Attitudes Flashcards
What is the definition of attitudes
Attitudes are evaluations of ourselves, of other people, and issues with some degree of flavor and disfavor
Are we born with attitudes?
Not born with evaluations, learn how to evaluate something. Learn in social, political, cultural context
What is your attitude toward yourself called
Attitude toward yourself = self esteem
Explain the three bases: affect
Affect; emotions, or feelings stimulated by the object of an attitude, gut feeling, not rational, not governed by logic
What are the 3 bases of attidues
A: affect
B: behavioural intention
C: cognition
Explain the 3 bases: behavioural intention
B: behavioral intention; predisposition to act in a certain way, self-perception. Intention not action
Explain the 3 bases: cognition
Cognition: beliefs or ideas people have about the object of an attitude, weighing the pluses and minuses for making a logical decision. Thinking of the concept
What is the tri-component theory
The A,B,C components of an attitude are a single entity. Fall into 1 concept with 3 dimensions. All factors are interrelated
What is the separate entities view of attitudes theory
A, B, C are each separate entities which may or may not be intercorrelated
When is affect usually used in determining attitude
Used when evokes emotion (used when feelings are attached)
- Spider, lion, partner, exotic foods, music, jewelry
When is cognitive usually used in determining attitude
Characteristics used to describe utility based items (used when no feelings attached)
- Vacuum, kitchen mixer, oven
What are the 3 main determinants of attitude strength
1) Ambivalence
2) Accessibility
3) Subjective Experiences
Explain the main determinants of attitude strength and how they effect persuasion: ambivalence
Ambivalence: having mixed feelings about something
The more ambivalent attitudes are, the easier they are to be persuaded
Explain the main determinants of attitude strength and how they effect persuasion: accessibility
Accessibility: how easy it is for the attitude/evaluation of something to come to mind
The less accessible attitudes are, the easier they are to be persuaded
What are the 2 attitude dimensions
1) Explicit attitudes
2) Implicit attidues
Explain the main determinants of attitude strength and how they effect persuasion: subjective experiences
Subjective experiences: base attitude on own behavior
The more experience there is, the harder it is for an attitude to be persuaded
Explain explicit attitudes
What you express
Ex. Expressing you are pro-migration
Explain implicit attiudes
The subconiosius, biases
Ex. you may think you are an ally but if you see a same-sex couple being intimate you may feel discomfort. You are implicitly homophobic
What are the issues with self reporting measures
Problems: wording of questions, ordering of items, reluctance of respondents to express some attitudes
What are the 2 ways of measuring attidues:
1) Self reporting measures
2) Covert measures
What are covert measures
Studying people’s behavior instead of what they exactly say
Implicit association test (IAT), measures implicit biases of attitudes people may not know they have
What is the relationship between attitude and behaviour
Non constant, external dispositions can greatly influence peoples behaviours
What is the correspondence principle?
Attitudes and behaviors have to be measured at the same level of specificity or generality
Specific question should measure specific behavior
General question should measure general behavior
How do people reduce cognitive dissonance
- Change one of the cognitive elements
- Introducing a third element
- Seeking others opinions and information
What is the cognitive dissonance theory
Inconsistency among attitudes leads to tension which motivations people in the direction of attitude change
Explain how “r” is used in correlation studies
If R = 1, there is 100% correlation
If R= 0, there is no correlation
