Attitudes and Attitude change

Question 1

What is an attitude?

Answer 1

Enduring sets of feelings , beliefs and behavioural intentions towards a object, person, event or symbol

Question 2

What are the three levels of analysis in terms of attitudes?

Answer 2

Affect- feelings towards a target
Cognition- Motivation or intention to behave
Behaviour

Question 3

What could be the causes of developing feelings towards a target?

Answer 3

• classical conditioning
• vicarious classical conditioning of a significant other
• mere exposure (Zajonc 1968 said if we are repeatedly exposed to a neutral object we will develop positive feelings about it)

Question 4

Are attitudes a good predictor of behaviour?

Answer 4

Attitudes are not a good predictor of behaviour as people do not always act i the way that is consistent to their attitudes.
attitude specificity, the more specific the attitude the better it predicts behaviour

Question 5

evidence as to whether attitudes are a good predictor of behaviour

Answer 5

Lapiere 1934
He visited 250 food establishments with an Asian couple, at the time there was a strong prejudice against Asians, and found they were only refused service once. However when he wrote to all the establishments after asking if they would serve Asian people, 92% said they would not. This showed people do not act in line with their attitudes.

Question 6

What is the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behaviour?

Answer 6

Ajzen and Fishbein 1975,1985
The theory says that someone’s intention to behave in a certain way is strengthened if they have a positive attitude to the behaviour, they believe many people have a favourable attitude to the behaviour, they believe they have the resources and opportunity to engage the behaviour and their intention is very specific.
The theory of planned behaviour is an extension to involve how much controls person feels they have

Question 7

What are the limitations of the theory of planned behaviour and reasoned action?

Answer 7

• timeframe between intent and behaviour isnt mentioned
• does not consider variables like fear, mood, past experience, threat etc
• Does not explain how behaviour might change over time

Question 8

Research into theory of planned behaviour and reasoned action

Answer 8

Manstead 1983 used this model in a study into breastfeeding. He looked at the women’s motivation to breastfeed in comparison with their attitudes towards it and that of their partners and significant others. Using this model he was able to predict 60% of behaviour.

Question 9

What is cognitive dissonance? Festinger 1957

Answer 9

Cognitive dissonance is where we perceive a discrepancy between our attitudes and our behaviour , behaviour and self image or our differing attitudes and so we experience an unpleasant state

Question 10

how may we reduce cognitive dissonance?

Answer 10

• Downplay the importance of behaviour
• justify our behaviour
• change our behaviour
• change our attitudes towards the behaviour (this is where behaviour can change attitudes)

Question 11

Give key points of festinger and carlsmith 1959 research

Answer 11

• do a boring task then asked to recommend it tot= the next participant then rate how much they enjoyed it
• control, $1, $20
• control rated lowest, $20 rated middle and $1 rated highest
• because $1 does not seem like adequate justification of them going against their true thoughts so they change their attitudes (rating) to match their behaviour (telling participants it was fun)

Question 12

List the three key aspects of persuasive communication by Hovland 1953

Answer 12

Aspects of persuasion

• Source of communication
• Content of the message
• The audience or target of persuasion

Question 13

What about a source affects its persuasiveness?

Answer 13

• attractiveness

- credibility

Question 14

What about the content of a message affects its persuasiveness?

Answer 14

• audience knows very little or has a very strong standpoint then a one sided argument is most effective
• medium informed audience then a two sided argument is more effective
• emphasising positive aspects

Question 15

Language used in politics, how does it vary deoending on audience?

Answer 15

• abstract language used when the audience has views more in line with the speaker
  -Concrete language is used when trying to persuade those with different views
  menegatti and Rubini 2013

Question 16

Give an example of systematic processing and heuristic processing when considering an argument

Answer 16

• systematic processing is considering the strength of an argument
• heuristic processing is only considering the amount of arguments

Question 17

What aspects about the audience of communication affects persuasion?

Answer 17

• average self esteem are harder to convince than high or low self esteem people
• how personally involved a person is in the issue
• cognatic capacity (how much itme an resources we have at the time of the argument)

Question 18

Name 2 dual processing models of persuasion

Answer 18

• Elaboration likelihood model by Petty and Cacioppo 1986

- Systematic versus heuristic processing model

Question 19

Describe the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion

Answer 19

Persuasion can either take a central or peripheral route.

• Central route is where someone critically thinks about an arguments strengths and weaknesses and thinks about the themes. The issue is at the centre of the argument not emotional appeal
• Peripheral route uses associations between the argument and positive stimuli which have nothing to do with the substance of the argument . Emotional appeal is at the centre.

Question 20

Describe the systematic versus heuristic processing model by Chiaken 1980

Answer 20

• Systematic processing is where we focus on the actual substance and important parts of an argument
• Heuristic processing is when we focus on superficial, simple, heuristics of an argument

Question 21

How does mood affect processing and how is this often used?

Answer 21

When people are in a goo mood when they are presented with information they may be classically conditioned to associate that information or the argument with feeling happy. Therefore becoming a heurstic cue.
Ads use this a lot, like nostagia being associated with a product

Question 22

How do scare tactics affect persuasion?

Answer 22

Moderate levels of fear increase persuasion as it makes us attend to the message in the argument.
Too much fear distracts us
Fear tends to only be good for persuasion when paired with a fear reducing recommendation and when it is personally relevant.