social psych test 2

attitude

a relatively stable evaluation of an attitude object (AO)

cognitive, affective, behavioral

tri-component theory of attitudes (aka abc model)

cognitive

thoughts and beliefs about attitude object

affective

emotions related to attitude object

behavioral

actions related to or prompted by attitude object

cognitively-based attitudes

beliefs about attitude object are key

cognitively-based attitudes

“my candidate has the best plan for our country”

affectively-based attitudes

it’s about feelings more than beliefs

affectively-based attitudes

“i don’t know why I like this person, but I do”

behaviorally-based attitudes

based on observation of behavior toward attitude object

behaviorally-based attitudes

i’ve paid more attention to this candidate than the other one; donated money, etc.

likert scale

a numerical scale used to assess attitudes

likert scale

a range of possible answers with labeled anchors on each endpoint

likert scale

to what extent do you agree with..

strongly disgree……strongly agree

implicit attitude measure

an indirect measure of attitudes that doesn’t involve a self-report

implicit attitude measure

implicit association test (IAT)

nonverbal measures

degree of physical closeness to another person

nonverbal measures

attendance at events; programs

physiological measures

increased heart rate or sweaty palms in response to an attitude object

implicit attitude measure

favorable (positive) attitudes are paired with "Good" (or pleasant) words/concepts in the same response key. A faster response time when a target concept is paired with "Good" (e.g., Flowers + Good) indicates a stronger, more favorable implicit attitude.

LaPiere’s classic study

study of attitude-behavior consistency

LaPiere’s classic study

(1934)

traveled with a Chinese married couple

• refused service one time at 251 hotels and restaurants

• mailed survey to all businesses visited

  • “will you accept members of chinese race in your establishment”

    • “yes”, “no”, or “depends”

    • 92% (of 128 respondents) said No

specificity of concepts and measurement

methodological explanation of LaPiere’s study

global specificity

broad attitude measure or composite behavioral index

specific specificity

composite index vs single attitude or behavior

social norms, conflicting attitudes, situational factors may also influence behavior

attitudes may conflict with other influences on behavior

theory of planned behavior

psychological explanation (of our attitude)

theory of planned behavior

behavioral intention is more than just an attitude and predicts behavior better

behavioral intention

attitude —→ the behavior, subjective norm, control over the behavior

form intention

attitude toward a behavior, subjective norm, perceived behavior control

behavior

intention forms

genetic basis for strong likes and dislikes

evaluative (classical) conditioning, operant conditioning, social learning, self-perception, mere exposure, direct experience

evaluative (classical) conditioning

association with another stimulus

operant conditioning

reinforcement

social learning

observation

self-perception

draw conclusions from own behavior

mere exposure

repeated exposure leads to more favorable attitude

direct experience

experience with AO leads to stronger atittudes

attitude change

consistency theories

balance theory

need for consistency between people

cognitive dissonance theory

need for consistency within a person

balance theory

person (P), other (o), attitude object (x)

• P-O-X triangle

balance theory

unit relationships between each component

• positive or negative

• negative product = imbalance

• imbalance (inconsistency) motivates attitude change

• celebrity endorsements based on balance theory

negative product

=imbalance

imbalance

(inconsistency) motivates attitude change

P = Person (You)

top of triangle

O = Other (Jenny)

left bottom of triangle

X = 3rd Element (Gina)

right bottom of triangle

cognitive dissonance theory

when prophecy fails (festinger, 1956)

• posits that the psychological discomfort caused by holding conflicting beliefs (E.g. “the world will end” vs. “the world did not end”) forces individuals to reduce that tension by reinterpreting or justifying the failed prophect

dissonance

inconsistencies among a person’s thoughts, feelings, and actions produce an uncomfortable tension

dissonance

leads to efforts to restore consistency

cognitive dissonance

can be reduced by changing thoughts, feelings, or behavior to make them consistent

dissonance

smoking may cause ___ bc it is bad for health

dissonance

can be reduced by quitting smoking (Change behavior)

change attitudes

deciding smoking is not so bad or that risks are exaggerated

Festinger spool-turning study

counterattitudinal behavior (acting against true attitude)

• insufficent justification: $1

• sufficient justification: $20

  • dissonance caused by insufficient justification

  • more dissonance —> greater attitude change

stop smoking

change dissonance-producing behavior

change dissonance-producing cognitions

research on effects of smoking is no good; smoking is not all that dangerous

add new cognitions to justify dissonance-producing behavior

cases of long-term smokers who are well; quality vs quantity of life

effort justification

aronson & mills study

effort justification

if we put a lot of effort into attaining a goal, to avoid feeling dissonance it has to feel important to us

effort justification

easy vs difficult initiation

effort justification

attitude ratings of boring discussion groups

post-decisional dissonance

when alternatives are approximately equal

post-decisional dissonance

bolster choice; derogate unchosen alternative

blaming the victim

belief in a just world

blaming the victim

justifies bad treatment of “bad” people

persuasion

conscious attempt to influence the attitudes of others

4 components to

yale attitude to change approach to persuasion

source/communicator characteristics

credibility

• expertise

• rate of speech

• trustworthiness

• sleeper effect

sleeper effect

due to source monitoring problem

source/communicator characteristics, cont’d

attractiveness (ads, magazines)

similarity —regular looking people like walmart ad

• helps us to relate and see ourselves in

message characteristics

message characteristics

emotion-provoking content

emotion-provoking content

fear appeals

fear appeals

moderately high fear levels

effective recommendations

for reducing danger and fear

self-efficacy

regarding recommendations

one vs two sided messages

if you only present one side of the argument, audience will be like but what about this and this she didnt say anything about that

audience characteristics

well-informed or highly-educated: two sided message

• minimizes counterargument

initially favorable or naive: one-sided message

channel characteristics

type of medium

• print for complex ideas, plans etc.

• audio for simple messages

• video when graphics and stories are needed

elaboration likelihood theory

dual-process model of persuasion assumes

dual-process model of persuasion

assumes that we don’t always process communications in the same way

elaboration likelihood theory

central route to persuasion

• focus is on facts and cogent arguments

• longer lasting AC

peripheral route

focus is on superficial cues, image and emotion

temporary AC

inoculation

resistance to persuasion

inoculation

exposure to weakened form of persuasion; pressure to change attitude

forewarning

“forewarned is forearmed”

mindfulness (vs,. mindlessness)

resistance to persuasion

mindfulness

as defined by langer

simple, active process of noticing new things, which places the individual in the present and creates engagement

mindlessness

as defined by langer

she defines ____ as operating on “autopilot”

relying on rigid categories from the past, and ignoring context

Langer’s research

shows mindfulness enhances health, competence, and happiness whereas mindlessness leads to missed opportunities and frequently being wrong

attitude bolstering

resisting persuasion

“I reassure myself of facts that support the validity of my belief”

counterarguing

resisting persuasion

“I would talk to myself and play devil’s advocate”

social validation

resisting persuasion

“I also rely on others with the same opinion to be there for me”

negative affect

resisting persuasion

“I tend to get angry when someone tries to change my beliefs”

assertions of confidence

resisting persuasion

“I doubt anybody could change my viewpoint”

selective exposure

resisting persuasion

“most of the time I just ignore them”

source derogation

resisting persuasion

“I look for faults in the person presenting the challenging belief”

social influence

power that people exert over each other

social influence

type of power and how it operates varies according to the situation and the relationship