ALLLLLL COM 318 STUDY MATERIAL
EVERYTHING COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
"A negative, unpleasant state that occurs whenever a person holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent." u "A negative, unpleasant state that occurs whenever a person holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent." u Psychologically uncomfortable u Occurs after a behavior u Magnitude differs u Motivated to reduce dissonance - change attitudes For change to happen, the individual should have chosen the behavior May not always succeed Dissonance is a psychological process ... It produces inconsistent cognitions If the cognitions are core to our identities We feel unpleasant and We are motivated to reduce dissonance Dissonance occurs when an individual ... u Holds two clearly incongruent thoughts u Makes a decision that rules out a desirable alternative u Expends effort to participate in what turns out to be a less than ideal activity u Is unable to find sufficient justification for an attitude or behavior they adopt There are 7 seven ways we can reduce dissonance: Change the attitude Add consonant cognitions Derogate the unchosen alternative Alter the importance of cognitive elements Suppress thoughts Communicate Alter the behavior
(Frank) Capra
"Why we fight" directed 7 short films. Films were designed to educate allied soldiers on the Nazi threat and to boost morale. inspired contemporary psychologists to systematically study "persuasion."
prescriptive beliefs
"ought" or "should" statements that express preferences. An example - "Prostitution should be legal." Statements such as theses cannot be tested by empirical research
common pattern of diffusion
***SEE SLIDE WITH GRAPH tipping point when adoption really takes off at 16% diffusion rate line divides opinion leaders/early adopters and early majority
Self-Monitoring
-the degree to which we are attuned to how others see us *high self-monitors tend to be viewed as more socially competent than low self-monitors (more persuasive) -HIGH self-monitors are more likely to be persuaded if they believe that changing their attitude or behaviors would make them look good -HIGH self-monitors are resistant to persuasion if they believe that they could look bad if they change -LOW self-monitors are persuaded by argument quality but generally tend to "stick to their guns"
Types of Adopters—Early Majority
1/3 One third of the members of a system Possible Characteristics ... Interact frequently with others Seldom hold positions of opinion leadership Deliberate before adopting new idea or technology
Individual Adoption Process
5 Stages of Adoption § Awareness of innovation Becomes exposed to innovation § Interest in innovation Begins to seek more information § Evaluation of innovation Visualizes application of innovation to current and future situation and decides whether or not to try it § The trial of an innovation Makes use of innovation to test it § Adoption of innovation Decides to continue full use of innovation
expectations vs evaluations
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SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIALS SCALE (OSGOOD)
A person's attitude is the sum or average of all items. • Adjectives are often chosen to reflect: • Evaluation (good or bad) • Potency (strong or weak) • Activity (active or passive) ***SEE DIAGRAM ON POLICEMEN EXAMPLE
Preliminary message strategies for changing attitudes
Adding or subtracting beliefs Increasing or decreasing certainty in a belief Increasing the favorability or unfavorability of a belief Increasing the salience (accessibility) of a belief Supporting positions within an effective range of the audience's current position.
Types of Adopters—Late Majority
Also 1/3 One third of the members of a system Possible Characteristics ... Guided by peer pressure Influenced by economic necessity Skeptical of innovations Cautious
THE ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIP
Attitudes are important to the extent they impact or "cause" behavior • However, attitudes are not perfectly predictive of behavior. • Many factors influence Att-Beh relationship Attitude-Behavioral Specificity Some "topics" may show greater relationships than others Some "types" of people may show stronger attitude-behavior relationships •Attitudes seem clearly related to behavior and/or intended behavior •Attitudes are not perfectly predictive of behavior •What can we do to improve this model? •Do we always do what we want to do?
