Attitudes & Behaviour Flashcards
What are attitudes?
Tendencies to like or dislike something.
- The more scientific way to talk about an opinion or belief.
What are the three attitude functions?
- The knowledge function.
- The utilitarian function.
- The ego defensive function.
What is the knowledge function?
Attitudes help us form opinions and make sense of the complex world.
What is the utilitarian function?
Attitudes can help us obtain rewards or avoid punishments.
What is the ego defensive function?
Attitudes can protect us from psychological threats.
How can attitudes differ?
- In valence.
- In strength.
A strong attitude is…
- Usually thought out.
- Well-known.
- Easily accessible.
- Personally relevant.
- Has a strong underlying emotional component.
A strong attitude is more likely to…
- Be stable and consistent over time.
- Be resistant to change.
- Influence behaviour.
What are the three components of attitude in the (Rosenberg & Hovland) TRIPARTITE mode?
- Cognition.
- Affect.
- Behaviour.
Where do attitudes come from and why do we form them?
- Mere Exposure Effect.
- Genetics.
- Peers/Reference Groups (Norms).
- Classical Conditioning.
What is the Mere Exposure Effect (Zajonc, 1968)?
- Familiar objects are perceived more fluently.
- People do not make the correct attribution for this perceptual fluency.
The more we realise we have seen the stimuli, the less prone we are to liking it.
What did Olsen, Vernon, Harris & Jang (2001) find?
- Non-shared environmental experiences accounted for the most variance in each attitude.
- Shared attitude similarities are caused by personality traits.
Attitudes are believed to be a result of environmental factors.
What did Newcomb’s (1943) Normative Effect study find?
Shift towards more liberal attitudes to fit in and become popular.
- No shift = strong family attachment and concern about response.
What did Olsen & Fazio (2001) study on classical conditioning find?
(Pokémon characters paired with positive or negative images and words - unrelated)
Participants reported that they had more positive attitudes towards the cards paired with positive pictures.
How do attitudes influence behaviour?
Inconsistent
- Automatic, spontaneous behaviours sometimes bypass conscious attitudes.
Consistent
- Attitudes often align with actions, like voting for a political party or showing prejudice through discriminatory behaviour.
What does attitude specificity mean?
Some attitudes are focused on specific objects or situations, and others are more general.
How are attitudes measured?
- Explicit measures (E.g. questionnaires - Attitude Response scale).
- Indirect measures (E.g. physiological measures - facial movements).
- Implicit association test.
What is cognitive dissonance?
An unpleasant psychological state that occurs when people notice that their attitudes and behaviours are inconsistent with each other.
What does the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) suggest?
Attitudes are just one component that determines whether a behaviour is carried out.
What three factors influence an individual’s behavioural intention, which can impact actual behaviour?
- Subjective norms.
- Perceived behavioural control (PBC).
- (mediated by) intention.
What did Norman et al. (2000) research using the Theory of Planned Behaviour?
They examined attitudes towards exercise and actual exercise carried out.
- Surveyed 110 patients attending a health promotion clinic.
- 87 followed up by a postal questionnaire at six months.
- Positive scores on all items predicted behaviour six months later.
Why has the Theory of Planned Behaviour been extensively criticised?
It is considerably less predictive of behaviour when:
- Studies used a longitudinal design.
- Participants were not university students.
- Outcome measures were taken objectively rather than as a self-report.
What studies suggest that people’s attitudes are also influenced by their physical emotions and behaviour?
Wells & Petty (1980)
- Either nod heads (positive) or shake heads (negative) whilst listening to a persuasive message - more positive attitudes.
Stepper & Strack (1993)
- Participants learned that they had succeeded on a test. If they were positioned in a slumped posture, they felt less proud, and their mood was worse.
How does priming influence attitudes?
Bargh et al. (1996)
- Primed rude words = interrupted experimenter.
- Primed with old words = walked more slowly when leaving the room.
What is persuasion?
An attempt to influence someone’s attitudes and behaviour.
Hovland et al. (1953) state there are three components involved in persuasion. What are these?
- Source (the communicator).
- Messager (the communication).
- Target (the audience).
What three factors can increase a speaker’s (the communicator) influence on attitudes?
- Credibility.
- Rapid speaking.
- Attractiveness.
What aspects of a message increase its persuasiveness?
- Style of argument.
- Emotional arousal.
Why are some audiences easier to influence?
Self-esteem.
- People with low self-esteem are more easily persuaded.
Gender
- Women are persuaded more easily than men.
Age
- Very young and very old people are influenced most.
Prior knowledge
How does persuasion work?
Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1990) states persuasion can occur in two ways:
Central route
- If a message is relevant, we are knowledgeable, and if we have time to process the information, then we will focus on the content and judge its worth.
Peripheral route
- If a message is irrelevant, we know little about it, or are distracted, then we will use peripheral cues to judge its worth.
