Lecture 6: attitudes and behaviour

Question 1

1. attitude and attitude change

2. attitudes and behaviour

Answer 1

1. individual evaluations of aspects of the world
2. how attitudes predict behaviour
   AND
   how behaviours shape attitudes

Question 2

Attitudes
1. define

a) explicit
b) implicit

Answer 2

1. mental representation of a summary evaluation of an attitude object stored in memory
   - > things, actions
   - > self
   - > groups (-) = prejudice
   - > other people

a) open and deliberate expressions “ I like…”
- > consciously accessible
- > revealed in explicit measures

b) automatic, uncontrollable
- > consciously inaccessible
- > might be accessible but not willing to report
- > revealed in implicit measures

Question 3

what are explicit measures?
(2)

limitations

Answer 3

self-report explicit attitudes

1. likert scale rate 1-6
2. semantic differential scales -> rate attitude across a range of different dimensions
   e.g DOCTOR
   clean —– dirty
   helpful —— cruel

limitations:
-social desirability bias
implicit attitudes cant be

-consciously assessed - thus cannot be reported on

Question 4

what are implicit measures?

Answer 4

overcome motivates response biases (social desirability bias)

• > physiological responses recorded
• > most common use response time paradigms (patterns of response times) = based on spreading activation accounts of mental processes

Question 5

Attitude properties

1. structure

ABC = 3 types

Answer 5

1. structure/components/bases
   - Affective: emotion (emotion grounds the attitude)
   - Behavioural: interactions (e.g. frequent use of object)
   - Cognitive: beliefs about the object (e.g. apple good for health)

= most have a mixture of ABC bases
e.g. political attitudes = emotions
utilitarian product attitudes (fridge) = cognitive

Question 6

Attitude properties

2. function (5)

Answer 6

• > knowledge function = make sense of the world; summaries our experiences with attitude objects
• > instrumental/utilitarian function = help guide behaviour; achieve rewards and avoid punishments
• > social identity/value expression function = express attitudes to express one’s identities and values
• > impression management function = express attitudes to fit into groups/relationships
• > self-esteem/defensive function = protect the self from low-self esteem and anxiety

Question 7

Attitude properties

3. strength

Answer 7

1. strong attitudes
   - > held with confidence and certainty
   - > based on one sided information (A, B, C information that points to either a positive or negative attitude)
   - > resistent to change, stable
2. Ambivalent
   - > contains positive and negative components
   - > e.g. dont like the taste of apples (A) but believe they have positive health benefits (C)

Question 8

Attitude formation routes (3)

Answer 8

1. broadly:

Affective processes

Behavioural processes

Cognitive processes

Question 9

Affective routes to attitude formation (2)

Answer 9

1. mere exposure: familialrity
   > ease of processing due to increased exposure = feels good = attributed to the attitude object
2. evaluative conditioning: paring a positive or negative stimulus with a neutral target
   > apple + co-occurs with a positive stimulus, repeated co-occurrence is transferred onto the object

= ADVERTISING based on pairing a positive stimulus (celebs) with a target (perfume) = takes on positive connotations

Question 10

Behavioural routes to attitude formation (3)

Answer 10

1. direct behavioural influence:
   > valence of behaviour (negative or positive) transferred onto object
2. self-perception:
   > observe ourselves performing a behaviour towards an attitude object, we infer based on that behaviour our attitude towards the object
3. cognitive dissonance reduction:
   > our behaviour is inconsistent with our attitudes
   > feels unpleasant: can trigger attitude change

Question 11

cognitive routes to attitude formation

Answer 11

1. reasoned inference: think through facts about object and draw evaluative inferences

Question 12

Attitude change: dual-process models

1. ways attitudes can change
2. function of persuasion
3. persuasion frame
   = what does it depend on?

Answer 12

1. • social influence
     - perceived norms
     - cognitive dissonance reduction
2. message about an attitude object
3. source -> message -> recipient -> context/situation
   = attributes of each of these elements
   = depth of processing

Question 13

1. dual-process models of attitude change (via persuasion)
   - > 2 models
2. what do they propose?
3. implications

Answer 13

1. • heuristic-systematic model (HSM)
     AND
     - Elaboration likelihood model (ELM)
2. two processing routes -> a continuum
   Superficial deep processing
3. • amount and kind of attitude change depends on processing route

• factors influencing attitude change and manner of influence are contingent on processing route

Question 14

1. the Elaboration likelihood model (ELM)
   - > what does it say about attitude change?
2. what are the consequences of route-specific attitude change? (2)

Answer 14

1. -> attitudes can be changed by processes that involve more or less attitude object-relevant elaboration or thinking

low elaboration (thinking) = peripheral route

high elaboration = central route

-> attitude change can occur vis both routes

2. 
CENTRAL
- stronger
- persistent over time 
- resistant to change 
- predictive of intentions and behaviour 

PERIPHERAL (opposite)

• weaker
• less persistent
• less resistant to change

Question 15

What influences route selection? (2) (ELM)

what influences these 2 factors?