1. Cognitive Response Approach
Communication >>>>>>>>> Cognitive responses 1. Proarguments 2. Counterarguments 3. Thoughts that (a) originate with the message, (b) creatively elaborate on the message, or are (c) irrelevant to the message >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Attitude change refined the Yale studies by calling attention to the role that cognitive responses play in persuasion, particularly in forewarning, distraction, and, later, inoculation. These studies paved the way for dual-process models of persuasion. also look at yale study$4 emphasizes the role of thoughts, such as counterarguments and proarguments, in the persuasion process. Hovland FULL PARAGRAPH advanced knowledge of persuasion. It placed thinking at the center of the persuasion process. It also provided a method to measure cognitive aspects of attitudes creatively. After a time, though, researchers realized that the approach had two limitations. First, it assumed that people think carefully about messages. Yet there are many times when people turn their minds off to persuasive communications, making decisions based on mental shortcuts. Second, the cognitive response approach failed to shed much light on the ways that messages influence people. It did not explain how we can utilize cognitive responses so as to devise messages to change attitudes or behavior. In order to rectify these problems, scholars proceeded to develop process-based models of persuasion. asserts that people's own mental reactions to a message play a critical role in the persuasion process, typically a more important role than the message itself Cognitive responses include thoughts that are favorable to the position advocated in the message (proarguments) and those that criticize the message (counterarguments). Persuasion occurs if the communicator induces the audience member to generate favorable cognitive responses regarding the communicator or message...................... The cognitive response view says that people play an active role in the persuasion process. It emphasizes that people's own thoughts about a message are more important factors in persuasion than memory of message arguments
Social Judgement Theory (SJT)
Emphasizes that receivers do not evaluate a message purely on the merits of the arguments. Instead, people compare the advocated position with their attitude and then determine whether they should accept the position advocated in the message
Diffusion of Innovations
Everett Rogers Innovation: an idea, practices, or objects that are perceived as new by an individual or other unit Channels: the means by which messages about innovations travel from one person to another Time: § Innovation decision-process for individual § Relative time to adoption compared to other adopters § Overall rate of adoption for innovation Social System: § Interrelated units that are engaged in problem solving to accomplish a goal
Theory of Reasoned Action/Planned Behavior
Fishbien and Ajzen'sTheory of Reasoned Action ... Base on an Expectancy-Value Approach • Commonly used to design intervention plans based on factors relevant to the specific behavior in question. • Operates under the assumption that people do what they intend to do • Intention is function of attitudinal and normative forces [ (Behavioral Beliefs >> Attitudes) AND (Normative Beliefs >> Subjective Norms) ] >>> Intention >>> Behavior Ajzen'sTheory of Planned Behavior Extension of Reasoned Action • Attitudes and norms have most influence when we have "control" over our behavior The first of each is "indirect measures", the second of each pair is direct measure... [(Behavioral Beliefs >> Attitudes) AND (Normative Beliefs >> Subjective Norms) AND (Control Beliefs >> Behavioral Control)] >>> Intention >>> Behavior EQUATIONS: Ao=Σbiei Sum of Belief Strength X Evaluation SNo=Σnimi Sum of Normative Belief X Motivation to Comply PBCo=Σcibi Sum of Control Beliefs X Belief Power ***SEE DIAGRAM FOR MOST CURRENT VIEW OF THIS APPROACH***
Types of Adopters—Laggards
Holdouts Possible Characteristics ... Possess no opinion leadership Isolates Tied to the past Suspicious of innovations Lengthy innovation decision process Limited resources
GUTTMAN SCALES
Items are ordered and cumulative. • Your attitude is best represented by the item that best represents your position. (Example) 1. Are you willing to permit immigrants to live in your country? 2. Are you willing to permit immigrants to live in your community? 3. Are you willing to permit immigrants to live in your neighborhood? 4. Are you willing to permit immigrants to live next door to you? 5. Would you permit your child to marry an immigrant? Achievement tests often share the characteristics of a Guttman scale
By creating dissonance we can influence others (or ourselves)
Make a public commitment Encourage people to publically advocate an alternative position Confront people with their own hypocrisy Affirmation
Types of Adopters—Early Adopters (Opinion Leaders)
Most influential adopters Possible Characteristics: Integrated part of the local social system High level of opinion leadership Role models for others Respected by peers Successful
Rejection and Discontinuance
Not all innovations are adopted Rejection: An innovation can be rejected as a "bad" idea at any point in the innovation-decision process. Discontinuance: An innovation can be dropped after adoption Disenchantment discontinuance—it turned out to suck after all Replacement discontinuance—a better solution emerged that took its place
THURSTONE SCALE
One of the first scales to measure attitudes. • A large set of agree-disagree statements. • Parallel construction (positive & negative statements). ***SEE AN EXAMPLE : ATTITUDE TOWARD MARIJUANA ***Attitudes represent the average score of checked items. • Difficult to construct.
