Attitudes

Question 1

Attitude Definition

Answer 1

A positive, negative, or mixed evaluation of some specific object; The extent to which we like or dislike something.

Question 2

Properties of attitude

Answer 2

Valence, Extremity, & Strength

Question 3

Valence

Answer 3

Is your overall evaluation positive or negative

Question 4

Extremity

Answer 4

How positive or negative is it

Question 5

Strength

Answer 5

How strong or weak is your attitude (How easily can it be changed?)

Question 6

Scale metaphor of attitude properties

Answer 6

Valence describes whether the scale tips to the left right or not at all. Extremity describes how much the scale tips, which is dependent on the amount of positivity or negativity felt towards an object.

Question 7

Attitude Functions

Answer 7

1. Object appraisal (The fundamental function of attitudes)
   -Help us classify things in our environment , thus organizing and simplifying our lives
   -By knowing what is good and bad in our environment, we are able to maximize rewards (by approaching the good) and minimize punishments (by avoiding the bad)
2. Knowledge function: Help people organize and interpret new information
3. Value expression function: Used to express central values or beliefs
4. Social adjustment function: attitudes affect our social relationships (can help or hurt them)
5. Ego defensive function: attitudes can help people protect their self-esteem

Question 8

Attitude Structures

Answer 8

The tripartite model of attitudes
States that attitudes have 3 bases (ABC): Affect, Behavior, Cognition
Attitude is impacted by affect, behavior, cognition but can also predict affect, behavior, cognition

Ex: Vegetarian attitude
Belief: that all creatures are equal
Affect: Feeling sadness and guilt about slaughtering animals
Behavior: Never buy or eat meat

Question 9

LaPiere’s (1934) study

Answer 9

A Chinese couple (and LaPiere) traveled across the U.S.
LaPierre wrote to establishments they visited asking if tehy would serve a Chinese visitor 90% said no. However, a majority (249/250) of establishments did provide service
Thus early studies suggested a weak relationship between attitudes and behavior and a 1969 review effectively killed research on attitudes for years.

Question 10

Theory of Planned Behavior

Answer 10

Behavior is predicted by intention, which is
predicted by 3 factors
1) The attitude toward the behavior – specificity principle
2) Subjective norms – our perceptions of what others think we should do
3) Perceived behavioral control – nothing prevents you from doing the
behavior (i.e., you can engage in the behavior if you wanted to)
Attitudes will predict spontaneous behaviors only when they are
highly accessible

Question 11

Specificity Principle

Answer 11

To predict behavior from attitudes, match the
level of specificity between the attitude and the behavior
* To predict specific behaviors, measure specific attitudes
* To predict general behaviors, measure general attitudes

Question 12

Direct measures/Self report of attitudes

Answer 12

Ask people what their attitudes are; this assumes that people know their attitudes and will honestly report them
Cons:
-Context sensitivity:
-Scale: The scale one uses can affect the answers
-Question wording: Wording can give off negative or positive feelings
-Preceding questions: Priming
-Social desirability response bias: Tendency of respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others

Question 13

Indirect (Covert) measures of attitudes

Answer 13

People don’t realize their attitudes are being assessed and don’t even need to know what their attitudes are
-Physiological measures: E.g., Facial EMG, EEG, fMRI
-“Implicit measures”: E.g., sequential priming, IAT
-Nonverbal behavior: E.g., Eye contact, seating distance
Problem with indirect measures:
-Expensive to collect
-Difficult to interpret
-Predictive of behavior?