Chapter 4: Attitudes, Behaviors, & Persuasions

Attitude

Our relatively enduring evaluation of something (ABC’s). Not caring about something is also an attitude.

Attitude Strength

The importance of an attitude, assessed by how quickly it comes to mind.

Principle of Attitude Consistency

The ABCs of affect, behavior, and cognition are normally in line with each other.

Theory of Planned Behavior

Outlines important variables that affect the attitude-behavior relationship; the stronger the attitude, the stronger the behavior.

Self-Monitoring

Individual differences in the tendency to attend to social cues and adjust one’s behavior to the social environment.

High Self-Monitors

Individuals who attempt to blend into social situations to be liked and are less likely to have firm attitudes.

Low Self-Monitors

Individuals who are less likely to adjust their behavior according to social situations and are more likely to have firm attitudes.

Self-Perception

Occurs when we use our own behavior as a guide to help us determine our thoughts and feelings.

Insufficient Justification

Behavior that is governed by the situation, but the individual does not realize that the situation is the cause.

Overjustification

When we view our behavior as caused by the situation, discounting our own interest in it.

Effective Communicators

Attractive, similar, trustworthy, likable, experts who speak quickly and act against self-interest.

Sleeper Effect

Attitude change that occurs over time when we remember the content but not the source.

Spontaneous Message Processing

Focusing on whatever is most obvious or enjoyable without much attention to the message itself.

Thoughtful Message Processing

Careful consideration of how the message relates to our own beliefs and whether the persuasion attempt is valid.

Forewarning

Giving people a chance to develop a resistance to persuasion.

Inoculation

Building up defenses against persuasion by mildly attacking the attitude position.

Psychological Reactance

Strong emotional response experienced when we feel that our freedom of choice is being taken away.

Cognitive Dissonance

Discomfort that occurs when we behave incongruently with our expectations.

Post-Decisional Dissonance

The feeling of regret that may occur after making an important decision.

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

A persuasion attempt that starts with a minor request followed by a larger one.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

Asking for something large, then decreasing the request to increase likelihood of compliance.

Low-Ball Technique

A sales strategy where a customer commits to a price, after which the price is increased.

Bait-and-Switch Technique

Advertising a product at a low price, but when the customer attempts to buy it, it's sold out and a higher-priced product is offered.

Attributions

The process of assigning causes to behaviors.

Person Perception

The process of learning about other people through physical characteristics and social category membership.

Prefrontal Cortex

The brain area active when making judgments about people.

Nonverbal Behavior

Any type of communication that does not involve speaking, including facial expressions and body language.

Central Traits

Characteristics that have a strong influence on our impressions of others.

Primacy Effect

The tendency for initial information to be weighted more heavily than later information.

Recency Effect

The tendency to give more weight to information that comes later, though less common than the primacy effect.

Halo Effect

The influence of a global positive evaluation of a person on perceptions of their specific traits.

Causal Attribution

The process of determining the causes of people’s behavior.

Personal Attribution

Attribution that determines behavior was primarily caused by the person.

Situational Attribution

Attribution that determines behavior was primarily caused by the situation.