Persuasion does NOT include
Persuasion does NOT include... non-symbolic influences on others extreme examples of coercion informational/educational messages entertainment messages artistic expressions
NOT ALL ATTITUDE MEASURES REQUIRE THAT WE DIRECTLY ASK PEOPLE QUESTIONS
Physiological measurements • Galvanic skin response • Pupil dilation • Facial electromyographic (EMG) techniques • Response Time • Social media data Sentiment analysis
Transtheoretical Mode
Prochaska describes a similar process individuals go through related to a behavioral change Precontemplation Blissfully unaware of need for change. VVVVV Contemplation Start thinking about pros and cons of behavior change. VVVVV Preparation Intention to change is formed and start taking initial steps. VVVVV Action People have made overt modifications to behavior or lifestyle. VVVVV Maintenance People are working to maintain behavior change over time. going in this order is PROGRESS going again this order is RELAPSE during RELAPSE, can revert to PROGRESS during preparation or contemplation ***SEE CHART EXAMPLE: applied to measuring levels of physical fitness Precontemplation • I currently do not exercise and do not intend to start. Contemplation • I intend to start exercising in the next 6 months. Preparation • I currently exercise some, but not regularly. Action • I have begun exercising regularly for the last 6 months. Maintenance • I currently exercise regularly and have been doing so for longer than 6 months.
Persuasive campaigns have many characteristics
Purposive/strategic effort Oriented toward informing, persuading, or motivating behavior change Targeted toward large audiences Tend to promote public good (often contrasted with advertising) Often have limited time frame Involve a set of organized activities Perhaps involve interpersonal support
Many factors influence the decision to adopt an innovation or change behavior.
Relative Advantage • What are the pros and cons of this behavior over alternatives Compatibility • How consistent is the behavior with my current lifestyle Complexity • How easy or difficult is it to engage in the behavior Trialability • How easy is it for me to experiment with the behavior prior to making a final decision Observability • How easy is it for me to see others engaging in the behavior as a model for my own behavior
Types of Adopters—Innovators
Shortest adoption curve Possible Characteristics ... Venturesome Access to financial resources High level of technical knowledge Tolerant of uncertainty
social influence
Social influence refers to the impact others have on us and can include: } Group Conformity } Compliance Gaining } Obedience } Socialization } Persuasion Persuasive messages often take advantage of these other social influences.
Ideology
System of ideas - a worldview
The TACT Model
Target • Action • Context • Time Example: Walking (action) on a treadmill (target) for at least 30 minutes each day (time) in the forthcoming month (time) at the gym or at home (context).
Accessibility Theory
The core notion of accessibility theory is that attitudes will predict behavior if they can be activated from memory at the time of a decision. If a person is in touch with her attitudes, she will act on them. If not, she will be swayed by salient aspects of the situation. According to Fazio's accessibility-focused model (see Chapter 4), your attitude toward Budweiser is accessible, or capable of being quickly activated from memory. Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which an attitude is automatically activated from memory. 2. Objects toward which we have accessible attitudes are more likely to cap - ture attention. 3. For an attitude to influence behavior, it must: (a) come spontaneously to mind in a situation; and (b) influence perceptions of the attitude object, serving as a filter through which the object is viewed. 4. We can harbor an attitude toward a person or issue, but unless the attitude comes to mind in the situation, we are not likely to translate it to behavior. 5. In contrast to the Reasoned Action Model, the accessibility approach can help account for attitude-behavior relations in cases where a behavior is enacted spontaneously, rather than deliberately, and with minimal cognitive aware - ness (Rhodes & Ewoldsen, 2013) sheds light on the latter behaviors. It argues that for an attitude to affect action, it must come spontaneously to mind in a particular context and influence key perceptions of the issue or person. less empirical evidence supporting the accessibility approach's predictions on attitude-behavior consistency than there is for reasoned action theory The accessibility notion, and the scientific work in this area, is fascinating. Critics, however, have suggested that accessibility may not be as essential to attitude-behavior consistency as other factors, like attitude stability (Doll & Ajzen, 1992). And while there is support for accessibility's role in moderating attitude-behavior relations, there is not as much support for the model's general propositions as there is for the reasoned action approach.
