S2 Topic 1 - Attitudes Flashcards
.What are possible definitions for attitudes? (3)
- a directive and organized state of readiness
- an outcome of a combination of information
- an automatic judgement
How do researches view attitudes? (4)
psychological construct
not directly observable
precedes behaviour
guides our choices for action
Explain the 3-component attitude model
Affective - emotional connection to the attitude object
Behavioural - action tendencies about the attitude object
Cognitive - beliefs/ideas about the attitude object
In what ways do attitudes save cognitive energy? (3)
reduce info overload
simplify decision making
minimize indecision
What are the 3 direct measures for attitudes?
Likert scales
Semantic differential techniques
Ranking
What are 4 indirect attitude measurements?
Physiological measures (heart rate)
More honest answers if person doesn’t know their attitude are being assessed
Electrical activity in the brain
Facial expressions
What are unobtrusive measures?
What are its benefits? (2)
observational approaches that don’t intrude on the processes being studied
Benefits:
- people don’t act unnatural
- can be used in triangulation
What is the Implicit Association Test (IAT)?
How does it work? (3)
a measure of socially undesirable, underlying attitudes
- participants are presented with pairs of related concepts (e.g., flowers and pleasant, insects and unpleasant)
- the response time for participants to sort the concepts into pairs is measured
- assessing how closely participants link the concepts reveals implicit biases
What is the IAT mostly used for?
to explore biases related to race, gender, age, religion, etc.
How are attitudes formed?
from our own experiences, the influences of others, and our emotional reactions
What factors contribute to attitude formation? (8)
Direct experiences
Classical conditioning
Spreading attitude effect
Operant conditioning
Modelling (observational learning)
Cognitive development
Media
Genetic factors
What is the mere exposure effect? (2)
repeated exposure to an object results in greater attraction to it
we develop a preference for that object simply because it is familiar, even though we lack info about it
What is the spreading attitude effect?
a liked/disliked person may affect the evaluation of others associated to them
How does social comparison contribute to attitude formation?
when we compare our view to others, it either reinforces our own belief/attitude toward something or causes our belief/attitude to change
Describe the relationship between attitudes and behaviour (2)
correlation is often weak
not all behaviours can be predicted accurately from verbally expressed attitudes
What does attitude-behaviour consistency depend on? (3)
- Attitude accessibility
- Whether attitude is expressed privately/publicly
- How strongly someone identifies with the group in which the attitude is normative
Define attitude accessibility
how strong the connection between the object and memory of representation and evaluation of the object
Compare and contrast the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behaviour? (2)
TRA - doesn’t consider behavioural control
TPB - considers behavioural control
Both - intention of a behaviour depends on attitude towards object and subjective norms
What does attitude towards a behaviour depend on? (2)
beliefs about consequences of that behaviour
evaluation of possible outcomes
What does subjective norm depend on? (2)
belief about what other people think a person should do
the strength of a person’s motivation to comply with society’s expectations
What is perceived behavioural control?
a person’s belief based on experiences/obstacles in their own capabilities to perform a behaviour
Explain the Protection Motivation Theory (5)
motivation towards protection results from the desire to avoid potential negative outcomes
hence intentions and behaviours are influenced by:
- increase in perceived severity of threat
- vulnerability of individual to threat
- perceived effectiveness of protective action
- self efficacy
What are 3 aspects of attitudes?
- Origins (direct/indirect)
- Strength (consistency, importance, certainty)
- Specificity (specific/general)
How do high self-monitors make a decision as opposed to low self-monitors?
Which type has a stronger link between attitudes and behaviour?
High SM - analyze situation with reference to public self
Low SM - analyze situation with reference to private self - stronger link
Name the 4 stages of attitude change
- Attention
- Comprehension
- Acceptance/Rejection
- Retention (attitude change - happens only if acceptance occurs)
What factors affect whether the sender/source of information is paid attention/ignored? (6)
Expertise on topic
Credibility
Physical attractiveness
Similarity to self
Argues against own best interest
Race
What factors affect whether the message being delivered is paid attention/ignored? (6)
- Organization (starting with positive/negative)
- Repetition
- Type (fear/humor)
- Perceived manipulation
- Appeal (facts/feelings)
- Delivery (forcefulness, rapid/slow)
What factors affect how the audience receive the message being delivered? (6)
- Gender
- Personality
- Current beliefs
- Intelligence
- Mood
- Age
What context factors affect the message being delivered? (3)
- Distractions
- Presence of other people
- Atmosphere (relaxing/tense)
What factors affect the channel through which the message is being delivered? (3)
- Amount of info
- Medium
- Type and genre of info
Name the theories of Attitude Change (5)
- Reception-Yielding Model
- Elaboration Likelihood Model
- Cognitive Dissonance Theory
- Balance Theory
- Learning theories (classical & operant conditioning, and observational learning)
Explain the Reception-Yielding Model
Communication is the process by which a communicator transmits stimuli to modify the attitudes and behaviours of the audience
Explain the Elaboration Likelihood Model (2)
there are 2 ways people can be persuaded:
- central route - carefully weighing pros and cons of a choice - hence the attitude change depends on the info
- peripheral route - rushed considering of features more unrelated to decision at hand - hence the attitude change depends on cues
Explain the Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Give an example
Cognitive dissonance - conflicting attitudes/beliefs/behaviours produce feelings of mental discomfort - leading to an alteration of one of the attitudes to restore balance
E.g., smokers know that smoking causes cancer but they do it anyway - cognitive dissonance - ATTITUDE CHANGE - people stop smoking - congruence
Explain the Balance Theory
Give an example
unbalanced structures are associated with an uncomfortable feeling - hence people strive for balanced structures and avoid unbalanced ones
E.g., balanced structure - your friend also likes your favourite band
imbalanced structure - your friend dislikes your favourite band
