SOC-PSY 6 ATTITIDUES AND PERSUASION

Attitudes

An inner tendency to judge or evaluate something or someone either positively or negatively.

Attitude Object

The object, person, place, or idea toward which an individual directs their attitude.

Informational Belief

A fact-based belief that includes no positive or negative judgment.

Evaluative Belief

A belief that includes a positive or negative judgment about an object, person, or idea.

Dual Attitudes

When an individual holds contrasting positive and negative beliefs about the same attitude object.

Model of Dual Attitudes

A framework proposing that new attitudes override old attitudes without entirely replacing them.

Implicit Attitudes

Attitudes based on automatic, unconscious beliefs about an attitude object.

Explicit Attitudes

Attitudes that are the result of controlled, conscious beliefs about an attitude object.

Uni-valenced Decision

A decision based on an attitude that is clearly either good or bad, but not both.

Specificity Principle

The idea that the link between attitudes and behaviors is stronger when both are measured at the same level of specificity.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

The concept that individuals infer their emotions based on their facial expressions.

Self-Affirmation Theory

The belief that individuals strive to maintain a positive self-image and focus on positive aspects of themselves.

Theory of Planned Behavior

A theory stating that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control together predict behavioral intentions, leading to actual behavior.

Assortative Mating

The tendency for individuals to mate with others who are similar to themselves.

Social Learning Theory

The proposition that individuals learn attitudes through observing and imitating others.

Cognitive Dissonance

A state of psychological discomfort arising from holding conflicting beliefs or behaviors.

Cherry-Picking Data

Selecting only data that supports one’s beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence.

Attitude Inoculation

The process of building resistance to persuasion through exposure to counterarguments.

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

A model that describes two routes to persuasion: central (logical) and peripheral (emotional).

Central Path

A type of persuasion that involves careful evaluation of a message and requires the recipient's close attention.

Peripheral Path

A type of persuasion that relies on indirect and emotional appeals, requiring minimal thought from the recipient.

Communication-Persuasion Matrix

A model that outlines the steps in persuasion: attention, comprehension, learning, acceptance, retention, and conclusion.

Norm of Reciprocity

The expectation that people will respond to a positive action with another positive action.

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

A persuasion strategy where agreeing to a small request increases the likelihood of agreeing to a larger request later.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

A persuasion method where a large request is made first, followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.