attitudes

Question 1

attitude

Answer 1

a cognitive representation that summarizes evaluation of an attitude object

Question 2

attitude objects

Answer 2

the self, other people, things, actions, events or ideas

Question 3

attitudes have

Answer 3

direction

intensity

Question 4

measuring attitudes

Answer 4

self-report on attitude scales
observation of behaviour
physiological measures, e.g. EMG
reaction time measures
the implicit association test

Question 5

function of attitudes

Answer 5

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

Question 6

attitude formation

Answer 6

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

Question 7

persuasion

Answer 7

the process of forming, strengthening, or changing attitudes by communication

Question 8

rational messages

Answer 8

provide cognitive information about an attitude object

Question 9

emotional appraisals

Answer 9

associate affective information with the attitude object

Question 10

superficial route to persuasion

Answer 10

focusing on accessible or salient information to make simple evaluative inferences about the attitude object

Question 11

systematic route to persuasion

Answer 11

considering the validity and importance of attitude-relevant information about the attitude object

Question 12

persuasion heuristic

Answer 12

an association of superficial cues with positive or negative evaluations

Question 13

heuristic processing

Answer 13

relying on persuasion heuristics to evaluate an attitude object quickly and without much thought

Question 14

persuasion heuristics

Answer 14

evaluative conditioning
familiarity heuristic
attractiveness heuristic
expertise heuristic
massage-length heuristic
moods as heuristic cues

Question 15

the mere exposure effect (Zajonc, 1968)

Answer 15

People prefer things to which they have been exposed more frequently

Question 16

attractiveness heuristic

Answer 16

attractive sources are better liked, more persuasive

Question 17

expertise heuristic

Answer 17

competence

trustworthiness

Question 18

Massage-length heuristic

Answer 18

the more arguments in favor of an attitude object, the better the attitude object must be

Question 19

self-monitoring

Answer 19

the extent to which people care about self-expression vs. self-presentation

Question 20

Me and Mine motivation

Answer 20

Petty et al. (1981). Strong or weak arguments. Given by expert or nonexpert source.

Question 21

Fear

Answer 21

can motivate processing. Too much fear can undermine ability to process messages

Question 22

Defenses against persuasion

Answer 22

ignore opposing information
assimilation and contrast
biased processing
inoculation

Question 23

Assimilation

Answer 23

information that is somewhat supportive of an established attitude is viewed as strongly supporting the attitude

Question 24

biased processing

Answer 24

people accept supportive information at face value, criticize and reject opposing arguments.

Question 25

Lord, Ross, and Lepper (1979)

Answer 25

Students supported or opposed capital punishment. Read studies supporting or opposing it. Rated persuasiveness of the studies.

Question 26

Inoculation

Answer 26

if people know their attitudes are going to be challenged, they can gather information that will help refute the challenge

Question 27

subliminal stimuli

Answer 27

stimuli that we don’t perceive consciously

Question 28

self-perception theory

Answer 28

notice own behaviors favors or opposes some object, then draw conclusion about your attitude

Question 29

Foot-in-the-door technique

Answer 29

inducing someone to perform a small act favoring some object in order to make attitudes toward the object more favorable

Question 30

cognitive dissonance

Answer 30

uncomfortable state produced by awareness of inconsistencies among beliefs, attitudes, and actions.

Question 31

Four requirements for dissonance

Answer 31

1. Individual perceives action as inconsistent with attitude
2. Individual perceives the action as freely chosen.
3. Individual experiences uncomfortable state of arousal.
4. Individuals attributes arousal to the inconsistency

Question 32

reducing dissonance

Answer 32

1. justifying attitude-discrepant behaviour
2. justifying effort
3. justifying decisions.

Question 33

The processing payoff

Answer 33

the processing involved in reducing dissonance creates strong, stable attitudes

Question 34

Alternatives to attitude change

Answer 34

1. trivialize behaviour
2. bolster beliefs consistent with behaviour.
3. minimize personal responsibility.
4. attribute arousal to other causes
   - alcohol consumption for dissonance avoidance.
   self-affirmation.

Question 35

dissonance reduction

Answer 35

involves more extensive processing, and occurs when attitude is meaningful or inconsistency is extreme

Question 36

Theory of reasoned action (fishbein & ajzen, 1975)

Answer 36

• Attitudes cause intentions
• intentions in turn drive actual behaviour
• more specific intentions more likely to have influence

Question 37

implicit attitudes

Answer 37

less controllable, more automatic forms of behaviour

Question 38

explicit attitudes

Answer 38

more controllable, deliberative forms of behaviour