Attitudes and Attitude Change Notes

Attitudes & Attitude Change

  • Definition of Attitude: An evaluative orientation toward a specific object, encompassing:
    • Affect (emotions, feelings)
    • Cognition (beliefs, ideas)
    • Behavior (predispositions to act)

Components of Attitude

  • Cognitive Component:
    • Beliefs, ideas (e.g., "Gun owners end up shooting themselves more often than they shoot thieves.")
  • Affective Component:
    • Emotions, feelings (e.g., "Guns frighten me.")
  • Behavioral Component:
    • Predispositions to act (e.g., "I vote for gun-control advocates whenever possible.")

Origins of Attitudes

  • Cognitively-based
  • Affectively-based via learning
    • Classical conditioning
    • Operant conditioning
  • Behaviorally-based (self-perception)
  • Genetically-based (???)
  • Attitudes often do not predict behavior well.
    • LaPiere (1934)
    • Wicker (1969)
  • When do attitudes predict behavior?
    • Strength/Accessibility
    • Direct vs. Indirect Acquisition
    • Congruent specificity

Specific Attitudes as Better Predictors of Behavior

  • Specific attitudes are better predictors of behavior.

  • Table 7.1 illustrates this, showing attitude toward using birth control pills during the next 2 years has a stronger correlation (.57.57) with behavior than a general attitude toward birth control (.08.08).

Factors Influencing Attitude-Behavior Prediction

  • Strength/Accessibility
  • Direct vs. Indirect Acquisition
  • Congruent specificity
  • Social Desirability

Theory of Planned Behavior

  • Specific attitude toward the behavior
  • Subjective Norms
  • Perceived behavioral control
  • Behavioral Intention
  • Behavior

The Role of Automaticity in Attitude-Behavior Relations

  • Explicit (Conscious) Attitudes
  • Implicit (Non-Conscious) Attitudes

Persuasion: The Process of Attitude Change

  • Key Concepts
    • Source: Who or what is doing the persuading
    • Target: The person at whom the persuasion attempt is directed
    • Message: The content and nature of the persuasive message
    • Discrepancy: The distance of the message from the target’s current attitude

Central & Peripheral Routes to Persuasion

  • Central Route:
    • High effort, analytical processing.
    • Elaborate, cogent arguments evoke enduring agreement.
  • Peripheral Route:
    • Low effort, not analytical or involved.
    • Cues trigger liking and acceptance, often only temporarily.

Source Variables in Persuasion

  • Attractiveness
  • Credibility
    • Perceived Expertise
      • Credentials
      • Speech Cues
    • Perceived Trustworthiness
      • Self Interest
      • Perception of persuasive intent

Target Variables in Persuasion

  • Expertise
  • Involvement/Self-Relevance
  • Self-esteem
  • Need for cognition
  • Gender
  • Mood
    • Janis et al. Yale “peanuts & Pepsi” study
    • The effect of fear (Leventhal et al. 1967)

Positive Mood Enhances Persuasive Effect

  • Janis et al. (1965) study showed that subjects who read with a snack were more influenced by persuasive messages.

Fear + Preventive Information = Attitude/Behavior Change

  • Leventhal et al. (1967) demonstrated that combining fear-inducing films with preventive information leads to attitude and behavior changes (e.g., reduced smoking).

Message Variables

  • 1 vs. 2-sided message

Persuasive Effect of 1 vs. 2-sided Messages

  • Hovland et al. (1949) found that the effectiveness of 1-sided vs. 2-sided messages depends on the target's initial position.

Message Variables

  • Discrepancy from target’s current position
    • Large discrepancy leads to no attitude change, falling within the latitude of rejection.
    • Small discrepancy leads to attitude change, falling within the latitude of acceptance.
    • Greater attitude change occurs with messages in the latitude of non-commitment.

Message Discrepancy and Source Credibility

  • Message discrepancy interacts with source credibility (Aronson, Turner, & Carlsmith, 1963).

Message Variables

  • Strength/Quality of Argument
    • When does it make a difference?
      • Target mood (Bless et al., 1990)
      • Target involvement (Petty, Cacioppo, et al. 1981)

Effect of Argument Strength and Target Mood

  • Bless et al. (1990) showed that argument strength has a greater effect on attitude change when the target is in a sad mood.

Effect of Argument Strength and Target Involvement

  • Petty, Cacioppo, et al. demonstrated that argument strength matters more when target involvement is high.

Effecting Attitude Change

  • Matching persuasion attempt to attitude basis
  • The phenomenon of Psychological Reactance
  • Resisting attitude change through Attitude Inoculation
  • How effective is subliminal persuasion?

Matching Persuasion Attempt to Attitude Basis

  • Shavitt (1990) found that matching the persuasion attempt to the attitude basis (cognitive vs. affective) is more effective.

When Persuasion Backfires: Psychological Reactance

  • Pennebaker & Sanders (1978) showed that demanding signs can lead to increased graffiti due to psychological reactance.

Attitude Inoculation against Peer Pressure to Smoke

  • Hirschman & Leventhal (1989) demonstrated that attitude inoculation can reduce the percentage of students smoking over time.

Subliminal Persuasion: Does It Work?

  • The Gore Prescription Plan: Bureaucrats Decide