Social Psych Chapter 7: Attitudes
Effects of Fear Appeals on Attitude Change
Look at image: People were shown a scary film about the effects of smoking, instructions about how to stop smoking, or both. Those who were shown both had the biggest reduction in the number of cigarettes they smoked.
Effects of Confidence in One's Thoughts on Persuasion
Look at image: People who nodded their heads up and down, compared to those who shook their heads from side to side, had greater confidence in their thoughts about the message (e.g., "Wow, this is really convincing" when the arguments were strong, and "Wow, this is really dumb" when the arguments were weak).
Effects of Personal Relevance on Type of Attitude Change
Look at image: The higher the number, the more people agreed with the persuasive communication. Left panel: When the issue was highly relevant, people were swayed by the quality of the arguments more than the expertise of the speaker. This is the central route to persuasion. Right panel: When the issue was low in relevance, people were swayed by the expertise of the speaker more than the quality of the arguments. This is the peripheral route to persuasion.
Effects of Affective and Cognitive Information on Affectively and Cognitively Based Attitudes
Look at image: When people had cognitively based attitudes, cognitively based advertisements that stressed the utilitarian aspects of the products worked best. When people had more affectively based attitudes, affectively based advertisements that stressed values and social identity worked best. The higher the number, the more favorable thoughts people listed about the products after reading the advertisements.
Attitude Inoculation
Making people immune to attempts to change their attitudes by initially exposing them to small doses of the arguments against their position.
Blurb on pg. 194-
People can have both explicit and implicit attitudes toward the same topic. Social psychologists have been especially interested in people's explicit and implicit attitudes toward members of other races.
Fear-Arousing Communication
Persuasive message that attempts to change people's attitudes by arousing their fears.
Peripheral Route to Persuasion
The case in which people do not elaborate on the arguments in a persuasive communication but are instead swayed by more superficial cues.
Central Route to Persuasion
The case in which people have both the ability and the motivation to elaborate on a persuasive communication, listening carefully to and thinking about the arguments presented.
Classical Conditioning
The phenomenon whereby a stimulus that elicits an emotional response is repeatedly paired with a neutral stimulus that does not, until the neutral stimulus takes on the emotional properties of the first stimulus.
Operant Conditioning
The phenomenon whereby behaviors we freely choose to perform become more or less frequent, depending on whether they are followed by a reward or punishment.
Attitude Accessibility
The strength of the association between an attitude object and a person's evaluation of that object, measured by the speed with which people can report how they feel about the object.
Yale Attitude Change Approach
The study of the conditions under which people are most likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages, focusing on the source of the communication, the nature of the communication, and the nature of the audience.
Cognitive component
The thoughts and beliefs that people form about the attitude object.
Video info: Elaboration Likelihood Model
Two routes by which attitudes can be changed: Central Route to Persuasion -Controlled processing -Pay attention to arguments Peripheral Route to Persuasion -Automatic processing -Pay attention to peripheral cues
Blurb on pg. 196-
While some behaviors result from spur-of-the-moment, spontaneous decisions, others emerge from more thoughtful processes in which we carefully weigh pros and cons. The theory of planned behavior helps us understand the link between attitudes and these sorts of deliberative behaviors.
Subliminal Messages
Words or pictures that are not consciously perceived but may nevertheless influence judgments, attitudes, and behaviors.
Review 7.1 Question #2: People's emotional reaction to a target is referred to as the ___________ component of attitudes. a. affective b. behavioral c. cognitive d. operant
a
Review 7.2 Question #2: Attitude accessibility is a particularly good predictor of behavior when? a. the behavior in question is spontaneous. b. the behavior in question is deliberative. c. the attitude in question is general. d. the attitude in question is an unpopular one.
a
Where do attitudes come from?
-They are linked, in part, to our genes. -Personal experience, social learning, genetic factors.
Affectively Based Attitude
An attitude based more on people's feelings and values than on their beliefs about the nature of an attitude object.
Behaviorally Based Attitude
An attitude based on observations of how one behaves toward an object.
Cognitively Based Attitude
An attitude based primarily on people's beliefs about the properties of an attitude object.
Explicit Attitudes
Attitudes that we consciously endorse and can easily report.
