UNIT 4 ATTITUDES SOCIAL PSYCOLOGY

NET ATTITUDES

  • Lecturer: Natalia Godfrey, BSc, MSc. Social Psychology.

ATTITUDE AND ITS IMPORTANCE

  • Attitudes: Integral to social interactions, influence decision making and perception.

  • Areas of focus: Formation, change, assertiveness training, relationship to behavior.

FOUR FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS OF ATTITUDE

  1. Origins of Attitudes: Where do attitudes come from?

  2. Formation of Attitudes: How are they formed?

  3. Measurement of Attitudes: How can they be assessed?

  4. Change in Attitudes: How and why do attitudes change?

    • Investigation includes forces and intrapsychic mechanisms affecting opinion shifts.

  5. Relation to Behavior: How do attitudes influence behaviors?

WHAT ARE ATTITUDES?

  • Definition: A set of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors toward specific objects, persons, or events.

  • Impact: Formed through experience and upbringing, influencing behaviors significantly.

  • Changeability: While attitudes are often lasting, they can transform over time.

COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES

  1. Affective Component: Emotional reactions toward the attitude object.

  2. Behavioral Component: Observable actions or behaviors toward the attitude object.

  3. Cognitive Component: Thoughts and beliefs about the attitude object.

FACTORS INFLUENCING ATTITUDE FORMATION

  1. Experience: Direct personal experience or observational learning contributes to attitude formation.

  2. Social Factors:

    • Social Roles: Expectations of behavior in specific contexts.

    • Social Norms: Societal rules guiding acceptable behaviors.

  3. Learning Mechanisms:

    • Classical Conditioning: Associating products with favorable imagery (e.g., advertisement strategies).

    • Operant Conditioning: Responses to behaviors shape attitudes through feedback (e.g., negative reinforcement regarding smoking).

    • Observational Learning: Emulation of admired figures (e.g., children reflecting parental attitudes).

ATTITUDES, BELIEFS, AND VALUES

  • Attitude: A blend of beliefs and values.

  • Beliefs: Information we perceive as knowledge; can be accurate or inaccurate.

  • Values: Individual sense of desirability and worth.

FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDES (KATZ, 1960)

  1. Knowledge Function: Provides predictability and stability in understanding the world.

  2. Adjustive Function: Secures favorable responses by aligning with socially acceptable attitudes.

  3. Value-Expressive Function: Self-expression through values, reflecting personal integrity.

  4. Ego-Defensive Function: Protects self-concept and may involve denial of personal deficiencies.

TYPES OF ATTITUDES

  1. Explicit Attitudes: Consciously endorsed evaluations easily articulated.

  2. Implicit Attitudes: Uncontrolled evaluations, sometimes unconscious.

ATTITUDE-ACTION RELATIONSHIP

  • Cognitive dissonance arises when actions conflict with attitudes.

  • Influence of attitudes on behaviors may not be straightforward; influenced by past interactions and social context.

PREDICTING BEHAVIOR

  • Attitude Compatibility: Higher compatibility needed for accurate behavior prediction.

  • Behavior conditioned by: previous experiences, social evaluations, habitual responses, and situational factors.

CONDITIONS FOR ATTITUDE CHANGE

  • Social influence is a primary factor affecting attitude shifts, from politics to consumer behavior.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY (Festinger, 1957)

  • Dissonance arises from holding conflicting cognitions.

  • Change in attitude is a way to reduce discomfort from dissonance.

EXAMPLES OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

  • Smokers rationalizing their habit despite knowing the risks.

ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD THEORY OF ATTITUDE CHANGE

  • Attitude changes occur through:

    • Deep processing of persuasive messages.

    • Surface level influence by speaker characteristics.

PERSUASION AND ATTITUDE CHANGE

  • Effectiveness of persuasion influenced by communicator, message, audience, and context.

THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR

  • Predicts behavior based on intentions influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control.

ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING

  • Designed to empower individuals to assert needs respectfully.

HISTORY AND APPLICATION

  • Evolved from the women's movement; utilized in various settings like workplaces and therapy.

STAGES OF ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING PROCESS

  1. Information-gathering and reflection on personal assertiveness challenges.

  2. Role-plays to practice assertive communication techniques.

  3. Application of techniques in everyday scenarios, with real-time feedback.

COMPONENTS OF THE TRAINING PROCESS

  • Techniques for self-observation, preference awareness, and personal responsibility.

PURPOSE OF ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING

  • Enhance clear communication to negate unhealthy behavioral patterns and promote self-determination in health-related choices.

CONCLUSION

  • Attitudes, while influential, don't always dictate behaviors. Social context and interactions shape both attitudes and behaviors.