Criteria for good attitude scale items
There is no perfect attitude scale 1. Use words that all respondents can comprehend. 2. Write specific and unambiguous items. 3. Avoid double negatives. 4. Pretest items to make sure people understand your questions. 5. If you think order of questions will influence respondents, ask questions in different sequences to check out order effects. 6. Avoid politically correct phrases that encourage socially desirable responses. 7. Write items so that they take both the positive and negative sides of an issue (to reduce respondents' tendency to always agree). 8. Consider whether your questions deal with sensitive, threatening issues (sex, drugs, antisocial behavior). If so, ask these questions at the end of the survey, once trust has been established. 9. Allow people to say "I don't know." This will eliminate responses based on guesses or a desire to please the interviewer. 10. Include many questions to tap different aspects of the attitude
Campaigns tend to follow a cyclical process
VVVVV Defining Objectives VVVVV Identifying Theoretical Orientation VVVVV Conducting Formative Research VVVVV Designing and Implementing Campaign Materials/Messages VVVVV Evaluating Outcomes and Reorienting VVVVV [back to top]
Strategies for using dissonance as a persuasion tool
Ways dissonance can be employed: 1. Make a public commitment 2. Encourage people to publicly advocate a position with which they disagree 3. Confront people with hypocrisy Dissonance Theory: 1. Persuaders should deliberately arouse cognitive dissonance and then let psychology do the work 2. Once it is evoked, people should be motivated to change 3. One way is to change their attitude in the direction the persuader recommends
Induced Compliance
When a person is gently persuaded to comply with the persuaders request; This is usually for an opinion they don't usually agree with Festinger and Carlsmith used cognitive dissonance as a persuasive tool u Place spools on a tray, emptying the tray, refilling it with spools u Turning each of 48 pegs on a peg board a quarter turn clockwise, and another turn and so on for a ½ hour u Then, the experimenter asked students to tell the next participant in the study that this experiment was enjoyable, exciting, and fun u Some students were paid $20 for telling the lie, others were paid $1, and those in the control group didn't lie. The two groups experienced dissonance differently. u Students paid $20 for "lying" about how fun it was later reported low levels of actual fun. u Students paid $1 for "lying" about how fun it was later reported higher levels of actual fun VVVVVVV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! u "When individuals perform a counterattitudinal behavior and cannot rationalize the act - as they could if they had received a large reward - they are in a state of dissonance." ^^^^^^^!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Festinger & Carlsmith's study had some other explanations... u Scher & Cooper: Unpleasant consequences + responsibility = dissonance u Tedeschi, Schlenker, & Bonoma: Dissonance occurs when you look bad in front of others u Aronson: Dissonance is a threat to self-esteem u Bem: It's not dissonance, but self-perception
anchor point
Your attitude is the position that best represents your own view. Even people with the same attitude (anchor point) may show different attitude structures.
