Social Psychology - Exam 3

What factors influence attitude strength?

Formed through experience, more knowledge, vested interest, currently aware of attitude, personality genes.

What was Barry Goldwater's phrase?

"In your heart, you know he's right"

What was Lyndon Johnson's phrase?

"We must either love each other -- or we must die"

Individual differences between the groups

25% of participants never conformed 50% conformed on > half of trails No personality traits associated with conformity Similar conformity in recent studies

What is an attitude?

A positive, negative or mixed evaluation toward an object

Observed behavior...:

Specific attitude object Young, attractive Chinese-American couple that was traveling with a white guy

Theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991):

Attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control --> behavioral intentions --> behavior

The 1984 apple computer commercial showed what to get people's attention?

Award winning Few words, powerful imagery Youthful, defiant, woman, powerful, nonconformist

Dissonance aroused when...

Behavior is freely chosen May be enticed, gently coaxed But not coerced, not bribed Negative consequences are foreseeable

Fear Arousal and Hygienic Products are seen in what signs/warnings?

Beware!! Bad breath Dandruff Acne Germs Yellow teeth

Who refrained from touching the toys?

Both groups refrained from playing with toys

Behavior that is gently coaxed is seen in what kind of techniques?

Brainwashing techniques

Barry Goldwater used what threat?

Communism greatest threat

The Source (central route):

Credibility Competent/expert Trustworthy Likability Similarity Physical attractiveness

The Source (peripheral route): who...

Credibility/believable Competent/expert Degrees, experiences, mature looking, speak quickly or fluently Trustworthy

Central Route:

Critical evaluation of the strength or quality of arguments

Normative influence:

Desire to be liked, accepted

Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo 1986):

Due to limited cognitive resources the amount of elaboration (thoughtfulness) we can or are willing to put into analyzing a message varies Leads to two routes for attitude change

What is the elaboration likelihood model as it pertains to persuasion?

Due to limited cognitive resources, the amount of elaboration (thoughtfulness) we can or willing to put into analyzing a message varies. Leads to 2 routes for attitude change.

Example of insufficient deterrence?

E.g., aronson and carlsmith, 1963

Peripheral Route:

Influence due to superficial cues -- peripheral to the content of the message

Justification of effort:

The more we pay for something (time, money, effort) - the more we come to like it

When attitudes predict our behavior:

The reported attitude and the observed behavior to the object are highly specific and similar to each other

Need for cognition:

There is an interaction self-monitoring and type of message

Reported attitude...:

Vague attitude object - abstract Stereotypical image of a Chinese person

Persuasion by communication:

Who (source, communicator) said what (message) to whom (audience, receiver)

Attitude:

a positive, negative, or mixed evaluation toward an object

$1 = $1.00 Insufficient justification so their behavior is?

behavior freely chosen, dissonance, attitude change

High Need for Cognitions points to what route?

central route

Behavior that is gently coaxed leads to what?

greater attitude change than behavior that is coerced, bribe or threatened with severe consequences

Who is in the business of attitudes?

Advertisers, Politicians, Lobbyists, Charities, religious groups, and advocacy groups, Businesses, Lawyers, Educators, Clinicians, You! Friends, family, ect.

How best to change behavior?

Advising, warning, lecturing, threatening, rewarding, punishing. Gently entice a person to engage in a desired behavior and attitude change often follows

Persuasion by our own actions (cognitive dissonance)

Attitude --> behavior Behavior --> attitude Read, learn, study (behavior) --> positive attitude towards learning (attitude)

Link between attitudes and behavior:

Attitude --> behavior? Clean environment is essential --> recycle? Smoking is unhealthy --> quitting? Education is important --> effort and energy put into learning? Expect attitude to feed into/effect the behavior to an extent

Brehm, Kassin, and Fein, 2005, p. 213 findings?

Attitude change persists more when it is inspired by our own behavior than when it stems from passive exposure to a persuasive communication

Data vs. theory:

Attitude-discrepant behavior --> attitude change -- empirical finding Cognitive dissonance -- theoretical explanation

Conformity to norms:

Changes in perception, opinion, or behavior in ways consistent with group norms

Receiver must have (central route)...

Cognitive ability Time Motivation Personal investment

Private response in conformity

Conformity decreased by two-thirds

Partner in dissent:

Conformity decreased to 5%

Forewarning:

Decrease susceptibility to persuasive message Negative attitude change Opposite from position advocated Even when the audience original agrees

Sleeper Effect:

Delayed increase in the persuasive impact of a noncredible source

Informational influence in conformity:

Desire to be right (objectively) Correct response is ambiguous Majority signals what is correct

Attitudes strengths:

Formed from experiences More knowledge we have about a topic - the stronger the attitude Vested interest - affect them personally, or their loved ones/family Currently aware of attitude Personality, genes

Subliminal Messages with James Vicary, 1950s movie theater

HOAX "Eat popcorn!!" "Drink Coke!!"

Two different signs in the hotel rooms, what were the results?:

Help save the environment - reuse towels or Join your fellow guests in helping to save the environment - a social norm now - 25% more guests reused their towels - 75% of the guest in this hotel participated in our new resource program by using their towels more than once - 44% reused 75% of the guest in this room participated in our new resource program by using their towels more than once - 49% reused

Attitude-discrepant behavior lead to inconsistent cognitions meaning?....

I need a healthy diet (attitude) --> I just ate chocolate (attitude-discrepant behavior)

How to prevent the sleeper effect:

Identify source before exposure to communication

Is fear arousal effective:

If fear is not too high - so generally yes If message contains advice for avoiding negative consequences If perceive consequences as negative, probable, and avoidable

Eagly et al. (1981)

In public women became more conforming and men less conforming than in private

Experimental Study Subliminal presentation of "RATS":

Increased negative ratings of an unknown politicians

Behavior intentions: I'm going to do this but they don't end up doing it, why?

