Attitudes Flashcards
Attitudes
A learned, relatively enduring, favourable/unfavourable evaluation of a person, object or idea, that can affect an individual’s behaviours.
Tri-component Model of Attitudes
States that all attitudes have three related components:
Affective: the emotions/feelings towards an attitude object.
Behavioural: the actions towards an attitude object.
Cognitive: the beliefs/thoughts/understanding about an attitude object.
Consistency of the Components
The model proposes that the three components must be present, before it can be said that an attitude exists.
Limitations of Tri-component Model
Some psychologists do not support the tri-component model, believing that As, Bs and Cs can be inconsistent or non-existent.
Cognitive Dissonance
The discomfort or tension that is felt when our behaviour is not consistent with our attitudes.
Perceived Control Over the Behaviour
People are more likely to ‘act’ on their attitude if they believe that they are free to perform or not perform the behaviour and a belief that they can actually perform the behaviour.
Accessibility of the Attitude
Attitudes and behaviour are more likely to be consistent if the attitude is well known and effectively stored in memory.
Strength of the Attitude
Stronger attitudes are more likely to influence behaviour.
Social Context of the Attitude
Whether it is appropriate to express the behaviour in a particular context.
Factors that Influence Attitude Formation
- Classical conditioning
- Operant conditioning
- Observational learning/Social learning
- Repeated exposure
Classical Conditioning
A simple form of learning that occurs through the repeated association of two or more different stimuli or ‘events’.
- It is the pairing and repeated associations of the two stimuli that is essential for learning to occur.
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
Produces a reflexive response.
Unconditioned Response (UCR)
A reflexive response (i.e. not learned)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
Formerly the neutral stimulus. After being repeatedly paired with the UCS, the CS produces a learned response.
Conditioned Response (CR)
A learned response produced by the continual pairing of a neutral stimulus with an UCS. After continual pairing, the CR is elicited by the CS alone - without the presence of the UCS.
Key Processes in Classical Conditioning
- Acquisition
- Extinction
- Spontaneous recovery
- Stimulus generalisation
- Stimulus discrimination
Acquisition
The overall process during which the organism learns to associate two events (the CS and the UCS).
Extinction
The gradual decrease in the strength or rate of a response, which occurs over time when the UCS is not presented.
Spontaneous Recovery
The reappearance of a CR after its apparent extinction.
Stimulus Generalisation
The tendency for similar stimuli to produce the same, but not necessarily identical response.
Stimulus Discrimination
The ability to distinguish between (two or more) different stimuli, even if the stimuli are similar.
Operant Conditioning
A kind of learning for which the consequence of an action (e.g. reward or punishment) determines the likelihood that it will be performed again in the future.
Reinforcement
An environmental event that increases the probability that a response will occur.
Positive Reinforcement
A response is followed by the addition of a pleasant stimulus (reinforcer).
Negative Reinforcement
A response is followed by the removal of an unpleasant stimulus (reinforcer).
Punishment
An environmental event that decreases the probability that a response will occur.
Positive Punishment
The delivery of an unpleasant stimulus following a response. This decreases the probability that a response will occur.
Negative Punishment
An unpleasant stimulus is removed following a response. This decreases the probability that a response will occur.
Antecedent
Discriminative Stimulus - what precedes and prompts a particular response.
Behaviour
The response that occurs.
Consequences
What happens after the response.
Mere Exposure Effect
We can develop a positive attitude toward objects, people, events, issues if we are exposed to them repeatedly (no reward necessary).
Observational Learning
A learning process where an individual learns to reproduce a behaviour exhibited by another individual (called a model).
We are more likely to imitate attitudes from a model if we observe that the attitudes have positive consequences.
Vicarious Conditioning
The individual watches a models behaviour being either reinforced or punished.
Vicarious Reinforcement
Increases the likelihood of the observer behaving in a similar way to a model whose behaviour is reinforced.
Vicarious Punishment
The likelihood of the observer playing in a similar way is decreased as a result of seeing the models behaviour being punished.
Attention
Person must actively watch the model.
Retention
Person must hold a mental representation of the behaviour and remember it in order to imitate it later.
Reproduction
Person must have the motor skills to be able to reproduce the behaviour.
Motivation
Person must be motivated to demonstrate what has been learned.
Reinforcement
Influence the motivation to reproduce the observed behaviour and increases the likelihood of reproduction.
Observational Learning Processes
- attention
- retention
- reproduction
- motivation
- reinforcement
