Attitudes & Attitude Change Overview

Attitudes

Evaluations of persons, objects, or ideas

Affective Component

Emotional reactions towards an object

Behavioural Component

Observable actions towards an object

Cognitive Component

Thoughts and beliefs about an object

Affectively Based Attitude

Primarily emotion-driven attitudes

Cognitively Based Attitude

Facts-based attitudes assessing worth

Behaviourally Based Attitude

Attitudes based on observed behavior

Explicit Attitudes

Attitudes within conscious awareness

Implicit Attitudes

Attitudes outside conscious awareness

Dual Attitudes

Simultaneously holding contradictory attitudes

Theory of Planned Behaviour

Predicting deliberate behaviors based on intentions

Subjective Norms

Perceived social pressure to perform a behavior

Perceived Behavioural Control

Belief in ability to perform a behavior

Persuasive Communication

Influencing attitudes through messages

Yale Attitude Change Approach

Studying conditions for attitude change through persuasive messages

Fear Appeals

Using fear to persuade or change attitudes

Self-esteem

Individual's evaluation of self-worth

One-sided vs. Two-sided Arguments

Presenting arguments from one or both perspectives

Communicator Expertise

Influence of source credibility on attitude change

Communicator Trustworthiness

Impact of source reliability on attitude persuasion

Independent Variable

Variable manipulated by the researcher

Results

Outcome of an experiment or study

Pace of Speech

Speed at which speech is delivered

Attractiveness

Physical appeal or likeability of a person

Sleeper Effect

Transformation of a non-persuasive message over time

Primacy

Information presented first having the most impact

Recency

Information presented last influencing attitudes

Two-sided argument

Presenting arguments for and against a position

Personal vs. Media

Comparison of persuasive impact between live and recorded mediums

Age

Chronological age of an individual

Distracted Audience

Audience not fully focused on the message

Elaboration Likelihood Model

Theory explaining different routes to attitude change

Cognitive Dissonance

Discomfort from conflicting attitudes or behaviors

Subliminal Messages

Unconscious stimuli influencing attitudes and behaviors

Inoculation

Building immunity to persuasive messages through exposure

Selective Avoidance

Avoiding exposure to specific persuasive messages

Justification of Effort

Liking something more after exerting effort to attain it

Counterattitudinal Behaviour

Expressing beliefs contradictory to personal attitudes

Self-Affirmation Theory

Finding relief by affirming competence in unrelated areas