4:1 Attitudes & Heuristics

Question 1

What are attitudes?

Answer 1

Attitudes are general positive or negative evaluations of objects, such as cars, or subjects, such as people, that give us a fast answer to complex questions.

Attitudes give us an overall impression.

Attitudes make us highly efficient in decision-making.

Question 2

Which are more specific and concrete - attitudes or values?

Answer 2

Attitudes.

Eg. Toward a person, group, or food.

Question 3

Which are more abstract or generalized - attitudes or values?

Answer 3

Values.

Eg. Evaluations on justice or fairness.

Question 4

List three ways attitudes help us.

Answer 4

1. Help us make fast decisions.
2. Help us approach positive outcomes.
3. Help us avoid negative outcomes.

Good vs bad attitude = utilitarian.

Question 5

In what three ways do attitudes have a symbolic function?

Answer 5

1. They affirm values.
2. They express social identity.
3. They affirm general beliefs.

Eg. Photo of man in front of tanks.

Question 6

How do social identities relate to attitudes?

Answer 6

By expressing an attitude, you can shape your social identity.

Question 7

List four main sources of attitudes.

Answer 7

1. Mere exposure.
2. Learning.
3. Culture.
4. Stereotypes.

Question 8

How does exposure lead to attitude?

Answer 8

The more someone sees, hears or perceives something, the easier it is to process the information.

Processing fluency feels pleasant to people.

Question 9

What are two major ways that cultures shape attitudes and they way people view the self?

Answer 9

1. Independent self –> relatively independent of others; may have more positive attitudes toward autonomy (eg. US and England).
2. Interdependent self –> more as part of a larger social group; may hold more positive attitudes towards family and community (eg. China and India).

Question 10

True or false: Stereotypes influence attitudes.

Answer 10

True.

Question 11

True or false: Attitudes are infallible.

Answer 11

False.

Attitudes can be a results of prejudice.

Eg. Stigma by association.

Question 12

Explain the continuum model of psychosis.

Answer 12

Psychotic experiences are actually common and present to different degrees throughout the general population. They are on the continuum with normal experiences.

Question 13

What percentage of people that have psychotic experiences continues to have them?

Answer 13

Only 20%.

80% remit spontaneously.
The majority of psychotic experiences are benign and do not contribute to a psychotic disorder.

Question 14

In mental health experiences, what is a key stage between experiences and clinical symptoms?

Answer 14

Appraisal and interpretation.

Question 15

What can more easily lead to a psychotic experience: what you experience or how much you experience it?

Answer 15

How much you experience it. Severity is very important.

Question 16

Describe cognitive grip.

Answer 16

Having persecutory views; paranoid worldview.

Question 17

What is intentionalizing in relation to maladaptive appraisals?

Answer 17

Malicious intent made someone look stupid.

Question 18

What is personalizing in relation to maladaptive appraisals?

Answer 18

There’s a person behind it all.

Question 19

What is internalizing in relation to maladaptive appraisals?

Answer 19

There’s something wrong with me.

Question 20

According to the elaboration likelihood model, which two ways are information processed?

Answer 20

1. Central route.
2. Peripheral route.
   This is a dual-processing model.

Question 21

Which information processing route involves high motivation to make a good decision?

Answer 21

The central route.

Question 22

Describe the central route.

Answer 22

Deep processing –> details, calculations, etc –> enduring changes in attitude.

Eg. Used for making important decisions.

Question 23

Describe the peripheral route.

Answer 23

Shallow processing

• -> easy-to-follow information
• -> short-term changes in attitude.

Eg. Buying a product in the spur of a moment.

Question 24

What are implicit attitudes?

Answer 24

Evaluations or responses from unknown origins.

Eg. The iceberg hidden underneath the water’s surface.

Question 25

What are explicit attitudes?

Answer 25

Evaluations or responses from known origins.

Attitudes we consciously notice.

Question 26

What’s a term for simple rules that are used to form an attitude judgment with little cognitive effort?

Answer 26

Heuristics.

Also known as rule of thumb.

Question 27

What type of heuristic is based on someone’s beliefs on the similarity between a target and a population?

Answer 27

A representative heuristic.

Eg. Philosophy student sitting in cafeteria.

Question 28

What type of heuristic is based on a belief that an event is likely because it is easy to remember or imagine?

Answer 28

Availability heuristic.

Eg. Shark attack deaths vs flu deaths.

Question 29

In which type of mental health condition do heuristics play a large role?

Answer 29

Addictions - gambling.

Question 30

What’s a benefit and downfall of using heuristics?

Answer 30

Benefit: Quick decisions can be made with limited information.

Downfall: Does not always provide ideal answers.

Question 31

Near misses or almost wins in gambling are examples of:

Answer 31

Cognitive distortions.

Gamblers fallacy.

Heuristics of representativeness.