attitudes Flashcards
attitude
- learned behavior that is a typical response of an individual towards an attitude object
factors affecting attitude formation
- past experience
- socialization
- peer group
- parental influence/upbringing
- media/role models
- culture/race/religion
what can attitudes lead to
prejudice
what is prejudice
- a preconceived opinion based on a faulty and inflexible generalization
what are the 3 components of attitude
- cognitive
- affective
- behavioral
cognitive component
our beliefs and knowledge that are formed through past experiences and from others
example - cognitive component
you believe spinning class is good for your health
affective component
our emotional reactions towards an attitude object
affective component example
you enjoy going to spinning class and feel good after going
behavioral component
how we actually respond (may not reflect our cognitive belief)
example behavioral component
you go go a spinning class twice a week
what is a stable attitude
all 3 components of attitude need to be in alignment and consistent
what is the model of attitude called
triadic model of attitude
example of an unstable attitude
- people still smoke (behavioral)
- even though they have knowledge of smoking is seriously bad for their health (cognitive)
- some say they enjoy it or makes them feel less anxious (affective)
cognitive dissonance
emotional conflict is created when an individual holds 2 or more opposing attitudes causing an imbalance in the triadic model
how is cognitive dissonance done
- introducing new information to challenge the current belief > cognitive competent changed
- making activity fun increasing enjoyment > affective component changed
- simplifying tasks to make it easier > behavioral component changed
cognitive consonance
the individual is motivated to remove the emotional conflict
what increases an individuals desire to change an attitude to reduce cognitive dissonance
- if they become more uncomfortable due to it
how can attitudes be changed
cognitive dissonance
persuasive communication
persuasive communication
a method of changing attitude through verbal persuasion
4 components of persuasive communication
persuader
message
recipient
situation
persuader
needs to be of high status
message
information must be accurate and clear
recipient
recipient needs to be open to persuasion and not stubborn
situation
the environment where the persuasion takes place should be where the recipient feels comfortable
persuader - example
a football coach trying to persuade a player to go to training
message - example
a football coach telling the player that training will improve their chances of being selected for the team
recipient - example
a stubborn player may make a counter argument that they are already good enough to make the team
situation - example
football coach could talk to the player away from the team after a successful performance