Discussion Question #1: After reading the textbook, watching the videos, and completing the worksheet explain why it's easier to change the cognitive and affective components of the attitude than it is to change the behavioral component.
During this chapter, we learned about the different types of attitudes and how each functions. The affective component involves a person's feelings and emotions about a particular attitude object. A behavioral component of attitude affects how we act or behave. And a cognitive component includes a person's belief and understanding about an attitude object (given from the textbook on pg. 190-191). It should be clear that attitudes are not always consistent and often change depending on the situation, object, person, etc. Usually, when attitudes change, it's due to the social influence of what others think, say, or do. This is what causes a barrier that makes it difficult to change the behavioral component. People's behavior can have inconsistency, and there can be a feud, such as what we learned about cognitive dissonance, which affects behavior. Sometimes people have no clear idea or understanding of why they behaved a certain way or why their behavior is the way it is. With affective and cognitive, there is more consistency and a better way of changing these attitudes. I personally think that changing people's feelings and beliefs is easier than changing their behavior.
Attitudes
Evaluations of people, objects, and ideas.
Behavioral component
How people act toward the attitude object.
Researchers at Yale University initiated research on what makes a persuasive communication effective, focusing on "who said what to whom."
Look at image:
The elaboration likelihood model describes how people change their attitudes when they hear persuasive communications.
Look at image:
Affective component
People's emotional reactions toward the attitude object.
Gender Roles
Societal beliefs—such as those conveyed by media and other sources—regarding how men and women are expected to behave.
Blurb on pg.191-
Some attitudes are based more on emotions and values than on facts and figures. Attitudes toward gay marriage may be such a case.
Blurb on pg. 202-
Sometimes attitude change occurs via a peripheral route. For example, we can be swayed more by who delivers a persuasive message than by the strength of the message itself, such as when consumers buy certain products because a celebrity tweets about them.
Blurb on pg. 199-
Sometimes attitudes change dramatically over short periods of time. For example, Americans' approval rating of President Obama has gone up and down since he assumed the presidency.
Theory of Planned Behavior
The idea that people's intentions are the best predictors of their deliberate behaviors, which are determined by their attitudes toward specific behaviors, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.
Reactance Theory
The idea that when people feel their freedom to perform a certain behavior is threatened, an unpleasant state of resistance is aroused, which they can reduce by performing the prohibited behavior.
The three components of attitudes
-Cognitive, affective, and behavioral. -Any given attitude can be based on any one of these components or some combination of them.
Persuasive Communication
A message advocating a particular side of an issue.
Elaboration Likelihood Model
A model explaining two ways in which persuasive communications can cause attitude change: centrally, when people are motivated and have the ability to pay attention to the arguments in the communication, and peripherally, when people do not pay attention to the arguments but are instead swayed by surface characteristics.
Theory of Planned Behavior pt.2
According to this theory, the best predictors of people's planned, deliberative behaviors are their behavioral intentions. The best predictors of their intentions are their attitudes toward the specific behavior, their subjective norms, and their perceived behavioral control of the behavior
Heuristic-Systematic Model of Persuasion
An explanation of the two ways in which persuasive communications can cause attitude change: either systematically processing the merits of the arguments or using mental shortcuts or heuristics.
Cognitive Dissonance
An unpleasant state that arises when a person recognizes the inconsistency of his or her actions, attitudes, or beliefs.
Why are attitudes important?
Attitudes are important because they often determine what we do.
Implicit Attitudes
Attitudes that exist outside of conscious awareness.
Discussion Question #2: Pick a behavior you would like people to change and apply the Theory of Planned Behavior. Spell out how you would approach each step of the theory to create the behavior change. What would you do to effectively change the behavior?