(Martin) Fishbein and (Icek) Ajzen
Who developed the expectancy-value approach? (hint - 2 people)
propaganda
a form of communication in which the leaders of a ruling group have near or total control over the transmission of info, typically relying on mass or social media to target audience members, using language and symbols in a deceptive and manipulative
symbol
a form of language in which one entity represents a concept or idea, communicating rich psychological and cultural meaning
manipulation
a persuasion technique that occurs when a communicator hides his or her true persuasive goals, hoping to mislead the recipient by delivering an overt message that disguises its true intent (includes sweet talk, flattery, and false promises)
Self-Perception Theory
a psychological theory stipulating that an individual acts as a dispassionate observer of the self, inferring attitudes from behavior has helped explain an important interpersonal compliance phenomenon known as foot-inthe-door Selfconcept perspectives, such as Steele's (1988) self-affirmation theory, have intriguing implications for persuasion and health Unlike the three explanations just discussed, Bem's theory dismisses dissonance entirely. Arguing that people aren't so much neurotic rationalizers as dispassionate, cool observers of their own behavior, Bem suggests that people look to their own behavior when they want to understand their attitudes. Behavior leads to attitude, Bem (1972) argues, but not because people want to bring attitude in line with behavior so as to gain consistency. Instead, behavior causes attitude because people infer their attitudes from observing their behavior "I'm always eating pasta and vegetables. I never order meat from restaurants anymore. I must really like veggie food." Or a guy decides he likes a girl, not on the basis of his positive thoughts but, rather, because he observes that "I'm always texting her and get excited when she texts back. I must really like her." "Oh, I must have done it for the money," t
focus group
a qualitative research method in which a trained moderator conducts a collective interview of a set of participants
Persuasion
a symbolic process in which communicators try to convince other people to change their own attitudes or behaviors regarding an issue through the transmission of a message in an atmosphere of free choice (5 components) -Perloff whats the 5th??? involves... Symbols An attempt to influence Transmission of a message Free choice ----- Key concepts } Messages } Intention } Choice } Attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors Persuasion scholars typically don't look at } Non-symbolic influenscoercion } "Informational/Educautional" messages } "Entertainment" messages } "Artistic" expressions
latitude of acceptance
all positions on an issue that one ends acceptable
biased assimilation
ambiguous info is assimilated to one's point of view because he believes it was consistent with their preconceived belief
(Heider's )Balance Theory
an algebraic model of attitudes (triad of relationships: balance between P, O, and X)
Pathos
appeals to the emotion
logos
appeals to the intellect
Symbolic Attitude Approach
argues that symbolic predispositions, like prejudice, lie at the heart of attitudes.
ideological approach to attitude
asserts that attitudes are organized "top down" and flow from the hierarchy of principles that individuals have acquired and developed Example - Liberal ideology to support for welfare to supporting tax cuts. Attitudes are organized around ideological principles, like being liberal or conservative.
expectancy(-) value model
asserts that attitudes have two components (cognition and affect). your attitude is a combo of what you believe or expect of a certain object and how you feel about/evaluate these expectations A = sum b(i) x e(i) (head and heart) can also say "approach" ig Ao = attitude toward the object, action or event, o bi = strength of a given belief ei = evaluation of a given belief For four salient beliefs, Attitude = b1e1+b2e2+b3e3+b4e4
attitude accessibility
attitude is an association between an object and an evaluation Readily accessible attitudes are more likely to 1 - bias our perception of new information 2 - decrease the time it takes to behave in a certain way towards that object (you immediately start forming judgments) 3 - Encourage behavior consistent with our attitudes
attitudes learned
attitudes learned Family/Social Interaction Personal Experience Formal education and training
institutionalism
beliefs in established forms and organized religions
(Wilson's )Dual(-) Attitude approach
combine explicit and implicit attitudes
selective exposure
could be intentional or intention; seeking out the info that is consistent with your beliefs
comic
dog tricks man into loving his job by rationalizing through comfortable illusion
(Immanuel Kant's )deontological theory
emphasizes moral duties, universal obligations, and according respect to individuals as ends in and of themselves (intention) deontology: The study of the nature of duty and obligation
coercion
employs force; consequential; one feels they must comply; overlaps with persuasion
Ethos
establishment of credibility and trust
Aristotle
first persuasion theorist student of plato
(Carl) Hovland
first to apply the scientific approach to persuasion? --- Senior psychologist for the war department during WWII Focused on conditions under which messages could be effective: Influential Studies on..................... One-sided versus twosided arguments; Speaker credibility and trustworthiness; Egoinvolvement --- delayed increase in persuasiveness a "Sleeper Effect."
