Attitude formation

An attitude

A positive or negative evaluation of an object where an attitude is a person, thing, event or issue 

The four ways in which an attitude can form are (in order of increasing psychological complexity)

1. WHAT

2. WHAT

3. WHAT

4. WHAT

The four ways in which an attitude can form are (in order of increasing psychological complexity)

1. Mere exposure

2. Associative learning

3. Self-perception

4. Functional reasons

Mere exposure (Zajonc)

The tendency to develop more positive feelings toward objects and individuals the more we are exposed to them

Mere exposure:

• Don’t need to WHAT or form WHAT beliefs about the object 

• Rule for mere exposure: Must initially have a WHAT or WHAT attitude to the stimuli to increase liking of stimuli (when having a WHAT attitude to the stimuli when exposure occurs you will dislike the stimuli more)

Mere exposure:

• Don’t need to INTERACT or form EXPLICIT beliefs about the object 

• Rule for mere exposure: Must initially have a NEUTRAL or POSITIVE attitude to the stimuli to increase liking of stimuli (when having a NEGATIVE attitude to the stimuli when exposure occurs you will dislike the stimuli more)

Associative learning

• WHAT

• WHAT

Associative learning

• Classical conditioning

• Operant conditioning

Classical conditioning = WHAT memory

Classical conditioning = IMPLICIT memory

Operant conditioning = WHAT memory

Operant conditioning = EXPLICIT memory

Classical conditioning

Learning process that occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that naturally evoked an emotional response - after enough pairings the neutral stimulus will invoke the the emotional response  (this can be applied to social groups)  

Classical conditioning is different than mere exposure theory because it's not only the WHAT to the stimulus but also the WHAT with a positive or negative stimulus and this pairing is what caused the WHAT 

Classical conditioning is different than mere exposure theory because it's not only the EXPOSURE to the stimulus but also the PAIRING with a positive or negative stimulus and this pairing is what caused the ATTITUDE 

Classical conditioning

• The pairing only shifted the attitudes WHAT in one direction or the other 

• Associative learning is more powerful when there is WHAT about the attitude object (known as WHAT words) 

Classical conditioning

• The pairing only shifted the attitudes SLIGHTLY in one direction or the other 

• Associative learning is more powerful when there is LITTLE KNOWLEDGE about the attitude object (known as NONSENSE words) 

The attitude-relevant information may be the cause of WHAT

The attitude-relevant information may be the cause of PREJUDICE

Operant conditioning

Behaviour is strengthened following rewards and weakened following punishments 

In operant conditioning, participants must carry out some action that is either WHAT or WHAT

In operant conditioning, participants must carry out some action that is either REWARDED or PUNISHED

Self-perception theory (Bem)

We form attitudes not from exposure or associative learning but from observations of our OWN behaviour and then attributing them to either internal or external causes 

Self-perception theory

• Internal attributions is more likely when the behaviour is WHAT

• Inferences about one’s attitude from behaviour is more likely to occur when someone has WHAT about the issue at hand or doesn’t hold a WHAT prior attitude towards it

Self-perception theory

• Internal attributions is more likely when the behaviour is FREELY CHOSEN

• Inferences about one’s attitude from behaviour is more likely to occur when someone has LITTLE KNOWLEDGE about the issue at hand or doesn’t hold a STRONG prior attitude towards it

Self-perception experiment:

• People had to state either pro or anti-environmental statements - when people who had to do the pro - actually thought they were more WHAT

Self-perception experiment:

• People had to state either pro or anti-environmental statements - when people who had to do the pro - actually thought they were more PRO-ENVIRONMENT

What are the two hypotheses in self-perception theory

• WHAT

• WHAT

What are the two hypotheses in self-perception theory

• Facial feedback hypothesis

• Vascular theory of emotions

Facial feedback hypothesis

People’s own facial expressions provide a cue to their attitudes. Thus, people who are made to smile form a more positive attitude than people who are made to frown 

Why does facial feeback hypothesis occur

People misattribute their facial expression as being indicative of their opinions toward something 

Vascular theory of emotions (physiological explanation)

An alternative explanation for the facial feedback hypothesis that is: smiling increases the flow of blood to the brain and lowers brain temperatures, creating a positive mood, opposite for frowning

What is another theory for vascular theory of emotion

Embodied cognition

Embodied cognition

Our bodily actions can influence our thoughts and feeling (making people hunched makes them feel more depressed)

Functional approach

Attitudes are sometimes ACTIVELY rather than passively formed, based on the degree to which they satisfy an individual’s psychological NEEDS 

Functional approach: What are the four basic psychological needs that adopting different attitudes can address:

1. WHAT

2. WHAT

3. WHAT

4. WHAT

Functional approach: What are the four basic psychological needs that adopting different attitudes can address:

1. Utilitarian

2. Knowledge

3. Ego-defensive

4. Value-expressive

Utilitarian function

• Attitudes are formed because they get you what you need/want (rewards) - instrumental attitudes (liking a psychology degree because it will help you get a job in the future) 

• These attitudes help us get along and make our lives better (eg, feel positive towards our parents because they took care of us or go along with the majority’s opinion even when we disagree because we like those people) 

Knowledge function

Need for knowledge - helps us organize and understand our lives

Example:

• like your psych degree because it provides useful knowledge about dealing with people

Ego-defensive function

Help people protect themselves from acknowledging threatening self-truths, enabling them to maintain a positive view of themselves

Example:

• liking your psych degree because you wanted to be a vet but weren’t good enough

Value-expressive

An attitude that expresses values that are important to us (Eating Toni’s chocolate because we know it's slave free). We like things more because they help us to express our general beliefs and values that we hold

Example:

• liking you psyc degree cause it shows your commitment to helping others