Attitudes Flashcards
Define Attitudes
Attitudes are the enduring positive or negative evaluations of people, objects, & ideas
What is Attitude Object?
Whatever it is that we have an attitude about
What are the 3 components that Attitudes are made of?
Attitudes are made of the ABCs!
+Affective: emotional reaction towards the attitude object (feelings)
+Cognitive: belief about the attitude object
+Behavioral: actions taken in respect to object
Attitudes about shopping for a Car example:
- I’m test driving the new Suburu and I am loving it and am so excited about it!
- I bought the car so I MUST love the car!
- I feel good about the safety rating and the gas mileage.
- Affective - I am emotionally reacting to this car
- Behavioral - I took action and bought the car
- Cognitive -I have a belief about the attitude object
What does the following mean:
One component can be stronger in determining attitudes
Though all attitudes have affective, behavioral, and cognitive components, any given attitude can be based more on one type of experience than another.
When I’m at the dealership asking: “How many miles to the gallon? What’s the warranty? Payment?”
What attitude do I have?
Cognitively based attitude - I want to know the relevant Facts.
I’m at the store: “OMG I love how this dress makes me feel. I feel so sexay! The colors are giving me life!”
What attitude do I have?
Affectively based - I’m being really emotional about it and using sensories and aesthetic to decide on purchase.
About how many people (in fraction) know nothing about politicians but have very strong FEELINGS bout the candidates?
2/3 - Americans are fucking stupid
Religion and politics are linked to what? What type of attitude is this connected to?
Religion and politics are closely linked to people’s values, which are affected by affectively-based attitudes.
Why do we feel so strongly about idiotic things (affectively based attitudes)?
Because we need to validate our own values so badly that we express things this way
T o F: Despite the obvious, affective-based attitudes are actually governed by logic
Nope - it’s not governed by logic
Pairing new years with grandma is an example of what?
Classical Conditioning - the learning component of affectively-based attitudes.
“I guess I like him since I’m always around him” is what type of attitude?
This is behaviorally based attitude - similar to self-perception theory
Sam thinks all race are equal; it governs his behaviors – he signs petitions to end segregation.
What type of attitude does he have?
Sam has explicit and conscious attitude about race - it is consciously endorsed and easily reported
Sam grew up in a racist neighborhood, negative feelings are triggered automatically and unconsciously; he doesn’t even realize or understand why this is happening; it drives his behaviors and how he treats someone.
What type of attitude does he have?
Implicit attitudes – unconscious
Attitudes that are involuntary, uncontrollable, & unconscious evaluations
T or F: Attitudes are not easily swayed.
False - Attitudes change as time passes (approval ratings for Bush went up and down based on social influence and other factors)
What can cause attitude changes?
Cognitive dissonance: Attitudes can change due to this; when our external behavior isn’t in line with our behaviors, and we can’t find external justification (who can I blame?!). Then we have to look inward.
Counter-attitudinal advocacy: changing our attitude to justify ourselves
Can work individually, but hard to induce on a mass scale
What is the
Yale Attitude Change Approach
It is a type of persuasive communication to see how people are influenced:
“Who said what to whom”
Who –> who’s giving the message?
What –> what’s the message?
Whom –> the audience
What does the Elaboration Likelihood Model address?
It specifies when people are most likely persuaded and influenced by the superficial characteristics of the message or the true content - it tries to tease out what other influences are there other than the content itself.
What are the 2 ways in which persuasive communication can cause attitude change?
What’s the difference between the two?
Central Route: Strength of arguments itself (content) - requires motivation and attention from listeners
Peripheral Route: Audience is swayed by surface characteristics.
When not motivated, facts of message don’t matter; audience attends to superficial content
+Who gave the speech? Who’s in the advertisement?
Lincoln’s advertisement usage of Matthew McConnhay is what type of persuasion route?
Peripheral Route –> We’re swayed by him other than the facts
When are people most likely to take the Central route of persuasion?