Behavior: A very sick person refuses to go to the doctor because they are scared to get tested for COVID. | Ideal goal behavior: The sick person goes to the doctor to get tested and treated. Behavioral attitudes: Fears the idea of COVID treatment, but this person likes the doctor's office. This person does acknowledge the benefits of going to the doctor, especially during the pandemic, and knows the risks of bad health and the results of untreated COVID-19. These two behavior are strong and encourage her to overcome her fear and go to the doctor. Subjective norms: This person's family is worried about them and encourages them to go to the doctor. This person's primary doctor also agrees that they need to come in and get treated. Their family members get tested every month and always go to the doctor when needed. These two points are strong and encourage this person to get treated and listen to her family and professionals since they have been in similar situations or know much information. Perceived behavioral control: High control behavior. Although this person feels tired and run down and is scared to hear the results and get treated, they can control their fears and are likely to pursue treatment and help to feel better. Their doctor is only 10 minutes away from their home - a sense of safety and control. Overall this person's intentions of going to the doctors are strong and positive. Although their fear is strong, all the factors can affect this person's intentions to overcome fear, see a doctor, and get tested and treated correctly. Overall they are more likely to be treated from this planned theory scenario.
Review 7.3 Question #3: A debate breaks out at the town hall meeting over whether local real estate taxes should be raised to pay for a new public school building. Which of the following individuals is most likely to process the persuasive information raised during this debate through the peripheral route? a. Gob, who has no school-aged children of his own and owns no real estate b. Lindsay, whose daughter still has 3 years left of public school c. Michael, who is a real estate executive whose business is affected by local tax rates d. Buster, a local teacher, who is working in a temporary classroom because the current school building is too small for the number of students enrolled
a
Review 7.4 Question #3: Research on subliminal influence in advertising demonstrates that subliminal efforts at persuasion are a. less effective than people assume them to be. b. more effective than people assume them to be. c. more effective in individualistic versus collectivistic cultures. d. more effective in collectivistic versus individualistic cultures.
a
Review 7.5 Question #5: Cameron and Mitchell want to convince their daughter to stop leaving her toys scattered all around the floor, so they leave her a sign by her toy box. According to reactance theory, which of the following signs would be most effective? a. "Please try to remember to clean up your toys when you are done with them." b. "All toys MUST be put away after they are used." c. "Do not leave toys lying around!." d. "Your job is to clean up after yourself."
a
Review 7.1 Question #4: Adults' tendency to experience happy, nostalgia-filled feelings when they hear the music of an ice cream truck can be best explained by the relationship of attitudes to? a. classical conditioning. b. operant conditioning. c. self-perception. d. values.
b
Review 7.2 Question #1: The major finding of LaPiere's (1934) classic study on attitudes and behavior involving prejudice and hotel/ restaurant owners is that? a. people are more prejudiced than their self-reported attitudes would lead us to believe. b. people's attitudes are not always reliable predictors of their behaviors. c. the less accessible an attitude is, the more likely it is to shape behavior. d. when it comes to racial prejudice, people's attitudes are particularly strong predictors of their behaviors.
b
Review 7.2 Question #5: In trying to predict deliberative behaviors, what three considerations must we evaluate? a. Cognitively based attitudes, behaviorally based attitudes, affectively based attitudes. b. Attitude specificity, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control. c. Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, self-perception theory. d. Attitude accessibility, explicit attitudes, implicit attitudes.
b
Review 7.4 Question #4: Women who are randomly assigned to look at media depictions of thin women a. always develop eating disorders. b. experience a decrease in body self-image. c. come to place a greater emphasis on men's physical appearance, particularly how muscular they are. d. show an increase in self-esteem.
b
Review 7.5 Question #1: The concept of attitude inoculation indicates that we are better able to resist a later attempt to change our attitudes when we are first exposed to arguments that a. support our existing attitude. b. are weakened versions of arguments we might hear later. c. prevent us from considering alternative viewpoints ahead of time. d. lead us to pay more attention to peripheral cues
b
Review 7.5 Question #2: Which of the following is the best explanation for why product placement can be effective at changing attitudes? a. It tends to operate via the central route to persuasion. b. The audience is often unaware that an effort at attitude change is occurring. c. It usually leads to a reactance response. d. Cognitively based efforts at persuasion tend to have longer-lasting effects.
b
Review 7.5 Question #3: Peer pressure effects tend to be linked most often to what type of attitude? a. Cognitively based attitudes b. Affectively based attitudes c. Inoculated attitudes d. Negative attitudes
b
Review 7.1 Question #1: Which of the following conclusions is the most consistent with research on the heritability of attitudes? a. Our attitudes are shaped by our surroundings and do not seem to have any genetic component to them. b. Our attitudes are inherited and dictated by our genetic makeup, with little influence from environmental factors. c. We often inherit a temperament or personality that renders us likely to develop similar attitudes to those held by our genetic relatives. d. Fraternal twins are just as likely to share attitudes as are identical twins.
