Attitudes Flashcards
Attitude definition
can be defined as a person’s evaluations of various aspects of their social world
The focus of which is known as an attitude object
This could include attitudes towards other people, food, political parties, social issues, films, TV programmes and so on
What are the attitudes we hold like?
given that attitudes can be favourable or unfavourable they are sometimes also referred to as preferences
However must attitudes be negative or positive?
What is your attitude towards dentists?
In many cases the attitudes that we hold may be ambivalent
Or in other words we can hold both positive and negative attitudes towards the same attitude object
values vs attitudes
values for example refer to stable enduring beliefs we have about life overall
Unlike attitudes these beliefs are not just applied to specific objects or situations
So for example an individual’s beliefs about equality are more a reflection of their values than their attitudes
values influence attitudes
if someone has a strong belief in equality (i.e. a strong value) they are more likely to have a negative attitude about a situation where someone is discriminated against
It can though be difficult on occasions to determine the difference between an attitude and a value
Not surprisingly both values and attitudes influence our behaviour
For example values and attitudes about health and fitness can be a predictor of alcohol consumption (Homer and Kahle, 1988
Breckler 1984 describe the ABC model example
Affect Warm feelings toward kitten
Cognition Belief that kittens are entertaining
Behaviour Play with kittens(or watch cat videos on YouTube)
What components are in the abc MODEL
Cognitive – Our thoughts on the positive or negative aspects of the attitude object
Affective – Our positive or negative emotions towards the attitude object
Behavioural – Whether we approach or avoid an attitude object
Also known as whether we respond favourably or unfavourably
problem wirth abc model
one reason being that it does not always appear to fully explain behaviour
attitude complexity
also vary in terms of complexity and consistency
For example you may have a simple attitude towards kittens but a complex attitude towards a topic such as censorship in the media
If the your attitudes towards different parts of the attitude object are all in the same direction (e.g. positive or negative) then this means they are consistent
The more complex and consistent an attitude is the stronger it tends to be (Judd and Lusk, 1984)What might it suggest if an attitude is inconsistent?
attitude function types of function
the knowledge function
Attitudes are schemas which help us organise complex information about the world
The utilitarian function
Attitudes help us obtain rewards and avoid social sanctions and other punishments, as well affirming group membership (Nienhuis et al, 2001
the value expressive function
Attitudes may serve as a way for us to express our values, with attitudes that are strongly based on values being more resistant to change (Maio and Olson, 2000)
The ego defensive function
Positive attitudes about ourselves may protect us from psychological threats, such as doubts or low self-esteem Typified by the numerous websites and books that promise to help you gain a ‘positive self-attitude’ Many of which have very little basis in research
whats the mere exposure effect
research suggests that simply being exposed to something can change your attitude, often in a more positive way (Zajonc, 1968)
A phenomena used extensively by advertisers
This process suggests that people can form attitudes with very little actual conscious thought about the attitude object
Bornstein and D’Agostino (1992) argue that this effect is caused by people assuming that they must like familiar objects more
condtioning - attitudes
social learning is a strong determinant of our behaviour and cognitions, including attitudes
Classical conditioning suggests that if a negative response is associated with a particular stimulus then a negative attitude may form towards that stimulus
Krosnick et al (1992) argue that this often occurs outside of the awareness of the learner, in a process called subliminal learning
Same basic principle as subliminal advertising, but different in executio
instrumental conditioning - attitudes
attitudes may also be formed through instrumental conditioning
This is where a behaviour is followed by a positive outcome, which makes you more likely to repeat that behaviour in future
If therefore you express an attitude that receives a positive response from those around you then you are more likely to express that attitude again in future
Which raises interesting questions on if this in turn makes your attitude stronge
observational learning
as demonstrated by researchers such as Bandura we are strongly influenced in our behaviour and attitudes by our observation of those around us
It has been noted that children for example may often express very negative attitudes about other ethnic groups that they have never actually met, simply because of the attitudes that other people have around them (Aboud, 2005)
Fortunately experience can seem to counter this effect
heider 1958 attitude balance
argues that we are driven to hold attitudes that are balanced
That is attitudes which are consistent with each other and do not contradict each otherIf attitudes are unbalanced then we will try to find ways to balance these
So if you don’t like a football team that your friend supports you may either reduce your negative attitude towards that football team or your positive attitude towards your friend
social representqtions theory
as noted by attitude balance theory our attitudes are influenced by those around us
Social representations theory (Moscovici, 1988) expands on this and argues that attitudes are built up by groups of people through social interactions
For instance a group living in an area of London that has high levels of poverty may form a social representation of wealthier Londoners (and vice versa)
However this theory has been criticised on several point
Measuring attitudes
are you consciously aware of what all your attitudes are?
Can we simply ask people what their attitudes are?
Do you necessarily have an opinion until someone asks you?Attitude scales are often used to measure attitudes
This involves presenting participants with a series of statements and asking them how much the agree or disagree
this method of measuring attitudes is relatively quick and easy
However is it always appropriate?
Observational research can be used to infer attitudes from behaviours
For example determining if a reported attitude of belief in equality is actually backed up by behaviour in the work place
In addition ‘lie scales’ may be included to establish if people are just responding in a way which makes them look good
‘I am nice to everyone all the time
indirect measures
one techniques that can be used to discourage honest answers is the bogus pipeline procedure
Although this does raise a few ethical issues
In addition some researchers (e.g. Cacioppoand Petty (1979) have used electromyography(EMG) to measure subtle contractions of facial muscles, which might give an indication of attitudes
More recently developments in brain imaging and social neuroscience have been used to explore which parts of the brain activate depending on whether an attitude is positive or negative
implicit and explicit attitudes
whilst implicit (unconscious) and explicit (conscious) attitudes are usually positively correlated there can be exceptions to this
People may form implicit attitudes before they form explicit attitudes (Gregg et al, 2006)
Implicit attitudes are also more likely to be low in social desirability (Degner and Wentura, 2008
)They may also influence behaviour
For example Dovidio et al (2002) found that implicit racial attitudes were reflected in participant’s body language when interacted with people of different races
impicit and explicit attitudes - Gawronski et al 2011
have put forward the associative-propositional evaluation (APE) model, which argues that implicit and explicit attitudes involve separate mental processes
Implicit attitudes are created by associative processes, such as the similarity between one thing and another
Also referred to as transference by Freud
Explicit attitude on the other hand arise from propositional processes, and refer to whether the implicit attitudes we have are evidenced by the information that we have
If this model is correct then it has implications for the ways in which we may try to challenge negative attitudes
cognitive dissonance
of course the case that our behaviours do not always match our attitudes
If your friend spent the last of their money on a new outfit would you tell them how awful you thought it made them look?
Cognitive dissonance refers to when we are aware that our behaviour is not consistent with our attitudes
To reduce this dissonance people may change their attitudes
Cooper and Brehm (1971) further argue that for cognitive dissonance to occur the individual has to realise that the inconsistency could have negative consequences
cognitive dissonance pt 2
what if though the attitude we hold is a strong one and we do not want to change it?
For example if someone has a strong view on abortion but provides emotional support to a friend who makes a decision the person doesn’t agree with
In these instances people may try to address their cognitive dissonance by engaging in self-affirmation
That is they remind themselves of the positive aspects of their behaviour and the importance of their attitudes (Elliot and Devine, 1994)
Or has also been noted they may use other means to reduce the discomfort caused by cognitive dissonance, such as alcohol use (Steele et al, 1981)
