Attribution
the process by which we seek to identify the causes of behavior
covariation model, Kelly
humans are scientists who distribute causality between the person and environment
consensus
what most people would do in a given situation
distinctiveness
what an individual does in different situations
consistency
what an individual does in a given situation on different occasions
situational (external) attribution
consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness are all high
dispositional (internal) attribution
consistency is high but consensus and distinctiveness are low
correspondent inference theory
attributions based on a single factor
situational constraints
behavior= dispositions + situational factors
counter-normative behavior
correspondence between behavior and ones internal dispositions
discounting
the more plausible reasons there are for someone’s actions, the more we discount any one reason
augmenting
if some factor seems to make the behavior particularly unlikely to occur, then we strengthen our belief about the behavior
Castro study
choosing to write vs. forced
ps read an essay: pro-castro or anti-castro
measures dispositional attitude
fundamental attribution error (FAE)
the tendency to attribute people’s behavior to elements of their character or personality, even when powerful situational forces are acting to produce that behavior
Jeopordy study
overlooking situational constraints
ps were both questioners and contestants.
rated the intelligence of each catrgory
questioners think they are average
observers think questioners smart
contestants think ?’s smart
elaboration likelihood mode (ELM)
a model of persuasi9on maintaining that there are 2 different routes for persuasion; the central route and the peripheral route
central route
when people think carefully and deliberately about the content of a persuasive message-- attending to its logic, the strength of the arguments as well as related evidence and principles
peripheral route
when people attend to peripheral aspects of a message- relatively superficial, easy-to-process features of a communication-- length, expertise, and attractiveness of the source.
source characteristics
characteristics of a person who delivers a persuasive message- attractiveness, credibility, and certainty
sleeper effect
occurs when a persuasive message from an unreliable source initially exerts little influence and the explicitness of its conclusions
message characteristics
aspects, or content, of a persuasive message including the quality of the evidence and the explicitness of its conclusion
identifiable victim effect
the tendency to be more moved by the vivid plight of a single individual than by a more abstract number of people
audience characteristics
characteristics of those who receive a persuasive message, including need for cognition, mood, and age
metacognition
secondary thoughts that are reflections on primary thoughts (cognitions)
self-validation hypothesis
the idea that feeling confident about our thoughts validates those thoughts making it more likely that we’ll be swayed in their direction
agenda control
efforts of the media to select certain events and topics to emphasize, thereby shaping which issues and events people think are important
thought polarization hypothesis
more extended thought about a particular issue tends to produce a more extreme, entrenched attitude
attitude innollication
small attacks on peoples beliefs that engage their preexisting attitudes, prior commitments, and background enabling them to counteract a subsequent larger attack and then resist persuasion
attitude
an evaluation of an object in a positive or negative fashion that includes 3 components; affect, cognition, and behavior
response latency
the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus such as an attitude question
implicit attitude measures
an indirect measure of attitudes that doesn’t involve a self-report
cognitive dissonance theory (CDT)
inconsistency between a persons thoughts, sentiments, and actions creates an aversive emotional state that leads to efforts to restore consistency
3 options for dissonance reduction
change attitude
change behavior
justify/minimize conflict
basic assumptions of CDT
humans dislike cognitive inconsistency
inconsistent cognitions cause unpleasant arousal
we are motivated to reduce dissonance
reduce
change one or the other cognition
when cognitions are discrepant with behavior, change behavior
when cognitions are discrepant with behavior, change cognitions
3 faces of dissonance
insufficient justification for attitude- discrepant behavior (boring turn peg study)
consequences of making decisions: post decisions regret (rank 8 household items)
effort justification (initiation rites, more effort= more like)
effort justification
the tendency to reduce dissonance by justifying the time, effort, or money devoted to something that turned out unpleasant or disappointing
induced (forced) compliance
subtly compelling people to behave in a manner that is inconsistent with their beliefs, attitudes, or values in order to elicit dissonance and therefore a change in their original attitudes and values
Self-perception theory
people come to know their own attitudes by looking at their behavior and the context in which it occurred and inferring what their attitudes must be
system justification theory
people are motivated to see the existing sociopolitical systems as desirable, fair, and legitimate
terror management theory (TMT)
people deal with the potentially crippling anxiety associated with the knowledge of the inevitability of death by striving for symbolic immortality through preserving cultural worldviews and believing they have lived up to the cultural standards
