attitudes Flashcards
attitude
a cognitive representation that summarizes evaluation of an attitude object
attitude objects
the self, other people, things, actions, events or ideas
attitudes have
direction
intensity
measuring attitudes
self-report on attitude scales observation of behaviour physiological measures, e.g. EMG reaction time measures the implicit association test
function of attitudes
help people master the environment (object appraisal/knowledge function, instrumental/ utilitarian function
help people connect to others: social identity/ value expressive function, impression management function
attitude formation
people build up information about an attitude object, including:
cognitive information: facts and beliefs
affective information: feelings and emotions about the object
behavioural information: information about past, present or future interactions w/ subject
persuasion
the process of forming, strengthening, or changing attitudes by communication
rational messages
provide cognitive information about an attitude object
emotional appraisals
associate affective information with the attitude object
superficial route to persuasion
focusing on accessible or salient information to make simple evaluative inferences about the attitude object
systematic route to persuasion
considering the validity and importance of attitude-relevant information about the attitude object
persuasion heuristic
an association of superficial cues with positive or negative evaluations
heuristic processing
relying on persuasion heuristics to evaluate an attitude object quickly and without much thought
persuasion heuristics
evaluative conditioning familiarity heuristic attractiveness heuristic expertise heuristic massage-length heuristic moods as heuristic cues
the mere exposure effect (Zajonc, 1968)
People prefer things to which they have been exposed more frequently
attractiveness heuristic
attractive sources are better liked, more persuasive
expertise heuristic
competence
trustworthiness
Massage-length heuristic
the more arguments in favor of an attitude object, the better the attitude object must be
self-monitoring
the extent to which people care about self-expression vs. self-presentation
Me and Mine motivation
Petty et al. (1981). Strong or weak arguments. Given by expert or nonexpert source.
Fear
can motivate processing. Too much fear can undermine ability to process messages
Defenses against persuasion
ignore opposing information
assimilation and contrast
biased processing
inoculation
Assimilation
information that is somewhat supportive of an established attitude is viewed as strongly supporting the attitude
biased processing
people accept supportive information at face value, criticize and reject opposing arguments.