In-Depth Notes on Attitudes in Psychology

Acknowledgement of Country

  • University of Queensland acknowledges Traditional Owners and custodians of the land.

  • Respects to Ancestors and descendants, emphasizing cultural and spiritual connections.

  • Recognition of their contributions to society.

Overview of Attitudes in Psychology

  • Course Title: PSYC1030 Introduction to Psychology

    • Focus: Developmental, Social, & Clinical Psychology

    • Instructor: Dr. Mick Zeljko

Key Topics Covered

  • Introduction to attitudes

  • Tri-Partite Model of Attitudes

  • Understanding attitude-behavior relationship

  • Reasoned Action & Planned Behavior

  • Measuring attitudes

Social Psychology

  • Focuses on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in social contexts.

  • Examines group membership, social influence, attitudes, and interpersonal relationships.

  • Integrates psychological theory and empirical methods.

Key Questions in Social Psychology

  1. How do we form and change attitudes?

  2. Why do people conform or obey authority?

  3. What causes prejudice and discrimination?

  4. How do groups make decisions (groupthink)?

Importance of Studying Social Psychology

  • Insight into social factors shaping actions and beliefs (family, peers, culture).

  • Applications include improving communication, negotiation, and public policy campaigns.

  • Addresses societal issues like prejudice and fosters cooperation.

Understanding Attitudes

  • Attitude: Mental/emotional evaluations that influence behavior.

  • Can predict and change future behaviors based on understanding attitudes.

Historical Context of Attitudes

  • Post-World War II focus on understanding how propaganda influenced public support.

  • Marketing and social campaigns utilize understanding of attitudes to shift behaviors.

Tri-Partite Model of Attitudes (Himmelfarb and Eagly, 1974)

  • Components:

    • Affect: Emotional reactions (e.g., feeling happy watching a movie).

    • Behavior: Actions (e.g., buying tickets).

    • Cognition: Beliefs (e.g., believing a movie is entertaining).

  • These components can interact consistently or inconsistently.

Predicting Behavior from Attitudes

  • Strong positive beliefs and feelings increase likelihood of corresponding behavior.

  • Behavior change requires targeting one or more components of attitudes.

Values vs. Attitudes

  • Values: Broad ideals considered important (e.g., equality).

  • Attitudes: Directed at specific objects or behaviors (e.g., supporting legislation).

  • Differentiates between internal evaluations and outward expressions (opinions).

Attitude-Behavior Relationship

  • LaPiere's study: Mismatch between expressed attitudes and actual behavior (1930s).

  • Wicker (1969): Attitudes poorly predict behavior due to methodological flaws.

  • Fishbein & Ajzen's Principle of Compatibility:

    • Attitude more likely to predict behavior if measures align in specificity.

  • Important components:

    • Action (specific behavior)

    • Target (object of behavior)

    • Context (where it occurs)

    • Time (when it occurs)

Factors Influencing Attitude-Behavior Relationship

  1. Social Norms: Desire to fit in may override strong attitudes.

  2. Situational Constraints: Resources and opportunities impact behavior.

  3. Strength of Attitude: Strongly held attitudes correlate better with behavior.

Persuasion and Behavior Change

  • McGuire’s Chain of Persuasion (1969): Steps for attitude change through persuasion.

  • Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975): Intention as the strongest predictor of behavior influenced by attitudes and subjective norms.

  • Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985): Adds Perceived Behavioral Control to the model.

Measuring Attitudes

  1. Self-Report: Surveys and questionnaires.

  2. Behavior Observation: Inferring attitudes through actions.

  3. Implicit Association Test (IAT): Measures unconscious attitudes through reaction times, detecting biases.

Shortcomings of IAT

  • Implicit biases may not align with stated beliefs.

  • Cultural influence and media exposure can affect scores.

  • Debate on the predictive validity of IAT results regarding real-world behavior.