- When something is personally relevant to them
- Ex: Social security benefits are very important to a 70 y.o, but not to a 18 y.o - Need for Cognition: the extent to which people engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activities
- College students have a high need for cognition; want to understand the world better; some people don’t think at all.
- Persuasion fact depends on quality of argument
The ability to pay attention & understand
Do we understand the message?
Which route is better for long-lasting attitude change?
More long lasting if it occurs through Central Route.
Developing arguments that are personally relevant to people will help people to think through Central Routes
What is the best way to change attitudes through Central route?
In order to get ppl to change attitudes through Central Route is through motivation to pay Attention
“Practice safer sex, wearing seat belts, staying away from drugs, not texting while driving”
Are all examples of what type of attitude-change provoking route?
Central route -> fear-arousing communication
T or F: It is best to instill the most fear possible to consumers for them to buy your product.
False, moderate amount of fear and information is best because too much fear will make us check-out, too little won’t grab attention
An advertisement shows amputated people from smoking, then show the phone number and website - is this an effective tactic?
Yes because it induced a moderate amount of fear then gave people a solution
How can heuristics affect our decision making process? What are the dangers of this?
Instead of considering the actual reasons, we ask ourselves “how do I feel about it?”
This can cause us to misattribute good feelings onto a decision (i.e., commercials with ~feel good messages like Suburu and family and dog commercials)
Blanca wants to sell the floor model washer to a couple - what type of attitude should she use to appeal to the customers?
She needs to appeal to their cognitive based attitudes (not arouse emotion); they want to know where to get a good deal vs. basing things on values.
Shane wants to up his sales in perfume in their department. What type of attitude is best to induce in his customers?
Affectively based attitudes; he needs to appeal to their emotions… they need to FEEL sexy.
What are the cultural differences between western and eastern groups?
Cultural differences ~
Western: base attitudes more on individuality & self-improvement
Eastern: base attitudes more on standing in social group
Describe Attitude Inoculation.
Introducing small doses of counter-arguments (pros and cons) will help us ward off attempts to change our mind.
Inoculation -> vaccine (small doses of the virus makes you immune)
Are genes involved in attitudes?
Maybe - twins who weren’t raised together happen to share the same attitudes about things like jazz music and death penalty
What is one way to stop a friend from smoking?
Making them give antismoking speeches - this would make it harder for them to find external reasons for giving the speech
What is the best way to change mass people’s attitudes?
Persuasive communication which advocates a particular side of an issue.
According to the Yale Attitudinal approach, what types of people are more easily influenced?
Distracted, low intelligence, moderate self-esteem, and those between 18-25.
T or F: If an issue is personally relevant, people can be persuaded by a non-expert speaker vs. a professional speaker.
True, according to the elaboration likelihood method.
What’s most important when a topic is of low relevance, even if the arguments are strong?
Who the speaker was
What type of people are likely to be motivated to pay close attention to a speech?
those who have a high need for cognition
How does social influence affect our attitudes?
Real or imagined thoughts of other people affect our attitudes and decisions
If you had to craft an advertisement for the American Cancer Society, how would you do it?
- Arouse just enough fear to get people to use the Central route of persuasion.
- Offer a solution such as a number to call or a product to offer.
What is Reactance Theory?
Why does this happen?
Kind of like rebelling - when threatened harshly, individuals will perform the act (smoking) to relieve themselves of the unpleasant state of reactive arousal - This is to restore personal freedom and choice!
When does accessibility of our attitude matter most?
When we have to decide how to act on the spot without having time to think it over
What is the best known theory of how attitudes predict Deliberate behaviors?
Theory of planned behaviors
According to the Theory of Planned Behavior, when people have time to contemplate how they are going to behave, what are the 3 best predictors of their intended behavior?
- Specific Attitudes toward the specific behavior (i.e., specific attitudes such as women who responded to answers about using birth control within the next 2 years was a better predictor of their behavior than a general question)
- Subjective norms - how would people they care about view the behavior in question?
- Perceived behavioral control - if people think it’s easy to do something or not will determine whether they will do the behavior (i.e., eating a salad is harder than grabbing a burger for many)
