W6a: Attitudes and Attitude change

Question 1

Conceptual definition of attitudes

Answer 1

mental representation of a summary evaluation of an attitude object (stored in memory)
attitude objects:
Things, actions, events
Self: self esteem
Grps: prejudice
Others: global impression

Question 2

Explicit and implicit attitudes

Answer 2

Explicit attitudes: attitudes that people deliberately express:
Consciously accessible
Revealed in explicit measures

Implicit attitudes: automatic, uncontrollable evaluations.
Might be consciously inaccessible
Might be accessible but 
not willing to report
(IAT?)

Question 3

Explicit measures of attitudes:
asking a person to report on their attitudes
Types
Limitations

Answer 3

assessing explicit attitudes

Self-report scales:

1) likert
2) Semantic differential

Limitations:

1) Social desirability biases: people may distort their self-reports
2) Implicit attitudes – may not be consciously accessed, thus can’t be reported on

Question 4

Implicit measures of attitudes

Types

Answer 4

assess implicit attitudes
Overcomes Social desirability biases and limits of introspection

Types

1) physiological responses
2) Some use fake physiological responses (bogus pipeline: encourage ppl not to lie)
3) Most common use response (reaction) time (RTs) paradigms (patterns of RT)

participants do not know.

Question 5

RT Paradigms/

Answer 5

assume that patterns of response times to stimuli can reveal underlying attitudes

Based on spreading activation accounts of the mental processes. Uses the following theories:

1) Mind is an associative network
2) Activation spreads between nodes

Question 6

Spreading activation and response time paradigms

Answer 6

Spreading activation:

1) expose to a stimulus (corresponding node activated),
2) subsequent responding to a related stimulus should be faster than to an less related or unrelated stimulus

RT:
Patterns of RTs can be
used to infer patterns of association between concepts in the mind

Question 7

Spreading activation and response time paradigms:

Applying to Attitudes

Answer 7

if exposed to an attitude object, then responses to subsequent evaluative stimuli (i.e., positive or negative stimuli) can reveal whether attitude is positive or negative

Infer: shorter RT -> closer in the networks

Question 8

Attitude properties:

the 3 Structure/components/bases

Answer 8

1) Affective,
2) Behavioral
3) Cognitive.

Most attitudes have mix of ABC; however different bases may carry more weight in determining the overall evaluation

Question 9

Attitude components/bases

Affective

Answer 9

components:
emotions, feelings about att. object

How things like anger felt on the road -> then the next time on the road will be angry

Question 10

Attitude components/bases

Behavioural

Answer 10

interactions with attitude object

-frequent use of att. object

Question 11

Attitude components/bases

Cognitive

Answer 11

beliefs about att. object
- att. object is good for my health
(may not be true)

Question 12

Attitude properties:

What are the Attitude Functions (5)

Answer 12

1) Knowledge function
2) Instrumental/utilitarian function
3) Social identity/social adjustive function
4) Impression management/value expressive function
5) Self-esteem/defensive function

Variation: object; group/culture and individual differences

Question 13

Attitude Functions:

1) Knowledge function

Answer 13

Have/express attitudes to make sense of the world – to ‘summarize’ our experiences with attitude objects

Question 14

Attitude Functions:

2) Instrumental/utilitarian function

Answer 14

Have/express attitudes to help guide behaviour; achieve rewards and avoid punishments

Question 15

Attitude Functions:

3) Social identity/social adjustive function

Answer 15

Have/express attitudes to fit into groups or relationships

Question 16

Attitude Functions:

4) Impression management/value expressive function

Answer 16

Have/express attitudes to express one’s values; ideology

Question 17

Attitude Functions:

5) Self-esteem/defensive function

Answer 17

Have/express attitudes that protect the self (from low self-esteem; anxiety)

Question 18

Attitude properties:

Strength and Ambivalence

Answer 18

Strong attitudes:

