Attitudes Flashcards
Attributions and relationships: 3 processes
Formation- facilitate communication and understanding- explanation for behaviour- making sense of each other.
Maintenance- Stable personalities constructed, reductions in attributions.
Dissolution- attributions increase- to regain understanding of behaviour
Attributions in relationships?
Fincham and Bradbury (1991)- happily married spouses- partners positive behaviour (internal) and negative behaviour (external). Distressed couples attribute the opposite way.
Define attitude’s
Allport- a mental and neural state of readiness organised through experience.
Hogg and Vaughan- relatively enduring organisations of beliefs, feelings and behaviour tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events and symbols.
What 3 components are there of attitudes?
AFFECT- how you feel
BEHAVIOURAL- what you do, perhap[s discirmate
COGNITVE- what you believe
One component model- like this object or not?
Two-component model- Based on Allport- mental readiness (predisposition) and judgemental responses.
Three component model- ABC model
Affective component- what you feel
Behavioural component- what you do
Cognitive component- what you believe
How can you measure attitudes?
Thurnstone scale
Likert scale
Interviews
Physiological measures- heart rate, pupil dilation, ERP.
La Piere (1934)
251 establishments
92% said would not serve Chinese guests in questionnaire
1% would accept - only 1 refused
An assumption that attitudes predict behaviour…
251 establishments- two years traveling the United States by car with a couple of Chinese ethnicity- only one refused service.
Questionnaires sent out- 81 restaurants and 47 hotels
92% said that they would not serve Chinese guests
7% unsure
1% would accept
What conclusions can we draw from la Piere’s study?
There is no link between attitudes and behaviour. Questionaire’s should only be used to assess ‘symbolic attitudes’ e.g. political/religious
Social desirability
The lost letter technique- does it really show an attitude?
Medical research 72% returned
Friends of: Communists and Nazi 25% returned
Less likely to mail letters to organisations they did not support
This has more validity than La Piere- actually observable attitudes.
71% private individual
Stanley Milgram and his colleagues dropped stamped letters in a variety of public locations. The letters were addressed to one of four recipients: “Medical Research Associates,” “Friends of the Communist Party,” “Friends of the Nazi Party,” or a private individual. People were less likely to return the letters if they were addressed to the Communist Party (25% returned) or the Nazi Party (25% returned) than if they were addressed to the Medical group (72% returned) or the private individual (71% returned). These results suggest that people were less likely to mail letters to organisations they did not support..
Distinguishing between attitudes and behaviour-measuring them at the same level. What processes are involved? THEORY OF REASONED ACTION
One’s behavioural intention is influenced by their attitude, subjective norms of others around them and perceived behavioural control.
Attitude change? Festinger cognitive dissonance
inconsistent behaviour and attitude= anxiety
Motivation to change one of them
FESTINGER COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
Inconsistent behaviour and attitudes causes anxiety. We all have an inner drive for these to align in harmony therefore we possess a motivation to change either the attitude or behaviour to avoid this cognitive dissonance.
Smoking cigarettes example- smoke (behaviour) and they know that smoking causes cancer (cognition), they are in a state of cognitive dissonance. So either change behaviour or adjust cognition- for example- that won’t happen to me or the results are not substantial.
Bem’s self perception model- observe own behaviour- come to conclusions about attitudes that drive that behaviour.
THOSE LACKING INITIAL ATTITUDES DEVELOP THEM BY OBSERVING THEIR OWN BEHAVIOUR.
Internal vs external attributions- Those lacking initial attitudes or emotional responses, develop them by observing their own behaviour and coming to conclusions as to what attitudes must have driven that behaviour.
Bem- actors observed their own behaviour.
Attitude change- third person effect
self-esteem and prior beliefs
Gender differences
Third person effect- I’m less susceptible than others- not influenced by the masses (personal bias)- those who pay less attention to this are more susceptible to attitude change.
Davison (1983) conducted surveys- P’s expressed that other New York voters were more influenced by campaign themes than they were personally, (2) other children were more influenced by television advertising than they had been personally.
Attitude change- self-esteem and prior beliefs (confirmation bias)
scrutinised longer, judged as weaker, more analysis
Low- more susceptible (Hovland)
Prior beliefs- We already have a bias towards argument that we do not like which do not align with our own beliefs. Edwards and Smith (1996)- 2 experiments- arguments that were incompatible with prior beliefs were scrutinised longer, more analysis and judged as weaker by participants. Evidence that people tend to accept and believe evidence that supports their prior beliefs and dismissing evidence that refutes their beliefs.
Attitude change- Gender differences
Sistruck and mcdcvid
The topic itself is important when reflecting on attitude change. Male topic- females are more susceptible and visa versa. For example, Sistruck and McDavid- males conformed more when identifying stereotypically female items such as sewing equipment and females conformed more when identifying mechanic tools.
What models of persuasion are there?
Elaboration likelihood model- high level of elaboration- great amount of cognition about the argument. When people attend carefully to a message they process it CENTRALLY, this creates careful thought and consideration of the informations merits. Therefore likely to depend on the merits of the argument itself.
Otherwise they process it peripherally (low elaboration)- rely on general impressions and presence of persuasion cues, mood, positive and negative cues- this is much less durable.
Heuristic-systematic model- when people attend carefully to the message, they process it systematically, if not they use heuristics or short cuts.
Resistance to persuasion?
Reactance- against perceived manipulation
Forewarning
Inoculation- studies used for drink driving, those who were shown videos, question and answer sessions were less likely to drink and drive in the face of persuasion cues.
Inoculation defence- provide weak counter-arguments which are easily refuted so in the face of stronger attacks people can maintain their attitudes and beliefs and not be persuaded.
Reactance- we value freedom of choice- react against perceived manipulation
Forewarning- reduces persuasion- perhaps time to create counter arguments.
INOCULATION- Brainwashing of Americans not exposed to challenges to their way of life. Create a supportive defence- enhance resistance by providing additional arguments to support beliefs. Studies used for drink driving, video shown and question and answer- less likely to do so in the face of persuasion.
Inoculation defence- Provide weak counter arguments- easily refuted enables them to maintain their beliefs in stronger attacks.
