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attitude accessibility

the likelihood that an attitude will be automatically activated from memory on encountering the attitude object. Accessibility is assumed to depend on the strength of the associative link in memory between the representation of the object and the evaluation of the object: The stronger the memory link between the object and its evaluation, the more quickly the attitude will come to mind. Attitudes that come quickly to mind are believed to be better guides to behavior. Accessibility is a determinant of attitude strength.

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Psychology term of the day

March 17th 2025

family study

family study

research conducted among siblings, parents, or children to assess evidence for genetic links for characteristics or outcomes, often related to health or disease. For example, a family study might be conducted to assess whether individuals from the same family who share a similar genetic structure also have similar responses to a health-promotion intervention such as diet, exercise, or medication. The extent to which performance on a given measure varies as a function of genetic similarity is used as an indication of the heritability of that measure.