c
Review 7.1 Question #3: Which component of an attitude is most related to the process of examining facts and weighing the objective merits of a target? a. Affective b. Behavioral c. Cognitive d. Operant
c
Review 7.2 Question #4: Wendy is a member of a political group on your campus and is interested in finding out how many students plan to vote in the next presidential election. According to the theory of planned behavior, which of the following attitude questions Wendy could ask would be the best predictor of whether or not a particular student will vote in the next presidential election? a. "What are your attitudes about U.S. politics?" b. "What are your attitudes about voting?" c. "What are your attitudes about voting in the next U.S. presidential election?" d. "What are your attitudes about former U.S. President George W. Bush?"
c
Review 7.3 Question #2: Which of the following is not one of the three factors considered by the Yale Attitude Change approach? a. Nature of the audience. b. Message source. c. Fear. d. Nature of the communication itself.
c
Review 7.3 Question #4: The physical attractiveness of the source of a persuasive communication would be best described as which of the following? a. Systematic cue b. Central cue c. Peripheral cue d. Rational cue
c
Review 7.3 Question #5: Fear-arousing persuasive communication is most likely to be effective when a. very high levels of fear are induced. b. very low levels of fear are induced. c. a plan for reducing the fear is provided. d. the target of the communication is a utilitarian or functional object.
c
Review 7.4 Question #1: Research on public service ads designed to promote healthy behavior indicates that such efforts a. almost always fail. b. are more effective at changing the attitudes of men versus women. c. are more effective via television than print ads when their target is young people. d. are most effective when they are subliminal.
c
Review 7.4 Question #2: . The best way for an advertisement to change an affectively based attitude is to use a __________ appeal. a. cognitive b. behavioral c. affective d. fact-filled
c
Review 7.4 Question #5: Which of the following is true regarding cross-cultural comparisons of advertising? a. Korean ads are more likely than American ads to focus on utilitarian products like shoes. b. Korean ads are more likely than American ads to portray women and men in a state of complete or partial undress. c. Korean ads are more likely than American ads to focus on family and concern for others. d. Korean magazines have fewer ads than American magazines.
c
Review 7.1 Question #5: Newman is currently overweight, but as a child he was quite thin. His current explicit attitude toward the overweight is likely to be more ___________ and his current implicit attitude toward the overweight is likely to be more ___________. a. behaviorally based; cognitively based b. cognitively based; behaviorally based c. negative; positive d. positive; negative
d
Review 7.2 Question #3: Which of the following is the best example of a deliberative behavior? a. Buying a candy bar from the rack next to the check-out line at the grocery store. b. Telling a salesman who calls you on the phone that you aren't interested in the item he's selling. c. Deciding at the last minute to skip a class because your friends just told you that they're going to a movie you want to see. d. Making a decision regarding where you want to travel over your next vacation break.
d
Review 7.3 Question #1: One way to change someone's attitude is to get that person to give a speech arguing against his or her actual viewpoint. This strategy can lead to attitude change through cognitive dissonance as long as ___________ is/are present. a. peripheral cues to persuasion . b. a motivated audience that feels a sense of personal relevance. c. two-sided arguments. d. insufficient justification for making the speech.
d
Review 7.3 Question #6: Briñol and Petty (2003) conducted a study in which participants tried on headphones while listening to a persuasive editorial. Half of the participants shook their head side-to-side while listening; the other half nodded up-and-down while listening. Which group of participants expressed the greatest agreement with the arguments expressed in the editorial at the end of the study? a. The head-shakers who heard weak arguments in the editorial. b. The head-shakers who heard strong arguments in the editorial. c. The head-nodders who heard weak arguments in the editorial. d. The head-nodders who heard strong arguments in the editorial.
d
Review 7.5 Question #4: Which of the following concepts relates to the ironic research finding that the stronger the warning against a certain attitude or behavior, the more people sometimes wish to exhibit it? a. Attitude inoculation b. Peer pressure c. Implicit attitude d. Reactance theory
d
Affectively based attitudes can result from...
either classical or operant conditioning.