Attitude
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2.
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Attitude formation
Attitude functions
Link between attitudes
and behavior
Persuasion
Cognitive dissonance
Attitude
• Evaluations of various aspects of
the social world
• Basic component of social
cognition
• Influence on behavior.
• An attitude is an expression of
favor or disfavor toward a person,
place, thing, or event (the attitude
object)
Attitudes
Attitude Formation: How Attitudes Develop
Social learning is the
process through which
people acquire new
information, forms of
behavior, or attitudes
from other persons
Attitude formation
1.
Classical conditioning
2.
Operant conditioning
3.
Observational learning
When and Why Do Attitudes Influence
Behavior?
Have you ever
experienced a gap
between your own
attitudes and
behavior?
Role of the Social Context in the Link between
Attitudes and Behavior
• Social context directly
affects the attitudebehavior connection
• Attitudes that we hold with
greater clarity or certainty
are more strongly linked to
behavior than attitudes
about which we feel some
uncertainty
Other Instances Where Attitude Influences
Behavior
• Situational Constraints that Affect Attitude
Expression
• Strength of Attitudes
• Attitude Extremity
• Attitude Certainty
• Personal Experience
How Do Attitudes Guide Behavior?
Attitudes Arrived at through Reasoned
Thought
•
Theory of reasoned action
The decision to engage in a
particular behavior is the result
of a rational process in which
behavioral
options
are
considered, consequences are
evaluated, and a decision is
reached to act or not to act
i.e. plan to join gym
• Theory of planned behavior
In addition to attitudes
toward a given behavior and
subjective norms about it,
individuals also consider their
ability to perform the
behavior
• Implementation plan
A plan for how to implement
our intentions to carry out
some action
Attitudes and Spontaneous Behavior
Reactions
• Attitude-to-behavior
process model Emphasizes
the influence of attitudes
and stored knowledge of
what is appropriate in a
given situation
Attitudes affect behavior in two ways:
1.
2.
Conscious
deliberation
in
which alternatives
are weighed and
people decide how
to act
Spontaneously
shaped perceptions
of the situation and
behavioral reactions
The Fine Art of Persuasion: How
Attitudes Are Changed
• Efforts to change others’
attitudes through the use
of various kinds of
messages
Persuasion:
Communicators, Messages, and Audiences
• Communicators
who
are
credible
• Communicators
who
are
attractive in some way
• Messages that do not appear to
be designed to change our
attitudes are more successful
than those that seem to be
designed to achieve this goal
Don’t Drink and Drive
Fear appeals attempt to change people’s
behaviors by use of a message that is fearinducing
The Cognitive Processes Underlying Persuasion
1.
Systematic processing: Involves careful
consideration of message content and
ideas (Central route)
2.
Heuristic processing: Involves the use of
simple rules or mental shortcuts (Peripheral
route)
Elaboration Likelihood Model
– Persuasion can occur in two ways, differing in the
amount of cognitive effort
– People can take the central route using systematic
processing
– People can take the peripheral route using heuristic
processing
Resisting Persuasion Attempts
1.
Reactance
2.
Forewarning
3.
Selective avoidance
• Reactance:
Protecting
Personal Freedom
our
– Negative reactions to threats to one’s
personal freedom
• Forewarning: Prior Knowledge
of Persuasive Intent
• Advance knowledge that one is about to
become the target of an attempt at
persuasion
• Selective Avoidance of Persuasion
Attempts
– Tendency to direct attention away from
information that challenges existing
attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance:
What It Is and How Do We Manage It?
Cognitive dissonance is an
internal state which results
when individuals notice
inconsistency between two
or more attitudes or between
their attitudes and their
behavior
• People are motivated to
reduce cognitive dissonance
• They engage in strategies to
do so
Strategies to reduce cognitive dissonance
– Acquire information
that
supports
attitude or behavior
– Change attitudes or
behavior
to
be
consistent with each
other
– Use indirect ways to
restore positive selfevaluations