Attitude Function Inventory (AFI)

Abstract

The Attitude Function Inventory (AFI) is a specialized psychological instrument designed to assess the underlying attitude function served by an individual’s opinions toward specific social groups, particularly attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Developed primarily by Gregory M. Herek, the AFI moves beyond simply measuring the intensity or valence of an attitude to explore the motivational bases for holding that attitude, consistent with functional theories in social psychology. The inventory successfully delineates four distinct psychological functions: Experiential-schematic, Social-expressive, Defensive, and Value-expressive, providing researchers with a nuanced understanding of the sources of prejudice and bias.

Keywords

Attitude Function Inventory, AFI, Attitude function, Heterosexism, Attitude measurement, Functional approach, Sexual minorities, Gregory M. Herek.

Authors

Gregory M. Herek, Zachary L. Tureau (used and detailed the instrument in doctoral research).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the AFI is to operationalize and empirically measure the functional bases of attitudes, focusing specifically on attitudes directed toward lesbians and gay men. This approach is crucial because attitudes that serve different psychological functions (e.g., self-protection versus value expression) require different strategies for change.

By identifying the motivational roots of anti-gay attitudes, the AFI allows researchers and clinicians to develop targeted interventions. The scale helps determine whether an individual’s opinions are rooted in personal experience, social conformity, internal psychological defense mechanisms, or core moral beliefs.

Construct

The AFI measures the construct of attitude function, a concept derived from the functional theory of attitudes, which posits that attitudes are held because they fulfill specific psychological needs. The AFI identifies four principal motivational functions underlying attitudes toward sexual minorities:

• Experiential-Schematic Function: Attitudes based on personal experiences with or knowledge about gay individuals, used to structure understanding of the world.
• Social-Expressive Function: Attitudes used to express identity or gain social acceptance within a peer group.
• Defensive Function: Attitudes that protect the individual from internal psychological threats or anxieties (e.g., anxiety about one’s own sexuality).
• Value-Expressive Function: Attitudes that express an individual’s core moral, ethical, or religious values.

Validity

The validity of the AFI is supported primarily through its theoretical alignment with the functional model of attitudes. Extensive research by Herek (1987, 1988) demonstrated the instrument’s construct validity by showing that the four factors load distinctly and correlate with other relevant psychological variables in theoretically predictable ways.

Specifically, the different functional subscales demonstrate discriminant validity, indicating that they measure distinct underlying motivational bases rather than simply measuring general prejudice or attitude intensity. For instance, the Defensive function subscale often correlates highly with measures of authoritarianism and psychological discomfort with sexuality.

Reliability

The reliability of the Attitude Function Inventory is typically assessed via internal consistency measures, specifically Cronbach’s Alpha, across the four subscales. The reported reliability coefficients (as found in studies utilizing the AFI, such as Tureau, 2003) vary by subscale:

• Experiential-schematic: Alpha 0.67 to 0.82
• Social-expressive: Alpha 0.41 to 0.62
• Defensive: Alpha 0.72 to 0.82
• Value-expressive: Alpha 0.53 to 0.61

While the Experiential-schematic and Defensive subscales demonstrate generally acceptable to good reliability, the Social-expressive and Value-expressive subscales occasionally show lower internal consistency, suggesting potential measurement limitations or context dependency for those specific attitude functions.

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis was instrumental in the development and refinement of the AFI, confirming that the scale items cluster into four distinct, theoretically relevant dimensions corresponding to the four attitude functions. These four factors are consistently identified in research utilizing the inventory.

1. Experiential-schematic
2. Social-expressive
3. Defensive
4. Value-expressive

This factor structure validates the AFI as a tool capable of assessing the multi-functional nature of attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, supporting the core premise of the functional approach—that a single attitude can serve multiple, separable psychological needs.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report inventory

Format: The scale utilizes a 9-point Likert scale format, typically anchored by “Very True of Me” (1) and “Not at all True of Me” (9), or vice versa, depending on the scoring direction specified in the research protocol.

Language Available: English (Primary research language)

Population Group: General population, specifically heterosexual individuals whose attitudes toward sexual minorities are being measured.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (frequently used with college student populations).

Population Details: Used to assess the functional basis of attitudes within various demographic and cultural contexts, particularly in North American samples.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to rate the degree to which a set of statements describing potential sources or justifications for their opinions about gay men and lesbians are true for them personally.

Keywords

Functional theory of attitudes, Prejudice measurement, Sexual minorities, Experiential-schematic, Defensive attitudes, Value-expressive attitudes, Social psychology, Attitude change.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Not provided in source material)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Not provided in source material)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Not provided in source material)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The core theoretical framework and initial scale development were established by Gregory M. Herek in the mid-1980s, culminating in key publications in 1987 and 1988. The AFI is widely used in academic research. Researchers seeking to utilize the instrument should contact the primary author for formal permission. The original PDF describing the instrument and its use in doctoral research can be downloaded here: http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4286/m2/1/high_res_d/dissertation.pdf

Reference’s

• Herek, G. M. (1984). Attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A factor-analytic study. Journal of Homosexuality, 10(1-2), 39-51.
• Herek, G. M. (1984). Beyond “homophobia”: A social psychological perspective on attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 10(1/2), 1-21.
• Herek, G. M. (1986a). The instrumentality of attitudes: Toward a neofunctional theory. Journal of Social Issues, 42, 99-114.
• Herek, G. M. (1986b). On heterosexual masculinity. American Behavioral Scientist, 29, 563-577.
• Herek, G. M. (1987). Can functions be measured? A new perspective on the functional approach to attitudes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 50, 285-303.
• Herek, G. M. (1988). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: Correlates and gender differences. Journal of Sex Research, 25, 451-477.
• Herek, G. M. (1990). The context of anti-gay violence: Notes on cultural and psychological heterosexism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5, 316-333.
• Herek, G. M. (2002). Gender gaps in public opinion about lesbians and gay men. Public Opinion Quarterly, 66, 40-66.
• Tureau, Zachary L., (2003). College Student Identity and Attitudes Toward Gays and Lesbians. doctoral dissertation, University of North Texas.

Items of the Attitude Function Inventory (AFI)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. My opinions about gay men and lesbians mainly are based on whether or not someone I care about is gay.

2. My opinions about gay men and lesbians mainly are based on my personal experiences with specific gay persons.

3. My opinions about gay men and lesbians mainly are based on my own judgment of how likely it is that I will interact with gay people in any significant way.

4. My opinions about gay men and lesbians mainly are based on my personal experiences with people whose family members or friends are gay.

5. My opinions about gay men and lesbians mainly are based on my perceptions of how the people I care about have responded to gay people as a group.

6. My opinions about gay men and lesbians mainly are based on learning how gay people are viewed by the people whose opinions I most respect.

7. My opinions about gay men and lesbians mainly are based on the fact that I would rather not think about homosexuality or gay people.

8. My opinions about gay men and lesbians mainly are based on my personal feelings of discomfort or revulsion at homosexuality.

9. My opinions about gay men and lesbians are based on my concern that we safeguard the civil liberties of all people in our society

10. My opinions about gay men and lesbians mainly are based on my moral beliefs about how things should be.