Attitudes

Two Definitions

  1. Tricomponent view
  2. Single component view

Characteristics of Attitudes

Where Attitudes are learned

How Attitudes are formed

  1. Operant conditioning
  2. Classical conditioning

Functions of Attitudes

Measurement of Attitudes

  1. self-report measures
  2. covert measures

Links between attitudes and behavior

ways to increase a/b/c correlations

Attitude – general evaluations people make about themselves, other persons, objects or issues.

Tricomponent view –view that an attitude is a combination of affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions to an object. (think, feel, and do).

  1. affective reaction---favorable or unfavorable. What you feel.
  2. Behavioral – attitudes predispose you to behavior a certain way.
  3. Cognitive – beliefs

Single-component view – an attitude is the intensity of positive or negative affect toward an object……….some support for this idea because there is often inconsistency in the three components.

Characteristics of Attitudes (IDEEL)

  1. Evaluative --- an attitude involves like or dislike (affect)
  2. Directed – attitude is toward something
  3. Enduring (relatively) – attitudes are more stable than emotions----attitudes have enduring qualities
  4. Influence Behavior – like prejudice leading to discrimination
  5. Learned—acquire attitudes from experience

Where Attitudes are learned

1. Parents—Parent most important force in development, so most important determinant of development of attitude.

Why?---- they control most of the rewards. Control most of the incoming information.

2. Reference Group--- often peers are a reference group………a group against which our attitudes and values can be compared.

How attitudes formed

1. Operant or Instrumental conditioning – when a behavior or response that is emitted in the presence of a situational stimulus and is followed by a reinforcing stimulus.

2. Classical conditioning – learning that stresses the association between a neutral stimulus and a stimulus that produces an emotion response.

Pavlov (1927)—first to observe such conditioning. Sounded bell just before offering meat to hungry dog. After a few pairings the dog began to salivate at the bell, though the bell bore no logical connection to the meat. Neither a reward for eating nor instrumental in the dog’s receiving a reward; it was associated with the meat simply b/c it was contiguous in time with it.

Function of Attitude (VIKE)

  1. Instrumental – help us gain rewards and avoid punishments.
  2. Ego-defensive -- help us avoid personality conflicts and anxiety
  3. Value-expressive – reflects deeper values and ideas
  4. Knowledge – help us order and assimilate complex information ---give meaning (structure) to the world.

Measurement of Attitude

  1. Self-report – easiest and most common way to measure attitude.

problemspeople may be more concerned with making a good impression.

One solution is the “bogus pipeline”  tell subjects we have a way to know if you are telling the truth.

Types of Self Report

  1. Thurstone scale – series of statements about an attitude object that are positive and negative. Subjects check statements they agree with.
  2. Likert Scale -- most popular…Subjects presented with a list of statements about an attitude object, and then on 5 point scale tell how strongly they agree or disagree with each statement.

Example:

Short people have no reason to live.

-3-2-101 2 3

strongly strongly

disagree agree

  1. Semantic Differential – Subjects tell how good or bad they feel about a certain object or person
  1. Covert Measures – indirect measures – used to get more accurate report.

Example – reaction time, emg (electromyography).

Link between Attitudes and Behavior

(attitude-behavior consistency)

---initially people thought that if you asked someone their attitude that you could use it to predict their behavior, but a review of the literature in 1960’s indicated that attitudes had little predictive validity.

--example…. La Piere (1934) took a Japanese couple to 251 restaurants and hotels and were only refused service once. Six months later each vendor.

was sent a questionnaire asking if they would accept Japanese patrons. 128 responded and 90% said no.

How can we better predict behavior from attitudes?

  1. Increase attitude specificity—instead of emphasizing general, global attitudes we should focus on attitude measures that closely match the behavior in question.

Example… to determine whether a student will be on time for his 9am psychology course you wouldn’t want to ask him “how much do you enjoy studying psychology” instead you want to be specific and ask “how do you feel about being late for psychology class,” or even better “ how do you feel about being late for your 9am psychology class.”

--each increase in a question’s specificity results in higher attitude-behavior correlations.

  1. Take into account factors from the Theory Reasoned Action  Behavior is influenced not only by attitudes, but by subjective norms (our beliefs about what others think we should do) and behavioral intentions. Accounting for these variables leads to better prediction of behavior from attitudes.

Attitudes

|behavioralBeh.

|intentions |

Subjective norms

3. Typicality  attitudes directed at typical versus atypical group members are better predictors of behavior.

Behavioral Influences on Attitudes

Self-Perception Theory – we infer our attitudes from our behaviors.

Persuasive Techniques

 Foot in the door – if someone grants a small request, then they are more likely to later grant a large request.

Low-Ball Technique – get people to comply with a request, and then reveal hidden costs.

Door in the Face – to get something small, start by asking for something big…people more likely to grant a small request if they first refuse a large request.

Cognitive Dissonance—Festinger’s famous peg-turning experiment Arousal from having two opposing ideas(dissonant cognitions), creates a motivational state to remove the dissonant cognitions either by changing them or changing your behavior.

Boring Task  Pay $20 Lie Rate task (neg)

Boring Task  Pay $1  Lie Rate task (pos)

Those paid $1 did not have sufficient justification to lie, and so they changed their mind about the task and rated it more enjoyable than the $20 groups who had justification.