Notes on Changing Attitudes by Changing Behavior

People’s attitudes can be predicted based on their thoughts and feelings about an object or situation.
Conversely, a person's behavior can also influence their attitudes, particularly when the behavior is unexpected or conflicts with their existing attitudes.
- Example: Buying Frosted Flakes instead of Cheerios may lead to a more positive attitude toward Frosted Flakes.

Self-perception theory, proposed by Bem (1972), suggests that we infer our internal states (attitudes, beliefs) from our behaviors when we are unsure.
Key Points:
- People engage in self-observation to deduce their feelings or attitudes toward an object or situation.
- Example: If someone sees themselves enjoying a concert instead of studying, they may conclude they value the concert over their studies.

Aronson and Carlsmith (1963) conducted an experiment where children rated toys, were told they could not play with their preferred toy, and were threatened with mild or harsh punishment if they disobeyed.
- Findings:
- Children given a harsher threat rated the forbidden toy more positively later than those given a mild threat, who rated it less positively.
- Suggests the children used their behavior (not playing with the toy) to infer their attitudes toward it.

Insufficient Justification: When external reasons do not sufficiently justify the behavior, individuals conclude they did not engage in the behavior due to internal factors (beliefs/attitudes).
Overjustification: When external rewards influence behavior perception, individuals may discount their intrinsic interest.
- Example: Children anticipating rewards for playing with markers played less with them once given rewards, as it undermined their intrinsic interest in the markers.

Cognitive dissonance refers to discomfort felt when one’s behavior contradicts their beliefs or self-perception (Festinger, 1957; Harmon-Jones & Mills, 1999).
Dissonance is experienced when:
- An individual realizes they've behaved in a way that contradicts their self-image.
- Example: Joachim fails his biology midterm after prioritizing music over studies, causing cognitive dissonance regarding his identity as a conscientious student.

Individuals can reduce dissonance by:
1. Changing behavior to align with beliefs.
2. Minimizing the importance of dissonant beliefs.
3. Adding new consonant beliefs to justify behavior.
- Example: Joachim could rationalize attending concerts as essential for future career goals in the music industry.

Dissonance is common in various contexts, such as smoking or regretting decisions (e.g., buyer’s remorse). People often downplay negative behaviors or convince themselves the behaviors are justified to reduce dissonance.
Research Example: Brehm (1956) illustrated post-decisional dissonance by showing that women rated appliances more favorably after making a choice, reinforcing their decision and minimizing regret.

Positive self-esteem can mitigate the effects of cognitive dissonance. In contrast, threats to self-esteem can amplify feelings of dissonance.
Cultural Differences: Research suggests that self-concept discrepancies may be more pronounced in Western cultures than in Eastern cultures, where interdependent self-concepts prevail.

Salespeople exploit cognitive dissonance to influence consumers:
- Foot-in-the-Door Technique: Start with a small request, making it easier to agree to a larger request later.
- Low-Balling Technique: Offer something at a low price to induce commitment, then change it to a higher price.
- Bait-and-Switch Technique: Advertise an attractive deal only to present a different product at a higher price once the consumer is engaged.

Understanding self-perception and cognitive dissonance enables insight into attitude change through behavior.
The effectiveness of persuasion can be heightened through subtle engagement strategies that capitalize on cognitive consistency principles.