Attitudes

Question 1

Define what is meant by “attitudes.” Discuss how attitudes are measured, including both selfreport and covert techniques.

Answer 1

Attitude: A positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object or idea.measured on two dimensions, negative vs positive reaction, hi or lo for both (see slide, 2x2 grid).lo on both dimensions is indifference, hi on both includes a dual attitude (feel differently about two aspects of attitude, or feel one way consciously and one way unconsciously).self-report, “what do you think about celeb/product”.ATTITUDE SCALE: multiple-item questionnaire desigend to measure person’s attitude.Likert scale, Strongly agree to strongly disagree.covert, IAT

Question 2

What are some of the problems associated with these techniques (e.g., self-report susceptibility to differences in wording, context, and honesty of the participants)?

Answer 2

.self-report questionnaire responses can be colored by wording in question, context of question, or whether the participant feels safe responding accurately

Question 3

How are attitudes assessed with the facial electromyography, electroencephalograph, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and the Implicit Association Test (IAT)?

Answer 3

.facial electromyograph (EMG).electrodes measuring constraction of muscles in the face, can measure pos/neg emotions.pos emotions more contraction in cheeks, neg more contraction in eyebrows.EEG, measures electrical activity in brain, changes in reaction to events.fMRI, see what stimulus activates what parts of the brainIAT - how fast associate with these concepts blargh

Question 4

What are some of the physiological approaches to gauging someone’s attitudes? Why is it that so far, none of the physiological approaches offers a practical means of gauging people’s attitudes?

Answer 4

.Heart Rate, Skin Conductance.so far, none can measure whether something is positive or negative, only the INTENSITY of the emotione.g. really angry or really terrified make for a hi HR

Question 5

Discuss the relationship between attitudes and behaviors. Explain what types of attitudes are most likely to predict behavior, and under what circumstances, including the influence of similarity, and the impact of subjective norms.

Answer 5

.attitudes DO reflect/predict behavior, but the link is far from perfect.like if you dislike chinese, when it comes down to it, you’re not going to not talk to them when they speak to you.BUT, for voting attitudes and behavior, the link is strong.if you’re attitude for a political candidate is asked and you say it, it’s essentially the same thing as voting on a piece of paper.and when you vote, it’s anonymous and there’s no pressure from outside sources

Question 6

How are subjective norms relevant to Martin Fishbein and Isaac Ajzen’s Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)? How does this theory work to predict overt behavior? How does the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) differ from the TRA? What internal and external factors might be relevant to the TPB?

Answer 6

.We’re influenced by our belief about what others think we should do.e.g. if a boy is told by mom to wear heavy snow boots to school, he’ll ask himself “are the other kids doing it?”.in conjunction with attitude, TRA predicts overt behavior.however, the name was changed a decade later to TPB and perceived behavior control (self-efficacy) was added

Question 7

What distinguishes strong from weak attitudes? What factors indicate the strength of an attitude and its link to behavior?

Answer 7

Strong attitudes….directly affect own outcomes and self-interests, is relevant.related to deeply held values (philosophy, politics, religion).of concern to ingroupsStrength of attitude-behavior link….Is the attitude informed? e.g. informed political attitudes more liekly to predict actual voting behavior.was the attitude formed in direct, personal experience.did you ever have to resist persuasion, which would then strengthen the attitude?.how accessible is the attitude in your thoughts?

Question 8

Explain the Petty & Cacioppo Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), including the 2 routes to persuasion and how the routes are related to elaboration. What 3 factors determine the emphasis on central or peripheral route processing, and how are they related? Explain how and under what circumstances message source affects whether people are likely to be persuaded.

Answer 8

.2 routes, central and peripheralcentral processing: think carefully about message, and influenced by its strength and qualityperipheral route: don’t think carefully, influenced by superficial cues (expert, attractive, are others accepting it, numbers/stats, length of argument)3 factors: source, message, audiencesource: if competent speaker, expert, and seem trustworthy, more likely to be persuaded (this is all credibility)

Question 9

What are the primary dimensions of credibility? Why does credibility facilitate persuasion?

