Sample Completed Outline
I.
There are four main determinants of who we are/what we do:
A.
Demographic Characteristics
B.
Aptitude/Ability
C.
Personality
D.
Values/Attitudes
1.
2.
Attitude Components:
a.
Cognitive – the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or information
a person possesses (“Job responsibility is important. My
job lacks responsibility”)
b.
Affective – the specific feeling regarding the personal
impact of the antecedents (“I don’t like my job.”)
c.
Behavioral – the intention to behave in a certain way based
on specific attitudes/feelings (“I’m going to quit my job.”)
Cognitive Dissonance – a state of inconsistency between an
individual’s attitudes and beliefs
a.
[Provided in class] People seek consistency between their
attitudes and behavior in order to appear rational .
b.
[Provided in class] Inconsistency results in discomfort/
tension and individuals will take action to reduce the
dissonance and restore an equilibrium state.
c.
Individuals reduce/eliminate cognitive dissonance by:
i.
Changing the underlying attitude (“You know, they
do those studies on rats. I don’t believe smoking is
bad.”)
ii.
Changing the future behavior (Quit smoking)
iii.
Developing new ways of explaining or rationalizing
the inconsistency (“If I don’t smoke, I will gain
weight.”)
Sample Fill-In Question / Evaluation
Based on the Key Topic Attitudes (86-87), I might give you the following fill-in
question:
[CHAPTER 4] Identify the attitude components below.
ANTECEDENTS
ATTITUDE
1.
2.
“My job lacks
responsibility.”
create
“I don’t like my job.”
RESULT
3.
that
influence
“Job responsibility is
important.”
I would use the following rubric to evaluate your answer:
1.
Beliefs And Values OR Cognitive Component
2.
Feelings OR Affective Component
3.
Intended Behavior OR Behavioral Component
“I’m going to quit my
job.”
Sample Essay Question / Evaluation
Based on the Key Topic Attitudes (86-87), I might give you the following essay
question:
[Chapter 4] Define cognitive dissonance. When people encounter cognitive
dissonance, they experience something that leads to a desire to reduce or eliminate
dissonance. What is it? Identify three ways that individuals deal with cognitive
dissonance. Your friend states that she is concerned about the environment, but you
notice she does not recycle her aluminum cans. Classify each of these possible
responses:
Response 1: I’m only one person. How much effect can I have?
Response 2: You are absolutely right to challenge me. I will never throw
another aluminum can away. From now on, they all get recycled.
Response 3: I decided the environment is really not as bad off as some people
claim.
I would use the following rubric to evaluate your answer:
Identification/Definition [13]
___
Cognitive Dissonance – a state of inconsistency between an individual’s attitudes and behavior [2]
___
Inconsistency (i.e., dissonance) results in discomfort/tension that individuals try to reduce or eliminate
[2]
Dissonance Reduction Methods:
___
Change the underlying attitude [3]
___
Change future behavior [3]
___
Developing new ways of explaining or rationalizing the inconsistency [3]
Application [12]
___
Response 1: Rationalization [4]
___
Response 2: Behavior Change [4]
___
Response 3: Attitude Change [4]