Persuasion & Attitude Change

Social scientists define persuasion as … & are concerned w/ ….

A deliberate attempt to change people’s attitudes; the cognitive processes involved in how that change is brought about.

What are the 2 ways persuasion can work?

Automatic attitude process or in-depth attitude process

How does automatic attitude process come about?

Implicit attitudes (associations made) & heuristic processing

How does in-depth attitude process come about?

Conditions are arranged so people attend to persuasive messages through the communication model or the cognitive response model

In-depth attitude process persuasion is ____ to achieve bu has a more _____ effect

Achieve, enduring

What are the 3 key aspects of the communication model?

• The source (communicator)

• The message

• The audience

How does the message in the communication model vary in strength & linguistic style between high controlling & low controlling language?

• High control is forceful w/ imperatives, applies pressure, can trigger psychological reactance if perceived as thread to freedom, & defensive response

• Low control is less forceful & may support autonomy

How do fear appeals work as messages in the communication model?

• Persuasive communication → arouses fear → triggers precautionary motivation & self-protective action

• May depicts severity of threat, recommend a productive behavior to avert the threat, or present reassuring descriptions of self efficacy

Messages that are to high in fear & disgust can cause …

Psychological reactance & more efficient idsengagement

What impacts the audience in the communication model?

• Distraction

• Feelings of manipulation

• Self interest

• Self esteem

In the cognitive response model, content related to previous knowledge & current attitude can …

Generate new ideas/thought about the attitude object, & change may occur if responses are more favorable

What is the direct cause of persuasion in the cognitive response model?

Self-talk of the participant

What is the central concern of dual process models?

Conditions under which different aspects of a persuasive message influence the effect of the persuasion appeal

Dual process models are the most _____.

Influential

What are the 2 classes of mental processes?

• Automatic (elicited unintentionally, little amount of cognitive resources, cannot be stopped voluntarily, occur outside of conscious awareness)

• Controlled (initiated intentionally, require a lot of cognitive resources, can be stopped, operate within conscious awareness)

What is heuristic processing?

• Reflexive & automatic

• Relies of decision rules

• Confident attitude or trivial judgement → low motivation to process in-depth

What is systematic processing?

• Thoughtful, deliberate & analytical

• Used when ambivalent/uncertain, high levels of motivation/ability to engage, important/personally relevant

The heuristic-systematic model allows for _____.

Simultaneous processing

Why might systematic processing can override heuristic?

Contradicting information

How do attitudes differ at the individual, interpersonal, & intergroup level?

• At an individual level they influence people’s perception, thinking, & behavior

• At an interpersonal level they are a key element to how people get to know & respond to each other

• At the intergroup level attitudes toward own group & other groups are at core of cooperation/conflict between groups

According to Jung, attitude is readiness to _____.

Respond

What are the 3 components of the attitude model?

• Cognitive (understanding & belief of)

• Emotional (feeling & emotional reaction towards)

• Behavioral 9state or readiness)

Attitude formation comes from …

Direct experience & inherent tendencies towards certain attitudes

Repeated exposure to an object results in greater ______ towards it.

Attraction

What three theories explain how attitudes are learned from our social enviornment?

Social learning theory, classical conditioning, & instrumental/operant conditioning

How does the social learning theory explain attitude formation?

Formed through modeling/observational learning. People tend to reproduce actions, attitudes, & emotional responses exhibited by a real life/symbolic model.

How does classical conditioning explain attitude formation?

Pleasant surroundings/good music put us in a good mood, which we associate w/ the people present & increases liking for them

How does instrumental/operant conditioning explain attitude formation?

Behavior this is followed by positive consequences is reinforced & more likely to be repeated than verbal behavior followed by negative consequences