Answer 9

.competence and trustworthiness!.if credible, we are more likely to accept it peripherally for sure!

Question 10

How is likeability of the source related to the persuasiveness of that source? What factors make a source likeable? Describe the study by Shelly Chaiken (1979) and what it demonstrated about the effects of attractiveness of the source on persuasion.

Answer 10

.is the person likable? as in, are they similar to you or the audience you’re a member of, or are they physically attractive?.attractiveness affects your responses, when approached by a student and asked to form opinion about something in a study.also, even when asked to fill out a survey and told the attractive person would never read it and it would be completely anonymous, people still filled out in ways that might please the attractive person

Question 11

What did the study by Petty and colleagues (1981) demonstrate about the interaction between the personal relevance of the message (or involvement) and the impact of source credibility or consequences of the quality of the message?

Answer 11

.if your involvement in message is low (it will personally affect you, in this case, comprehensive exams to complete your degree), the strength of the argument is paramount.if involvement in message is low, it’s the source of the message that matters most. an expert source will convince you more than nonexpert

Question 12

What is the sleeper effect and how does it work?  What is the discounting cue hypothesis, and what does it say about the role of dissociation?  What is the consensus of the research on the existence and replicability of the sleeper effect?

Answer 12

.regardless of credibility of message upon first reading, they become equally credible over time (not a criss-cross. the attitudes move toward an equillibrium. if an expert source, it becomes less credible over time, non expert, becomes more credible)..why? because you forget the source!.not sure if it really exists…. has been very hard to replicate, apparently only if you hear about the source of your message AFTER you hear message, which almost never happens in real life

Question 13

Explain how the content of a message affects whether people are likely to be persuaded. Describe how the cognitive and emotional content affects message persuasiveness, as does message order

Answer 13

.content can affect persuasion in a few ways:.informational strategies.message discrepancy.fear appeals.positive emotions.subliminal messages.SOME people, cognitive components of a message is more important than emotional

Question 14

How do informational strategies regarding message length and the effects of message order influence persuasion?

Answer 14

.for people processing using ELM, longer messages better for those who take peripheral route.better messages better for central route (as in good quality arguments).if going right after one another, and waiting a week and then deciding, going first is best (primacy effect).if one message, a week, then message 2, then immediate decision, going second is best (recency effect).otherwise, it’s all the same, e.g. one right after the other then having to make a message IMMEDIATELY, it doesn’t matter

Question 15

How extreme should a message be in order to be effective? How discrepant should it be from the attitudes of the audience for maximal effectiveness?

Answer 15

.generally, better to have a balance between extreme and cautious, so go for moderate.extreme arguments will just turn people off.incredibly cautious, might not be a strong argument?

Question 16

What are fear appeals? Are they effective? When? Why would being in a good mood lead people to be persuaded?

Answer 16

.making people fearful or scared about things to “Scare” them into a certain action.only effective if arguments are strong, and solutions are included!.if you just scare people and don’t tel them what to do… they’ll do nothing, they’ll just be scared.good mood, your mind is wandering and you’re distracted by nice things.your guard is let down, you don’t expect anything nasty.you want to stay happy, so you’d rather just agree with things/people

Question 17

Consider evidence regarding the effectiveness of subliminal persuasive messages.

Answer 17

.NOT EFFECTIVE.subliminal cues won’t persuade unless one is already motivated to do so…

Question 18

What is the difference between subliminal persuasion and subliminal priming?

Answer 18

.persuasion has long term effects (but subliminal persuasion basically impossible), priming has short term effects, possible but only if you’re already motivated to do that thing

Question 19

What did the study by Greenwald and colleagues on the effects of subliminal self-help tapes reveal about the effectiveness of such messages?

