Lesson 4
Attitudes
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Lesson Outline
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 Last class, the self and its presentation
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What are attitudes?
Where do attitudes come from
How are they formed?
How do attitudes influence behavior
How do they relate to the self?
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Attitude
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Attitude is a predisposition to respond to a
particular object in a favorable or unfavorable
way.
– What is a predisposition to respond?
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A person’s attitude influences the way in which
he/she perceives and responds to the world.
– Attitudes influence:
• Behavior
• Attention
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List Your Attitudes
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List 5 of your positive
attitudes
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List 5 of your negative
attitudes
Which type was easier to put on your list?
Why do you think that is?
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Three Components of Attitude
1.
Beliefs or cognitions: An object label, rules to
apply the label, and a set of cognitions
associated with that label.
2.
Evaluation: A direction (positive or negative)
and an intensity (very weak to very strong).
3.
Behavioral predisposition: A predisposition to
respond or a behavioral tendency toward the
object.
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Relationships Among Components
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Cognitive, evaluative, and behavioral components
all have the same object.
– These three components are distinct.
– Therefore each can be independently measured.
– We find relationships among them.
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The degree of consistency between components is
related to other characteristics of the attitude.
– For example, attitudes about contraceptives are related
to feelings, beliefs, and actions.
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Attitude Formation
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Where do attitudes come from?
How are they formed?
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Socialization holds the key to answering these
questions.
– Also the answer to how the self forms…
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Attitudes may be formed through:
– reinforcement (instrumental conditioning)
– associations of stimuli and responses (classical
conditioning)
– observing others (observational learning)
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Functions of Attitude
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Why do we retain learned attitudes for
months, years, or even a lifetime?
 They are tied into our conceptions of self
 One answer is that they serve at least some
important functions for us.
– We will examine four (4) functions that
attitudes serve.
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Functions of Attitude
1.
2.
3.
4.
Heuristic or instrumental function
Attitudes provide a simple and efficient means of
evaluating objects.
Schematic or knowledge function
Attitudes about a category provide us with a basis
for making inferences about its members.
Attitudes define the self and maintain self-worth
Some attitudes express the individual’s basic
values and reinforce his or her self-image.
Attitudes protect the person
Attitudes protect us from recognizing certain
thoughts or feelings that threaten our self-image or
adjustment.
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Cognitive Consistency
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The elements of a cognitive structure are
called cognitions.
– A cognition is an individual’s perception of
personal attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
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Consistency among a person’s cognitions
(beliefs and attitudes) is widespread.
Consistency theories hypothesize:
– If an inconsistency develops between cognitive
elements, people are motivated to restore
harmony between those elements.
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Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
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Dissonance theory deals with consistency
between two or more elements (behaviors
and attitudes).
 There are two common situations in which
dissonance occurs:
1. After a decision.
2. When one acts in a way that is inconsistent
with one’s beliefs.
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Post-decisional Dissonance
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Whenever we make a decision, there are some
cognitions (attitudes, beliefs, knowledge):
– that are consonant with that decision.
and
– other cognitions that are dissonant with it.
 Dissonant cognitions create an unpleasant
psychological state that we are motivated to
reduce or eliminate.
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Quiz Question
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True or False?
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After choosing between getting a new shirt
and new shoes the attractiveness of the item
chosen will increase and the attractiveness of
the item not chosen will decrease.
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Provide an example of postdecisional
dissonance in your own life.
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Relationship Between Attitudes and Behavior
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There can be a great discrepancy between
what people do and what they say.
Many studies find only a modest correlation
between attitude and behavior.
Four variables (reasons) why the correlation is
not stronger:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The activation of the attitude.
The characteristics of the attitude.
The correspondence between attitude and
behavior.
Situational constraints on behavior.
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Reasons why what we say is
different than what we do: #1
Activation of the Attitude
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When an attitude is activated, it is brought
from memory into conscious awareness.
 An attitude is usually activated by exposure of
the person to its object, particularly if the
attitude was originally formed through direct
experience with the object.
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Reasons why what we say is different
than what we do: #2/#3 – Characteristics
of the attitude and relationship between
the characteristics
Characteristics that Influence the
Attitude/Behavior Relationship:
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The extent to which the attitude is grounded
in personal experience
The strength of the attitude
The stability of the attitude over time
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Characteristics of the Attitude
Direct Experience
– 1. Attitudes based on direct experience are
more predictive of subsequent behavior.
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Characteristics of the Attitude
•
2. Strength
• The greater the strength of an attitude,
the more likely it is to influence behavior.
•
3. Temporal Stability
– To predict behavior from attitudes, the
attitudes must be stable over time.
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#4 - Situational Constraint
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Situational Constraint: an influence on
behavior due to the likelihood that other
persons will learn about the behavior and
respond positively or negatively to it.
– Situational constraints often determine
whether our behavior is consistent with our
attitudes.
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The Influence of Attitude and
Situational Constraints on Behavior
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A strong relationship exists between behavior and
attitude when:
– the individual has a strongly held attitude and
situational influences encourage behavior
consistent with that attitude..
Behavior and attitude are less likely to be consistent
when:
– situational influences produce pressure to behave
in ways inconsistent with one’s attitude or when
the attitude is weak.
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The Reasoned Action Model
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This model is based on the assumption that
behavior is rational.
This model incorporates factors that have
been shown to affect the consistency
between attitudes and behavior.
– Behavior is determined by behavioral intention.
– Behavioral intention is influenced by attitude
and subjective norms.
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Assessment of the Reasoned Action Model
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The reasoned action model has been used
to predict behaviors like whether a mother
will breastfeed her baby.
This model has been criticized because it
assumes our behavior is determined
largely by our intentions.
– In fact, our past behavior may be more
influential than our intentions.
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Assessment of Reasoned Action
Model
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Research suggests that our behavior may
be affected by intentions AND also by
whether we have the resources or the ability
to carry out the intention.
 Therefore, an additional variable, perceived
behavioral control, should be added to the
model.
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