The Functions of Attitudes
human beings would find daily life arduous. Noting that this is not the case, theorists conclude that attitudes help people manage and cope with life. In a word, attitudes are functional. Knowledge Attitudes help people make sense of the world and explain baffling events. Utilitarian On a more material level, attitudes help people obtain rewards and avoid punishments. Social adjustive We all like to be accepted by others. Attitudes help us "adjust to" reference groups. Social identity People hold attitudes to communicate who they are and what that they aspire to be (Shavitt & Nelson, 2000). This is one reason people buy certain products; Value-expressive. Another important reason people hold attitudes is to express core values and cherished beliefs. According to Maio and Olson, [Some individuals] claim that they favor capital punishment because they value law and order; they support affirmative action programs as a means of promoting equality; they support recycling programs because they value the environment . . . and they frown on cheating because it is dishonest. Ego-defensive. Attitudes can serve as a "defense" against unpleasant emotions people do not want to consciously acknowledge. People adopt attitudes to shield them from psychologically uncomfortable truths. ... Adopting a hostile attitude toward her boyfriend is functional because it helps her muster the strength she needs to call off the romance. people volunteer for very different reasons ... ■ expressing values related to altruistic and humanitarian concern for others; ■ satisfying intellectual curiosity about the world, learning about people different from themselves; ■ coping with inner conflicts (reducing guilt about being more fortunate than other people); ■ providing opportunities to participate in activities valued by important others; and ■ providing career-related benefits, such as new skills and professional contacts. . Functional theory suggests that a persuasive message is most likely to change an individual's attitude when the message is directed at the underlying function the attitude serves. Messages that match the function served by an attitude should be more compelling than those that are not relevant to the function addressed by the attitude.
descriptive beliefs
hypotheses about that world that people carry around in their heads.
values
ideals, guiding principes in one's life, or overarching goals that people strive to obtain; moral global and abstract than attitudes
latitude of rejection
includes positions that the individual finds objectionable
contrast
individuals push a somewhat disagreeable message away from their attitude, assuming it is more different that it really is
implicit attitudes
influences nonverbal behaviors and other responses over which we lack total control (these uncontrollable responses are NOT seen as an expression of their attitudes because the individual does not understand where they came from)
(Aristotle's )Model of Rhetoric(/Persuasion)
integrated Plato's emphasis on "truth" with the Sophist's emphasis on argumentation skills; 3 ingredients of persuasion are ethos, pathos, and logos
core concepts of social judgement theory
latitudes of acceptance/rejection/non-commitment; assimilation/contrast; ego-involvement
attitudes
learned, global evaluations of an object that influences thought and action. not a behavior, though it may consist of acquired patterns of reacting to social stimuli
assimilation
message is more similar to their attitude than it really is. people pull a somewhat congenial message toward their own attitude, assuming that the
beliefs
more cognitive than values or attitudes; cognitions about the world - subjunctive probabilities that an object has a particular attribute or that an action will lead to a particular outcome
Utilitarianism
offers a series of common sense solutions to moral dilemmas. contains an elaborate set of postulates that can help people decide whether particular actions are morally justified (ends justify the means)
attitude consistency
one may feel ambivalent towards people or issues which would lead to imbalanced/inconsistent beliefs; people want to practice what they preach also belief consistency also see, attitude strength
Explicit attitudes
operate on a conscious level and guide much everyday behavior
ego(-) involvement
people perceive an issue touches on self-concepts or core values; involves selective perception, biased assimilation, and selective exposure You posses a strong attitude about a message before hearing it. This means your latitude of acceptance will shrink and your latitude of rejection will broaden.
(Abelson's )cognitive conflict resolution
people resolve conflicts in 4 ways: denial, bolstering, differentiation, and integration Denial - deny the situation Bolstering - strengthen his own argument Differentiation - break down your claims Transcendence/ Integration - integrate your views with the opposing views to suggest both can peacefully coexist People tend to be motivated to remove apparent inconsistencies in their attitudes
selective perception
perceiving events to fit preconceived beliefs
latitude of non-commitment
positions on which the individual has preferred to remain non-commital
Normative Theories of Ethics
prescribe, suggesting what people ought to do, in light of moral philosophy and a vision of the good life; Utilitarianism and Immanuel Kant's deontological theory
accessibility
refers to the degree to which an attitude is automatically activated from memory
rhetoric
refers to the use of argumentation, language, and public address to influence audiences
