PSY220 - Attitudes

attitudes

attitudes

a favourable or unfavourable evaluative reaction toward something or someone, exhibited in one’s beliefs, feelings or intended behaviour

attitudes include

affect (feelings), behaviour (tendencies) and cognition (thoughts)

attitudes are…

susceptible to outside influences (context), influencing attitudes does not necessarily effect behaviour

how do you measure attitude?

cannot be observed directly, measures can be explicit or implicit

explicit attitudes

self reports, measures

implicit attitudes

implicit association test, facial muscle responses, physiological measures

implicit association test (IAT)

• uses reaction times to measure how quickly people associate concepts (react faster when there are implicit biases)

• assumptions, uncovers “unconscious” attitudes and unbiases

both explicit and implicit attitudes

help predict people’s behaviours and judgements, together predict better than either would alone

principle of aggregation

effects of an attitude on behaviour become more apparent when we look at a person’s aggregate or average behaviour rather than isolated acts

theory of reasoned action

• reasoned, deliberate behaviour

• an individual’s intention is determinant of their behaviour

• intention as the motivation to act (influenced by 2 factors)

• use of explicit measurement

• motivation to comply with others often not measured

• role of self-efficacy (whether people believe they can perform behaviour)

Fishbein and Ajzen (1973)

• theory of reasoned action (became theory of planned behaviour)

• attitude + norm —> intention —> behaviour

Ajzen (1988)

• attitude + norm + control —> intention —> behaviour

• best predictor of behaviour: Knowing people's intended behaviour + subjective norms + feelings of control (specific, relevant attitudes do predict intended and actual behaviour!)

when attitudes are potent

many behaviours are automatic, driven by routines and habits, to change habits with persuasion better to alter people’s attitudes towards specific practices

when do attitudes better predict behaviours?

• opportunity to review past actions

• highlighted self awareness

• attitude formed through experience

self consciousness and potency

our attitudes become more potent and affects our behaviour more the more we think about them, this is why self conscious people are usually more in touch with their attitudes

attitudes and experience

when attitudes are formed by experience they are more accessible and more likely to guide actions

role

a set of norms that define how people in a given social position ought to behave, actions expected of those who occupy a particular social position

norms

rules for accepted and expected behaviour that prescribe “proper” behaviour

Zimbardo (1972) - Stanford Prison Experiment

• prison simulation study w/ guards and prisoners

• planned 2 week study but forced to stop after 6 days

• Is prison brutality byproduct of evil people, or do the toxic expectations of the role cause people to conform, and do evil things?

• the good apples were put in a bad barrel that is corrupts anything it touches

role playing

our roles shape out attitudes, impact of social situation

stanford prison experiment

foot in the door phenomenon

tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

low ball technique

door in the face technique

tendency for people who have declined a large request to agree to a smaller request, request then moderation procedure

works through principle of reciprocity

explaining behaviours influencing attitudes

1. self presentation

2. self justification

3. self perception

self presentation

we express attitudes that make us appear consistent, concerned with making a good impression to gain social & material rewards or to feel better about ourselves

self justification

selective exposure and cognitive dissonance, to reduce discomfort we justify our actions to ourselves

selective exposure

we prefer to expose ourselves with info that agrees with our point of view

cognitive dissonance

we feel dissonance (tension) when we are aware that we have two thoughts that are inconsistent (eg smoking but knowing smoking is bad), also happens when our behaviour is inconsistent with attitudes

dissonance theory

when an individual’s actions are NOT fully explained by external rewards or coercion, they will experience dissonance which can be reduced by believing in what they have done

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)

After completing a boring ass experiment participants were then asked to describe to the next participant that the experiment was amazing and awesome, then were asked again how they enjoyed the experiment

Those paid just $1 (hardly sufficient justification for a lie) would be most likely to adjust their attitudes to their actions. Having insufficient justification for their action, they would experience more discomfort (dissonance) and thus be more motivated to believe in what they had done. Those paid $20 had sufficient justification for what they did and hence should have experienced less dissonance

ways to minimize dissonance

selective exposure to agreeable info and either justifying our actions or changing our behaviour

cognitive dissonance process

1. we have to choose between two equally attractive (or unattractive) alternatives

2. the undesirable features of the chosen alternative and the desirable features of the rejected alternative remain

3. dissonance is created

4. we “manage” this dissonance by upgrading the chosen alternative and downgrading the rejected alternative

self perception

suggests we make similar inferences when we observe our own behaviour, when our attitudes are weak or ambiguous we are in the position of someone who observes us from the outside

overjustification effect

• when individuals do something they enjoy without reward or coercion they attribute their behaviour to their love of the activity

• external rewards undermine intrinsic motivation by leading people to attribute their behaviour to the incentive

intrinsic motivation

enjoyable activities —> no external reward —> self perception: i do this because i like it

extrinsic motivation

enjoyable activities —> external reward —> self perception: i do this because im paid to