lecture 8- attitudes and persuasion

attitude

an evaluation (positive or negative) of a person, object, or idea

• components

  • affect

  • cognitive

  • behaviors

dual process system for attitudes

• explicit attitudes

• implicit attitudes

explicit attitudes

conscious evaluations, can readily express

• generated by the cognitive system

• can be inconsistent

• measured w/ Likert scales

implicit attitudes

unconscious evaluations, thoughts, or feelings

• generated by the experiential system

• can be inconsistent

• measured w/ implicit association test (IAT)

implicit association test (IAT)

a measure of implicit attitudes that uses reaction time as the metric

3 primary predictors of behaviors (Theory of Planned Behavior)

1. attitudes towards the behavior

2. subjective norms = individual’s beliefs a/b what others think they should do

3. perceived behavioral control = perception of how much control one has over their behavior

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

people dislike inconsistency among their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors → discomfort

• ex: “i am x kind of person” but “i do Y thing”

  • especially strong when identity is threatened

ways to reduce dissonance

• change something (belief, attitude, behavior)

• downplay importance of something

• add something that resolves inconsistency

insufficient justification

dissonance arises following a behavior that is unjustifiably inconsistent w/ beliefs or attitudes

• resolve by bringing attitude in line w/ the behavior

  • Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) - Peg-turning study

post-decisional dissonance

finalizing a difficult decision often leads to dissonance

effort justification

reducing dissonance by convincing ourselves that suffering was valuable

• the effort was justifiable

persuasion

intentional efforts to change someone’s attitude, usually in hopes of changing their behavior

Elaboration Likelihood Model (routes to persuasion)

developed to explain how attitudes change

1. central route processing

2. peripheral route processing

central route processing (route to persuasion)

thinking systematically and evaluating the arguments; effortful processing; system 2

• must have motivation and ability to focus on arguments

• good for long-lasting attitude change

peripheral route processing (route to persuasion)

influenced by incidental or irrelevant characteristics

• effective for unmotivated, tired, or distracted audience

  • aesthetic visuals, motivating images

    • ex: Carl’s Jr model ads

• useful when arguments are weak

Yale approach to attitude change

“who says what to whom”

• who → speaker effects

• what → message effects

• to whom → audience effects

measure attitudes ← manipulations → measure attitudes

speaker effects (what makes a speaker more persuasive?)

• credibility

• attractiveness

• certainty

• similarity

credibility (speaker effect)

a combination of expertise and trustworthiness

attractiveness (speaker effect)

often physical attractiveness, but also being likable, well-dressed, etc

certainty (speaker effect)

confidence is persuasive

similarity (speaker effect)

we trust people who are similar

sleeper effect (source forgetting)

delayed impact of a message that occurs when we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it (the source)

• delayed persuasion that happens as initial discounting cue fades from memory, leaving message standing on its own

  • initial discounting often when message delivered by low-credibility source or associated w/ negative cue

• exception to speaker effect (not being persuaded b/c of speaker)

message effects

• message quality

• vividness

• fear appeals

message quality (message effect)

best for message effects when…

• straightforward, clear, logical

• explicitly refute other side

• speak against own self-interest

vividness (message effect)

statistics and facts are often less persuasive than a compelling story

• identifiable victim effect

identifiable victim effect

cognitive bias where people are more likely to offer help and support to a single, identifiable victim compared to a larger, more anonymous group facing the same hardship

fear appeals (message effect)

can increase or decrease persuasion

• reception-yielding model

reception-yielding model

model of fear appeals (message effect) that says to be scary enough to be convincing but not so scary that people tune out

• maguires

• best way to use fear appeals

  • moderate amount of fear & include a solution

audience effects

• age → younger people easier to persuade

  • ex: college students are primary targets for cults

• mood → good mood generally better, but could also match message

resisting persuasion

be forewarned, informed, and make public commitment to your position