social psychology - exam #2 (ch. 4, 6, 7)

reciprocity

the obligation to return in kind what another has done for us

WHAT: characteristics of persuasion

• Effect of good feelings • Discrepancy • One-sided vs. two-sided appeals • Primacy vs. recency • Fear Appeals

what factors affect conformity?

• Group size • Unanimity vs. social support for noncompliance • Quality of support • Public vs. private response • Cohesion • Status • No prior commitment vs. prior commitment

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) ($1 or $20)

- Participants did a boring task, then were asked to tell next person it was fun for $1 or $20 - Results: $1 participants reported enjoying task more than $20 participants - Explanation: $20 participants could attribute behavior (saying it was fun) to the $20 they received, but $1 isn't enough to justify the dissonant behavior. So, $1 participants instead changed their attitudes about the task - Exemplifies the *minimal justification effect* -Major challenge to reinforcement theory

Hofling et al (1966) (nurses)

- They looked at obedience to authority by nurses. - The nurses in the study were given an instruction over the phone by a doctor they didn't know. They were alone on a nightshift, so had to decide by themselves whether to given the patient twice the recommended amount of this unknown drug. - 21 out of 22 nurses obeyed the instruction, but were stopped before they actually gave the drug. - This shows how, for a nurse, it is the social norm to except orders without questioning the doctors judgement.

What the audience is thinking when they see fear appeals?

-forewarning reduces persuasion -distraction can increase persuasion -uninvolved people use peripheral cues -attitude inoculation strengthens attitudes

Ciadini's 6 principles of persuasion

1. Reciprocation 2. Scarcity 3. Authority 4. Commitment 5. Liking 6. Social validation/ social proof

cohesiveness

A "we feeling"; the extent to which members of a group are bound together, such as by attraction to one another

Tennenbaum and colleagues' (2015) metaanalysis of fear appeals

Fear appeals are effective in regard to attitudes, intentions, and behaviors Fear appeals are seldom ineffective Effectiveness increased as a function of: Including efficacy statements Depicting high susceptibility & severity Type of recommended action (one-time vs. repeated) Target audience (larger percentage of women) Haven't identified any conditions under which fear appeals backfire

Janis & Feshbach (1953) (oral hygiene)

Gave PPs a message about oral hygiene using either mild/moderate/high fear arousal. Although high fear arousal got highest interest scores, it also go highest levels of disgust and produced lowest conformity scores. Minimal fear message showed highest levels of conformity.

Fazio's MODE model

Motivation Opportunity as DEterminants of whether attitude will serve as a guide to behavior

Asch's conformity study

Participants were asked to select the line closest in line to length X. When cohorts gave obviously wrong answers, more than 1/3 of the subjects conformed and agreed with the incorrect choices. Depends on group size: 7 is optimal.

Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Proposes that people change their attitudes to reduce the cognitive discomfort created by inconsistencies between their attitudes and their behavior

protection motivation theory

The extent that fear appeals convince an audience of the severity of a threat, their vulnerability to the threat, and their ability to respond effectively to the threat, they will be persuasive.

Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior

The first is the attitude toward the behavior and refers to the degree to which a person has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation or appraisal of the behavior in question. The second predictor is a social factor termed subjective norm; it refers to the perceived social pressure to perform or not to perform the behavior. The third antecedent of intention is the degree of perceived behavior control, which... refers to the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior and it is assumed to reflect past experience as well as anticipated impediments and obstacles

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 -WHO says WHAT to WHOM and with WHAT EFFECT

Milgram's Obedience Experiment

The study to see if people were likely to obey an authority figure in a white lab coat claiming to be a scientist. The "teachers" gave an electric shock to "learners" when they have a wrong answer. -65% obeyed to 450 V

a group is...

Two or more people who, • For longer than a few minutes, • Interact with • And influence one another • And perceive one another as "us"

Under what conditions are attitudes related to behavior?

When individuals focus more on their own attitudes and feelings, they tend to act on those attitudes and, hence, attitude and behavior are related. In addition, when individuals feel more responsibility for their own actions as opposed to being part of a group, their attitudes are more consistent with their behavior.

conformity

a change in behavior or belief as the result of real or imagined group pressure

implicit association test (IAT)

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

sleeper effect

a delayed impact of a message that occurs when an initially discounted message becomes effective, such as we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it

peripheral route

a method of persuasion characterized by an emphasis on factors other than the message itself

central route

a method of persuasion that uses evidence and logical arguments to influence people

reactance

a motive to protect or restore one's sense of freedom. Arises when someone threatens our freedom of action

role

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

door-in-the-face technique

a strategy for gaining a concession. After someone first turns down a large request, the same requester counteroffers with a more reasonable request

lowball 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 the costly request are less likely to comply with it

cognitive response theory

a theory postulating that attitude change occurs primarily as a function of people's evaluative responses to attitude-relevant information

