Chapter 4: Behavior and Attitudes

Implicit Association Test (IAT)

A computer-driven assessment of implicit attitudes. The test users reaction time to measure people's automatic associations between attitude objects and evaluative words. Easier pairings (and faster responses) are taken to indicate stronger unconscious associations. Example: Measure implicit racial attitudes by assessing whether White people take longer to associate positive words with Black faces than with White faces. --------------------------------------------- Both explicit (self-report) and implicit attitudes help predict people's behaviors and judgments. Thus, both together predict behavior better than either alone. ------------------------------------------- Implicit and explicit attitudes frequently diverge, with implicit attitudes often predicting behavior better. For other attitudes, such as those related to consumer behavior and support for political candidates, explicit self-reports are better predictor.

Role

A set of norms that defines how people in a given social position ought to behave. The word role is borrowed from the theater and, as in the theater, refers to actions expected of those who occupy a particular social position. When enacting new social roles, we may at first feel phony. But our unease seldom lasts. Famous experiment by Philip Zimbardo: students role-playing as prison guards and prisoners. ------------------------------------------- The deeper lesson of the role-playing studies is not that we are powerless machines. Rather, it concerns how what is unreal (an artificial role) can subtly morph into what is real.

Self-Affirmation Theory

A theory 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.

Attitude and Behaviors

Actions and attitude feed each other, sometimes to the point of moral numbness. The more one harms another and adjusts one's attitudes, the easier it becomes to do harm. Conscience is corroded. Moral action, especially when chosen rather than coerced, affects moral thinking. Attitude about society Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger) -Insufficient justification -Dissonance after decisions Self-Perception Theory (Bem) -Expressions and attitudes -Overjustification

Attitude

Beliefs and feelings related to a person or an event (often rooted in one's beliefs, and exhibited in one's feelings and intended behavior). Example: A person may have a negative attitude toward coffee, a neutral attitude toward the French, and a positive attitude toward the next-door neighbor. A person who believes a particular ethnic group is lazy and aggressive may feel dislike for such people and therefore intend to act in a discriminatory manner. ABC's of attitudes: Affect (feelings), Behavior tendency, and Cognition (thoughts).

Insufficient Justification

Reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one's behavior when external justification is "insufficient". The insufficient justification effect is a theory proposed by Festinger and Carlsmith that attempts to explain how individuals deal with cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant state of mind that occurs when two conflicting beliefs or thoughts are held at the same time. The insufficient justification effect is when a person finds an internal cause for an explanation to a behavior because there isn't an external cause. This effect reduces cognitive dissonance be justifying a behavior internally when there is insufficient external justification. For example, in an experiment by Festinger and Carlsmith participants performed a really boring task. Afterwards they were asked to be dishonest to the next participant by lying about how fun and entertaining the task was. One group of participants was given $1 for lying while another group was given $20 to lie. They found that the $1 group rated the task as being a lot more fun than the $20 group. The insufficient justification effect occurred. Both groups needed a justification for being dishonest: the $20 group had an external justification (getting $20) while the $1 group didn't so they developed an internal justification (that the task was more fun than it actually was). When external reward is not enough Attitude-follows-behavior: -Chosen versus forced compliance -Can apply to more than one thing -Accountability -Inconsistency salient

Cognitive Dissonance

Tension that arises when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions. For example, dissonance may occur when we realize that we have, with little justification, acted contrary to our attitudes or made a decision favoring one alternative despite reasons favoring another. Offers an explanation for such self-persuasion, and it also offers several surprising predictions. ------------------------------------------- Proposed by Festinger(1957) , the cognitive dissonance theory asserts that people often have two conflicting or inconsistent cognitions which produce a state of tension or discomfort (also known as "dissonance"). People are then motivated to reduce the dissonance, often in the easiest manner possible. "Is the idea that we feel tension (dissonance) when two thoughts or beliefs (cognitions) are psychologically inconsistent" For example, if you are a pacifist, but punched someone, there is inconsistency -- you think you should be passive, but you became angry enough to punch someone -- which would likely produce tension (you would feel discomfort from this - "how could I do this" ..." I don't believe in violence" ...etc.). You may reduce this tension by claiming that you don't believe in violence, EXCEPT in certain circumstances, like this one! In Festinger's classic study of dissonance, people who had engaged in a boring task for along period of time had to tell the next participant who was going to engage in the same task that it was actually a lot of fun (dissonance = telling a lie, but most people do not view themselves as liars). Participants were either paid $1 or $20 for engaging in the boring task. It turned out that people who were paid $1 told the biggest lies - they said the task was great, so much fun, etc...while the people paid $20 said it wasn't so great. Why? How can someone who just did a boring task for along time, and got paid so little for doing it, tell someone else how much fun it was? They change their attitude to actually believe that they DID enjoy the task. The people who received $20 didn't have to justify anything - the task was boring, but you get paid $20, so who cares. There is little or no dissonance in the $20 situation. ---------------------------------------------- Not on the relative effectiveness of rewards and punishments administered after the act but, rather, on what induces a desired action. Attitude Change Because we are Motivated to Maintain Self-Consistency (Attitude-Behavior Match) ---------------------------------------------

Overjustification Effect

The result of bribing people to do what they already like doing; they may then seen their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically appealing. -Unnecessary award or praise -Turning play into work

Facial Feedback Effect

The tendency of facial expressions to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness. The Facial Feedback Theory holds that facial movement and expressions can influence attitude and emotional experience. For instance, when a person attends a function and is required to smile for the duration of the function, they will actually have a better experience of the function.

Selective Exposure

The tendency to seek information and media that agree with one's views and to avoid dissonant information.

Self-Perception Theory

The theory that when we are unsure of our attitudes, we infer them much as would someone observing us- by looking at our behavior and the circumstances under which it occurs. Self-Perception Theory, proposed by Daryl Bem, suggests that people develop attitudes and opinions by observing their own behavior and drawing conclusions from it. This theory also downplays the role of internal thoughts and emotions in attitude formation. "When we have weak or unformed attitudes we often look to our own behaviors to discern our attitudes." No insight into attitudes, behavior is visible -Behavior can modify self-concept -Foot-in-the-door phenomenon We see ourselves as helpful. Expressions and attitudes -Attitudes follow expression -Mood follows expression -Empathy and mimicry Example: That you are a fan of classical music. According to self-perception theory, you didn't decide that you like classical music because you think it's the best type of music or because listening to it makes you feel good. You decided that you like classical music based on the fact that you listen to it a lot. Thus, we learn about ourselves and form self-judgments the same way we learn about and judge others - by observation.