8. Attitudes Flashcards
What are attitudes?
Evaluation of aspects of the social world, such as: Self Others Objects Political issues Ethical issues
Definition of Attitude
Attitudes are endearing mental representations of various features of the social or physical world
- acquired through experience
- exert a direct influence on subsequent behavior
Functions of attitudes
- organize and interpret social information
- help make fast decisions via evaluation
- object appraisal
- express values and central beliefs
Three major components of attitudes
Cognitive component
Emotional component
Behavioral component
Cognitive component
Thought and beliefs towards object
Emotional component
Feelings towards object
Behavioral component
Predispositions to act towards object
How are attitudes formed?
Social learning
Social comparison
Direct experience
Genetic Factors
Classical conditioning
Learning by association
Operant conditioning
Learning to hold the rewarded view
Two Sub categories of attitude measurement
Self-report measures
Observational measures
What form do self-report measures take?
Single item measures
Attitude scales
Name two examples of attitude scales
Likert Scales
Osgood’s semantic differential
Disadvantage of self-report measures
Limits of Introspection
Observational measures
Implicit measures of overt behavior, non-verbal cues, physiological reactions
Implicit attitudes
Non-controllable
Fast
Unconscious
Bias behavior and decisions
Explicit attitudes
Expression is under control
Conscious
Endorsed
LaPiere Study (1934)
> Young chinese couple visits 250+ hotels, motels and restaurants
several months later, a questionnaire was sent out to employees asking whether they would serve Chinese guests
LaPiere (1934) Study Results
All businesses served the couple
ALTHOUGH
Most said in questionnaire that they would not serve chinese guests
Weak relationship between attitude and behavior
Name the three kinds of Moderators
Situational moderators
Attitude-related moderators
Person-related moderators
Define Moderator
Constraints that prevent us from expressing our attitudes
Situational moderators
Norms and prescriptions sparing ones attitudes
Multiple attitudes, goals
Time pressure - accessible attitudes
Attitude-related moderators
Direct experience
Strength (importance, amount of knowledge, accessibility)
Specificity
Attitude component
Person-related moderators
Self-awareness
Self-monitoring
Why are attitudes important?
Self Interest
Social Identification
Value Relevance
Self-Interest
The extent to which the attitude affects individuals life and goals
Social Identification
The extent to which the attitude affects groups with which the person identifies
Value Relevance
The extent to which the attitude is related to personal values
What are the two levels of attitude specificity called?
And examples
Specific attitude e.g. black neighbor
General attitude e.g. racial discrimination
Specific attitudes predict…
Specific behaviors
General attitudes predict…
General behaviors
Name a Study that found a weak relationship to specific behaviors
LaPiere 1934
Which specificity of attitude is a better predictor for behavior?
Specific attitude
(Adaptation from) Davidson & Jaccard 1979
- Different groups of women were asked about their attitudes towards birth control
- The more specific the question, the better it predicted their actual use of birth control
“Attitude toward birth control” showed a 0.08 ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR correlation
“Attitude towards using birth control pills during the next two years” showed a correlation of 0.57
NOTE: a correlation of 0 shows no relationship between attitude and behavior
Explain the difference between a cognitive-based attitude and an affect-based attitude.
Cognitive-based: based on reasons
Affect-based: based on feelings, emotions
Name the two types of behavior that exist
Consummatory behavior
Instrumental behavior
Explain consummatory behavior through an example
I attend the seminar because it is relevant for the exam
Explain Instrumental behavior through the use of an example.
I attend the seminar because it is fun.
Describe the goal of a high self monitor
To be the RIGHT PERSON for the situation
Describe the goal of a low-self monitor.
To be ME in this situation.
Describe the social acuity of a high-self monitor.
- highly adept at reading the situation
- able to use this knowledge to construct a prototype of the model person for the situation
Describe the social acuity of a low self monitor.
- less adept at reading the situation
- behavior is based on inner attitudes, values and dispositions
Describe the acting ability of a high self monitor.
- superior acting ability
- allows them to modify their behavior to match the requirements of the situation
Describe the acting ability of low self monitors
- Limited acting ability
- play similar roles in various situations
Explain the limitations of the ability of attitudes to predict spontaneous behavior.
Only when the attitudes are highly accessible to people
Describe Fazio’s Attitude-to-behavior Process Model.
- Event activated attitudes
- Attitude influenced perception of attitude object
- Definition of Event (incorporates stored knowledge of what is appropriate in the particular situation)
- BEHAVIOR
Explain the kinds of attitude with regard to junk mail “Kinderdorf”
Accessible attitude: junk mail is a nuisance
Less accessible attitude: it is good to support and help children
Name the three components of Behavioral Intention
- Specific Attitude toward behavior
- Subjective Norms
- Perceived Behavioral Control
Explain Perceived Behavior Control
The ease with which people believe they can perform the behavior
Define persuasion.
Communications designed to advocate a particular side of an issue
Name examples of persuasion.
Political Campaigns
Religious Campaigns
Product Advertisement
Movies with a “message”
Resistance to persuasion
— reactance
- resisting attempts that reduce personal freedom
- too obtrusive attempts often fail
— forewarning
- retrieve relevant information and facts from memory
- prepare counter arguments
— inoculation
- confront with weakened arguments
— selective avoidance
- screening out information
Elaboration likelihood model
Central route processing - thinking hard about what actually matters
Peripheral route processing - thinking about what doesn’t actually matter e.g. looks
The Yale Attitude Change Approach
The effectiveness of persuasion depends on WHO says WHAT to WHOM
Who - the source of the communication
What - the nature of the communication
Whom - the nature of the audience
The sleeper effect
The phenomenon wherein the effect of persuasive communication increases with time
Explain the causes of the sleeper effect
The association between the message and discounting cues (e.g. low source credibility) weakens over time
What is another name for the Elaboration Likelihood model?
Heuristic Model of Persuasion
Persuasion and attitude function
Cognitively-based attitude (utilitarian)
— based on reasons
Affectively-based attitude (social identity)
— based on feelings and emotions
Define fear-arousing communications
Persuasive messages that attempt to change people’s attitudes by arousing their fears
E.g. dangers of smoking
Conditions of fear-arousing communications: they work only when…
— Moderate
— A way OUT is offered
