Attitudes

The Nature of Attitudes

Attitude= overall evaluations of attitude objects (aka feelings about stuff)
Spring from several sources:
Classical & Operant Conditioning (eat at Jack in the Box and become sick) Observational learning (all friends have mac, you have pc) Heredity

Range from weak to strong, general to specific

How are attitudes measured

1) Self-report questionnaire
Problems?

2) Convert opinion measure

gauges your opinion without you knowing
e.g., how close you sit to a disabled person

Nonreactive less likely to be distorted E.g., IAT

Do Attitudes Predict behavior?

Small correlation (about .30)
Attitudes account for less than 10% of variability in behavior.

Principle of Aggression Why isnt the relationship stronger? A number of things moderate the strength of the attitude-behavior relationship.

Do attitudes behavior
Situational Factors
Subjective norms & self-presentation
What you think others think

Perceived Behavioral Control

Is it hard to do?

Theory of planned behavior: How attitudebehavior consistency is influenced by the situation

Do Attitudes behavior?
Aspects of the attitudes
Attitude strength
Personal relevance (does it affect me?)
Exit exam requirement

Embeddedness Origin of the Attitude

Specificity

Do attitudes behavior?
Aspects of the person
Self-monitoring & Public self-consciousness Self awareness
Seeing oneself in front of a mirror

BEHAVIOR CAN ALSO INFLUENCE ATTITUDES

Cognitive Dissonance Theory & Self Perception Theory

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY

Consistency Principle & Cognitive Dissonance

Consistency principle: people like their attitudes, perceptions, & actions to be consistent with each other Cognitive dissonance: unpleasant psychological arousal resulting from inconsistency in attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors

Being inconsistent Uncomfortable tension

Consistency Principle &Cognitive Dissonance

To avoid dissonance, people will change their attitudes, perceptions, or behaviors to restore this balance

Being inconsistent Uncomfortable tension

Make a change

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Mary thinks that homosexuality is wrong Mary considers Rhoda her best friend Rhoda recently came out as a lesbian This makes Mary uncomfortable

Rhoda

Mary

Homosexuality

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Mary could restore balance by changing her feeling about Rhoda

Rhoda

Mary

Homosexuality

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Or she could try to talk Rhoda out of being a lesbian

Rhoda

Mary

Homosexuality

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Or she could restore balance by changing her attitudes about homosexuality

Rhoda

+ +

Mary

+
Homosexuality

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

behaviors attitudes
If you want to change your attitude, change behavior!
Fake it till you make it

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)

Students first performed a boring task turning pegs in holes They were then paid either $1, or $20 to tell next participant it was fun, enjoyable, & interesting
A control group left right after the task

One week later they were asked their attitudes toward the boring task:

Which group later found experiment most enjoyable?

What were the results of this study?

Which group rated the task as most enjoyable (students who were paid $1 or $20)?

Why??
Saying it was interesting cognitive dissonance
Attitudes changed when there was no strong external justification for lying $20 = justification $1 = insufficient justification Changing beliefs about the task reduced dissonance

Arousal is key!
No arousal = no dissonance = no need to change
Tranquilizers eliminate dissonance What would happen if participants took amphetamines (increase arousal)??

Initiation
Dissonance begins with:

Amplification
More dissonance arises when the action or decision:

Motivation
Dissonance is experienced as:

Reduction
Dissonance is reduced through:

is seen as freely chosen

Action or decision that conflicts with an existing attitude

cannot be justified as due to strong rewards or threats unpleasant arousal produces negative consequences that were foreseeable

change designed to remove the unpleasant arousal

cannot be withdrawn

Attitudes I (+ other factors)

Attitude inconsistent Behavior

How we get things like Stockholm Syndrome & how I learned to like college football

Attitudes II

SELF-PERCEPTION THEORY
How do you feel about your mentoring experience so far?

People infer attitudes by watching their behaviors

Attitudes may just be something made up by our left brain to explain behavior
Guys right brain told to go in the hallway Girls right brain shown a nude photo

Self Perception Theory

People infer attitudes from behavior, not vice versa
Most behavior Deliberate E.g., remember the straws in your mouths? Radio headphone study

Similar to dissonance theory, it predicts that you can shape attitudes through behavior

Self Perception Theory

Accounts for dissonance study results
When observing self, it includes the conditions of the behavior
E.g., reading a book for class vs for the heck of it

Overjustification effect turning play into work by offering rewards

Self Perception Theory

Goals & unconscious motivations
(+ other factors)

Behavior

Attitudes

WHICH IS RIGHT?
DISSONANCE THEORY VS SELF PERCEPTION THEORY?