Answer 15

1. motivation and capability

Motivation

• > if in line with goals, values
• > if held accountable
• > high in need for cognition (if you enjoy engaging in thinking)

Capacity

• > ability
• > not distracted

Question 16

what influences attitude change in each route? (ELM)

what factors determine route processing?

1. in the central route
   >Petty and cacipoop

Answer 16

• source factors
• message factors

1. CENTRAL
   - quality matters:

Petty and cacipoop
-> strong or weak arguments
-> high involvement = central (it would directly impact them)
or
-> low involvement = peripheral (it would impact other students)

= central
strong arguments = shift attitudes in favour
weak arguments = shift attitudes against (other direction)

= peripheral
argument quality doesn’t matter, strong and weak = the same

=argument quality only matters in the central route

Question 17

what influences attitude change in each route? (ELM)

what factors determine route processing?

2. peripheral route
   >Petty and cacipoop

Answer 17

• heuristics
• not quality but QUANTITY

(the same study as central route processing):

PERIPHERAL ROUTE:

• > 9 arguments = shift attitudes in the direction of the message
• > 3 arguments= shift away from the message

Central route = argument quantity doesn’t matter

peripheral route
= more is better
= familiarity -> ease of processing feels good = NOT for central ONLY peripheral

Question 18

what influences attitude change in each route? (ELM)

what factors determine route processing?

2. peripheral route
   Source characteristics

Answer 18

• source heuristics

more likely to be persuaded by:

-> credible sources (expertise or trustworthiness)

-> attractiveness (likeableness)
> pallak
= more persuaded by a message when the person was attractive

-> sources that are liked
>mimicry: more likely to be persuaded by people who have mimic/copy their behaviour

Question 19

Attitude behaviour links: bi-directionality

1. attitudes dont equal behaviours
   > LaPiere

Answer 19

-> prejudice against Chinese people, hotel staff treated them courteously
= discrepancies between attitudes and behaviours

Question 20

when and how can behaviours shape attitudes?

1. direct behavioural bases of attitudes
   >Laham

Answer 20

1. acting on the attitude object with valanced (+ or -) behaviour can shape attitude formation and change

Laham

• > stimuli (novel)
• > foraging
• > collect = pull joystick
• > discard = push joystick

(behaviour is balanced -> pull = positive connotation, push = negative connotation)

• > measured attitudes towards objects
• > positive implicit attitudes towards objects that were pulled

= when people act upon objects in a valanced way, behaviour can shape attitudes
= example of direct behavioural basis attitude formation

Question 21

cognitive dissonance and the maintenance of cognitive consistency

1. when behaviours are inconsistent with attitudes
2. why are people motivated to reduce dissonance?
   > how do they?

Answer 21

1. like something but act negatively towards it or vice versa
   - > people are generally motivated to maintain cognitive consistency
2. -> inconsistencies = unpleasant
   > cognitive dissonance = experienced negative arousal resulting from inconsistencies

= because of the unpleasantness people may be motivated to reduce dissonance
> modifying attitudes to restore consistency

Question 22

Experimental paradigms for studying cognitive dissonance

1. induced compliance paradigm
   > Festinger and Carlsmith

Answer 22

1. induced compliance paradigm:
   -> mindnumbing task -> negative attitude formed
   -> tell other participant’s that it’s fun
   = dissonance (inconsistent)
   -> paid $1 or $20 conditions

-> paid $1 like task more

= if paid $20 there is sufficient justification for behaviour (lying) - they were lying for the $20

= if lying for $1, no justification -> experiencing dissonance they cannot resolve through the money. It needs to be resolved another way
= they try to reduce this inconsistency but changing their attitude from a negative to a positive one

= attitudes modified to reduce dissonance caused by attitude-discrepant behaviour that cannot be attributed to an external reward or punishment

Question 23

Experimental paradigms for studying cognitive dissonance

2. Effort justification
   > Aronson and Mills

Answer 23

• initiating ritual and liking
• > 3 conditions: control, mild effort/initiation, high effort/initiation
• > give a speech on sex: mild, more effortful and very detailed
• > participants then listened to a discussion about sex (boring)

question then asked: what’s your attitude towards the discussion (how much did you like it)

severe initiation = very high ratings of linking the boring discussion compared to control and mild initiation
= to resolve the dissonance between putting in a lot of effort and listening to the boring discussion, attitude is adjusted towards the discussion
= justifying the effort they put in by modifying their attitude

= attitudes are changed to reduce dissonance caused by choosing to exert considerable effort or suffering to achieve a goal

Question 24

Experimental paradigms for studying cognitive dissonance

3. post-decisional dissonance: ‘free choice paradigm’
   > Brehm

Answer 24

women: rate household products

-> rank/evaluate products
-> 2 products rated similarly taken (toaster and coffee pot)
-> choose one of them
-> after choice, they are asked to rate the 2 products again
= spreading of alternatives
-> the chosen favourite is rated a lot higher than the other product that was previously equal in rank to the other

-> justifying the choice made by increasing the positivity of the chosen object
= attitude change to reduce dissonance caused by a freely made decision
= amplify positives of chosen option; amplify negatives of unchosen option
= make attitude more consistent with the decision made

Question 25

when will dissonance lead to attitude change?

