Attitudes 1
“Did you ever have to make up your mind?”
The Lovin’ Spoonful
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Attitudes
I. What are attitudes?
II. How do we develop attitudes?
III. The link between attitudes and behavior
IV. Attitude Change
A. Case example
B. Cognitive dissonance processes
Attitudes & Persuasion
• Attitudes: A positive, negative, or
mixed evaluation of people, objects, or
ideas.
• Exercise
Processes in the development of attitudes
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Classical conditioning
Instrumental/operant conditioning
Modeling
Direct experience
Classical conditioning
• Association between an initially neutral
stimulus and a stimulus that naturally
produces a strong reaction.
Operant conditioning
• You have been reinforced for expressing
the “right” or correct views.
Modeling
• Modeling: We observe the behavior of
others and base our beliefs on such
observations.
– Ex: Mother buys “Tide”
Direct Experience
• Four ways of learning are not mutually
exclusive!
Link between Attitudes and
Behavior
• Big question in social psychology: Can we
predict behavior from people’s attitudes?
• Richard LaPiere (1934): Traveled
through U.S. with Chinese couple
• Results:_________________
When are attitudes poor predictors of
behavior?
• (1) Low correspondence between the
attitude and the behavior (Aizen &
Fishbein)
• (2) Strength of attitude is weak
– (strength=more knowledge; based on
direct experience; more important; more
accessible.)
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How do attitudes change?
• The case of Patricia Hearst
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Isolation
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Guilt
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Environmental control
• Voicing particular views, even if we don’t
believe them, might lead to attitude
change.
Cognitive dissonance theory
(Festinger, 1957)
• Assumed we feel tension (dissonance)
when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are
psychologically inconsistent. We change
our thinking to reduce this tension.
• Video clip of Festinger & Carlsmith (1959)
study
Festinger and Carlsmith
• IV: $1 or $20 to lie by saying a boring task
was very interesting
• DV: How much the participant reported
enjoying the dull task
• Results: Ps in the _________condition
said the dull task was ______enjoyable
than did those in the _______condition.
______=insufficient justification for lie
Importance of Festinger &
Carlsmith study
• Demonstrates self persuasion
• Contradicted long-held belief that big
rewards produced attitude change
“less [money] leads to more [attitude
change]” effect
Ways to Reduce Dissonance
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TECHNIQUES
Change your attitude
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Change your perception
of the behavior
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Add consonant cognitions
“Chocolate mousse is very
nutritious.”
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Minimize the importance
of the conflict.
“I don’t care if I’m
overweight— life is short;
mousse is great.
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Reduce perceived choice.
“I had no other choice; it was
prepared for the occasion.
EXAMPLES
“I don’t really need to be on a
diet.”
“I hardly ate any mousse.”
Insufficient justification
• Aronson & Carlsmith (1963)
• Forbidden toy study
• IV: Mild threat (I won’t like it) or severe threat
(will be spanked)
• DV: later liking for the toy
• Results: Those faced with a _____threat liked
the toy ______than those faced with a _______
threat. Those in the mild threat group had
“______________for their behavior, and
therefore internalized the attitude.
Insufficient justification principle works for
punishment as well as rewards
• Aronson & Mills (1959)
• Female students; group discussions about sex
• IV: Mild initiation or severe initiation or control (no
initiation)
• Heard boring tape about “secondary sex behavior in
lower animals.”
• Ss in __________initiation group rated the
discussion _________than those in the
_______initiation or control group.
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Four steps to dissonance arousal
(Cooper & Fazio)
• The attitude discrepant behavior must
produce unwanted negative
consequences.
• Must feel personally responsible for
unpleasant consequences.
• Must experience physiological arousal
• Must attribute the arousal to your own
inconsistent behavior
Cognitive dissonance theory
• Generated a lot of research
• Explanations for effects are still being
debated, but inconsistency appears to be
important.