Behavior and Attitudes
Chapter 4
David Myers
Behavior and Attitudes
How well do attitudes predict behavior?
When does behavior affect attitudes?
Why does behavior affect attitudes?
Behavior and Attitudes
Attitudes – evaluative reactions toward an entity that
are exhibited in your beliefs, feelings, and/or actions

ABC’s of Attitudes - Affect, Behavior, Cognition
Do Attitudes Determine
Behavior?
Do Attitudes Determine Behaviors?

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Most incorrectly feel that to change behaviors you must first
change attitudes
Studies show that people’s attitudes don’t predict their
actions very well
Politicians
Religion
Honesty
Race
Sex
When Do Attitudes Predict Behaviors?

When Social Influences on what we say are minimized (e.g.
trying to be P.C.)
Bogus Pipeline Tests, Implicit Association Tests

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When Situational Specific Influences are Minimal – attitudes
are better predictors of average behaviors rather than
isolated acts
When Specific Attitudes Used- are better predictors of
behavior than general ones
When Attitudes are Potent – strong accessible attitudes are
better predictors of behavior
Do Behaviors Determine
Attitudes?
Festinger’s Attitude Theory – changing one’s
behaviors will lead to changes in attitudes
 Role Playing – norms that define behaviors in a
social position
When Behaviors Determine
Attitudes
Role Playing - Stanford Prison
Experiment
When Behaviors Determine
Attitudes
Saying Becomes Believing Effect – we adjust our message to
the audience and then believe it more ourselves
Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon – the tendency to comply with a
larger request after having previously agreed to a small request
Cialdini’s Low-Ball Technique – people who agree to an initial
request will still agree when the stakes are higher
When Do Behaviors Determine
Attitudes
Harmful/Evil Acts – minor acts of harm makes it easier
to commit larger acts later on
Moral Acts - chosen moral action also leads to attitude
change
 Interracial Attitudes and Behaviors
 Social Movements
Why Do Actions Affect Attitudes?
1. Self Presentation Theory: Impression Management
 we express attitudes that match our actions in order
to appear consistent
 High Self Monitors impression manage more than
others
Why Do Actions Affect Attitudes?
2. Self-justification Theory: Cognitive Dissonance

Festinger ‘s Cognitive Dissonance Theory – motivation
to reduce dissonance when two thoughts or beliefs are
inconsistent with one another
Insufficient Justification – altering one’s attitude only
when there is a lack of justification for inconsistent
behaviors or beliefs
e.g. Festinger’s wooden knob study
dee
Self-justification Theory: Cognitive
Dissonance
•
Dissonance & Decisions – choosing between equally
appealing options causes dissonance
•
Reduce dissonance by upgrading your choice and
downgrading the unchosen option
Why Do Actions Affect Attitudes?
3. Self-Perception Theory - when unsure of our attitudes
we infer them by self-observation

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Expressions and Attitudes – manipulating facial muscles
causes students to report anger or happiness
Mimicry -Mirroring others allows us to experience their
feelings
Why Do Actions Affect
Attitudes?
Self-Perception Theory:

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What happens when you reward someone for doing
something they like?
Overjustification Effect – rewarding someone for doing
something they like will cause them to lose interest
Unanticipated rewards or rewards that make one feel
good don’t diminish intrinsic appeal or motivation
Self-Justification or Self-Perception?
Dissonance Theory appears to explain attitude change
Self-perception Theory explains attitude formations.