Attitudes and Behaviour Flashcards
what is an attitude and what are the two types of attitudes
mental representation of summary evaluation of an attitude object
> explicit attitudes
expressed and shared to others
consciously accessible
measured by explicit measurements (likert scales, semantic difference scales)
the presence of social desirability bias
> implicit attitudes
consciously inaccessible/does not want to report
measured by implicit measurements (physiological responses, RT)
what are the bases, functions, and strengths of attitudes
> bases
affection: emotions evoked by the object
behavioural: previous interactions with the object
cognitive: beliefs of the object
the weighing of the bases can be unevenly distributed according to the object
> functions
knowledge function
(summarising the attitude object)
instrumental function
(guiding behaviour)
social identity function
(to express what their identities and values are)
impression function
(fitting self into the group or relationship)
self-esteem function
(maintain self-esteem to protect self)
> strength
strong attitudes
(tend to be confident and certain, based on one of the three bases, hardly to be persuaded)
what are the formations of the attitudes
based on the ABC bases
affection
familiarity breeds liking
the more familiar the item is > the easier to process the item > the ease brings positive attitudes to the object
behavioural
direct behaviour influence
self perception
cognitive dissonance reduction
cognitive
reasoned inference
what are three of the many processes that lead to attitude change
social influence, perceived norms, cognitive dissonance reduction
explain the elaboration likelihood model (the processing stages, the two processing channels, how are attitudes from the central route different, what influences the route selection and what influences the attitude change in each route)
the processing stages
sender delivers a message to a receiver, then the receiver processes the information, then leads to attitude change
central and peripheral
central processing:
stronger change
more predictive
stable
resistant to change
motivation the capacity
if the person is motivated to process the information and able to = processed in the central route
> motivation
self-related
accountable
need for cognition
> capacity
ability
distraction
the message and the source influences the attitude change
Describe the Petty and Cacioppo experiment
told students the university is planning to hold an extra exam in the end of the semester (now vs later; manipulating central process or peripheral process)
strong vs weak arguments
showed that the strength (quality) of the arguments matter (makes attitude change) if the information is processed in the central route
however, only the quantity of the arguments matter if the information is processed in the peripheral route
what are the relationships between attitudes and behaviours
attitudes are not behaviours
however, attitudes can predict behaviours and behaviours can shape attitude formations
What is direct behavioural bases of attitudes and the relative experiment
when the behaviour is valence, the behaviour can shape the formation of the attitude
Laham (2014)
showed that valence behaviours acted upon an attitude object can lead to the change of implicit attitudes
What is the notion of cognitive dissonance reduction and the three paradigms
humans also look to feel cognitive resonance
if there is cognitive dissonance > feeling unpleasant and wanting to shift the balance to feel resonance again
one of the methods = alter attitude
Induced Compliance Paradigm (insufficient justification effect by Festinger and Carlsmith)
showed that attitudes are changed if external rewards or punishments cannot restore cognitive resonance
Effort justification (Aronson and Millls, 1959)
attitudes change to reduce dissonance caused by choosing to exert effort or suffering to achieve a goal
post-decision (free-choice paradigm) (Brehm)
attitudes change to justify the free made choice
what are the criteria for attitudes to change
the dissonance is perceived
there is a physiological arousal
action is freely chosen
arousal is attributed to perceived inconsistency between attitudes and the action
What are the different types of behaviours and what are the differences in terms of predictive by attitudes (and the Dividio et al experiment)
> intentional
consciously accessible
behaviours that are driven by intentions
intentions can be predicted by attitudes
therefore attitudes can indirectly predict intentional behaviours through predicting intentions
guided by intention, norms and beliefs
> habitual
unconscious behaviours that are repeatedly under the circumstances
attitudes play a small role in the prediction
> spontaneous
behaviours that are unintentional, but they are not habitual that they do not repeat everytime
can be predicted by attitudes
Dividio et al
showed that explicit attitudes can predict intentional behaviours
implicit attitudes can predict spontaneous behaviours
(double dissociation pattern)
Apart from attitudes, what are the other factor that can predict behaviours
intention
the commitment to reach a desired goal or a desired behaviour
intention predicts intentional behaviours
norms also predicts intention, therefore predicts intentional behaviours
> theory of the reasoned actions (Fishbein & Ajzen)
attitudes towards behaviours + norms > intentions > behaviours
> theory of the planned behaviour
attitudes + norms + perceived control (whether the person can achieve the behavior) > intention > behaviour
if the perceived control is high = attitude can predict intention and the behavior (vice versa)
