Attitudes, Emotions, and Social Cognition

Social Cognition

• Study of how we think about, interpret, and remember information about ourselves and other people.

• One of the largest sub-fields within social psychology.

• Serves as the cognitive foundation for:

  • $\text{Attitudes}$

  • Impression formation

  • Stereotyping & prejudice

Attitudes

• Definition: A learned predisposition to respond cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally toward an object, person, place, thing, or event in an evaluative manner.

• Often summarized as the ABC model:

  • Affect (A) – feelings toward the target.

  • Behavior (B) – actions or observable responses toward the target.

  • Cognitions (C) – thoughts or beliefs about the target.

• Graphic example (country-music fan):

  • Cognition → “I think country music is better than any other kind.”

  • Affect → “I like country music; it’s fun and uplifting.”

  • Behavior → “I buy country-music MP3s every chance I get.”

Attitude Formation

• Direct instruction – explicit teaching (e.g., parents warn that smoking is unhealthy).

• Personal experience – reinforcement or punishment of behavior shapes evaluation.

• Observational learning/modeling – watching others express attitudes (e.g., fashion influencers).

• Empirical example: Viewing 100 photos of plus-size models shifted women’s initial preference for the “thin ideal.”

Persuasion

• Definition: Process through which one person attempts to change another person’s beliefs, opinions, positions, or actions via argument, pleading, or explanation.

• Key variables (Hovland’s classic model):

  1. Source – credibility, attractiveness, expertise.

  2. Message – logic, emotional appeal, one-/two-sided.

  3. Target/Audience – age, gender, involvement, prior attitude strength.

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

• Dual-process theory of attitude change.

• Central (high-elaboration) route

  • Careful consideration of message content & arguments.

  • Produces more enduring, resistant attitudes.

• Peripheral (low-elaboration) route

  • Reliance on cues not intrinsic to message (source attractiveness, slogan length, background music).

  • Produces more temporary, susceptible attitudes.

• Route selection determined by motivation and ability to process the message.

Cognitive Dissonance & Attitude Change

• Cognitive dissonance: Unpleasant psychological tension caused by inconsistency between attitude and behavior.

  • Example: Smoker who believes smoking is unhealthy.

• To reduce discomfort, individuals may:

  1. Change behavior (quit smoking).

  2. Change attitude (“I don’t smoke that much.”).

  3. Add consonant cognitions (“I eat healthy, so smoking is OK.”).

  4. Trivialize inconsistency (“Science isn’t conclusive yet.”).

• Because behavior change demands effort, attitudes usually adjust instead.

Social Categorization

• Automatic, often unconscious process of assigning a newly encountered person to a category based on perceived similarity to other known members.

• Produces stereotypes: sets of characteristics believed to be shared by all members of a social category.

Impression Formation

• Initial construction of knowledge about another person.

• Primacy effect: First information received disproportionately influences overall impression, even when contradictory later evidence emerges.

• Closely intertwined with social categorization; stereotypes supply ready-made impressions.

Prejudice & Discrimination

• Prejudice – learned, generally negative attitude toward members of a group. Components:

  • Cognitive → stereotypes.

  • Affective → dislike, fear, contempt.

  • Behavioral intention → tendency toward discrimination.

• Stereotype – generalized belief assigning identical characteristics to all members of a group; the cognitive component of prejudice.

• Discrimination – behavior directed against individuals because of group membership.

Common Forms & Group Dynamics

• Ageism, sexism, racism, weight bias (too fat/too thin).

• In-groups: groups with which one identifies (“us”).

• Out-groups: groups with which one does not identify (“them”). Once an in-group exists, out-group members become stereotyped.

Why Prejudice Develops

1. Realistic Conflict Theory – competition over limited resources heightens intergroup hostility.

2. Scapegoating – displaced aggression toward an out-group member with little power (economic downturn → blame immigrants).

3. Learning – classical/operant conditioning & social learning (culture, media).

4. Personal Experience – negative encounter generalized to whole group.

5. Limited Resources & Power – prejudice preserves dominance & privilege for majority.

6. Displaced Aggression – frustration from ambiguous source redirected at innocent target.

7. Mental Shortcuts – stereotypes simplify a complex social world; cognitive economizing.

8. Implicit Bias – automatic, hidden attitudes guiding behavior outside awareness.

9. In-group Favoritism – preferential evaluation of one’s own group.

10. Out-group Homogeneity Effect – perceive out-group members as more alike.

Overcoming Prejudice

1. Cooperation & Superordinate Goals

   • Sherif’s Robbers Cave camp study: conflict (competitive games) increased hostility; joint cooperative tasks (fixing water supply, towing truck) reduced prejudice.

2. Intergroup Contact – conditions: close interaction, mutual interdependence, equal status.

3. Cognitive Retraining – focus on similarities, adopt out-group perspective, consciously counter-stereotype.

4. Cognitive Dissonance – encountering stereotype-inconsistent individuals produces dissonance, eventually eroding the stereotype (“exception becomes the rule”).

Emotion

• “Feeling” aspect of consciousness; consists of (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behavior, (3) subjective experience.

• Display rules: culture-specific norms governing expression of emotion (e.g., Japanese restrain anger in public; Mediterranean cultures less restrained).

Biological (Arousal) Component

• Sudden surprise → increased heart rate, perspiration, rapid breathing.

• Brain circuitry:

  • Thalamus relays sensory input both to cortex (slow, detailed processing) and amygdala (fast, automatic fear response).

  • Limbic system & ANS (sympathetic branch) mobilize fight-or-flight; parasympathetic restores calm.

Cognitive (Thinking) Component

• Evaluation & labeling of emotion based on appraisal of situation (“Is the dog behind a fence?”).

• Measured via self-report; limitations: social desirability, lack of awareness.

• Researchers triangulate with biological & behavioral data.

Behavioral (Expressive) Component

• Facial expressions are primary nonverbal channel; cross-culturally recognized (Ekman’s six basics: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise).

• When verbal & nonverbal messages conflict, observers trust nonverbal cues.

Theories of Emotion

Facial-Feedback Hypothesis (Detail)

• Idea: Motor actions (e.g., smile, frown) send proprioceptive feedback to the brain, altering emotional experience.

• Practical implication: “Fake it till you make it”—smiling can elevate mood.

Integrative Reflection

• Attitudes influence emotional reactions in professional settings (e.g., implicit bias toward patient group → altered empathy & care quality).

• Changing one’s attitude:

  • Engage central-route processing (seek accurate information).

  • Consciously confront dissonant beliefs/behaviors.

  • Increase contact & cooperation with target group.

  • Practice cognitive retraining & mindfulness of implicit biases.