Test 4 - 'Attitudes and Behaviour'

Question 1

Attitude

Answer 1

A learnt, stable and relatively enduring elevation of a person, object, even or idea that can affect an individual’s behaviour.

Question 2

Social learning

Answer 2

Suggests that both pro-social and anti-social behaviour can be learned through vicarious experience, where one person learns a behaviour by watching another person’s behaviour and seeing the consequences of that behaviour.

Question 3

Implicit attitude

Answer 3

Are involuntary, uncontrollable and sometimes unconscious. It is possible for individuals to be unaware that they hold a particular attitude until their actions reveal it.

Question 4

Explicit attitude

Answer 4

Are where people openly state their attitude and behave in a way that reflects this attitude.
E.g. attitude: exercise is good for my health. Action: visit the gym daily.

Question 5

Pro-social behaviour

Answer 5

Helping behaviour that benefits other people and society in general.

Question 6

Anti-social behaviour

Answer 6

Behaviour that is harmful to others and, ultimately, to the community, for example prejudice or aggression.

Question 7

Cognitive dissonance

Answer 7

The theory that emphasises that a person will feel uncomfortable and try to maintain an internal consistency and agreement between his/her beliefs and behaviours by altering beliefs to match behaviours.

Question 8

Tri-component model of attitudes

Answer 8

Affective component: This is a person’s feelings and emotional response to an attitude object.
Behavioural component: This is a person’s behaviour towards and attitude object. This is what we say and how we act towards the object.
Cognitive component: A person’s thoughts, ideas and understanding about an attitude object. It is what we know, or think we know, about the attitude.

Question 9

Attitude change

Answer 9

Any modification in a person’s attitude.

Question 10

Operant conditioning

Answer 10

Learning in which a voluntary response comes to be controlled by its consequences.

Question 11

Classical conditioning

Answer 11

whereby an animal or other organism can passively learn to show a naturally occurring reflex action, such as salivation, in response to any stimulus – learning through association.

Question 12

Observational learning

Answer 12

is where children form their attitudes by observing those expressed by other people who are important to them, such as parents and teachers, and by the consequences for these people when they express their attitudes.

Question 13

Elaboration-likelihood model

Answer 13

Is an example of a model that attempts to explain whether people are more likely to be influenced by the content of a message, or by its superficial characteristics.

Question 14

Central route

Answer 14

Message: Content based on logic
Effort required: High elaboration (careful processing of information).
Influence on attitude: longer lasting

Question 15

Peripheral route

Answer 15

Message: Content based on attractiveness, likeability, credibility of source, emotion arousing
Effort required: low elaboration (very little processing of information)
Influence on attitude: less permanent

Question 16

Direct experience (ways of learning attitudes)

Answer 16

direct encounters with a person, object or idea can influence the formation of an attitude. Direct experiences that are negative or unpleasant can result in strong attitudes. For example if a person has a wound and the doctor stitching it up causes a lot of pain, this may result in a negative attitude to all doctors in the future.

Question 17

Mere exposure effect (ways of learning attitudes)

Answer 17

repeated exposure to an attitude object may result in a positive or negative attitude towards it. The number of times that a person is exposed to the attitude will correlate with a stronger or weaker attitude towards it.

Question 18

What are the three sources of learning attitudes?

Answer 18

• Parents
• Peer influence
• Mass media

Question 19

Situation (pro-social behaviour)

Answer 19

the characteristics of the particular situation will have an influence on whether an individual will behave in a pro-social way. If a situation is a clear-cut need for help, it is more likely that people will assist. If the situation is ambiguous, then help might not be forthcoming.

Question 20

Bystander (pro-social behaviour)

Answer 20

is where a person voluntarily helps someone else.
Potential helpers go through 5 stages in deciding to help:
1. Noticing the need for help
2. Deciding that it is an emergency
3. Deciding to take responsibility
4. Deciding on a way to help
5. Taking action to help

Question 21

Social norms (pro-social behaviour)

Answer 21

it is a form of action or behaviour that is standardised and expected in society; in other words, behaviour that society regards as ‘normal’. Norms are learned, and they provide a background for human social interaction.

Question 22

Personal characteristics of he helper (pro-social behaviour)

Answer 22

Both biological (nature) and environmental (nurture) factors influence pro-social behaviour. Although we might be born with a predisposition to act in a particular way, past experiences and the immediate circumstances of the individual will influence a person’s pro-social behaviour.

Question 23

Empathy (pro-social behaviour)

Answer 23

we find it unpleasant to see another person suffering, so we take action to help and thus alleviate the suffering.

Question 24

Mood (pro-social behaviour)

Answer 24

A person’s mood has been found to influence their propensity to behave in pro-social ways.

Question 25

Competence (pro-social behaviour)

Answer 25

The way bystanders perceive their competence to deal with an emergency will influence whether they will provide help.

Question 26

Altruism (pro-social behaviour)

Answer 26

is a unique influence on pro-social behaviour where, for no personal gain and sometimes a great personal cost, a person helps other due to a deeply felt concern for fellow human beings.

Question 27

Situation (anti-social behaviour)

Answer 27

Just as a situation influences whether a person will behave in a pro-social way, it is also a factor that can influence anti-social behaviour.

Question 28

the bystander effect (anti-social behaviour)

Answer 28

is where the likelihood of bystanders helping is influenced by the number of bystanders present at the scene. The more bystander there are, the less likely it is that one of them will provide help.

