Attitudes Flashcards
Define attitudes
Relative enduring sets of beliefs, feelings and intentions towards ‘object’
How many components of attitude are there; list them
3; affective/cognitive/behavioural
What is the behavioural component of attitude
intention of behaviour in accordance to attitude
What is the affective component of attitude
feelings of dis/like
What is the cognitive component of attitude
beliefs held about the object
What are 2 examples of attitude formation
classical conditioning and mere exposure
Outline the formation of attitudes via classical conditioning
(US) evoking (UR)
Repeated pairing of (US) with (CS)
Results in (CS) evoking (CR)
Outline the formation of attitudes via mere exposure and the psychologists involved
stimulus starts as neutral/slightly positive
more often you see it the more you
like it
effect might even be larger when it is subliminal (5ms)
Also applies to people- societal influence directs what you are repeatedly exposed to (limit of possibilities)
Bornstein and D’Agostino 1992
List 3 other ways attitudes can be formed
operant conditioning, observational learning, effort justification
what is attitude-behaviour consistency
factors influencing likelihood that a people’s attitude will be
consistent with their behaviour
What are the 4 factors influencing attitude-behaviour consistency
knowledge
personal relevancy
attitude accessibility
behavioural intentions
How does knowledge influence attitude-behaviour consistency
know a lot and it is firsthand knowledge then consistency will be higher
How does personal relevancy influence attitude-behaviour consistency
More personally relevant means more consistency as relevance = personal investment
How does attitude accessibility influence attitude-behaviour consistency
More accessible means more consistency as easier to bring to mind and act on
How does behavioural intent influence attitude-behaviour consistency
Behaviour that is intended/planned gives more consistency as specific aims to act a certain way
What is the self-perception theory and who proposed it
Bem, 1965
people infer own attitudes from their behaviour. observe
themselves similar to how observe others; look for
attributional explanations for behaviour.
What is cognitive dissonance and who proposed it
Festinger, 1957
Dissonance is an adverse state that motivated to reduce
Behaviour once performed cannot be taken back but attitude can be changed
What are the 2 theories on behaviour affecting attitude
self perception theory and cognitive dissonance theory
What is dissonance; what are the 3 discrepancies between
tension that arising from perceived discrepancy between:
attitudes and behaviours
behaviour and self-image
one attitude and another attitude
What is the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion
Dual process theory describing the change of attitudes. Model explains different ways of processing stimuli, why they are used, and their outcomes on attitude change
Outline the elaboration likelihood model
Starts with a persuasive communication; if that gives motivation to process persuasion then see if have ability to process; if do have all of these then central route processing occurs; if no to any then takes peripheral route.
Look at message/persuasive attempt.
Motivation affects audience factors; gives a high or low motivation to think about message.
High motivation leads to central route processing focussed on argument quality
Low motivation leads to peripheral route processing focussed on surface level features.
Persuasion outcome from central is lasting change resisting fade/counterattacks
Outcome from peripheral is temporary and susceptible to change