Lack of time, lack of motivation, distractions, fear of missing out with your friends Obstacles: time, money, and effort

Message: what? (peripheral route characteristics)

Length # of arguments Amount of statistical information Number and reputation of supporters Emotion

1964 Presidential Campaign between who?

Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater

How can a person measure an attitude so that the measure best predicts the target behavior?

Measuring attitudes helps investigators make inferences about the attitudes that may be responsible for certain behaviors

What type of influence?

Men - Independent Women - Agreeable

What group had an insufficient justification for not touching the toys?

Mild punishment - cognitive dissonance

Why are positive emotions used?

More easily persuaded Don't think as critically Greater influence of peripheral cues

Result of Greenwald's experiment:

No actual behavior change

Personality:

No consistently persuadable personality type No gender differences Interactions between personality and type of message

Festinger and Carlsmith results:

No lie: didn't enjoy the task at all 6/25 $20 lie: 9/25 enjoyed it a little more $1 lie: 23/25 enjoyed it a lot and were able to enjoy the task more

Ambivalent -

Not sure what your attitude is towards a topic/issue

Lyndon Johnson used what threat?

Nuclear war greatest threat

Sherif, 1936 Studied development of a group norm

Optical illusion 1 year later, tested participants alone Participants reported group norm

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959):

Participants engaged in a boring tasks For an hour Turn the peg one score to the left then to the right ect. Take stools off of rods then back on and ect. Told another student that the task was interesting and fun Some were paid $1 (9.31 today), while others were paid $20 (194.57 today) for telling another student that it was fun and interesting They then rated their enjoyment of the task The task is boring (attitude) --> I said It was interesting (attitude discrepant behavior) -- inconsistent cognitions Paid $1 for attitude discrepant behavior or Paid $20 for attitude discrepant behavior

Greenwald et al., 1991 experiment:

Participants listened to subliminal tapes designed to: ○ Increase self-esteem ○ Improve memory ○ Half the tapes labeled as the opposite

Low Need for Cognition points to what route?

Peripheral route

Subjective norms:

Personal perception of what we think other people think is accepted

We have attitudes about...

Politics, marriages, religion, smoking, friendship, gun laws, war, riots, food, clothing, music, exercise, ect.

How is emotion communicated?

Positive emotions

aronson and carlsmith, 1963 experiment?

Preschool children could not touch the toys Threat of mild vs. severe punishment

Motivational effect

Psychological reactance

Other theories:

Self-perception Impression management Self-affirmation

Two early classics

Sherif, 1939 Asch, 1951

Norms:

Socially accepted rules that pertain to specific groups or situations Relatively weak pressure but powerful social impact

Even when dissenter:

Stated an opinion different from participants Deemed incompetent Said "I don't know"

Message: what? (central route characteristics)

Strength of arguments

Current Consensus of subliminal messages:

Subliminal messages have short-term effects (15 minutes) on simple judgements in the lab There is no evidence for long-term effects on substantial behavior or decision-making

Public Conformity

Superficial change in overt behavior

Source appears to (peripheral route):

Take position opposite than expected Have nothing to gain Not be trying to persuade Present balanced argument

How to reduce dissonance?

Technique Example Change your perception of the behavior "I hardly ate any mousse" Add consonant cognitions "Chocolate mousse is very nutritious" Reduce your perceived choice "I had no choice; the mousse was prepared for special occasion" Change your attitude "I don't really need to be on a diet"

Asch, 1951 experiment:

Tested alone, error rate = 5% Simple, unambiguous In group, conformed on 37% of trails

Persuasion:

The process of changing attitudes

Cognitive Effect:

Time allows the audience to think up counterarguments But that doesn't explain negative attitude change

When we think our freedom is threatened we...:

We want the threatened freedom even more So we try to restore the freedom

What were the general methods, findings, and problems of LaPiere's study?

Traveled with Chinese couple, politely served at 250 businesses, 90% said they would not serve Chinese. Similar findings in subsequent studies. Reported attitudes do not necessarily correspond with behavior.

Why do people act this was in dissenter?

Unanimity important, group size not so much

Behavior: attendance at religious services

Waking up early Importance of attending the services Attitudes towards attending religious services

Cognitive Dissonance Theory:

We desire cognitive consistency Beliefs, attitudes, behaviors Consonant, correspond Inconsistent cognitions arouse cognitive dissonance Psychological tension

No evidence that subliminal auditory messages aid in what?

Weight loss Quitting smoking Or other behavior change

Majority signals the norm

What's socially acceptable

Insufficient Deterrence:

When refraining from a desired behavior is unjustified

What factors influence the correspondence between attitudes and behavior?

attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, behavioral norms, and obstacles.

$20 = $20.00 sufficient justification so their behavior is?

bribed, coerced

Adamant -

strong attitudes towards a topic/issues

Participants subjective reports of change were consistent with what?

the LABEL

Indifferent -

weak/no attitudes towards a topic/issue

Attitudes unrelated to what kind of topics?:

○ Pro-environmental behavior (Kasapoglu and Ecevit, 2002) ○ Risky sexual behavior (Shearer et al,.)

Sistrunk and McDavid (1971)

○ Topic ○ Masculine Feminine Neutral ○ W >M M > W M = W

LaPiere, 1939:

○Traveled across the US with a Chinese couple ○ During the time that there was prejudice against Chinese people ○ Politely served at 250 businesses - over a 6-month period ○ 90% said they would NOT serve Chinese