Attitude Formation and Attitude Change

attitude

how a person thinks, feels, or behaves towards another person, object, idea, or situation

explicit attitude

beliefs that the person is aware of

implicit attitudes

unconscious, oftentimes the person may not even realize that they hold these beliefs

just-world phenomenon

the tendency for people to believe that the world is just and that htings are the way they are for a reason

victim blaming

the idea that a person’s misfortunes are their own fault

out-group homogeneity bias

the tendency for an individual to perceive members of an out-group as more similar to each other than they actually are

outgroup

people that are perceived to be part of a different group that the individual does not consider to be a part of

in-group

people who the individual perceives to have similar characteristics as them, resulting in them seeing themselves as part of the gorup

in-group bias

the tendency to favor and support people in our own group and be more critical of those outside of it

ethnocentrism

the idea that one’s own culture or ethnic group is superior to others

cultural relativism

when an individual views and judges another culture by its own standards, showing that no culture is superior to another

belief perseverance

the tendency to maintain a belief despite new information or evidence that clearly contradicts it

confirmation bias

the tendency of a person to focus on information that confirms their pre-existing views and dismiss conflicting information

stereotypes

generalized beliefs about a gorup of peopl

heuristics

allow a perosn to quickly categorize people, allowing for quicker judgements to be made

prejudiced attitudes

preconceived negative attitudes towards a group and its members

discriminatory behavior

the unfair treatment of individuals based on their group

explicit prejudice

prejudice that people are aware of and consciously agree with

implicit prejudice

negative feelings that an individual has towards another person or group without them being aware of it

cognitive dissonance

the mental discomfort or tension that comes from when an individual has two conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors