Attitudes and Attitude Change Lecture Notes

Attitudes and Attitude Change

• Objective of Lecture:
  • Explore types of attitudes and their origins
  • Conditions under which attitudes predict behavior
  • Factors influencing attitude change
  • Impact of advertising on attitudes
  • Strategies to resist persuasion

Nature and Origin of Attitudes

• Definition of Attitudes:

  • Evaluative responses towards people, objects, and ideas
  • People actively evaluate their environment, leading to attitudes

• Components of Attitudes:

  1. Affective: Emotional responses (e.g., excitement for a new car)
  2. Behavioral: Observable actions relating to the attitude (e.g., purchasing a car)
  3. Cognitive: Thoughts and beliefs about the attitude object (e.g., evaluating fuel efficiency)

• Origins of Attitudes:

  • Genetic Factors:
  • Evidence from twin studies suggests genetic influence on attitudes
  • Social Experiences:
  • Attitudes shaped by direct experiences and social context

Types of Attitudes

• Cognitively Based Attitudes:

  • Based on beliefs about the properties of the object rather than emotions (e.g., mileage of a car)

• Affectively Based Attitudes:

  • Stemming from values, feelings, or aesthetic appreciation (e.g., liking a car for its design)
  • Influenced by classical and operant conditioning:
  • Classical Conditioning: Emotional responses paired with neutral stimuli
  • Operant Conditioning: Behaviors influenced by reinforcement or punishment

• Behaviorally Based Attitudes:

  • Attitudes formed by observing one's own behavior (Self-Perception Theory)

• Explicit vs. Implicit Attitudes:

  • Explicit: Conscious attitudes reported by individuals
  • Implicit: Unconscious attitudes affecting behavior without awareness
  • Example: Robert’s explicit attitude towards race vs. implicit biases learned from societal stereotypes.

When Do Attitudes Predict Behavior?

• Attitudes do not always clearly predict behavior:

  • LaPiere Study (1934): Discrepancy between stated attitudes and actual behavior towards Chinese individuals.

• Predicting Spontaneous Behaviors:

  • More direct experiences with an attitude lead to stronger, more accessible attitudes which predict spontaneous behaviors.

• Predicting Deliberative Behaviors:

  • Theory of Planned Behavior emphasizes the role of specific attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control in predicting planned behaviors.

Changing Attitudes

• Behavioral Change:

  • Changing behavior can induce attitude change without external justification (e.g., public speaking against smoking)

• Persuasive Communication:

  • Yale Attitude Change approach identifies factors affecting persuasion:
  1. Source: Credibility and attractiveness of the communicator
  2. Nature of Communication: One-sided vs. two-sided arguments, order of presentation
  3. Audience Nature: Characteristics such as distraction and intelligence level.

• Elaboration Likelihood Model: Describes two routes of persuasion:

  • Central Route: Engaging with the argument (long-lasting change)
  • Peripheral Route: Influenced by superficial cues (temporary change)

Emotional Influences on Persuasion

• Fear Appeals:
  • Effective when moderate; strong fear appeals may overwhelm and lead to defensiveness
  • Provide clear solutions to reduce fear (e.g., quitting smoking)

Resistance to Persuasion

• Attitude Inoculation: Pre-exposing individuals to arguments against their position to strengthen resistance

• Awareness of Product Placement: Teaching awareness can help resist persuasive attempts.

  • Importance of media literacy in understanding advertising motives.

• Reactance Theory: Strong prohibitions can increase the prohibited behavior due to perceived loss of autonomy.

Conclusion

• Understanding how attitudes are formed, changed, and resisted is crucial for navigating societal messages, especially in advertising and media contexts.