addition, the accessibility of product attitudes was assessed. The results revealed that both involvement and attitude accessibility moderated the impact of attitudes on product choice behaviour. High levels of both variables were associated with more attitude‐consistent behaviour. The moderating influence of involvement and accessibility on attitude–behaviour consistency was independent. Further, the results provided some support for the notion that high involvement is associated with more accessible attitudes. Taken together, these findings suggest that involvement and accessibility constitute two distinct but interrelated dimensions of attitude strength.