Attitudes Flashcards
What are attitudes?
psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour. They may be explicit or implicit.
What are the components for attitudes?
One- component model
Two component model
Three- component model
Louis Thurstone
Developed formal technuqie to measure attitudes, based on religious beliefs. Providing statements and getting them to score them.
Rensis Likert (1932)
Developed most used attitude scale, the likert scale.
One component model
affective evaluation (positive or negative) of an object.
- emotional attitude.
Two Component model
thought and feelings combined gives us a mental readiness to evaluate and influence responding to attitude objects. cognitive and emotion.
Three component model
Rosenberg and Hovland (1960)cognition, affect and behavioural tendencies. Can be referred to ABC approach.
What study showed linking attitudes to behaviour.
Zanna and Rempel 1988, can only have an attitude if there is something to focus on the make an evaluation which produces favourable or unfavourable behaviour. The way we feel influences how we respond.
What are some other terms of attitudes
directly at minority: prejudice
specific individuals: liking, interpersonal attraction
about one self : self- esteem.
Why is it important for social psychologist to study attitudes.
influence behaviour, social psychologist are interest in predicting behaviour are interested in attitudes. covers many topics ranging from health behaviours to racial prejudice.
What are attitudes for?
Rapid and automatic evaluation of rewarding or harmful objects confers a substantial survival advantage. McDowell et al (2015) : sexual health information people are given change attitudes and therefore behaviour on sexual health.
Zajonc (1980)
Argues that attitudes are primitive ( an evolutionary sense) basic response to the environment. Favourable attitude : approach it
unfavourable= avoid.
Roskos- Ewoldsen and Fazio (1992)
view attitudes as mental short cuts which focus attention on salient objects in the environment and influence interpretation of information, automatically guide behaviour.
What are Katz (1960) four functions of attitudes
Knowledge : information provided in the form of mental shortcuts.
Instrumental: minimise damage/ losses and maximise gains.
Value expressive : provide social role by communication social values.
Ego-defensive: protect ones self-confidence by resisting damaging ‘truths.
What does the cognitive consitency theory say about attitudes
We change attitudes to avoid cognitive dissonance. Heider’s balance theory : to improve the way we feel attitudes and behaviours should be congruent.
Where do attitudes come from ?
Cognitive information, direct experience, conditioning, behavioural information
Attitudes arising from cognitive information
Theory of reasoned action: Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) - to predict behaviour it is good to look at the psychological processes that link attitudes and behaviour by incorporating social components such as subjective norms. Subjective norm, attitude towards behaviour, behavioural intention and the behaviour.
What is the theory of planned behaviour
Develops from theory of reasoned action. Includes both behavioural and normative beliefs from the theory of reasoned action but adds perceived behavioural control - extent the individual beliefs they are capable of achieving the behaviour.
Expectancy- value model
Eccles et al, 1983 - how we develop particular attitudes on a cognitive level. Associated with achievement related choices. Expectancy (e.g. cycling) the value we put on the outcomes e.g. its healthy but time consuming. Overall evaluation.
Arnold (2018)
Application of EV to health behaviours and decision- making.
Mere exposure effect on how attitudes are developed.
Zajon (1968) - can induce a positive attitude. More times participants saw a character the more favourable their rating of its meaning (Chinese characters).
What are the limitations and strengths of the mere exposure effect on attitudes.
Bernstein (1989) : after many exposures, attitudes level-off (ceiling effect).
RLA : phobias (flooding, systematic desnetiation)
reducing prejudice
consumer behaviour : purchasing products the more they are exposed, marketing and advertisement.
Classical conditioning on how attitudes develop.
original neutral object evokes a positive or negative evaluation because it is consistently paired with an object which ‘naturally’ evokes positive or negative reaction. Riley and Anderson (2015) pleasant music paired with neutral stimulus (product advertised) more likely to buy product.
Janis, Kaye and Kirchner (1965)
effect of drinking soft beverage whist trying to be persuaded: pleasant evaluation of the soft drink was paired with message. Demonstrated subliminal priming and persuasion.
Galizio and Hendrick (1972)
songs presented to RPs either accompanied with guitar music or no music, lyrics accompanied by music were more persuasive.
operant conditioning on how attitudes develop.
Behaviours associated with rewards increase in frequency.
Behaviours associated with negative outcomes such as punishment decrease.
attitudes will thus increase with positive response and decrease with negative.
self perception theory Bem 1972
people derive attitudes about themselves based on their own behaviour. only works where either new, weak or ambitious attitudes already exist.
Chaiken and Baldwin (1981)
Rps in three groups: questionnaire n making past any-ecological behaviour salient, past pro- ecological behaviour salient and control well developed attitudes. Environmental attitudes were influenced by recollection of past behaviour.
