LT 4.2-1: Describe how our attitudes and actions interact.
LT 4.2-2: Describe how peripheral route persuasion and central route persuasion differ.
Definition: Feelings influenced by beliefs, predisposing responses to objects, people, and events.
Interaction with actions:
Attitudes and actions influence each other.
Situational factors (public pressure, social norms) can lead actions to differ from attitudes.
Adjustment of attitudes can occur after actions are taken.
Definition: Tendency for individuals who agree to a small request to comply later with a larger request.
Effect: Helps show how attitudes can follow actions and can induce compliance regardless of behavior being good or bad.
Example: Individuals may feel obliged to comply further once they have already said yes to a first smaller request.
Definition: Individuals feel discomfort when holding contradictory thoughts or beliefs, leading to attitude adjustment to reduce discomfort (dissonance).
Examples:
During the Korean War, U.S. prisoners collaborated with captors in various ways, later adjusting beliefs to align with their actions.
If actions conflict with beliefs, individuals often change beliefs to reduce discomfort.
Rationalization: Change in attitudes often arises as a rationalization process to ease people cognitive dissonance.
Role Adoption: Initially feeling like an impostor when adopting a new role, but over time, roles become part of self-identity, aligning attitudes more closely with behaviors.
Two-way influence: Changes in behavior can also lead to alterations in attitudes, supporting the interdependence of attitudes and actions.
Definition: Changes in attitudes due to incidental cues, such as the attractiveness of the speaker.
Usage: Often seen in advertisements, where the emotional response of the audience is targeted rather than logical reasoning.
Example: Celebrity endorsements using the halo effect to establish trust with audiences.
Definition: Involves more thoughtful consideration of evidence and arguments; effective in significant decision-making situations.
Audience: More effective for analytical individuals.
Example: Choosing a car or house based on detailed research and logical arguments.
Concept: Describes two routes of learning and persuasion:
Peripheral Route: Lower elaboration (minimal thinking required).
Central Route: Higher elaboration (involves critical thinking and analysis).
Application: Understanding which persuasion route to employ based on the audience's engagement level.
Exam Questions:
Explain the foot-in-the-door phenomenon and cognitive dissonance leading to attitude change.
Applying the attitude-follow-behavior principle to change personal attitudes.
Identifying examples of commercials reflecting peripheral and central route persuasion.