Attitudes and Persuasion (Video Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the Attitudes and Persuasion lecture notes.

Attitude

A evaluation of an object, including beliefs, feelings, and behavioural tendencies.

Cognitive component

The beliefs, thoughts, and perceptions about the object.

Behavioral component

The predisposition to act toward the attitude object.

ABC model

The three components of attitudes—Affective, Behavioral, Cognitive.

Direct experience

Personal, firsthand experience with the attitude object.

Indirect experience

Attitude formation through reading, hearing, or observing rather than direct contact.

Yale Communication Model

Persuasion is influenced by Source, Message, and Audience factors.

Source

The communicator; credibility or status affects persuasiveness.

Message

The content of the communication, including emotional appeals and arguments.

Audience

The target group; their traits influence persuasion.

Central route

Persuasion via careful processing of arguments; durable change when issue is personally relevant.

Peripheral route

Persuasion via cues outside the argument content; less durable change.

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

Theory describing two routes to attitude change: central (deep processing) and peripheral (surface cues).

Classical conditioning

Learning by association; pairing a neutral stimulus with a meaningful one.

Operant conditioning

Learning via rewards and punishments that shape behaviour.

Modelling (observational learning)

Learning by watching others and imitating their behaviour.

IAT (Implicit Association Test)

A test measuring implicit attitudes by reaction times to automatic associations.

Self-reports

Attitude measurement via questionnaires; susceptible to social desirability biases.

Behavioral counts

Measuring attitudes by observing and counting actual behaviours.

Prejudice

Negative attitude toward a group, often tied to stereotyping.

Discrimination

Unfavorable treatment of individuals based on group membership.

Stereotype

Generalized belief about a group.

Social stigma

Negative social labeling that devalues individuals or groups.

Stereotype threat

Anxiety about confirming negative stereotypes, which can impair performance.

Explicit discrimination

Overt, intentional discrimination that is often illegal or socially censored.

Tokenism

Superficial inclusion to appear non-discriminatory without real change.

Attitude strength

How strongly an attitude is held; influences likelihood of behaviour.

Attitude accessibility

How easily an attitude comes to mind; affects guidance of behaviour.

Attitude specificity

How specific an attitude is to the behaviour in question; more specific attitudes predict behaviour.

Self-monitoring

Tendency to adjust behaviour to fit social cues; high vs low self-monitors.

Cognitive dissonance

Psychological discomfort from inconsistency between attitudes and behaviour; leads to attitude/behaviour adjustment.

Self-perception theory

People infer their attitudes from their own behaviour when unsure of their feelings.

Bidirectional attitude–behaviour relationship

Attitudes can influence behaviour and behaviour can influence attitudes.

Persuasion

The process of changing attitudes or behaviours via communication.

Norm of reciprocity

Favour-for-favour exchange; used to influence behaviour in persuasion.