Chapter 6: Attitudes and Behavioral Influences Flashcards

Defining Attitudes and Their Components

  • Definition of an Attitude

    • An attitude is an evaluation of an object in a positive or negative way.

    • Attitudes can be directed toward a wide variety of targets, including:

    • People

    • Objects

    • Places

    • Ideas

    • Events

    • Behaviors

  • Core Characteristics: Valence and Degree

    • Valence: Refers to the direction of the attitude, specifying whether it is positive or negative.

    • Degree: Refers to the strength or intensity of the attitude.

    • An attitude can increase in strength (degree) while maintaining the exact same direction (valence).

    • Positive Valence Examples:

    • Low Intensity: "I like Chicago."

    • Moderate Intensity: "I love Chicago."

    • High Intensity: "I L.U.R.V.E. Chicago."

    • Negative Valence Examples:

    • Low Intensity: "I don't like Chicago."

    • Moderate Intensity: "I hate Chicago."

    • High Intensity: "I absolutely refuse to go to Chicago."

  • The Three Components of Attitudes (The ABC Model)

    • Affect: The emotional or feeling-based reaction toward an object ("feel").

    • Cognition: The thoughts, beliefs, knowledge, or memories held about an object ("think").

    • Behavior: The explicit actions, conduct, or behavioral intentions displayed toward an object ("act").

Methods for Measuring Attitudes

  • Direct / Self-Report Measures

    • Self-report tools directly ask individuals to describe their explicit attitudes.

    • Likert Scale: A numerical assessment scale used to measure attitudes by presenting structured response options with clearly labeled anchors at the endpoints (e.g., Strongly Disagree →\rightarrow Disagree →\rightarrow Neutral →\rightarrow Agree →\rightarrow Strongly Agree).

    • Response Latency: The exact amount of time it takes an individual to respond to a stimulus or answer an attitude-related question. Shorter latency times signal a more accessible, strong, and deeply held attitude.

  • Implicit Attitude Measures

    • Indirect measurement techniques that do not depend on conscious self-reporting.

    • Implicit Association Test (IAT): A primary implicit measure used to evaluate unconscious biases, automatic evaluations, and implicit associations.

  • Nonverbal Measures

    • Methods that assess attitudes through observable, nonverbal behavioral choices.

    • Physical Closeness: Observing how physically close a person chooses to stand or sit relative to another person serves as a nonverbal index of their attitude toward that individual.

  • Physiological Measures

    • Biological and somatic reactions that provide objective indicators of attitude intensity and psychological arousal.

    • Examples include:

    • Increased heart rate

    • Sweaty palms (galvanic skin response)

The Relationship Between Attitudes and Behavior

  • Conditions Under Which Attitudes Predict Behavior

    • Attitudes serve as reliable predictors of behavior under specific circumstances:

    • When the attitude is strong rather than weak.

    • When the attitude and the behavior are evaluated within similar social situations.

    • When the attitude is measured at a specific level rather than a broad, general level.

  • Factors That Disrupt the Attitude-Behavior Link

    • Attitudes frequently fail to predict behavior due to competing forces, including:

    • Strong social norms dictating expected conduct.

    • The presence of other conflicting internal attitudes.

    • Powerful situational factors and contextual constraints.

  • The Classic LaPiere Study

    • Historical Context and Procedure: In the 1930s1930\text{s}, Richard LaPiere toured the United States accompanied by a young Chinese couple, visiting various establishments to observe actual service behaviors.

    • Behavioral Observation: Across their travels, the couple sought service at 250250 establishments (including hotels and restaurants) and was refused service at only 11 out of the 250250 places.

    • Attitude Assessment: Following the trip, LaPiere mailed a questionnaire to all 250250 establishments asking if they would accept Chinese guests. Approximately 90%90\% of the responding establishments explicitly stated that they would not serve Chinese customers.

    • Core Finding: Explicitly stated self-report attitudes often fail to correspond with actual observable actions.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Mechanisms of Dissonance Reduction

  • Foundations of Cognitive Dissonance Theory

    • Cognitive Dissonance occurs when a person experiences psychological inconsistency among their thoughts, feelings/sentiments, and actions.

    • This inconsistency produces an unpleasant emotional state of internal tension, which naturally motivates the individual to engage in strategies to restore cognitive consistency.

  • Concrete Example of Cognitive Dissonance

    • An individual possesses full knowledge that cigarette smoking causes severe health complications, yet continues to smoke daily.

    • Inconsistent Elements: "Smoking is bad for me" (cognition) versus "I continue to smoke" (behavior).

  • Primary Strategies for Reducing Cognitive Dissonance

    • Changing Behavior: Modifying actions so they align with cognitions (e.g., completely quitting smoking).

    • Adding New Thoughts (Cognitive Restructuring):

    • Formulating exceptions or rationalizations (e.g., "My grandfather smoked every day and lived to be 100100 years old").