1) held with confidence, certainty
2) Usually based on lots of one-sided info (A, B, C, social)
3) Are persistent, resistant and predictive of intentions and behaviour

Ambivalent attitudes:
contain positive and negative evaluative components and bases

Question 19

Attitude Formation:

Answer 19

Multiple routes to attitude formation

Often multiple processes at play

Broadly:
Affective processes
Behavioural processes
Cognitive processes

Question 20

Attitude Formation:
Affective processes
S18

Answer 20

Mere exposure:
familiarity breeds liking
Repeated exposure increases ease of processing attitude object; this positivity becomes attributed to attitude object

Evaluative conditioning: (co-occurence)
pairing a positive or negative stimulus with a neutral target

Question 21

Attitude Formation:
Behavioural processes
S19

Answer 21

1) Direct behavioural influences
(?)
2) Self-perception: we learn what we like from observing what we do (we do therefore we like)
3)Cognitive dissonance reduction (do but not like -> must be i like)

Question 22

Attitude Formation:
Cognitive processes
S20

Answer 22

Reasoned inference:

think through facts about object and draw evaluative inferences (ELM)

Question 23

Processes of attitude change

3

Answer 23

1) Social influence (conformity, obedience)
2) Perceived norms (descriptive and injunctive)
3) Cognitive dissonance reduction (??)

Question 24

persuasion
and
standard persuasion frame

Answer 24

persuasion:
change of an attitude via processing of a message about an attitude object

Frame

context/situation:
Source – message – recipient

Amount/nature of attitude change depends on attributes of each of these elements

In conjunction with…depth of processing

Question 25

Dual process models of attitude change (via persuasion)

Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM; Chaiken et al., 1989)

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986)

Answer 25

Two processing routes: deep or superficial (continuum)

Two important implications:
1) Amount and kind of attitude change (e.g., persistent, predictive of behaviour) depends on processing route

2) Factors influencing attitude change and manner of influence are contingent on processing route

Question 26

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986)

routes of persuasion

Answer 26

Attitudes can be changed by processes that involve more or less attitude object-relevant elaboration or thinking:

Low elaboration characterizes peripheral route of persuasion

High elaboration characterizes central route of persuasion

Attitude change can occur via both routes:
different processes with different consequences

Question 27

Consequences of route-specific attitude change

ELM Schematic S28

Answer 27

Central route persuasion:
Attitudes formed (or changed) based on more elaboration and validation are:
1) Stronger
2) More persistent over time (stable)
3) Resistant to further change
4) Predictive of intentions and behaviour

Opp for peripheral route

Question 28

peripheral route VS central route:

What influences route selection?

Answer 28

1) If one is motivated and capable, one will process message deeply (central route)

2) What influences adoption of processing route?
Motivation:
- Goal, value or self relevance
- Accountability
- Need for cognition: desire and enjoyment of thinking
(high: central, low: peripheral)

Capacity

• Ability (high: central)
• Distraction (low: central)

Mood (positive: more peripheral)

Question 29

Central route factors:
Source and Message

Petty & Cacioppo (1984)

Answer 29

Because people are thinking deeply, argument quality matters

Present message containing strong or weak arguments
To participants that had high or low involvement
Low = peripheral; high = central

Argument quality influences persuasion in the central route no effect on peripheral

Question 30

Peripheral route factors:
Message
Petty & Cacioppo (1984)

Answer 30

message characteristics:
Rely on msg heuristics

1) Quantity:
Argument quantity influences attitude change

2) Familiarity:
Repeated exposure to a message increases liking
Repetition -> ease -> good attributed to attitude object

Question 31

Peripheral route factors:
Source
Petty & Cacioppo (1984)

Answer 31

source characteristics:
1) Credibility: expertise (knowledge), trustworthiness (honest)

2) Attractiveness (likeableness)
- Physical attractiveness
Pallak (1983)
- Liking -> unconscious mimicry
mimicry produces liking.