Behaviour and Attitudes

Question 1

Define ‘attitude’

Answer 1

A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour

Question 2

In simple terms, attitudes are basically…

Answer 2

evaluations and opinions

Question 3

5 functions attitudes provide

Answer 3

1) Knowledge
2) Utilitarian
3) Value expressive
4) Social adjustment
5) Ego-defensive

Question 4

Knowledge function of attitude

Answer 4

We store our evaluations and attitudes in memory to manage and simplify information processing

Question 5

Utilitarian function of attitude

Answer 5

Attitudes guide our behaviour towards goals and away from aversive events.

Ex; a positive attitude about academic success will lead you to work harder

Question 6

Value expressive function of attitude

Answer 6

Our attitudes help us express and communicate our values.

Ex; social movements

Question 7

Social adjustment function of attitude

Answer 7

We are motivated to hold attitudes that are approved by others.
This can lead to pluralistic influence/ignorance: overestimating the attitudes of others or misreading them in general

Question 8

Ego-defensive function of attitude

Answer 8

Our attitudes protect our self-esteem or justify our actions that make us feel guilty

Question 9

List and describe the ‘ABCs’

of attitude

Answer 9

Affect - emotional reaction

Behaviour - approach or avoid an attitude object

Cognitive - stored memories and beliefs about an attitude object

Question 10

Corey’s finding on attitude-behavioural relationship

Answer 10

He found that cheating did not predict cheating behaviour

Question 11

Wicker’s finding on attitude-behavioural relationship

Answer 11

Attitudes explained less than 3% of the variance in behaviour according to his meta-analysis

Question 12

Specificity matching

Answer 12

An attitude will predict behaviour if you match them in terms of: action, target, context, and time.

Question 13

What are some of the reasons underlying the attitude-behaviour problem

Answer 13

1. Attitudes sometimes conflict with powerful determinants of behaviour
2. Attitudes can be inconsistent
3. Introspecting about attitudes can interfere

Question 14

Theory of reasoned action flow diagram

Answer 14

Attitudes and subjective norms work together to predict intentions and intentions predict behaviour

Question 15

Theory of planned behaviour

Answer 15

Refined model of the theory of reasoned action. Added perceived behavioural control as another key predictor of intentions.

Question 16

Intentions

Answer 16

Whether a person believes that they will engage in a specific behaviour

Question 17

Attitudes are not the only predictor of intentions, what are the other two predictors?

Answer 17

Subjective norms and perceived behavioural control

Question 18

3 predictors of strong attitude-behaviour relationships

Answer 18

1. Short time interval between measures of attitude and behaviour
2. When attitudes are based on direct experience (attitudes become more accessible, enduring, and likely to guide behaviour)
3. Being self-aware (promotes consistency between words and deeds)

Question 19

4 key characteristics of attitude strength

Answer 19

1. Persistant
2. Resistant
3. Influence information processing and judgements
4. More likely to influence and predict behaviour

Question 20

4 key characteristics that determine attitude strength

Answer 20

1. Have higher accessibility
2. We know more about them
3. They are extreme
4. They lack ambivalence (uncertainty)

Question 21

High accessibility

Answer 21

As soon as we see the attitude object, our attitude will become automatically activated

Question 22

Greater knowledge

Answer 22

Number of attitude relevant thoughts and experiences that come to mind when we think of an attitude object

Question 23

Extremity

Answer 23

Extremly negative or positive attitude about something.

Question 24

Ambivalence

Answer 24

Attitudes that are neutral or conflicting.

Question 25

When does behaviour influence attitudes?

Answer 25

Role-playing 
Gender roles 
When saying becomes believing 
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
Low-ball technique 
Door-in-the-face technique 
Immoral and moral acts

Question 26

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Answer 26

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

Question 27

Low-ball technique

Answer 27

A tactic for getting people to agree to something. People who agree to an initial request will often still comply when the request ups the ante

Question 28

Door-in-the-face technique

Answer 28

A strategy for gaining concession. After someone first turns down a large request the same requester counter-offers with a more reasonable request

Question 29

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 29

Tension that is caused when our cognitions conflict with one another, or when our attitudes conflict with our behaviour

Question 30

5 types of dissonance effects

Answer 30

1. Decision justification
2. Effort justification
3. Induced compliance and attitude change
4. Induced compliance and extinguishing undesired behaviour
5. Belief disconfirmation

Question 31

1. Decision justification

Answer 31

When you are presented with two options that you have equally positive feelings about. Choosing one over the other might cause a state of dissonance.

This dissonance is reduced by justifying the reasons why you chose one and listing all the negative reasons about the other

Question 32

2. Effort justification

Answer 32

We come to like what we suffer for. Justifying the time, effort, or money that has been devoted to something that has turned out to be unpleasant or disappointing

Question 33

4 conditions for dissonance arousal

Answer 33

1. Aversive consequences
2. Personal responsibility
3. Feel arousal and label it as negative
4. Attribute arousal to inconsistency between attitudes and behaviour

Question 34

5 ways to reduce dissonance

Answer 34

1. Change cognition
2. Change behaviour
3. Add other cognitive elements (bolstering)
4. Reduce importance of elements (trivialization)
5. Reduced perceived choice

Question 35

Self-affirmation is another way to…

Answer 35

reduce dissonance by affirming another aspect of the self