Attitudes and stereotypes

Attribution theory

The theory that humans have an inhale need to understand why people behave in certain ways its our cognitive evaluation about the intention and responsibility of other peoples actions

Situational attribution

The assumption that the behavior is due to environmental or external factors:

• environmental factors

• The situation a person is in

• Luck

• Actions of other people

Self-serving bias

The tendency to interpret events in way that assigns credit for personal success to internal factors but denies personal responsibility for failure, which is blamed on external factors

Group-serving bias

Any cognitive tendency that contribute to an overvaluing of ones group, particularly the tendency to credit the group for its success but to blame external factors for its failures

Dispositional attributions

The assumption that the behaviour is due to personal or internal factors.

Traits, ability motivation, attitude, mood, effort

Fundamental attribution theory

When people place too much emphasis on dispositional attributions for others, and too little emphasis on situational attributions for others

Stereotypes

An oversimplified belief about an out group (a group you’re not in/ belong to) associated with either positive or negative thoughts about its members

Characteristics of a stereotype

Based on perceived common interests
Uses labels
Generalisations which can assume all members in a group are the same
Causes of prejudice

Functions of sterotypes

Helps us to organise our knowledge of people quickly, especially when we meet new people

one advantage of a stereotype is that it enables us to respond rapidly to situations because we may have had a similar experience before

Prejudice definition

A negative attitude towards another person or group formed in advance of any experience with that person or group

Discrimination definition

Prejudice expressed through behaviour, the unjust and differential treatment of the members of another group

Direct discrimination definition

Is when you are treated unfairly because of a characteristic you have, or are assumed to have

Indirect discrimination definition

Is when a rule or requirement that applies to everybody unfairly or disadvantages people who posses a characteristic, and is not reasonable in the circumstances

Social influence

Cause of prejudice

Any change in an individuals thoughts feelings or behaviours causes by other people

Social identification

A process where people modify their behaviour attitudes and beliefs to match the group they belong to

Social categorisation

assembling similar objects and people so that we are able to identify and understand them

social comparison

comparing our in group with other groups to affirm our identity

Intergroup Competition

Causes of prejudice: chances increase when competing groups are relatively equal status

Involves small groups competing against other groups, with such groups including both small face to face gatherings and very large groups such as nations

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Just world Phenomenon

Cause of prejudice

Is the assumption people make that everything happens for a reason and that the world is just and fair

Contact hypothesis

The theory that proposes social contact between social groups is sufficient to reduce inter group prejudice, including: inter group contact, superordinate goals, mutual interdependence and equal status contact

Intergroup contact

interactions between the holder of the stereotype and the target of the stereotype

superordinate goals

Shared goals that groups or individuals cannot achieve alone or without the other person or group

Mutual interdependence

Depending on one another to meet each persons goals

Equal status contact

Social interaction that occurs at the same level without obvious differences in power or status

Attitude definition

A learnt, stable and relatively enduring evaluation of an attitude object (person, object, event or idea) that can affect an individuals behaviour

Implicit attitude definition

Involuntary, uncontrolled or unconscious attitudes that individuals are often unaware they hold, even though they may influence their behaviour

Explicit attitudes

Attitudes that individuals are open about and that are aligned with their behaviour

Tripartite model definition

An attitude is made up of a cluster of beliefs (thoughts and ideas), feeling (likes and dislikes) and behaviours (actions and intentions) which fit into Affective, Behaviour and Cognitive components.

Affective component of the tripartite model

A persons feelings and emotional response to an attitude object

Behaviour component of the tripartite model

How a person behaves towards the attitude object

Cognitive component of the tripartite model

How a person thinks about the attitude object

Cognitive dissonance

The unpleasant feeling of psychological discomfort that comes when we perceive that our attitudes are inconsistent with our behaviour.

Avoidance of cognitive dissonance

People are inclined to avoid encountering situations and new information that could increase cognitive dissonance

Rationalisation of Cognitive Dissonance

Individuals experiencing cognitive dissonance tend to rationalise or justify their behaviour

Reduction of cognitive dissonance

To experience a balance between the reality of the world around them and the expectations people have of their life, cognitive dissonance is continually being reduced.

Change belief

change perception of action (behaviour)

change behaviour

Magnitude as a factor affecting Cognitive dissonance

Is the subjective measure of the level of discomfort an individual feels when they experience cognitive dissonance.

The greater the magnitude, the greater the pressure felt to reduce it

1. the more value an individual places on either of the two conflicting cognitions, the greater the magnitude of dissonance

2. The maximum level of dissonance an individual can manage before needing to reduce the discomfort

forced compliance aim

To investigate if making people perform a full task would create cognitive dissonance through forced compliance behaviour

Robbers Cave Experiment Aim

To investigate how intergroup conflict can arise through competition of limited resources and how such conflict can be reduced by making groups work together towards superordinate goals

Effort Justification

evaluate a particular task or activity
more favorably when it involves something that is difficult or unpleasant.

Characteristics of Attitudes

• Acquired through experiences

• Stronger attitudes are most resistant to change

• Evaluations of people/objects or ideas

• Drivers of behaviour