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Attitudes
Feelings, often influenced by our beliefs that predispose us to respond favorably or unfavorably to objects, people and events
ABC's of Attitudes:
A: Affect B: Behavior C: Cognition
Implicit Association Test
A computer-driven assessment of implicit attitudes using reaction time to measure automatic associations between attitude and evaluative words
Factors of Behavior Intention:
Attitude to behavior
Subjective norms
Perceived control
Self-Presentation Theory
Assumes for strategic reasons, we express attitudes that make us appear consistent
Role-Playing
A set of norms that defines how people in a given social position ought to behave
Stanford Prison Experiment
A two-week test examining situational variables where participants were either guards or prisoners and, without prompting, acted in the roles they were assigned
Selective Exposure
Tendency to seek information and media that agrees with one's views and avoid dissonant information
Insufficient Justification
Reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one's behavior when external judgement is "insufficient"
Facial Feedback Effect
Tendency of facial expressions to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger or happiness
Over-Justification Effect
The result of bribing people to do what they already enjoy doing, then seeing actions as externally controlled over intrinsically appealing
Self-Affirmation Theory
People often experience a self image threat after engaging in an undesirable behavior AND compensate by affirming or doing good deeds in another area of the self
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Assumes that to reduce discomfort, we justify our actions to ourselves
Self-Perception Theory
Assumes that our actions are self-revealing so when uncertain about our feelings or beliefs, we analyze our own actions; people determine their attitudes and preferences by interpreting the meaning of their own behavior
Attitude often DOES NOT predict behavior because...
Behavior and attitudes are under different influences (average behavior)
Attitudes may not be behavior specific
We typically only measure expressed/explicit attitudes
Attitudes CAN predict behavior when...
Social influences on what we say are minor
Other influences on behavior are minimal
If the attitudes are strong, they're more reliable as a predictor (especially if from experience)
Predicting the AVERAGE behavior
Examples of learned and/or acquired attitudes:
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Direct Experience
Functions of Attitudes:
Expressive/Instrumental
Value Expressive
Experimental Schematic/Knowledge
Defensive
Social Expressive/Instrumental
Function of attitude, allows one to gain favor with others by aligning with them EX) Refusing vaccination because your social group refuses vaccination
Value Expressive
Function of attitude, allows for the expression of held values and ideals important to one's self concept EX) Opposing capital punishment because it goes against expression of one's self values, "thou shalt not kill"
Knowledge Function
Function of Attitude, usually based on direct experience with the target, helping us target and structure our environment EX) Holding negative attitudes toward dentists because of negative dentist experiences
Self-Justification Theory
Pertains mostly to inconsistencies between behavior and attitude: assumes that to reduce discomfort, we justify our actions to ourselves
Asch Study
Conformity Experiment: comparing a target line to 3 sample lines and asking which one aligns best to the target, studying the affects of group pressure acting on the true participant's response, the wrong answer
Sherif Study
Conformity Experiment: studied effects of social norms through the autokinetic effect of a light, perceived to be moving, creating a culture of successive participants giving incorrect light distances
Milgram Study
Role and Obedience Experiment: participants acted as a teacher to an unseen constituent who would pretend/act being shocked when intentionally giving the wrong answer. Participants would continuously increase the voltage at the perceived authority of the person conducting the experiment, despite the actor's screams.
Factors that increased Obedience:
Closeness of the authority
More legitimate authority figures
Institutional authority
Closeness of the victim (further away yielded higher __)
Factors that decrease Obedience:
Victim's proximity (closer yielded less __)
Less legitimate authority figures
Effects of group influence (when the group refuses, individuals also refuse)
Factors that influence Conformity:
Feelings of incompetence
Larger __ with larger group sizes
Unamity, if broken decreases __
Cohesion, sense of "we"-ness in a group, the higher the cohesion, the more __
Status
Public versus private responses
Prior commitment
Normative Influence
Asch's Study: based on a desire to fulfull other's expectations often to gain rewards/avoid punishment, comes from our desire to be LIKED
EX) "I can't say the objective fact because then I won't be liked by my group"
Informational Influence
Sherif's Study: accepting evidence about reality provided by others, comes from our desire to be CORRECT
EX) "I don't know what to do, but I want to be right. I'll say what my peers are saying"
Who Conforms?
Collectivist cultures
Women, norms dictate behavior
Reactance
Motive to protect/restore one's sense of freedom
EX) A parent-teen relationship having friction due to child's perception of identity as a young adult and the parent's perception of their child as still a child
Persuasion
Process by which causes change in behaviors, attitudes and/or beliefs
Central Route of Persuasion involves...
Focusing on a strong argument
Audience is motivated to think about the issue
Explicit attitudes
Peripheral Route of Persuasion involves...
Audience is influenced by cues that require little thinking
Implicit attitudes
Four elements of the Persuasive Process:
The communicator
The message
How the message is communicated
The audience
Factors acting on the Communicator and their message:
Their credibility
Their trustworthiness
Their attractiveness
Their authority in a matter
Whether or not the audience likes them
Social Proof or Validation
We are willing to comply if it is consistent with what similar others are doing
Door in Face Technique
Asking for a large request, knowing it will be denied, so that when asking for something smaller, it has a higher likelihood of compliance
Foot in Door Technique
When someone agrees to a small request, they are likely to agree to a larger request
EX) Grecian military and "How to make a Torturer"
The Message's Content can focus on...
Reason -> Use Central Route -> EX) Tuition increase to college students Emotional -> Use Peripheral Route -> EX) Organ donor status
Effects of Arousing Fear:
The more people are scared, the more they will respond to the message
The message tends to be most effective if the solution is embedded in the message and is expressed as gain or loss
When convincing to abstain from a negative behavior, people often deny that negative consequences will happen to them (like smoking)
Lowball Technique
People who agree to an initial request will often still comply when the requester ups the cost
EX) Car dealership marketing a car, no longer having the car, and being able to sell someone a different car for a higher price
One sided versus Two sided Arguments:
If you have an agreeable audience, use a one sided
When you are aware your argument has a counter or if your audience is disagreeable, use a two sided
Primary Effect
Two messages close in time presented with delayed response, the first message will be accepted
EX) Someone listing names and only remembering the first name on the list
Recency Effect
Two messages separated in time with an immediate response, the latest message will be accepted
EX) Someone getting the last word in being more memorable/agreeable
Channels of Communication:
Face to face
Written
Video
Experience based attitudes
Two Step Flow of Communication
The media influences social leaders, and the leaders then influence the audience
Generational Explanation
Older people keep attitudes they adopted when they were young; Their attitudes do not change (Most likely explanation)
Life Cycle Explanation
Attitudes change as people grow older
When Stimulating People's Thinking...
Use rhetorical questions, Why? It kickstarts topic opinions and engages audience
Present multiple speakers with the same message
Make people feel responsible, like they could be proactive on an issue
Repeat the message
Get people's undivided attention, like how a TED talker uses humor or Hitler used minutes of standing in silence