Social Psychology Unit 6 Review: Attitudes and Attitude Change

What Are Attitudes?

• Attitudes are evaluations of objects, people, or ideas that are relatively enduring
• Consist of cognitive, affective, and behavioral components (ABC model)
• Can be positive, negative, or neutral towards the attitude object
• Serve important functions such as helping us navigate our social world and express our values
• Attitudes are learned through direct experience, social learning, and genetics
• Implicit attitudes are unconscious and automatic, while explicit attitudes are conscious and deliberate
• Strong attitudes are more resistant to change and more predictive of behavior than weak attitudes

Components of Attitudes

• The affective component involves the emotions and feelings associated with the attitude object
  • Includes physiological reactions like increased heart rate or sweating
  • Can be positive (happiness, excitement) or negative (fear, anger)
• The behavioral component involves the actions or intended actions towards the attitude object
  • Includes verbal and nonverbal behaviors (facial expressions, body language)
  • Influenced by social norms and perceived consequences of the behavior
• The cognitive component involves the beliefs and thoughts about the attitude object
  • Includes stereotypes, attributions, and expectations
  • Can be based on direct experience, secondhand information, or inference

How Attitudes Form

• Classical conditioning occurs when an attitude object is repeatedly paired with a stimulus that naturally evokes a positive or negative response
  • Example: a child develops a positive attitude towards a toy that is always presented with candy
• Operant conditioning occurs when attitudes are reinforced through rewards or punishments
  • Attitudes that are socially approved or lead to positive outcomes are strengthened
  • Attitudes that are disapproved or lead to negative outcomes are weakened
• Observational learning occurs when attitudes are acquired by observing and imitating others
  • Children learn attitudes from parents, teachers, and peers
  • Media figures and celebrities can also shape attitudes through modeling
• Mere exposure effect is the tendency to develop a positive attitude towards a stimulus simply due to repeated exposure
  • Familiarity breeds liking, even without any reinforcement
• Genetic factors can predispose individuals to certain attitudes
  • Political orientation and religiosity have been linked to genetic variations
  • Gene-environment interactions shape attitude formation and change

Measuring Attitudes

• Explicit measures directly ask individuals to report their attitudes through surveys, interviews, or rating scales
  • Likert scales involve agreeing or disagreeing with statements on a numbered scale
  • Semantic differential scales rate attitude objects on bipolar adjective pairs (good-bad, strong-weak)
• Implicit measures indirectly assess attitudes without asking individuals to report them
  • Evaluative priming measures the speed of associating attitude objects with positive or negative words
  • Implicit Association Test (IAT) compares reaction times when pairing attitude objects with compatible vs. incompatible attributes
• Physiological measures assess bodily responses to attitude objects
  • Facial electromyography (EMG) measures muscle activity in facial expressions
  • Skin conductance and heart rate can indicate arousal and emotional reactions
• Behavioral measures observe actions towards attitude objects
  • Donation behavior, voting records, and product purchases can reveal attitudes
  • Nonverbal behaviors like eye contact, proximity, and body orientation can also indicate attitudes

Attitudes vs. Behavior

• Attitude-behavior consistency is the degree to which attitudes predict actual behavior
• Factors that strengthen the attitude-behavior link include:
  • Attitude accessibility: how quickly and easily the attitude comes to mind
  • Attitude certainty: how confident one is in the attitude
  • Attitude relevance: how personally important the attitude is
  • Situational constraints: the presence or absence of external barriers to enacting the behavior
• Cognitive dissonance occurs when attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent, creating psychological discomfort
  • Dissonance can be reduced by changing attitudes, changing behaviors, or adding consonant cognitions
• The theory of planned behavior posits that behavioral intentions are the best predictors of behavior
  • Intentions are influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control
  • Interventions can target these components to change behavior

Theories of Attitude Change

• The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) proposes two routes to persuasion:
  • The central route involves careful scrutiny of the message's arguments and logic
    • Occurs when the message is personally relevant and the recipient has the motivation and ability to process it
    • Leads to more enduring attitude change that is resistant to counterarguments
  • The peripheral route relies on superficial cues and heuristics rather than argument quality
    • Occurs when the message is less relevant or the recipient lacks the motivation or ability to process it deeply
    • Leads to temporary attitude change that is susceptible to counterarguments
• Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that attitudes can change to reduce inconsistency with behaviors or beliefs
  • Induced compliance paradigm: performing a counterattitudinal behavior leads to attitude change in the direction of that behavior
  • Effort justification: the more effort invested in achieving an outcome, the more positively that outcome will be evaluated
  • Hypocrisy paradigm: publicly advocating for a position and then being reminded of one's own past failures to act consistently with that position leads to attitude change
• Self-perception theory argues that people infer their attitudes from observing their own behaviors
  • Overjustification effect: providing excessive external rewards for a behavior can undermine intrinsic motivation and lead to negative attitude change
  • Foot-in-the-door technique: agreeing to a small request makes it more likely to agree to a larger, related request later

Persuasion Techniques

• The source of a persuasive message can influence its effectiveness
  • Credibility: sources perceived as expert and trustworthy are more persuasive
  • Attractiveness: physically attractive sources are more likable and persuasive
  • Similarity: sources perceived as similar to the recipient are more influential
• The content of the message can be tailored to maximize persuasion
  • Two-sided messages present both supporting and opposing arguments, increasing credibility for well-informed audiences
  • Framing the same information in terms of gains or losses can affect decision-making (prospect theory)
  • Narratives and anecdotes can be more compelling than statistics for some audiences
• The recipient's characteristics interact with the message to determine persuasion outcomes
  • Self-monitoring: high self-monitors are more susceptible to normative social influence and image-based appeals
  • Need for cognition: individuals high in need for cognition enjoy effortful thinking and are more influenced by strong arguments
  • Regulatory fit: messages framed to match the recipient's motivational orientation (promotion vs. prevention) are more persuasive
• Compliance techniques exploit psychological principles to influence behavior
  • Reciprocity: providing a small favor or concession increases compliance with a later request
  • Scarcity: perceiving an opportunity as limited increases its perceived value and desirability
  • Authority: invoking the influence of a respected figure or institution can elicit obedience
  • Social proof: highlighting the behavior of similar others can create conformity pressure

Resisting Attitude Change

• Forewarning is when individuals are informed of an upcoming persuasion attempt, allowing them to prepare counterarguments and bolster their existing attitudes
  • Especially effective when the forewarning includes information about the topic and direction of the message
  • Can backfire if the forewarning is too vague or if the message is not perceived as a serious threat
• Inoculation theory proposes that exposing individuals to weakened forms of counterarguments can help them build resistance to later persuasion attempts
  • Like a vaccine, inoculation provides exposure to a weakened version of the "virus" (opposing arguments)
  • Refutational preemption: providing rebuttals to anticipated counterarguments strengthens resistance
• Reactance occurs when individuals feel their freedom is being threatened and respond by asserting their autonomy
  • Attempting to restrict a behavior can make that behavior more desirable (boomerang effect)
  • Using forceful language or overt pressure can elicit reactance and resistance
• Selective exposure and attention involve seeking out information that confirms one's existing attitudes and avoiding or ignoring disconfirming information
  • Confirmation bias: the tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information in a way that supports one's preexisting beliefs
  • Cognitive dissonance can be avoided by selectively exposing oneself to attitude-consistent information
• Self-affirmation theory suggests that affirming one's values or identity in an unrelated domain can reduce defensiveness and increase openness to persuasion
  • Reflecting on important aspects of the self bolsters self-integrity and reduces threat
  • Affirmation interventions can increase receptivity to health messages and reduce prejudice