Chapter 6: Attitudes Flashcards
What are Attitudes?
Positive and negative reactions to various persons, objects, and ideas.
Enables us to judge quickly and without much thought whether something we encounter is good or bad, helpful or hurtful, to be sought or avoided
Process is immediate and automatic
What are Self-Report Measures?
A way of assessing a person’s attitudes
A more direct and straightforward way to collect information
What are Attitude Scales?
These are tests of statements about an attitude object and that ask respondents to indicate their responses on multipoint scales
Who developed the most popular attitude scale and what is it called?
Rensis Likert; Likert Scale
What is a Bogus Pipeline?
An elaborate mechanical device that supposedly records our true feelings physiologically
What is the Bogus Pipeline used for?
It compels the respondents to tell the truth
What are Covert Measures?
Measures of attitudes which are collected indirectly.
Observable behavior is used
How are Covert Measures taken?
Facial Electromyographs (EMG) Implicit Associated Tests (IAT)
What are Facial Electromyographs?
Covertly measures the movement of facial muscles when respondents are asked about their attitudes
What are Implicit Associated Tests (IAT)
These are covert measures of unconscious attitudes derived from the speed at which people respond to pairings of conceptss
What is Theory of Planned Behavior?
Attitudes toward a specific behavior combine with subjective norms, social pressures to conform, an intention to behave in a particular manner, and perceived control to influence a person’s actions.
What psychological functions distinguish the strength or weakness of attitudes?
Individuals must have self-interest.
Attitude object must relate to their deeply held philosophical, political, and religious beliefs
How can one determine the strength of an individual’s attitudes?
Amount of information on what it is based
How the information was acquired
What is Persuasion?
The process by which attitudes are changed
What are the two Routes to Persuasion?
Central Route to Persuasion
Peripheral Route to Persuasion
What is the Central Route to Persuasion?
Makes an individual think critically about the contents of a message and is influenced by the strength and quantity of the arguments
What is the Peripheral Route to Persuasion?
When individuals do not think critically about the message but focuses instead on other cues.
What are the steps needed for Persuasion to happen?
Learning/Reception of a message
Acceptance of the message
Elaboration
What is Elaboration?
The process of thinking about and scrutinizing arguments contained in a persuasive communication
What factors ensure the positive outcome of Persuasive Communication?
Source
Message
Audience
What are the two important characteristics of a effective communicator?
Credibility
Likability
What is Credibility?
Related to Competence and Trustworthiness of the Speaker
What is Competence?
Refers to the speaker’s ability, the speaker is persuasive by virtue of expertise
What is Likability?
When a speaker is similar to the audience or when the speaker is attractive
What is the Sleeper Effect?
Delayed increase in the persuasive impact of a non-credible source
What is the Discounting Cue Hypothesis?
People discount the arguments made by non-credible communicators, but over time, they dissociate what was said from who said it
What is the Primacy Effect?
When the audience remembers the first thing they saw.
What is the Recency Effect?
The most recent thing the audience saw makes more of an impact
What is Persuasion?
The process of changing attitudes
What is Message Discrepancy?
It is how discrepant a message should be from the audience’s existing position in order to have the greatest impact.
What are Fear Appeals?
The use of scare tactics to convince the audience
Exploits fear through negative advertising
When is the use of Fear Appeals ineffective?
When there are no specific instructions on how to cope, people feel helpless and they panic and tune out the message
What is the effect of positive emotions on Persuasion?
People are “soft touches” when they are in a good mood, they let down their guard and become lazy processors of information
Positive feelings activate the Persuasive Route to Persuasion
Positive feelings are a cognitive distraction
People would rather maintain their positive mood than think critically about a situation
What are Subliminal Messages?
The presentation of commercial messages outside of conscious awareness
What are Subliminal Cues?
The are cues which are perceived but are not persuadedd into action unless they are motivated to do so.
What is the Need for Cognition?
A personality variable that distinguishes people on the basis of how much they enjoy effortful cognitive activities