Lecture 9 - Attitudes & Behaviours Flashcards

1
Q

What are attitudes?

A

mental representation of a summary evaluation of an attitude object (stored in memory)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What do attitude objects include?

A

things, actions, events, ideas, self (esteem-esteem), groups (prejudice), other people (global impressions)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What are explicit attitudes?

A

attitudes that people openly and deliberately express (i like apples)

explicit attitudes are consciously accessible, and are revealed in explicit measures

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

An example of explicit measures

A

asking a person to report on their attitudes

e.g. self-report scales
- differential scale
- Likert scales

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Explicit measures are limited by. . .

A

social desirability bias

implicit attitudes (may not be consciously assessed, and thus can’t be reported on)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are implicit attitudes?

A

automatic, uncontrollable evaluations

might not be consciously accessible, or might be accessible but not willing to be reported

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are implicit measures?

A

assess implicit attitudes - these overcome motivated response biases (e.g. social desirability bias) & the limits of introspection

use response/reaction time paradigms + physiological responses

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are the 3 bases of attitudes?

A

1) affective - emotions / feelings about the attitude object (e.g. fear, love)

2) behavioural - an interaction that we have with the attitude object (e.g. frequent use of the attitude object)

3) cognitive - beliefs about the attitude object (e.g. the attitude object is good for my health)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are the functions of attitudes?

A

1) knowledge function - to make sense of the world (to summarize our experiences w attitude objects)

2) instrumental / utilitarian function - we have/express attitudes to help guide our behaviour; achieve rewards & avoid punishments

3) social identity / value expressive function - to express their identities & values

4) impression management function - to fit into groups or relationships

5) self-esteem / defensive function - to protect the self (From low self-esteem, anxiety)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What are 2 properties of attitudes?

A

1) strength

2) ambivalence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are strong attitudes?

A

those held with confidence / certainty, and are usually based on lots of one-sided information

strong attitudes are persistent, resistant, and are predictive of intentions and behaviour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is an ambivalent attitudes?

A

contain positive and negative evaluative components & bases

People often simultaneously hold negative and positive evaluations of an attitude object. For example, one might enjoy the sensation of smoking and at the same time realize that tobacco is a danger to health

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How do affective routes lead to attitude formation?

A
  • mere EXPOSURE (familiarity) breeds liking
  • repeated exposure increases the ease of processing an attitude object, & ease feels good
  • EVALUATIVE CONDITIONS: pairing positive or negative stimulus w neutral stimulus (celebrity + food)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

How do behavioural routes lead to attitude formation?

A
  • DIRECT BEHAVIOURAL INFLUENCES - the valence of performing behaviour gets transferred onto attitude object
  • SELF-PERCEPTION - we learn what we like from observing what we do
  • COGNITIVE DISSONANCE REDUCTION - often our attitudes are inconsistent
    with our behaviours and this inconsistency can be unpleasant – leading us to try to bring our behaviours and attitudes into line (by changing our attitudes).
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

How do cognitive routes lead to attitude formation?

A

REASONED INFERENCE - where you think through the facts about an object, & draw evaluative inferences about it (believing something is good for your health, & thereby choosing to like it)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What processes can result in attitude change?

A

1) social influence (conformity, obedience)

2) perceived norms (descriptive & injunctive)

3) cognitive dissonance reduction

4) persuasion - changing an attitude via the processing of a message about an attitude object

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is the standard persuasion frame?

A

source - message - recipient

The amount/nature of the attitude change depends on attributes of each of these elements, in conjunction with depth of processing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is the dual process model of attitude change (via persuasion)?

A
  • 2 processing routes: deep vs superficial
  • the amount & kind of attitude change (e.g. persistent, predictive of behavior) depends on the processing route
  • the factors that influence attitude change and the manner of influence are contingent on the processing route
19
Q

What is the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) - Petty & Cacioppo

A
  • attitudes can be changed by processes that involve more or less attitude object-relevant elaboration or thinking
  • low elaboration characterizes the PERIPHERAL ROUTE of persuasion
  • high elaboration characterizes the CENTRAL ROUTE of persuasion
20
Q

What are some features of central route persuasion?

A

attitudes formed (or changed) based on more/higher elaboration:

  • stronger
  • more persistent over time (more stable)
  • resistant to further change
  • predictive of intention + behaviour
21
Q

What are some features of peripheral route persuasion?

A

attitudes formed (or changed) based on less/lower elaboration are:

  • weaker
  • less persistent
  • less resistant
  • less predictive of intentions & behaviour
22
Q

What influences route selection (peripheral vs central) in attitude change?

A
  • if one is motivated + capable, they will process the message more deeply (central route)
  • motivation
  • capacity
23
Q

What is motivation?

A

is influenced by goals, values, or self

24
Q

What is capacity?