    • Introducing utility considerations (e.g., "I know smoking is bad, but it helps me relax").

    • The ultimate objective is to bring thoughts, feelings, and behaviors back into harmony.

Rationalization and Choice

  • The Process of Post-Decision Rationalization

    • Rationalization involves changing the cognitive framing of a decision or action after it has occurred to relieve dissonance.

    • Once a choice is made between competing alternatives, individuals systematically alter their perceptions:

    • Selected Option: Individuals emphasize its positive qualities and minimize its negative features.

    • Unselected Option: Individuals emphasize its negative qualities and minimize its positive features.

  • Example: Big City vs. Small Town Decision

    • Choosing a Big City: The individual focuses heavily on the vibrant array of restaurants and cultural museums while trivializing the constant frustration of heavy traffic.

    • Choosing a Small Town: The individual focuses heavily on the total absence of heavy traffic while trivializing the limited access to fine dining restaurants or museums.

Effort Justification and Induced Compliance

  • Effort Justification

    • Definition: The tendency to reduce cognitive dissonance by subjectively increasing the value or attractiveness of an outcome to justify the significant time, effort, or financial resources spent on something that proved unpleasant, painful, or disappointing.

    • Magnitude Principle: The greater the effort expended, the greater the potential dissonance, leading to more intense cognitive rationalization.

    • Key Examples:

    • Discussion Group Initiations: Women who underwent a severe, highly embarrassing initiation process to join a discussion group subsequently rated the group's uninteresting, dull discussion as significantly more interesting than those who underwent a mild or non-existent initiation.

    • Fraternity Hazing: Fraternities that subject members to severe initiation rituals generate higher levels of group loyalty and long-term commitment.

    • "Sweet Lemons" Rationalization: A psychological coping frame where a person actively adopts the thought, "It wasn't so bad after all," to justify an arduous or costly experience.

  • Induced Compliance

    • Definition: Occurs when an individual is persuaded, pressured, or incentivized to act in a manner that directly contradicts their existing internal attitudes.

    • The Classic Experiment ($1\$1 vs. $20\$20 Study):

    1. Participants completed an deliberately tedious, long, and boring mechanical task.

    2. Participants were then asked to lie to a incoming participant by telling them that the task was highly enjoyable and fun.

    3. Participants were compensated either $1\$1 or $20\$20 for telling this lie.

    4. Afterward, participants privately rated how much they actually enjoyed the task.

    • Experimental Results:

    • Participants paid $20\$20 maintained their initial attitude, continuing to rate the task as boring.

    • Participants paid only $1\$1 shifted their attitude, rating the task as genuinely enjoyable.

    • Theoretical Explanation: Compensation of $20\$20 provided overwhelming external justification for lying, so no dissonance was felt. Compensation of only $1\$1 was insufficient external justification for lying; participants experienced severe dissonance and resolved it by changing their private attitude toward the task.

  • The Forbidden Toy Study

    • Experimental Procedure: Children were asked to rate a set of toys and were then told they could play with any toy except for their top-rated forbidden toy.

    • Threat Manipulations:

    • Mild Threat: The experimenter warned that they would be "annoyed" if the child played with the forbidden toy.

    • Severe Threat: The experimenter warned that they would be "very, very angry" if the child played with the forbidden toy.

    • Behavioral and Attitudinal Results:

    • All children successfully resisted playing with the forbidden toy during the experiment.

    • Under the Severe Threat, children later rated the forbidden toy as even more desirable.

    • Under the Mild Threat, children later rated the forbidden toy as less desirable.

    • Theoretical Explanation: Severe threats provided full external justification for avoiding the toy. Mild threats provided insufficient external justification, forcing children to resolve their cognitive dissonance by internally devaluation the toy.

Factors Influencing Cognitive Dissonance and Cultural Variations

  • Determinants of Dissonance Generation

    • Free vs. Forced Choice: Dissonance occurs when individuals freely choose to perform a counter-attitudinal behavior. If compelled or forced by external mandate, rationalization is unnecessary.

    • Sufficient vs. Insufficient Justification: Insufficient external justification (weak or unclear reasons for behavior) amplifies dissonance, requiring internal attitude change.

    • Positive vs. Negative Consequences: Actions that lead to clear, severe negative consequences generate high dissonance. Actions with no consequences require little to no rationalization.

    • Foreseeability: Dissonance is triggered only when negative consequences could have been reasonably anticipated or foreseen in advance. Unforeseeable negative consequences (e.g., unknowingly serving a food item to a person with an undisclosed allergy) do not induce dissonance.

  • Cultural Variations in Cognitive Dissonance

    • Cognitive dissonance occurs globally, but the triggers vary across cultural contexts:

    • European Canadians: Dissonance is primarily aroused by threats to personal autonomy, individual decision-making, and self-concept.

    • Asian Canadians: Dissonance is primarily aroused by social threats and concerns regarding how their behaviors are perceived and evaluated by others.

