Attitude Formation and Attitude Change

ATTITUDE FORMATION AND ATTITUDE CHANGE

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Unit 3 Learning quiz corrections are due on Friday, 2/7.

• Ensure you keep up with notes and review major terms, especially if absent to maintain comprehension of course content.

ROADMAP OF AP PSYCH

Units of Instruction

• Unit 1: Biological Bases of Behavior

• Unit 2: Cognition

• Unit 3: Development and Learning

• Unit 4: Social Psychology and Personality

15-25% Exam Weighting

• 4.1 Attribution Theory and Person Perception

• 4.2 Attitude Formation and Change

• 4.3 Psychology of Social Situations

KEY VOCAB TO KNOW

• Stereotype: Simplifies judgments and contributes to prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behaviors by reducing cognitive load.

• Implicit Attitudes: Unconscious biases associated with concepts such as out-group homogeneity bias, in-group bias, and ethnocentrism, affecting interactions without conscious awareness.

• Belief Perseverance: The tendency to hold onto beliefs even in the face of contradictory evidence, often linked to a confirmation bias that seeks favorable information.

• Cognitive Dissonance: A critical concept for understanding attitude change, related to the discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes.

HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING OF ATTITUDES

• Kurt Lewin: Identified attitude as the core concept of social psychology, demonstrating its complexity and influencing factors.

Components of Attitudes:

• Affects: Emotional responses to people or situations.

• Cognitions: Thought processes underpinning attitudes.

• Behaviors: Actions resulting from attitudes.

• Originally perceived as predictors of behavior; however, later research revealed that attitudes do not always align with actual behaviors, highlighting the complexity of human psychology.

ATTITUDES - THE FOUNDATION OF BEHAVIOR

• Attitudes define evaluations of people, objects, or ideas that significantly affect thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, influencing social dynamics.

• Can be explicit (consciously held) or implicit (unconscious), with each impacting social interactions differently.

• For instance, a negative attitude toward a profession may result in intentional avoidance of individuals associated with that field, demonstrating the power of attitudes on decision-making.

STEREOTYPES OVERVIEW

• Stereotypes are broad generalizations made about groups based on their group membership rather than individual attributes (for example, characteristics associated with race or gender).

• Although they simplify judgments, stereotypes distort reality by exaggerating traits, leading to harmful insights about individuals.

• Example: Stereotyping teenage drivers as reckless overlooks individual variation in driving behavior, leading to prejudiced assumptions.

STEREOTYPES REDUCE COGNITIVE LOAD

• Stereotypes function as cognitive shortcuts that facilitate decision-making during complex interactions, making social situations more manageable.

• Example: Anticipating politeness from a Japanese individual based on stereotypes can simplify interactions but may also create inaccuracies in understanding individuals' unique behaviors.

STEREOTYPES AS THE FOUNDATION FOR PREJUDICED ATTITUDES & DISCRIMINATORY BEHAVIORS

• Prejudice: Negative feelings or beliefs directed at individuals based on group membership that stem from stereotypes.

• Discrimination: Actions that manifest unfair treatment due to group affiliations, such as landlords refusing rental opportunities based solely on an applicant's ethnicity.

• The connection between prejudice and discrimination is crucial for understanding and addressing social inequalities.

IMPLICIT ATTITUDES - THE UNSEEN BIAS

• Implicit attitudes, which often contrast with consciously held beliefs, play a significant role in social behaviors and decision-making.

• For example, a teacher may consciously support equality but may unconsciously exhibit bias, favoring one gender over another in classroom interactions.

• Addressing implicit biases is vital for effective intervention strategies to reduce systemic discrimination.

JUST-WORLD PHENOMENON

• A cognitive bias suggesting a fair world that can result in victim-blaming, focusing on the actions of marginalized individuals instead of recognizing systemic issues affecting their situations.

IN-GROUP & OUT-GROUP HOMOGENEITY BIAS

• Out-group Homogeneity Bias: The inclination to view out-group members as homogeneous while ignoring diversity within those groups.

• In-group Bias: A preference for those within one's own group, resulting in favoritism that can influence social contexts, like hiring practices.

ETHNOCENTRISM - CULTURAL SUPERIORITY

• Ethnocentrism entails the belief that one’s own culture is superior, leading to the evaluation of other cultures based on one’s cultural standards.

• This perspective can foster dismissive attitudes towards non-Western medicine or practices, obstructing progress towards cross-cultural understanding and collaboration.

BELIEF PERSEVERANCE & CONFIRMATION BIAS

• Belief Perseverance: The ability to maintain beliefs in adversity, even when faced with contradicting facts.

• This phenomenon is often reinforced by Confirmation Bias, which involves placing greater value on information that supports existing beliefs while disregarding opposing ideas, solidifying resistance to change.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE - THE KEY TO CHANGE

• Cognitive Dissonance describes the discomfort from holding contradictory beliefs or behaviors, prompting an individual to seek consistency.

• For instance, recognizing unfair treatment towards colleagues can provoke efforts to align behaviors with values of equality, serving as a tool in prejudice reduction programs designed to encourage self-reflection and behavioral changes.