PSYC-ch6 (TMT, Attitudes, Behaviours) Flashcards
Define Attitude
An evaluation of an object from a positive-negative dimension
Attitudes influence behaviours (less/more) than we think they do.
less
Behaviorus influence attitudes (less/more) than we think they do.
more
What are the 3 factors that impact your attitude?
- Affect (emotion) – how much you like/dislike the thing
- Cognition: your thoughts/memories/beliefs that reinforce your feelings
- Behaviour: your liking of an object is tied to your behavioural tendencies to approach/avoid it.
When an attitude is primed, are you more or less likely to behave consistently with the attitude?
When an attitude is primed, you will behave more consistently with that attitude.
Name the 4 general methods and/or measures that are used to measure your attitudes.
- Likert Scale (numerical scales with statements like ‘totally agree’ & ‘kind of agree’)
- Accessibility of the attitude (using response latency to see how long you respond)
- Centrality of the attitude (if that attitude is central to you / consistent with your other beliefs)
- Implicit attitude measures (IATs)
What did the Lapiere Study (1934), about Chinese people in establishments, say about attitudes and behaviours?
People do not behave consistent with their attitudes; most restaurants served the Asian couple even if their attitudes towards Asians were negative.
Which is more true?
- positive behaviour predicts positive attitude
- positive attitude predicts positive behaviour
positive behaviour usually predicts positive attitude
(at bowling alley => like bowling)
(like bowling =/=> at bowling alley)
Name 3 reasons attitude does not predict behaviour
- Attitudes can conflict with other powerful determinants of behaviour (we like dieting, but we don’t diet b/c we also like ice cream)
- Introspecting about the reasons for our attitudes (the attitude we generate after introspecting is not representative and is therefore not a good predictor of subsequent behaviour)
- general attitudes are good at predicting general behaviour but not specific behaviour.
Cognitive Consistency Theory
People are motivated to seek coherent attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, values, etc.
Cognitive dissonance theory
The theory that inconsistency between a person’s thoughts and actions creates an aversive emotional state that leads to efforts to restore consistency
When does dissonance reduction take place?
After we’ve made an irrevocable decision
Effort justification
The tendency to reduce dissonance by trying to justify the time/effort/$ devoted to something that turned out disappointing.
Induced (forced) compliance & dissonance effects
Subtly compelling people to behave in a manner that is inconsistent with their beliefs -> thus eliciting dissonance -> this changed their original attitudes & values (consistent w/ dissonance theory)
If you want to persuade someone to do something they don’t wanna do (and change their behaviour long term), should you give them lots of incentive or little incentive?
Only a little incentive
They will act inconsistent w/ their behaviours -> dissonance -> change their attitudes to be in line with the new behaviour.
Name the 1+4 conditions under which inconsistency produces dissonance?
Inconsistencies => dissonance IFF
it implicates our sense of self
AND the behaviour
1. was freely chosen
2. wasn’t justified
3. had negative consequences
4. had foreseeable negative consequences
Standard dissonance effect
if your behaviour is inconsistent with your beliefs and you only get a small reward for it, your attitudes will change to match your behaviour.
Name 2 ways people deal with cognitive dissonance
- Standard dissonance effect; they change their attitudes
- They self-affirm (take stock of our other good qualities)
Are all kinds of dissonance universal?
No.
East Asian people do not display dissonance effects when they are making decisions for themselves.
They do display dissonance effects in social situations (making decisions for others/ in front of others)
Self perception Theory
The theory that people come to know their own attitudes by looking at their behaviour and the context in which it occurred => inferring their attitudes.
Which is true, dissonance theory or self-perception theory? When are they true?
Both are true.
Dissonance reduction processes are activated when behaviour is inconsistent with pre-existing attitudes that are clear-cut / important.
Self-perception processes are invoked when behaviour conflicts with attitudes that are vague/less important.
Embodied cognition
The idea that thoughts and feelings are grounded in our physical states and bodily movements.
To understand something, people must simulate it.
We subconsciously draw on what our body is doing when we are trying to figure out how we feel about something.
Define System justification theory.
Why do we do it?
SJT: The theory that people are motivated to see the existing sociopolitical system as desirable, fair, legit.
We do it to reduce the dissonance between your opinion of the system and the system; it is easier to line up your opinion to fit the system than to protect & change the system to fit your opinions.
Terror Management Theory (TMT)
The theory that people deal with the anxiety-inducing thought of death by
-striving for symbolic immortality
-by believing they have lived up to their culture’s standards (linked to self-esteem)
TMT: how do people strive for symbolic immortality
-believing in an afterlife
-believing that the things /institutions we value will live beyond us (e.g. children, religions)
How does TMT link to self-esteem?
TMT maintains that when our mortality is salient, we should be especially concerned with striving to maintain high self-esteem
(We want to be in ‘good standing’ with the world)
In the study where they asked homophobic people to give college tours to a gay man, what would influence whether or not they accepted to do the tour? Why?
If the description of the gay man was stereotypical, the person would more likely refuse.
If the description of the gay man was less stereotypical, the person was more likely to accept.
People are base their general attitudes on stereotypical specific cases.