Self-Perception Theory and Alternative Psychological Mechanisms

  • Self-Perception Theory

    • Definition: Formulated as an alternative explanation to cognitive dissonance, proposing that individuals learn about their own attitudes simply by observing their explicit behavior and the surrounding situational context.

    • Mechanism: Does not rely on physiological arousal, emotional discomfort, or state changes. Individuals simply infer their internal beliefs as an outside observer would (e.g., thinking, "I told someone the task was fun and received no real reward for it, so I must have actually enjoyed it").

  • Cognitive Dissonance Theory vs. Self-Perception Theory

    • Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Applies when behavioral inconsistencies generate unpleasant emotional arousal that directly threatens a well-defined self-concept.

    • Self-Perception Theory: Applies when pre-existing attitudes are weak, vague, ambiguous, or uncertain, and no severe threat to the self-concept exists.

  • Self-Affirmation Theory

    • Definition: Asserts that individuals preserve their overall sense of self-worth by focusing on and affirming positive, core aspects of their identity (such as morality, competence, or intelligence).

    • Dissonance Reduction: When an individual experiences dissonance due to a threat to their self-concept, engaging in self-affirmation in an unrelated domain reduces internal distress without requiring them to directly rationalize the original inconsistent behavior.

    • Example: An individual who makes a foolish mistake that challenges their belief in their own competence can reduce cognitive distress by consciously reflecting on their exceptional athletic or artistic abilities.

  • The Overjustification Effect

    • Definition: Occurs when offering an external reward for an activity that an individual already enjoys intrinsically leads to a reduction in their intrinsic motivation to perform that activity.

    • Empirical Evidence (Math-Game Study):

    • Baseline Phase: Children voluntarily spent an average of 20 minutes20\text{ minutes} playing an educational math game.

    • Treatment Phase: External rewards were introduced for playing the math game, causing participation time to increase to an average of 25 minutes25\text{ minutes}.

    • Withdrawal Phase: External rewards were completely terminated, causing participation time to drop to an average of 13 minutes13\text{ minutes} (substantially below initial baseline levels).

    • Core Insight: Extrinsic rewards lead individuals to attribute their performance to external gain ("I only do this for the reward"), causing motivation to collapse once rewards cease.

System Justification Theory

  • Core Conceptualization

    • System Justification Theory asserts that people are psychologically motivated to perceive existing political, economic, and social systems as fair, legitimate, and desirable.

    • Rationalizing social structures eases the cognitive dissonance generated by societal inequities.

  • Dissonance Reduction Mechanisms in System Justification

    • Individuals promote and defend the status quo.

    • Inequalities are explained away by assuming that all individuals possess identical opportunities (e.g., reasoning, "If I could go to school and get a job, then homeless people could do the same thing").

    • Adopting positive or compensatory stereotypes to make macro-level inequities appear balanced (e.g., believing that although women earn lower wages for identical work, they are treated with greater interpersonal kindness in the workplace).

Terror Management Theory and Mortality Salience

  • Terror Management Theory (TMT)

    • Core Concept: Explores how humans manage the existential dread and anxiety associated with the conscious awareness of inevitable physical death.

    • Symbolic Immortality: To buffer mortality anxiety, individuals strive for symbolic immortality by connecting themselves to enduring cultural constructs that outlast their physical existence.

    • Pathways to Symbolic Immortality:

    • Strong identification with family and lineage

    • Deep connection to one's country or nation

    • Adherence to religious traditions

    • Active engagement in cultural customs

    • Cultivating high self-esteem by fulfilling cultural values

  • Mortality Salience

    • Definition: The state of explicitly bringing thoughts of death into conscious awareness.

    • Experimental Methods: Induced by having participants write about their own death, read death-related passages, or view graphic images of mortality. Control conditions typically involve thinking about non-lethal unpleasant events, such as severe dental pain.

    • Political Impact Example (20042004 U.S. Presidential Election Study): Research during the 20042004 election showed that inducing mortality salience increased voter support for incumbent President George W. Bush while decreasing support for challenger John Kerry, as Bush was perceived as a strong leader defending the nation against mortal threats.

  • Behavioral Effects of Mortality Salience

    • Heightened commitment and loyalty to ingroup members.

    • Increased prejudice, hostility, and aggression toward outgroup members.

    • Intensified hostility toward individuals who criticize one's nation or culture.

    • Harsher punitive responses toward individuals who violate social or legal rules.

    • Greater reluctance to use culturally sacred objects for ordinary, profane tasks.

    • Increased eagerness to accept positive feedback about oneself.

  • Replication Controversies and Scientific Caution

    • Empirical findings within Terror Management Theory must be interpreted with caution.

    • A large-scale direct replication project encompassing 2121 independent TMT studies failed to replicate the core worldview-defense hypothesis.

    • Further scientific research is required to clarify the boundary conditions under which TMT effects reliably occur.