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 refocusing or by doing good deeds in some other domain

obedience

a type of compliance involving acting in accord with a direct order or command

scarcity

asserts that opportunities seem more valuable when their availability is limited

Fazio's Attitude Accessibility Model

behaviors stem from individuals' perceptions of an attitude object and a situation in which the attitude object is encountered. The degree to which people's attitudes guide their subsequent perceptions of and behavior towards the attitude object is moderated by attitude accessibility.

credibility

believability. A __________ communicator is perceived as both expert and trustworthy

normative influence

conformity based on a person's desire to fulfill others' expectations, often to gain acceptance

informational influence

conformity occurring when people accept evidence about reality provided by other people

acceptance

conformity that involves both acting and believing in accord with social pressure

compliance

conformity that involves publicly acting in accord with an implied or explicit request while privately disagreeing

attitude inoculation

exposing people to weak attacks upon their attitudes so that when stronger attacks come, they will have refutations available

attitude

feelings, often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond favorably or unfavorably to objects, people, and events

attractiveness

having qualities that appeal to an audience. An appealing communicator (often someone similar to the audience) is most persuasive on matters of subjective preference

commitment

humans have a deep need to be seen as consistent. As such, once we've publicly committed to something or someone, we're much more likely to go through and deliver on that commitment (hence, consistency)

recency effect

information presented last sometimes has the most influence. Less common than primacy effects

elaboration likelihood model

model of persuasion stating that people will either elaborate on the persuasive message or fail to elaborate on it and that the future actions of those who do elaborate are more predictable than those who do not

least justification ->

most dissonance -> most attitude change

central route to persuasion

occurs when interested people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts

peripheral route to persuasion

occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness

primacy effect

other things being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence

Sherif's Autokinetic Effect

participant's estimates of the apparent movement of light started different but converged once the participants came together

liking

people respond more affirmatively to those they like

authority

people tend to defer to and respect credible experts

Steele's Self-Affirmation Theory

people will reduce the impact of a threat to their self-concept by focusing on and affirming their competence in some other area

illusory correlation

perception of a relationship where none exists, or perception of a stronger relationship than actually exists

counterarguments

reasons why a persuasive message might be wrong

insufficient justification

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

autokinetic phenomenon

self motion. The apparent movement of a stationary point of light in the dark.

mass hysteria

suggestibility to problems that spreads throughout a large group of people

Fishbein & Ajzen's Theory of Reasoned Action

suggests that a person's behavior is determined by their intention to perform the behavior and that this intention is, in turn, a function of their attitude toward the behavior and subjective norms

cognitive dissonance

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

social validation

the idea that people will comply with requests if they believe that others are also complying

need for cognition

the motivation to think and analyze. Assessed by agreement with items such as "The notion of thinking abstractly is appealing to me" and disagreement with items such as "I only think as hard as I have to"

persuasion

the process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors

two-step flow of communication

the process by which media influence often occurs through opinion leaders, who in turn influence others

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 appealing

foot-in-the-door phenomenon

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

facial feedback effect

the tendency of facial expressions to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness

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

channel of communication

the way the message is delivered-whether face-to-face, in writing, on film, or in some other way

how can one reduce dissonance?

• Adding "consonant" cognitions (i.e., create a justification/rationale) • Changing one or both cognitions to make them fit together better

conditions that promote dissonance

• Choice (-> sense of responsibility for your actions) • Low incentive (-> sense of responsibility for your actions) • Possibility of arousal • Self is implicated • Self as standard (Aronson, 1968; Stone & Cooper, 2001)

factors affecting obedience in nurse study

• Closeness of the authority • Commands given by telephone - 21%; many lied • Parallel finding in "robot study" • Legitimacy of the authority • 20% when "clerk" gave the orders -Institutional authority • Research Associates of Bridgeport - 48% • Emotional distance of the victim • Remote - 65% obeyed • Same room - 40% obeyed • Touch - 30% obeyed

WHO: characteristics of persuasion

• Source credibility (perceived expertise and trustworthiness) • Text: Factors that affect perceived expertise & trustworthiness • Hovland & Weiss (1951) Sleeper effect: Impact of a noncredible source increases over time • Attractiveness • Physical appeal • Similarity • Similarity vs. credibility • Key: Subjective preference vs. objective reality

Basic Tenets of Greenwald's Cognitive Response theory

• When person anticipates or receives a persuasive message, he or she tries to relate the information to his/her preexisting knowledge • In doing so, will generate a number of beliefs that support, oppose, or are irrelevant to the message. • Proarguments, counterarguments, neutral thoughts