attitudes Flashcards
what is an attitude?
an evaluation of some object
attitudes can be mixed or ambivalent, meaning that an object can be evaluated as bad/good at the same time
How do attitudes vary in their complexity?
some are low in complexity only taking one dimension into account
some can be high in complexity, taking multiple dimensions into account
the evaluation/attitude can be consistent or inconsistent across each dimension
inconsistent results in ambivalence
how do attitudes vary in strengths?
they vary in their strength according to their:
accessibility - how easily the attitude comes to mind/is expressed
extremity - deviation from the neutral midpoint
knowledge - how much you know about the issue
elaboration - how deeply you have thought about the object
what is an explicit attitude?
it is conscious, controlled and deliberate appraisal of an object and can be openly communicated with others
what is an implicit attitude?
an unconscious but automatic association of the object with an evaluation
developed through repeated pairing of stimuli
how are explicit attitudes measured?
typically using a self-report scale
relies on honestly, problem when reporting their attitudes on sensitive issues
how to overcome social desirability in self-report scales
add in a lie scale … how often do people engage in undesireable behaviours (gossiping)
how to measure implicit attitudes…
using reaction time tasks because it is hard for people to control their responses
Can do a priming task or IAT
in priming: attitude object presented very briefly and the subsequent stimuli (word like bad) is processed faster if associated with the object
what did LaPierre’s hospitality study find out about attitudes and Behaviour?
found that attitudes don’t always predict Behaviour
as they did a tour of the US with a chinese couple and even though 92% of establishments said they wouldn’t service chinese guests they still did
how does the specificity of the attitude impact behaviour?
for the attitude to predict a behaviour the attitude must also be specific
positive toward jogging - good predictor they will jog
what is the theory of planned behaviour?
explains that other factors besides attitudes determine behaviour
1) subjective norms - what friends think
2) attitude towards behaviour
3) perceived behavioural control
these lead into behavioural intentions and then onto behaviour
Study comparing implicit/explicit attitudes and behaviour
US participants had their explicit racism measured and they also completed a priming task as a measure of implicit racism
white participants interact with two partners (one white and one black)
there was evidence of modern racism, that explicit attitudes predicted their ratings of their partner and the implicit attitudes predicted blinking and lack of eye contact
what is self-perception theory?
that we infer and understand our attitudes by looking at our behaviour
what did Bem and McConnell (1970) find out about self-perception theory?
was a forced compliance experiment, people were asked to write a counter-attitudinal essay. after writing the essay they indicated that their pre-essay attitude was the same as the one written in the essay
what is the over-justification effect?
incentives can undermine motivation because we won’t attribute our behaviour to intrinsic interest
e.g. getting paid to do a task that we like makes us not want to do it
