Transcript Chapter 20

Attitudes and Social Influence
An
attitude is a predisposition to
act, think, and feel in particular
ways toward a class of people,
objects, or an idea.
The three main elements are
1. Cognitive - the belief or opinion
2. Affective - feelings about that
thing
3. Behavioral - tendency to act
toward that thing in a certain
way.
Where
does it come from?
CONDITIONING
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
COGNITIVE EVALUATION
CLASSICAL
Just
CONDITIONING
like with Pavlov’s dogs, we
learn to associate certain
reactions in a given situation.
This can shape our attitudes.
OPERANT
We
CONDITIONING
receive praise, approval, or
acceptance for expressing
certain attitudes, but we may
also be punished for displaying
other attitudes.
COGNITIVE
We
EVALUATION
sometimes develop attitudes
without thinking about it. (You
agree with someone because you
think they know what they are
talking about.) Or, you can
evaluate the situation for
yourself - weigh the pros and
cons.
Our
attitudes can also be shaped
by other sources – teachers,
parents, peers.
They can be learned through
experience.
Ultimately, they can influence
our relationships, political
views, even the foods we eat.
We
usually acquire our basic
attitudes from our parents.
More than 2/3 of all voters
continue to favor the political
party their parents supported.
Parental influences decline,
however, as we get older.
People also tend to adopt the
likes and dislikes of groups
whose approval and acceptance
they seek.
Attitudes
reflect our beliefs
and values as we define
ourselves.
Attitudes interpret the
objects and events we
encounter.
Attitudes determine how we
may act in a given situation.
Self-concept
refers to how we
see or define ourselves; our
total perception of ourselves.
Social groups and individuals
hold attitudes.
People who live in the same
area often have the same
attitude because they talk to
each other and are exposed to
the same things.
Attitudes
give guidelines for
intepreting and categorizing
people, objects, or events.
They guide us to behave in
certain ways and they also steer
us toward or away from
particular objects, events, or
people.
Attitudes
are sometimes not
consistent with our behaviors.
Attitudes that most strongly
predict behavior are those
acquired through direct
experience.
Three
processes involved in
forming or changing attitudes :
Compliance
Identification
Internalization
Compliance
Behavior is the best
measure of attitude
It is a change or maintenance of
behavior to avoid discomfort or
rejection and to gain approval.
(Ex. Men are the breadwinners
in the family.)
Social pressure only results in
temporary compliance.
Identification
is seeing oneself
as similar to another person or
group and accepting the
attitudes of another person or
group as one’s own.
Usually it is emotionally based.
 Attitudes become more stable
as self-critiquing and self
analysis declines.
Internalization
incorporates values,
ideas, and standards of others as a
part of oneself.
Most likely occurs when an attitude
is consistent with a persons basic
beliefs and values and supports his
or her self image.
It is the most lasting for attitude
formation. Change usually depends
on compliance or identification
Holding
two opposing attitudes
cam create great conflict in an
individual. (Ex. A doctor who
smokes.)
Cognitive dissonance is that
uncomfortable feeling that
arises and causes people to
change their behavior in some
way.
Some
people deny the
dissonance, while some people
attempt to evade dissonance by
avoiding situations or exposure
to information that would create
conflict.
(Ex: Smokers believe
information is nonsense.)
Actions
affect your attitudes.
Suppose you really believe that
Apple products are overhyped
and not superior to PC or
android products. But then, you
purchase and Apple product and
you are pleasantly surprised
about it’s ease of use and
reliability. Your attitude has
now changed.
Therefore,
doing is believing.
Counterattitudinal behavior- the
process of taking a public
position that contradicts one’s
private attitude.
Suppose on your first wedding
anniversary, your spouse gives
you an electric toothbrush?
What is your response?
Self-justification-
is the need to
rationalize one’s attitude and
behavior
You pay for your meal at a fastfood counter and as you walk
away, you realize the worker
gave you too much change. In
that moment, you decide to
keep it rather than return it.
Why?
Self-fulfilling
prophecy- is a
belief, prediction, or
expectation that operates to
bring about its own fulfillment
Prejudice- is a preconceived
attitude toward a person and
are not easily changed Is
strengthened and maintained by
inflexible stereotypes and roles
Prejudice
can be based on
social, economic, or physical
factors. (It means
prejudgement) It is not
necessarily negative.
Discrimination is the unequal
treatment of individuals on the
basis of their race, ethnic group,
age, gender, or membership in
another category rather than on
the basis of individual
characteristics
Stereotype-
is a generalization
about all members of a group.
Groups sometimes treated as
groups rather than individuals:
racial groups, scientists, women
the rich
If you can look past a stereotype
and inhibit negative attitudes,
then you are non-prejudiced.
Persuasion
is a direct attempt to
influence attitudes.
It can be broken down into four
parts:
Source
Message
Channel
Audience
Source
– How a person sees the
source of a message can be
critical to the acceptance of it.
Is the person giving the message
trustworthy and sincere?
Do they know anything about
the subject?
Are they likable?
If the answers to these are yes,
then message will likely be
accepted.
The
person receiving the
message may also take into
consideration how they
personally feel about the
source. (Ex. Celebrity
endorsements)
When people dislike the source,
they may take the opposite
point of view. This is known as
the boomerang effect.
Message
– Suppose two of your
friends are each trying to
convince you to believe in their
opposing viewpoint.
The message is the most
important thing here. You
already trust the source.
There are two ways to deliver a
message:
The
central route for persuasion
focuses on presenting information
consisting of strong arguments and
facts (logic).
The peripheral route for persuasion
relies on emotional appeals,
emphasizing personal traits or
positive feelings.
Communicators also have to decide
if they will present both sides of an
argument (generally better).
Channel
– Where, when and how
a message is presented also
affects the response.
Generally, personal contact is
the best approach.
Television and movies tend to be
more effective in persuading
than printed materials.
Audience
– Persuading people to
alter their views depends on
knowing who the audience is
and why they hold the attitudes
they do.
Most people accept information
they find interesting and avoid
information that does not
support their beliefs.
We’ve
previously discussed footin-the door technique. Door-inthe-face technique involves
making a major request that you
expect to be rejected, but then
following it with something
more minor.
Models
of Persuasion:
Sleeper Effect – sometimes
people seem to reach different
conclusions about a message
after a period of time has
elapsed.
Sometimes
people seem to
reach different conclusions
about a message after a period
of time has elapsed. This is
known as the Sleeper Effect.
One explanation of this is as
time goes by, people tend to
retain the message but forget
the source.
Educating
people to resist
attitude change is known as the
Inoculation Effect.
It motivates individuals to
defend their beliefs more
strongly.
It gives them some practice in
defending those beliefs.
The
most extreme means of
changing attitudes involves a
combination of psychological
gamesmanship and physical
torture known as Brainwashing.
The aim of brainwashing is as
much to create a new person as
to change attitudes.