S2 Flashcards
define attitude
A long lasting evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event or issue.
what are the characteristics of attitudes
-persist over time, relatively stable.
-have a direction: can be positive,
negative or neutral
-vary in intensity (i.e., feel strongly
about an issue or take a mild interest).
what factors influence attitude formation
-Direct personal experience
-Observation-Interaction with others
(observational learning)
-Conditioning- punishment and
reward
-Social Norms: Cultural values and
beliefs, social roles, media
what are explicit attitudes
evaluations that are at the conscious level, are deliberately formed and are easy to self-report; ie one that you deliberately think about and report e.g., you could tell someone whether you like math.
what are implicit roles
attitudes that are at the unconscious level, are involuntarily formed and are typically unknown to us; eg, you hold the belief that men and women are equally good at math, but unconsciously you associate math more strongly with men without being actively aware of it
compare the awareness of explicit and implicit attitudes
People are aware of their explicit attitudes but not of their implicit attitudes.
compare the change of explicit and implicit attitudes
Explicit attitudes are more dynamic and can change over time, while implicit attitudes are likely to be resistant to change.
compare the measurement of explicit and implicit attitudes
Explicit attitudes involve direct measurement, while implicit attitudes involve indirect measurement.
explain Need / Want Satisfaction Function in attitudes
Attitudes guide us to behave in a particular way to help us satisfy our needs and wants.
Attitudes serving these functions will change whenthe individual’s needs are changed or they convinced that new attitudes that are suggested to them can meet their existing needs better
explain Knowledge Function in attitudes
Individuals need to understand the external world in a meaningful way to become a functional member of the society. Attitudes help us to understand and process information in a meaningful way.
for example if driving is not important to them they will not seek out knowledge about cars
explain Value Expression Function in attitudes
enables an individual to express their central values and beliefs
ie someone who believes android is better than apple buying android products
explain Self image Protection function in attitudes
helps people protect their self image from harm, shame or threat.
what is the central hypothesis of social identity theory
that group members of an in-group will seek to find negative aspects of an out-group, to enhance their self-image/ the in-group will discriminate against the out-group to enhance their self-image.
what was Tajfel Turner’s theory
the Social Categorization Theory
describe the social categorization theory
evaluating others as “us” or “them” occurs due to three mental processes; social categorisation, social identification, social comparison
what is the mental process of social categorisation
Being grouped by self or others.
what is the mental process of social identification
Adoption of group norms, self image becomes linked to group membership/
The process by which we adopt the identity of the group we have categorized ourselves as belonging to and conform to group norms.
Self-image will become bound up with group membership.
what is the mental process of social comparison
In group favoritism, out group negative bias
Once we have categorized ourselves as part of a group and have identified with that group, we then tend to compare that group with other groups.
To maintain self-esteem the group needs to compare favorably with other groups
The more prestigious the group the higher the self esteem of its members.
In order to increase our self- esteem, we enhance the status of the group to which we belong.
what is the ‘in group’
In Group: Groups to which an individual perceives membership to (“us”).
what is the ‘out group’
Out Group: Any group other than the groups to which individuals perceives themselves as belonging to (“them”).
what is self image
Our definition of ourselves.
what are group norms
rules and expectations of behaviours by group members/ Rules and expectations of behaviours by group members. Breaking of group norms can lead to exclusion from the group.
what is social identity
a person’s sense of who they are based on their real or perceived group membership(s).
what is ingroup favouritism
People favour those belonging to their in-group.