Answer 25

• > action is perceived as inconsistent with the attitude
• > action is freely chosen; no external or co-erced quality

-> individual experiences physiological arousal
> attributed to perceived inconsistency between attitude and action

= attitude change
without these less likely to see change

Question 26

when and how can attitudes predict behaviour?

3 things that matter

Answer 26

correlation between attitudes and correlation sit between .3 and .4

1. kind of behaviour
2. nature of attitude
3. match between attitude and behaviour: attitude-behaviour compatibility

Question 27

What kinds of behaviours? (attitudes predicting behaviour)

> Oullette and Wood

1. intentional behaviour
2. habitual behaviour
3. uncontrolled, spontaneous behaviour (not habitual)

Answer 27

1. intentional behaviour
   > conscious intention or commitment to perform the behaviour
   >enacted via application of behavioural intentions
   > intentions are guided by attitudes AND norms/efficacy beliefs
2. habitual behaviour
   > doesn’t require conscious intention
   > often repeated in a single, stable context
   > enacted via automatic repetition of established routines
   > triggered by environmental cues
   = attitudes don’t play a role here!
   e.g. open the fridge door
3. uncontrolled, spontaneous
   > doesn’t require consciour intention
   > NOT frequently repeated in similar contexts
   > enacted via automatic process, NOT via established routes
   e.g. smile at a stranger (non-verbal behaviours)
   = attitudes can make a difference here

Question 28

Attitude effects depend on behaviour type: direct, indirect or not at all

1. intentional
2. habitual
3. spontaneous

Answer 28

1. intentional
   -> attitudes indirectly (via intentions) impact behaviour
   = explicit attitudes
2. Spontaneous
   -> attitudes directly impact behaviour
   = implicit attitudes
3. Habitual
   -> attitudes have little impact
   = past behaviour/environmental cues is the predictor

Question 29

intentional vs spontaneous behaviour

-> Dovidio, Kawakami and Gaertner

1. what was the experiment?
   - > implicit and explicit measures
   - > intentional and spontaneous behaviour being measured
2. results

Answer 29

1. • > white participants
   • > measured implicit and explicit attitudes towards white and black targets

explicit = self-repot
implicit = RT paradigms

• > interracial interactions occurring with confederate and participant
• > interactions filmed and coded
  1. verbal friendliness (intentional behaviour)
  2. non-verbal friendliness (spontaneously behaviour)

2. explicit attitudes and verbal intentional behaviour = .4 correlation

implicit attitudes and non- verbal behaviour = .41 correlation

= explicit attitudes are predicting intentional behaviour. They DONT predict non-verbal (spontaneous)

= implicit attitudes are predicting spontaneous behaviour. They DONT predict verbal (intentional)

Question 30

What kinds of attitudes predict/influence behaviours?

1. what is accessibility?
2. what increases accessibility?

Answer 30

• accessible, strong, stable attitudes influence behaviour

1. how easily an attitude is retrieved from memory
   - > strong attitudes are more likely to be accessible (come to mind more readily)

2.

• elaboration (motivation + capacity)
• repeated expression
• direct experience with attitude object
• one-sidedness of infromation
• confidence

Question 31

Attitudes aren’t the only thing that predict behaviour

1. intentional behaviour
   - > whats an intention?
2. the theory of reasoned action (TRA)
   > Fishbein and Ajzen

Answer 31

1. attitudes (evalutations) predict behaviour indirectly via intentions

intention = commitment to reach a desired outcome or perform a desired behaviour

2. attitudes aren’t the only thing that can predict intentions
   - > attitudes and subjective norms combine to predict intentions, then the intentions predict the behaviour/action

positive attitude towards a behaviour + the norm towards that behaviour is positive = predict the intention, which then predicts the behaviour

Question 32

The theory of reasoned action (TRA) was updated to the theory of planned behaviour (TBA) (Ajzen)

1. differences
2. what does TBA say about predicting intentions?

Answer 32

TRA = attitude towards behaviour + subjective norms -> predict intention -> predict behaviour

TBA = perceived behavioural control, also called efficacy beliefs (belief that you are able to perform the behaviour)

attitude towards behaviour + subjective norms + perceived behavioural control (efficacy beliefs) -> influence intentional commitment -> predicts behaviour

Question 33

factor shaping the extent to which attitudes predict intentions and thus behaviour: the principle of compatibility (or correspondence); or match between attitude and behaviour

> Davidson and Jaccard study

Answer 33

increased match between properties of action and attitude increase prediction

• > predicting female’s use of birth control in the next 2 years = behaviour
• > measured attitudes = variety of levels of specificity:

e. g. 1. attitude towards birth control
2. attitude towards using birth control pills
3. attitude towards using birth control pills in the next 2 year

= attitude becoming more similar in line with behaviour
= As the attitude becomes more specific = to match the behaviour, the correlation increases

= attitudes predict behaviours more strongly when the attitudes match the behaviours