Transcript Module 36 Chapter 110 Essentials of Understanding

Module 43
Attitudes and Social Cognition
Chapter 14
Essentials of Understanding Psychology- Sixth Edition
PSY110 Psychology
© Richard Goldman
June 18, 2006
Persuasion: Changing Attitudes
Attitude – Learned evaluation of a:
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Person,
Behavior
Belief
Thing
Persuasion – Process of changing attitudes
Effective Factors Used to Change Attitudes
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Message Source (the attitude communicator)
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Characteristic of the Message
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Physically attractive
Socially attractive
Expert
Trustworthy
Two-sided messages
Fear producing
Characteristics of the Target
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Less intelligent
Public settings – Women
Private settings – Men
Reception to Persuasion
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How do people consider an argument?
 Central Route Processing
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Thoughtful consideration of the issues and
arguments
Involved and motivated recipient
Strongest, longest lasting attitude change
Peripheral Route Processing
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Influenced by the presenter on other factors not
related to the issue (Flash, sexy, cool, etc.)
Uninvolved, distracted, bored recipient
The Link between Attitudes and Behavior
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What we believe strongly influences what we do
Cognitive Dissonance
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Holding two contradictory attitudes at the same time
We strive to reduce cognitive dissonance by:
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Modifying one or both of the cognitions
Changing the perceived importance of one of the cognitions
Adding cognitions
Denying that the cognition are related to each other
Social Cognition
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The process of understanding others and
ourselves
Schemas
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Sets of cognitions about people and social experiences
Use to help categorize other and predict behavior
Impression Formation
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Organizing information about another
Central traits – major traits considered in forming
impressions (assign to a personal schema)
Once assigned to a schema we attribute all of the
traits of that schema to the person
Attribution Processes
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Understanding the (rational) causes of behavior
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Situational – Based on external factors
Dispositional – Based on the way we are
Bias
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Halo Effect – If we know that someone has some good
traits we expect the all of his traits are good
Assumed-similarity – Other believe or think like you
Self-serving – We succeed because of our efforts and
fail because of other
Fundamental Attribution Error – Overestimation of
dispositional cause and underestimation of situational
causes (pervasive in West not East)