SOCIOLOGY CHAPTER 5

Reference groups (162-163)

A reference group is a group to which people orient themselves, using its standards to judge themselves and the world.

subliminal conditioning (167)

Additional studies indicate that classical conditioning of attitudes can occur below the level of conscious awareness, a process known as subliminal conditioning. -basically unconscious classical conditioning

Dual attitudes (161)

The idea that you can have two attitudes toward someone or something—one explicit and the other implicit. This simultaneous possession of contradictory implicit and explicit attitudes toward the same object is known as dual attitudes (Wilson et al., 2000).

operant conditioning 167-168)

a form of learning extensively studied by such behavioral psychologists as Edward Thorndike (1911) and B. F. Skinner (1938). According to oper- ant conditioning principles, when an action toward an object is rewarded or reinforced, it will probably be repeated in the future. On the other hand, if behavior is not rewarded or is punished, similar future actions are less likely. -treat or punish due to behavior

classical conditioning (166- 167)

a previously neutral attitude object (the conditioned stimulus) can come to evoke an attitude response (the conditioned response) simply by being paired with some other object (the unconditioned stimulus) that naturally evokes the attitude response (the unconditioned response). -a response that initially takes 2 stimuli, the first and second. Do this enough times and you will be conditioned to respond that way just from the first stimuli.

Implicit attitudes

an implicit attitude is an attitude that is activated automatically from memory, often without the person's aware- ness that she or he even possesses it (McConnell et al., 2008).

Theory of planned behavior (182-184)—how attitudes cause behavior.

attitudes predict behaviors that are planned and deliberate. According to this theory, the reason attitudes are often not better predictors of behavior is because people contemplate more than just their attitudes prior to deciding whether to initiate an action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2009). Attitude towards a behavior--v Subjective norms------->Intention->Behavior Perceived behavioral control-^

explicit attitudes

explicit attitude is consciously held, and it is a much more thoughtful and deliberate evaluation.

mere exposure effects (163-165)

simply exposing people repeatedly to a particular object (such as a person in a booth) causes them to develop a more positive attitude toward the object. -I see that thing a lot, therefore not dangerous, therefore I like

Self-perception theory (180-182)—how behavior causes attitudes

we often do not know what our attitudes are and, instead, infer them from our behavior and the situation in which the behavior occurs. Self-perception theory is a radical explanation of the attitude concept because it contends that, instead of attitudes causing behavior, it is behavior that causes attitudes.

dissonance reduction (173-178)

-(Cognitive consistency) people are motivated to keep their own explicit cognitions (beliefs, attitudes, self-perceptions) organized in a consistent and tension-free manner (refer to Chapter 3, p. 97). -Because we want to keep these consistent cognitions, we will change our attitude to decrease discomfort brought about by Cognitive dissonance theory

Implicit vs. explicit attitudes, how do they differ? (159-161)

If you consider once again the tricomponent view of attitudes (p. 158), implicit attitudes are simply produced by the affective component, but explicit attitudes are typically a joint product of affective, cognitive, and behavioral components.

IAT; what does it measure? (161-162)

Implicit Association Test, measures implicit attitudes. the IAT measures differences in memory associations between target categories (for example, dog or cat) and evaluative categories (such as like or dislike)

Cognitive dissonance theory (171-172)

The theory states that if you simultaneously hold two cognitions that are incon- sistent ("This was a boring task" and "I told someone it was very enjoyable"), you will experience a feeling of discomfort