Since the early twentieth century, scholars have pondered the role of mental conceptions and evaluations in guiding social action. This has been an enduring question in social psychology and one that has implications for all of sociology. Most social scientists have conceptualized this as the relationship between attitudes and behavior. Two competing paradigms have emerged to explain this relationship. They diverge theoretically and methodologically. One approach to the study of attitudes and behavior is grounded in positivism and deductive theorizing. The competing paradigm is inductive and phenomenological, emphasizing process and construction. The central disputes in these competing approaches involve the importance placed on social context and how attitudes are conceptualized.