05_Attitudes and Attitude Change Flashcards
There is a weak link between one’s stated attitudes and their behaviors.
When are measurements of attitudes better at predicting behavior?
When measures are specific vs general
When measures assess multiple attitudes and behaviors
Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen):
Attitudes are predictive of behavior when all 3 of these components are measured…
Attitude toward engaging in behavior
Belief of what others think is appropriate behavior
Perceived Behavioral Control
Characteristics of the Communicator
(Hovland, Janis, and Kelley)
What is the key contributing factor to attitude change?
Credibility
High credibility = more persuasive
Attitude Change:
Sleeper Effect
Differences in attitude change from high and low credible communicators decrease over time
Main Factor that contributes to the Sleeper Effect
Over time, people tend to remember the message
+ forget its source
Trustworthiness depends on communicator’s motives.
When is a communicator deemed more trustworthy?
When they are arguing against their own interests
vs having something to gain
4 Factors That Influence Likelihood of Attitude Change
Level of Discrepancy
Order of Presentation
Accidental Messages
Fear Arousal
Level of Discrepancy that produces most Attitude Change
Moderate discrepancy between positions of the communication and recipient
As a communicator’s credibility increases, a somewhat larger initial discrepancies associated with the most attitude change
Primacy vs. Recency
How time affects measures of attitude change
Primacy effect: when measure is taken at a later time
Recency effect: when measure is taken immediately
Which is more likely to induce attitude change?
Accidental vs Intentional Messages
Accidental
Communicators are perceived as more trustworthy when their message is overheard
2 Components of Fear Arousal increases Effectiveness of Attitude Change
Fear-arousing message focuses on negative consequences
+
Includes information on how to avoid negative consequences
When does fear arousal communication backfire?
Messages that are too threatening can lead to denial and defensiveness
Personality Characteristics That Increase Susceptibility to Persuasion
Lower IQ
Younger age (teens/early 20s)
Those with either very low or very high self-esteem
Cognitive Dissonance Theory:
Overview
Individuals relieve discomfort/dissonance that occurs from incompatible cognitions and behavior by:
Changing their attitudes or behaviors
Downplay the importance of inconsistency
Cognitive Dissonance Theory:
Effects of achievement difficulty
The harder you work for something, the more positively you will rate it
Cognitive Dissonance Theory:
Role of Insufficient Justification
Participants given either $1 or $20 to tell participants that dull experiment was fun
$20: accurately described as boring
$1: described it as enjoyable
**Small amount of money was insufficient justification for lying, which resulted in attitude change toward the experiment
Theories of Attitude Change:
Balance Theory (Heider)
Relations among three entities are either balanced or unbalanced, depending on the pattern of likes and dislikes among the entities
Person (P), Other Person (O), and event/person (X)
Imbalance motivates attitude change
Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty):
Two Routes
Central route: Systematic processing of information
Peripheral Route: Relies on heuristics
Persuasive Cues for Peripheral Route
Attractiveness of communicator
Status of communicator
Which produces change that is more enduring and most resistant to future attempts at persuasion:
Central route or Peripheral route?
Central route
Social Judgment Theory (Sherif and Hovland):
Evaluating persuasive messages: 3 Latitudes
Latitude of acceptance
Latitude of non-commitment
Latitude of rejection
We are most likely to be persuaded when the persuasive message is within this latitude…
Latitude of Acceptance
Message consists of all positions on the topic that are considered acceptable
What factor Increases the latitude of rejection, and decreases latitudes of acceptance and non-commitment?
Ego involvement
The more ego-involved we are with the topic, the larger the latitude of rejection
Resistance To Persuasion:
Attitude Inoculation
Weak form of opposing view reduces effectiveness of opposing persuasive message in the future
