Attitudes Flashcards
What is an elaboration likelihood model?
- It is a model that explains how people can be persuaded to change their attitudes.
- People are more likely to be persuaded by the content of speech instead of more superficial features - when people are invested in a topic and have the time and energy to think over an issue, they are more likely to be persuaded through the central route.
what are three things that impact how we are persuaded for or against a message?
- Message characteristics: how well the message is and how well it was delivered
- Source characteristics: what is the source’s level of expertise, is it trustworthy and is the information credible
- Target characteristics: the characteristic of the listener, what was their mood etc… how we receive a message
What are the two target paths that we process a model in?
- Central: the content of the argument, allows for deeper processing of information.
- Peripheral: doesn’t have to do much with the content and leads to little shallow processing, such as the way the speaker looks. Temporary attitude change
What is reciprocal determinism?
- Interaction between a person’s behavior, personal factors ( motivation) and environment.
What is the social-cognitive theory?
cognition: the mental action of processing and acquiring knowledge through the environment.
The social-cognitive theory is a theory that states that we learned behaviour through observations, modelling and motivation.
Example: If a teacher wants to make her class listen to her, she can use social cognitive theory. First, she must determine a goal: the student should listen, make eye contact and ask more questions via classroom interaction with the teacher and other peers students will learn that
certain things in the class like symbols or the interactions that people have. For instance thumbs up can mean good job,
- Is a theory that helps to describe the information that individual experience, the actions of others and environmental factors on individual health behavior
- it works from cognition- Environment -Behavior
Example:
Inga is interested in playing soccer ( cognition) she joins a soccer team ( environment) and spends time with soccer players ( behavior)
the other direction starting with behavior can also be true.
Define Personal control, what are the two types of personal control?
Personal control: whether we feel we are controlling or being controlled by the environment around us.
Two types: for example, you took a test and didn’t do as well.
- Internal locus of control: you didn’t study hard enough, the focus of changes within you depends on you- achieve more in school in work and are better at copping.
- External locus of control: your teacher grades unfairly - creates highest states of depression
What is learned helplessness? and the tyranny of choices
When you don’t make the effort to get out of a situation because you believe you have no control over it, this creates generalized helpless behaviour i.e uncontrolled bad events can lead to perceived lack of control which creates general helpless behaviour.
Example: People who have little control over their lives i.e poverty or hospital which can cause an increase in a negative effect.
Tyranny of choices: this is at the other end of the spectrum too many choices and too much control can overwhelm you, this is why when you are marketing you can’t give too many choices.
- information overload: this can cause decision paralysis an inability to make a decision or regret that you made the right decision.
Both of these have an impact on our wellbeing.
What is self-control?
- It is the ability to control our impulses and delay gratification
- Desires: are at the basic root of humans and they can become a temptation
Experiment: marshmallow test kit - the kids experiments
In the experiment, those who waited tended to have a better life outcome when followed 10 years later. Delayed gratification.
What is Ego depletion
It is the idea that self-control is a limited resource, if you use a lot of it in one area it can get used up and reduce your chances of using it in another.
For example: in dieting, if you are dieting in one way it is hard to also exercise, self-control is like a muscle.
How can we improve our self-control?
- Change our environment - moving the snack to a place we can’t have access to
- Operant conditioning- reinforce good behaviour with rewards
- Classical conditioning- associate another stimulus anytime you get a craving
- Deprivation- some people use that technique but it can actually be really detrimental creating ego depletion.
