Test 1 Flashcards
Define persuasion
Any message that is intended to shape, reinforce, or change the responses of another, or others
- shape
- reinforce
- change
Define shape
no established pattern of response
Define reinforce
reinforcing currently held beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors
Define change
involves affecting another person’s cognitions, attitudes, or behavior
goals and targets of persuasion
what is being changed, shaped, or reinforced?
1) cognitions: beliefs about the world
2) attitudes
3) behavior
definition of attitude
a learned predisposition
characteristics of attitudes
- are learned
- relatively enduring, may evolve
- guide behavior
what are the sources of attitudes
3 sources:
1) cognitions
2) affective/emotion
3) past behavior
what are the two characteristics of attitudes
1) attitudes accessibility: attitudes vary in how quickly they may be retrieved from memory and applied
2) attitude strength: we hold some attitudes more/less strongly than others
What is the LaPierre study and the attitude-behavior controversy
(1934) Chinese couple traveling, visited hotels and restaurants and was refused by one. 6months later, surveys were sent out to the same establishments, most replied saying they would NOT house a person from China. **raised considerable questions about the attitude-behavior relationship
What are some problems measuring attitudes
- carelessness: not paying attention to detail
- extremity: tendency to select extreme, most responses on the scale
- acquiescence: agreeing with an item, regardless of its content
- social desirability: the tendency to give socially appropriate responses to avoid looking “bad” or “uninformed”
What is measurement correspondence (TACT)
the degree of match between attitude measure and the behavior measure
- Target: what is the attitude object
- Action: what is being done to the object
- Context: in what setting does the action occur
- Time: when does the action take place
TACT=target, action, context, time
What are some instances when attitudes are most likely to predict behavior?
- social norms are unimportant
- time is limited
- attitudes are based on direct experience
- attitudes are accessible
What are some differences between conditioning and learning
- attitudes are learned in multiple ways
- learning: a relatively stable change in behavior that results from prior experiences
- conditioning: to cause to respond in a specific manner to a specific stimulus.
What are some general types of learning/condition theories
1) behavioristic
2) cognitive
define behavioristic
people are regarded as reactive victims of external rewards and punishments with no freedom of choice or capacity for self-direction, attitude and behavior change occur automatically, without conscious human awareness
define cognitive
shape external reality and determine responses to the environment, free will is critical
what are some types of conditioning/learning
- classical conditioning (high-order classical conditioning)
- operant conditioning
- observational learning
what is classical conditioning
occurs when a connection is drawn between two events in the environment
what are the steps in classical conditioning
1) Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
2) Unconditioned response(UCR)
3) Conditioned stimulus(CS)
4) conditioned response (CR)
what is the main idea in classical conditioning
is that UCS-CS pairing is created and eventually the CS alone elicits the UCR (which then becomes the CR)
what is higher-order classical conditioning
works the same way as classical conditioning, however, a conditioned response is transferred to a different conditioned stimulus
what are the steps in higher-order classical conditioning
1) conditioned stimulus (CS)
2) conditioned response(CR)
3) conditioned stimulus(CS)
4) conditioned response(CR)
* think of value meals…
what is operant conditioning
based on the idea that people act to maximize positive and minimize negative consequences
- reinforcement is key
- positive=reward
- negative=punishment
social cognitive theory
explains how patterns of behavior are acquired and how their expression is continuously regulated by both self-and other-generated sources of influence
what are some assumptions on social cognitive theory
there are limits to what can be learned via trial-and-error
-through observing others, individuals gain info on how to enact a behavior
what are the three important functions that observations serves
1) information function
2) motivational function
3) reinforcement funtion
what is informational function
allows hypothesis testing about the outcomes associated with a behavior
what is motivational function
establishes a value for a behavior and incentive to enact (or not enact) a behavior
what is reinforcement function
strengthens the connections between previously learned behaviors and their consequences
what are the key components of Fishbein’s theory of attitudes
- a mathematical model of attitudes
- attitude toward a behavior is a function of:
- beliefs about the implication of the behavior
- the corresponding evaluations of those consequences
what are the persuasion strategies offered by the theory of attitudes
implies: change & existing belief:
- change an existing evaluation
- add a new belief
what are the components of the theory of reasoned action (TRA)
- behavior
- behavioral intention
- attitude
- subjective norms
in TRA explain behavior
any action that one can perform
in TRA explain behavioral intention
a plan to act (or not)
in TRA explain attitude
a relatively global evaluation of some object based on the combination of beliefs and evaluations
in TRA explain subjective norms
involve the influence of important others
What is the theory of Perceived behavioral control (TPB)
it is a general estimate of liklihood that a person could, if he/she wished, enact a particular behavior
1) perceived facilitation
2) control beliefs
in TPB, what is perceived facilitation
refers to the availability of resources needed to execute a behavior (do i have the resources?)
in TPB, what is control beliefs
they are the beliefs that an individual holds regarding his/her personal ability to carry out a behavior (can i do it?)
what is the difference between TRA and TPB
TPB includes perceived behavioral control and TRA doesn’t
what are the components of social judgement theory
- anchor
- latitude of acceptance
- latitude of rejection
- latitude of non commitment
what is an anchor
ones position on an issue
what is a latitude of acceptance
positions in an issue that are around the anchor, pretty close to what you believe
what is latitude of rejection
positions on an issue that wont work
what is latitude of non-commitment
don’t despise, but don’t love, positions that are acceptable
how does the social judgement theory work
- message that falls in the latitude of acceptance, assimilation occurs
- message that falls in the latitude of non-commitment, may cause greatest amt of change
- message that falls in the latitude of rejection, contrast error occurs
what is the boomerang effect
attitudes change in opposite direction from what the message advocates
- listener driven away instead of drawn
- convince me to like>already dislike>hate even more
What are social epidemics
there are 3 characteristics/ 3 rules
1) contagiousness
2) small changes->large effects
3) change not catalyzed slowly but in one dramatic moment
what are the 3 rules in social epidemics
1) law of the few
2) stickiness factor
3) power of context
what are social norms
- tell us how we should behave
- socially constructed
what do norms refer to
expectations held by a group of people about what behavior/opinions are right/wrong.
- socially constructed
- constantly re-negotiated
- different from formal rules
what are collective norms
- operate at the level of an entire social system
- emerge thru interaction among community members
- represent a collective’s code of conduct
what are perceived norms
- operate at the individual level
- are individuals interpretation of collective norms
- perceived norms influence behavior
what are the two types of perceived norms
1) injunctive norms
2) descriptive norms
what are injunctive norms
beliefs about what one SHOULD do
non-compliance might be met with sanctions (social disapproval)
what are descriptive norms
beliefs about what is actually done y most others in ones social group
what is TNSB
theory of normative social behavior
define TNSB
-descriptive norms influence behavior
how are descriptive norms magnified
1) injunctive norms
2) outcome expectations
3) group identity
what is outcome expectations
-benefits to self and others
what is group identity
desire to connect with a reference group (peers)
what is pluralistic ignorance
perceptions of descriptive norms that are inaccurate
in the tipping point, what is the emotional contaigion
emotion is contagious
define stickiness in the tipping point
ideas must be memorable for people to remember
what is the power of context in the tipping point
environment and conditions are vital in order to reach a tipping point
what are some implications of the TRA
- influence attitudes
1) change beliefs, add new beliefs
2) change evaluations - influence subjective norms
3) make a referent more/less salient
4) change motivation to comply with a referent