message strategies for facilitating change
shaping, reinforcing, changing Shaping - celebrities wearing Nike swoosh to link Nike with movement and speed Reinforcing - Political parties are not solely focused on winning over the undecided vote, but rather on reinforcing their vote within the party their are supporting Changing - Changing peoples attitudes (look at gay marriage) also maybe called "Three persuasive communication effects" Implications on Persuasive Messaging Strategy • Add new beliefs • Increase or decrease the strength of beliefs • Alter the evaluation of beliefs
Attitude measurement approaches a. Thurstone, Guttman, Semantic Differential, Likert Scales b. Implicit Attitudes c. Physiological Measures
they are outside conscious awareness Implicit attitudes are defined as ... evaluations that (a) have an unknown origin (i.e., people are unaware of the basis of their evaluation) (b) are activated automatically; and (c) influence implicit responses, namely uncontrollable responses and ones that people do not view as an expression of their attitude and thus do not attempt to control. an evaluation that has an unknown origin, is activated automatically, and can influence implicit, uncontrollable responses. are habitual; they emerge automatically, in the absence of conscious thought. Timothy D. Wilson and colleagues (2000) argue that people have dual attitudes: an explicit attitude that operates on a conscious level and guides much everyday behavior, 4: THE POWER OF OUR PASSIONS ● ● ● 137 and an implicit attitude that influences nonverbal behaviors and other responses over which we lack total control. The implicit attitude can be activated automatically, perhaps in highly charged emotional situations What happens to the implicit, negative evaluation acquired at an early age? Some psychologists argue that it persists, even coexists, with a positive attitude toward the ethnic group Hateful attitudes may be impervious to influence because they are so much a part of the individual or because the person is not aware of the depths of prejudice positive relation - ship between a type of strong attitude—racial prejudice (as assessed by implicit attitude measures) ... using MRI ... portion of the brain involved in processing threatening information, the amygdala.
Cognitive Dissonance
when something happens and you didn't expect it; a psychologically uncomfortable, physiologically arousing, and drives individuals to take steps to reduce it Steps to get to Cognitive Dissonance: 1. Act against beliefs (lie about how interesting something is) 2. Uncomfortable feeling: Cognitive Dissonance (I shouldn't have lied) 3. Justify action or change belief (excuse: I needed the money) 1. Holds two clearly incongruent thoughts 2. Make decision that rules out a desirable alternative 3. expands effort to participate in what turns out to be less than ideal activity 4. Unable to find sufficient psychologically justification for an attitude or behavior he or she adopts
2. Inoculation Theory
when you expose someone with small doses of an argument against something with appropriate criticisms of the argument gets people to not resist the persuasion Based on the principle of biological inoculation. ▪ A strategy used to develop resistance toward future attempts to persuade an individual to change their position. like vaccines for the mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Primary Components: ▪ Threat - Getting an individual to realize that their position is vulnerable - It motivates a protective response - Eg. Forewarning ▪ Refutational preemption - Raising and refuting counterarguments
potential pitfalls of questionnaire based on attitude measurement scales
• Inaccuracies • Survey format & wording Jimmy Kimmel Video EXAMPLES • Where do you like to party? à What do you like to do on weekend evenings? • How dumb is this politician when it comes to foreign policy? à Please describe this politician's position on foreign policy Inaccuracies result from such factors as: (a) respondent carelessness in answering the questions, (b) people's desire to say the socially appropriate thing rather than what they truly believe, and (c) a tendency to agree with items regardless of their content, or acquiescence (Dawes & Smith, 1985). Acquiescence is most likely to occur among individuals with less education, lower social status, and those who do not enjoy thinking HOW CAN YOU PREVENT THIS? • Use understandable language • Avoid leading questions ex) How short was Napoleon? • Consider order effects ex) Which flavor of ice cream is your favorite? à Which dessert is your favorite? • Present both sides (positive and negative) • Avoid relying on only one question to assess an attitude • Avoid double-barreled questions ex) How satisfied are you with the pay and work benefits of your current job?
Improving the Attitude-Behavior Relationship
• Our attitudes are more consistent with our behaviors when...... They are supported by normative expectations Some people are more aware of norms than others (self-monitoring) They are within our ability They are operationalized at the same level of specificity • Messages designed to change behaviors are going to be more effective when they... Target salient (highly related) attitudes, norms, and behavioral control issues
LIKERT AND LIKERT-TYPE SCALES
• Relatively easy to develop and use. • A person's attitude is the average or sum of responses to all items. uses strongly disagree to strongly agree scale of 7 or 5 ***SEE EXAMPLE ON COMPUTER SOFTWARE
Criteria for Causality
• Temporal Precedence • Correlation • No plausible alternatives (non-spurious relationships)