Attitude Change

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to the concepts of attitude change, persuasion, and their components.

Attitude

A learned disposition guiding thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Components of Attitude

Include Affective (feelings), Behavioral (actions), and Cognitive (thoughts).

Affective Component

Emotional reactions related to an attitude, such as feeling enjoyment.

Behavioral Component

Actions that reflect attitudes, such as drinking beer regularly.

Cognitive Component

Beliefs and thoughts associated with an attitude, such as thinking about beer.

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Describes two routes of persuasion: Central (thoughtful) and Peripheral (low-thought).

Central Route

A route of persuasion that involves thoughtful involvement, leading to lasting attitude change.

Peripheral Route

A route of persuasion that uses superficial cues and leads to less enduring attitude change.

Cognitive Dissonance

The psychological discomfort experienced when holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes.

Fear Appeals

Persuasive messages that evoke fear to motivate behavior change, effective at moderate levels.

Validity and Ambivalence

Attitudes can be valid, invalid, or ambivalent, involving conflicting evaluations.

Self-Persuasion

Persuasion that relies on favorable self-generated thoughts.

Source Factors

Characteristics of communicators that affect persuasion, including credibility and attractiveness.

Message Factors

Elements of the message that influence persuasion, such as the number of arguments and use of fear.

Target/Audience Factors

Characteristics of the audience, including intelligence and existing attitudes, that affect persuasion.

Outcome Factors

Elements determining the effectiveness of a persuasive message, focusing on behavior and audience context.