Extremeness of an attitude indicates ________.

The correct answer is Option (2) → how positive or negative an attitude is

Attitudes have four significant features: valence, extremeness, simplicity or complexity (multiplexity), and centrality. Each option describes one of them.

Option (1) whether an attitude is positive or negative — Incorrect. This is valence, the direction of the attitude. On a 5-point scale, a rating of 4 or 5 is a positive attitude and 1 or 2 a negative one.

Option (2) how positive or negative an attitude is — Correct. The extremeness of an attitude indicates how positive or negative it is. A rating of 1 is as extreme as a rating of 5, only in the opposite direction; 2 and 4 are less extreme, and a neutral attitude is lowest on extremeness.

Option (3) how many attitudes there are within a broader attitude — Incorrect. This is simplicity or complexity (multiplexity): an attitude can be a ‘family’ of several member attitudes, as with health or world peace.

Option (4) the role of an attitude in the attitude system — Incorrect. This is centrality: an attitude with greater centrality influences the other attitudes of the system much more than a non-central one.