A

is influenced by one’s ability, and their focus (level of distraction)

25
Q

What influences attitude change in the CENTRAL route?

A

1) argument quality - due to deep processing

Petty Cacioppo found people’s attitudes shifted more when processing arguments in central route

26
Q

What 3 things influence attitude change in PERIPHERAL route?

A

1) Message characteristics – argument quantity (we rely on heuristics or mental shortcuts)

2) Familiarity – repeated exposure to a message increases liking

3) Source heuristics – credibility of the source + attractiveness (likeableness, e.g. good looking person)

Sources who are well-liked are also more influential (e.g. a source who uses mimicry)

27
Q

How does acting on the attitude object influence attitude change?

A

if the attitude object is acted upon with a valenced behaviour, this can shape attitude formation & change

For example, Laham et al.
(2014) found that people formed more positive implicit attitudes towards pulled
stimuli than to pushed stimuli.

28
Q

What is cognitive dissonance? What is cognitive consistency?

A

experienced negative arousal resulting from inconsistency between attitudes, beliefs, and our behaviours

people might try to reduce it by modifying attitudes to restore consistency

29
Q

What are 3 experimental paradigms for studying cognitive dissonance?

A
  • induced compliance paradigm
  • effort justification
  • post-decisional dissonance
30
Q

What is the induced compliance paradigm?

A

–> a boring task creates a negative ATTITUDE towards the task

–> researchers concluded that attitudes modified to reduce dissonance are caused by ATTITUDE-DISCREPANT BEHAVIOUR, than cannot be attributed to an external reward / punishment

STUDY:

The experimenter than pays participants $1 or $20 to say that the task was fun
(behaviour) – an inconsistency between attitude & behaviour. Those paid $1 reported liking the task more than those paid $20 – as those paid $20 had sufficient justification for their behaviour (lying). Those paid $1 do not have sufficient
justification for lying – which creates a dissonance. They attempt to reduce this
dissonance by modifying their attitude.

31
Q

When will dissonance lead to attitude change?

A
  • when an action is perceived as inconsistent w attitude
  • the action is perceived to be freely chosen
  • the individual experiences physiological arousal
  • the arousal is attributed to a perceived inconsistency b/w the attitude and action
32
Q

Intentional behaviour is guided by. . .

A

attitudes, norms, and efficacy beliefs

33
Q

What is habitual behaviour?

A

behaviour that does not require conscious intention that is repeated often, in stable contexts

is enacted via automatic repetition of established routines, triggered by env cues

habits have very little to do w attitudes

34
Q

What is uncontrolled, spontaneous behaviour?

A

behaviour that does not require conscious intention, but is NOT frequently repeated in similar contexts

  • this behaviour is enabled via automatic processes (though not by established routines)
35
Q

For spontaneous behaviours, attitudes

A

DIRECTLY impact behaviour - implicit attitudes being most relevant here

36
Q

For intentional behaviours, attitudes. . .

A

INDIRECTLY impact behaviour (via intentions) - explicit attitudes are most relevant here

37
Q

For habitual behaviours, attitudes . . .

A

have very little impact. Past behaviour is a better predictor here.

38
Q

Accessibility, strength, & stability of attitudes are increased by. . .

A

1) elaboration (motivation + capacity)

2) repeated expression of the attitude

3) direct experience with the attitude object

4) one-sidedness of informational base

5) confidence

39
Q

Theory of reasoned action

A

suggests that attitudes & norms combine to predict intentions, which in turn predict actions

40
Q

Theory of planned behaviour

A

based on theory of reasoned action, but also adds PERCEIVED BEHAVIOURAL CONTROL which then influences one’s intention & actual control of their behaviour

It posits that behaviors are immediately determined by behavioral intentions, which in turn are determined by a combination of three factors: attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.

41
Q

Principle of compatibility (principle of correspondence)

A

states that attitudes will better predict behaviour if the specificity of a measured attitudes matches the specificity of the behaviour under consideration

as attitudes towards birth control use became more specific, attitudes predicted behaviours more strongly

42
Q

What was found in the study about intentional vs spontaneous behaviours?

A

Explicit attitudes / prejudices predicted INTENTIONAL behaviour (verbal behaviour) whilst implicit attitudes / prejudices predicted NON-INTENTIONAL behaviour (non-verbal behaviour)

43
Q

What is post-decisional dissonance?

A

attitude change to reduce dissonance caused by a freely made decision
- amplify positives of chosen option, amplify negatives of unchosen option

(spreading of alternatives)
free choice paradigm

44
Q

What is effort justification?

A
  • Effortful initiation can increase liking through dissonance reduction
  • attitudes are changed to reduce dissonance caused by choosing to exert considerable effort / suffering to achieve a goal

Effort justification is a person’s tendency to attribute the value of an outcome they put effort into achieving as greater than the objective value of the outcome.

e.g. it’s worth it to spend so much money on college bc education is more important