AP Psych 9.3 - Changing Attitudes & Attribution Theory

Cognitive Dissonance

mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values

OR

when our affect (emotion), behavior (action), &/or cognitions (beliefs) aren't congruent, this dissonance drives us to change either one of our beliefs &/or our behavior so that they realign

Persuasion

a process where a person, brand, or other factors influence another person's behavior or attitudes

Central Route to Persuasion

when attitudes are formed or changed as a result of carefully scrutinizing and thinking about the central merits of attitude-relevant information

(deep processing of the information presented)

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

when persuasion depends on non-message factors, such as the attractiveness and credibility of the source, or on conditioned emotional responses

(the halo effect is an example of the peripheral route)

Compliance

changing behavior in response to a request

Foot-in-the-door technique

getting a person to agree to a large request by first getting them to agree to a smaller request

Door-in-the-face technique

making a large request of someone, that they will most likely turn down, so they are more likely to agree to a second, more reasonable request

Norm of Reciprocity

the "rule" that we should pay back (reciprocate) what we receive from others

Contact hypothesis

the idea that bringing people together who are in conflict will help the conflict to subside as they get to know and understand each other

Superordinate goals

tasks that get people from opposing sides to come together and work toward a common goal/end result

(can't succeed without all members contributing)

Attributions

inferences that people draw about the causes of events, others' behavior, and their own behavior

Internal Attributions

believe the causes of behavior are due to dispositional factors (internal traits) (personality, intelligence, abilities, feelings) *these can be stable or unstable

External Attributions

believe the causes of behavior are due to situational demands and environmental constraints (external factors)

Actor-Observer Bias

negative behaviors: me (actor) = external, you (observer) = internal

positive behaviors: me (actor) = internal, you (observer) = external

Fundamental Attribution Error

negative behaviors of others: internal

positive behaviors of others: external

Self-Serving Bias

negative behaviors of ourselves: external

positive behaviors of ourselves: internal

Scapegoat theory

the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger and other negative emotions by providing someone (or a group) to blame (that is usually not at fault)

Defensive Attribution & Just-World Hypothesis

tendency to blame victims for their misfortune so that one feels less likely to be victimized in a similar way

("just-world hypothesis")