Psyc 202 Chapter 4

what area of brain is active when we produce implicit reactions?

amygdala (center for threat perception)

see figure page 28

...

Implicit associations measured with IAT correlated ___ with explicitly self-reported attitudes

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Three possible sources of actions leading to attitudes:

1. Self-presentation theory 2. Cognitive dissonance theory 3. Self-perception theory

Theory of Planned Behavior

Attitude toward behavior, subjective norms, and perceived control add up to behavior intention, which leads to behavior

role of explicit and implicit in predicting others' behaviors

Explicit and implicit attitudes both help predict people's behaviors and judgments. Together they may predict behavior better than either alone.

attitudes formed early in life: 2 examples are implicit and explicit the same? which is better predictor?

For attitudes formed early in life, such as racial and gender attitudes, implicit and explicit attitudes frequently diverge, with implicit attitude often being the better predictor of behavior.

low-balling and awareness of profit motive

Marketing researchers have found that low-balling still works even if we are aware of a profit motive

how do social movements work?

People feel the need to reconcile their words or actions with their attitudes. If the former are forced, then the attitude changes.

how can we like people better?

Positive behavior toward someone fosters liking them.

how do we reduce racial prejudice?

Positive interracial behavior

what boosts intrinsic motivation?

Rewards and praise that inform people of their achievements

why do we get aroused from dissonance?

Self-affirmation theory

Self-Presentation Theory:explain

To not look inconsistent, we make our explicit attitudes match our behavior.

how can you get someone to make same choice in future?

When gently threatened with the ability to still make the choice for yourself, you are more likely to make the same choice again than if you got a severe threat that didn't really let you choose not to do it

Implicit association test (IAT)

a computer-driven assessment of implicit attitudes. The test uses reaction times to measure people's automatic associations between attitude and objects and evaluative words. Easier pairings (and faster responses) are taken to indicate stronger unconscious associations

attitude

a favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction toward something or someone (often rooted in one's beliefs, and exhibited in one's feelings and intended behavior)

Role

a set of norms that defines how people in a given social position ought to behave

Low-ball technique

a tactic for getting people to agree to something. People who agree to an initial request will often still comply when the requester ups the ante. People who receive only costly request are less likely to comply with it

Self-affirmation theory

a that that (a) people often experience a self-image threat, after engaging in an undesirable behavior; and (b) they can compensate by affirming another aspect of the self. Threaten people's self-concept in one domain, and they will compensate either by refocusing or by doing good deeds in some other domain

The attitudes that best predict behavior ____ as well as _____

accessible stable

how can we elicit more empathy?

act out others' emotions

ABCs of attitudes:

affect (feelings), behavior tendency, and cognition (thoughts)

Dissonance theory, then explains what?

attitude change

When there is no compelling external explanation for one's words, then saying....

becomes believing.

2 examples of when explicit is better predictor?

consumer behavior and support for political candidates

We tend not only to hurt those we dislike but to:

dislike those who we hurt.

effect of an unanticipated reward

does not diminish intrinsic interest because people can still attribute their actions to their own motivation

Evidence that arousal is necessary for the attitudes-follow-behavior effect:

drinking alcohol reduces arousal, and effect is gone

Our _____ can influence our attitudes.

facial expression

how do attitudes become potent?

if we think about them

arousal from dissonance

increased perspiration and heart rate

inducing what induces new behavior?

intentions

When attitudes are formed by experience, they are: (3)

more accessible, more enduring, and more likely to guide actions

In situations where_____, self-perception theory explains ____.

our attitudes are not well formed attitude formation

With simple decisions, this deciding-becomes-believing effect can breed :

overconfidence

When people commit themselves to public behaviors and _______, they come to believe more strongly in what they have done

perceive those acts to their own doing

Insufficient justification

reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one's behavior when external justification is "insufficient"

what kind of attitudes are good predictors of behavior?

specific

Cognitive dissonance

tension that arises when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions.

The reason why our behavior and attitudes differ is:

that both are subject to other influences

People explain their behavior by noting:

the conditions under which it occurred.

Principle of aggregation

the effects of an attitude become more apparent when we look at a person's aggregate or average behavior than when we consider isolated acts

Overjustification effect

the result of bribing people to do what they already like doing; they may then see their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically rewarding

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

After making important decisions, we usually reduce dissonance by:

upgrading the chosen alternative and downgrading the unchosen option.

It appears that dissonance theory successfully explains what happens when:

we act contrary to clearly defined attitudes: we feel tension, so we adjust our attitudes to reduce it.

Attitudes follow behaviors for which:

we feel some responsibility.

Attitudes do predict behavior when: (3)

when these other influences are minimal, when attitude is specific to the behavior, and when attitude is potent