Greenberg, Pyzczynski, and Solomon (1990)
social influence
the ways people affect one another, including changes in attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and behavior resulting from the comments, actions, or even the mere presence of others
balance theory
people want to be ??? in their relationships
conformity
responding favorably to an explicit request by another person
obedience
in an unequal power relationship, submitting to the demands of the person in authority
norm of reciprocity
a norm dictating that people should provide benefits to those who benefit them
ideomotor action
the phenomenon whereby merely thinking about a behavior makes performing it more likely
informational social influence
the influence of other people that results from taking their comments or actions as a source of information about what is correct, proper, or effective
normative social influence
the influence of other people that comes from the desire to avoid their disapproval and other social sanctions
internalization
privatizing acceptance of a proposition, orientation, or ideology
reciprocal concessions techniques
asking someone for a very large favor that will certainly be refused and then following that request with a smaller one
foot-in-the-door technique
making an initial small request with which nearly everyone complies followed by a larger request involving the real behavior of interest
negative state relief hypothesis
people engage in certain actions, such as agreeing to a request, to relieve their negative feelings and feel better about themselves
descriptive norms
the behavior exhibited by most people in a given context- descriptions of what is typically done
perspective norms aka injunctive norms
the way a person is supposed to behave in a given context
reactance theory
people assert their prerogatives in response to the unpleasant state of arousal they experience when they believe their freedoms are threatened
communal relationship
individuals feel a special responsibility for one another and give and receive according to the principle of need
often long term
exchange relationship
individuals feel little responsibility toward one another; giving and receiving are governed by concerns about equality and reciprocity
often short term
social exchange theory
how people feel about a relationship depends on their assessments of its costs and rewards
comparison level
expectations people have about what they think thy deserve of expect to get out of a relationship
comparison level for alternatives
expectations people have about what they can get out of available, alternative relationships
equity theory
people are motivated to pursue fairness in their relationships. a relationship is considered equitable when the benefits are proportionate to the effort both people put into it
attachment theory
early attachments with parents and other caregivers can shape relationships for a persons whole life
anxiety dimension of attachment
captures the degree to which a person is worried about rejection and abandonment by relationship partners
avoidance dimension of attachment
captures the degree to which a person is comfortable with intimacy and dependence on relationship partners
road trip study
La Piere (1934)
accompanied chinese people on a road trip
prejudice towards chinese
places said they wouldn’t serve chinese but they actually did
affective component
consists of emotional reactions toward, or feelings about, the attitude object
behavior component
consists of thoughts and beliefs about the attitude object
functional distance
the influence of an architectural layout to encourage or inhibit certain activities, including contact between two people
mere exposure effect
repeated exposure to a stimulus, such as an object or person, leads to greater liking of the stimulus
complementarity
the tendency for people to seek out others with characteristics that are different from, and compliment, their own
halo effect
attractive individuals possess a host of positive qualities beyond their physical appearance
reproductive fitness
the capacity to pass ones genes in to subsequent generations
investment model of commitment
a model of interpersonal relationships maintaining that three determinants make partners more committed to each other
relationship satisfaction, few alternative partners, and investments in a relationship
ego-defensive function
enable us to maintain cherished beliefs about ourselves and the world around us by protecting us from awareness of negative attributes from facts that contradict our cherished beliefs
war on terror study Landall et al 2004
survey- gave opinions about John Kerry and George W. Bush
Received a morality salience prompt or not
asked who won a debate
knowledge function
help organize the world
guide how we attend to, store, and retrieve information
may lead us to have biased attitudes
wilker (1969)
reviewed research on the attitude
r=.15
fishbeln and azjen (1975)
theory of planned behavior
behavioral intentions
persuasion
efforts to change others attitudes through messages
yale communication paradigm carl hov land
how do soldiers retain what they need to know
fear appeals
when fear is mild and paired with information, more likely to persuade
anti-smoking study
graphic film
pamphlet
graphic film and pamphlet (winner)
Asch (1951)
1 participant with a group of confederates
Asked to rate whether a line was the same or not as another line
the participant conformed even when the answer was obviously wrong
tight cultures
strong norms regarding how people should behave
don’t tolerate departure from norms
loose cultures
norms are not as strong
members tolerate more deviance