Question 29

Deindividuation (anti-social behaviour)

Answer 29

is where individuals are more likely to commit anti-social behaviour in a situation where they can’t be identified personally. Being in a crowd gives a person anonymity because personal identity is concealed. It also removes the feeling of guilt.

Question 30

Decision stage model (5 stages)

Answer 30

It says that when confronted with a situation that might require their assistance, potential helpers go through five stages in deciding to help:

1. Noticing the need for help
2. Deciding that it is an emergency
3. Deciding to take responsibility
4. Deciding on a way to help
5. Taking action to help

Question 31

bystander effect during anti-social behaviour

Answer 31

It occurs in a variety of situations, and a number of different factors are involved: 
•	Diffusion of responsibility
•	Audience inhibition
•	Social influence
•	Proximity of the victim 
•	Nature of the bystander

Question 32

Recipient of the message

Answer 32

The characteristics of the audience - their intelligence, mood, self-esteem, concentration, personality, existing attitude and persuadability

Question 33

Source of the message

Answer 33

The source is the person who sends the message. Generally, a message is more likely to change the attitude of an audience if the source has either one or a combination of the following qualities:
• High credibility
• Appeal
• Similarity

Question 34

Medium for communicating the message

Answer 34

The impact of the message depends on the medium of the message. The medium can be in one of several formats:
• Electronic
• In person
• Written

Question 35

Hostile aggression

Answer 35

behaviour intended to hurt another person, even if it results in damage to personal relationships or property. Usually a response to pain, perceived danger or threats, or an uncomfortable environment, such as extreme temperature.

Question 36

Instrumental aggression

Answer 36

behaviour that is the result of deliberate planning where the aggressor has no personal feeling toward the person or people they are hurting.

Question 37

Aggression

Answer 37

behaviour, directed towards another person or people, which intended to cause harm.

Question 38

Personal factors (influencing aggression)

Answer 38

these include characteristics of the individual (age, gender, culture, experience, self-esteem etc.) and emotional triggers (grief, provocation and the effects of alcohol or illicit drugs.)

Question 39

Circumstances of the aggressor (influencing aggression)

Answer 39

The physical environment can influence the tendency to aggression in humans; riots are more likely to occur when the temperature is hotter than normal. Crowding and invasion of personal space, for example night clubs and sport venues, can lead to brawls.

Question 40

Perceived disadvantage (influencing aggression)

Answer 40

where people compare their socio-economic circumstances with other who are perceived to be better off than themselves: this can lead to the ‘disadvantaged’ person acting aggressively (keying someone’s nice car).

Question 41

Deindividuation (influencing aggression)

Answer 41

in cases where a person is not identified as an individual, for example when wearing a uniform, in disguise or when surrounded by a crowd. They have greater opportunity to behave badly because there is less chance of them being ‘identified’.

Question 42

Conformity to norms (influencing aggression)

Answer 42

where people behave in ways that society expects and accepts: some communities accept and permit aggression more than others. Therefore, when individuals or groups engage in acts of aggression, they might simply be conforming to the culture of their community, even if their behaviour is abhorrent to people from other communities.

Question 43

Prejudice

Answer 43

an unfavourable attitude towards a group of people.

Question 44

Discrimination

Answer 44

prejudice expressed through behaviour.

Question 45

Learning

Answer 45

The factors that influence the formation of prejudice are the same factors that influence the formation of attitudes.

Question 46

In-groups and out-groups

Answer 46

People in groups sometimes perceive themselves as ‘us’ (the in-group) and ‘them’ (the out-group). Members of a perceived group tend to classify themselves as being better than other people.

Question 47

Social identity

Answer 47

People categorise themselves into a group and gain their individual identity by belonging to the group. Belonging to a group boosts people self-esteem.

Question 48

Social categorisation

Answer 48

Social categorisation is a natural human tendency to classify people into groups on characteristics that we perceive them to have in common.

Question 49

Stigma

Answer 49

A group of individuals is perceived by others to possess qualities that are undesirable, and is therefore rejected.

Question 50

Scapegoating

Answer 50

is sometimes referred to as the frustration- aggression theory. It involved socially frustrating conditions, such as economic depression and unemployment.

Question 51

Education

Answer 51

The formation of prejudice can be impeded through education programs in schools where children are taught about tolerance, the consequences of prejudice, and what constitutes discrimination.

Question 52

Intergroup contact

Answer 52

it can be reduced through direct contact between groups of people who have prejudicial attitudes towards each other.

Question 53

cognitive interventions

Answer 53

prejudice can be countered by reducing stereotyping through cognition. For example, making information available to individuals reduces stereotypes by minimising irrelevant information about groups of people.

Question 54

superordinate goals

Answer 54

working towards a common goal can facilitate knowledge and understanding between groups. However, the goal must be shared, and it must require the contribution of both groups.

Question 55

direct experience

Answer 55

directly experiencing another culture or lifestyle - either in another country or within our own - can help reduce prejudice.

Question 56

Table 13.3 Biological (nature)

Answer 56

Anti-social behaviour such as aggression, are seen as genetic, where humans instinctively behave to protect themselves and other members of their species, and to compete for scarce resources.

Question 57

Table 13.3 Environmental (nurture)

Answer 57

This is the view that anti-social behaviour is not innate, but is learned during the socialisation process.

Question 58

Table 13.3 The interaction between nature and nurture

Answer 58

This approach suggests that, although we might be born with an innate tendency to some forms of anti-social behaviour, exactly how we act in anti-social ways is the product of learning from the environment.