Answer 19

.nooooot effective.gave tapes on smoking and memory improvement.switched labels, people thought they improved regardless.but no actual measured improvements

Question 20

What about the study by Erin Strahan and others (2002) on the interaction between subliminal messages and motivation?

Answer 20

.told people not to drink for 2 hours before study.half given water to quench thirst after a filler task.half not, just given filler task.were primed with either neutral or thirst-related words during filler task.those who weren’t quenched, drank much more when subliminally primed.those who had satisfied their thirst and weren’t thirsty, the subliminal primes did basically nothing

Question 21

Explain how characteristics of the audience, including need for cognition, self-monitoring, and regulatory fit, can moderate the extent to which it is persuaded by a message. What types of messages are the best for people high or low on these dimensions?

Answer 21

.there is no “easy to persuade” personality trait (DARN IT says advertisers).Need for Cognition (trait: extent to which enjoy and participate in effortful cognitive activities).hi NC, more likely to take central route, lo NC, more likely to take peripheral.hi SM, peripheral processing (more likely to want to fit in with group, like appeals to emotion and fitting in).lo SM, more persuaded by info, central

Question 22

Describe strategies for enabling an audience to resist efforts at persuasion. How are the inoculation hypothesis and psychological reactance related to these strategies?

Answer 22

Advanced knowledge allows time to develop counter arguments.inoculation hypothesis, like getting a bit of a virus to make you immune to a disease.expose to weak versions of a persuasive argument increases later resistance.psychological reactance: generally we want to behave and feel the way we want to, not the way others want us to, so we may react negatively to this “threat to our freedom”.sometimes if told in advance (e.g.) we would face a conservative and we are liberal, we make our position more extreme to secure our stance.same if facing another liberal sometimes even, we’ll start more extreme!

Question 23

Explain the elements of the classic version of cognitive dissonance theory, and the relevance of this theory to understanding attitude change. What are the various methods of coping with cognitive dissonance?

Answer 23

.motivated by a desire for cognitive consistency.inconsistent cognitions arouse psychological tension that people become motivated to reduce, can lead to irrational/maladaptive behavior!.techniques: change your attitude (don’t need to be on a diet).change your perception of behavior (hardly ate any ice cream).add consonant cognitions (choco ice cream is nutritious).minimize the importance of the conflict (life’s short, whatever).reduce perceived choice (no choice, ice cream served for this special occasion)

Question 24

How does cognitive dissonance explain changes in our attitudes in order to a) justify attitude discrepant behavior, b) justify effort, or c) justify difficult decisions?

Answer 24

.experience cog dissonance because insufficient justification for lying, insufficient deterrence (mild punishment can produce attitude changes (think kids)).justify effort, alter our attitudes to justify our suffering (think frats and hazing, fuck).justifying difficult decisions: we feel dissonance when we make them, especially if hard to reverse, so we exaggerate positives of our chosen alternative, and negatives of unchosen alternative AFTERWARDS.this is called SPREADING OF ALTERNATIVES

Question 25

How did the classic study by Festinger & Carlsmith demonstrate cognitive dissonance?

Answer 25

.gave monies for participants to tell a confederate who they thought was the next participant that the excruciatingly boring task they had to perform was actually “exciting.” .those who were paid $20 bucks to lie later still hated the tasks, had sufficient justification to lie.those who were paid $1 to lie later had convinced themselves they liked the tasks because they had insufficient justification to lie, only given a measly dollar

Question 26

How did Aronson & Mills (1959) demonstrate that an expenditure of effort was associated with cognitive dissonance effects?

Answer 26

.try to emulate the satisfaction pledges from frats felt after enduring hazing.took girls, said hey we have this group that talks about sex but we need to screen you for this group because the topics are sensitive.some girls admitted outright, no test.some given just mild discomfort, had to look/read a sensual passage?.some given tons of discomfort, had to read aloud a very embarassing and sexual passage in front of a male researcher.when it came to the group, the discussions were SUPER dull! secondary sex characteristics of dumb animals.those who had to endure the painful “initiation” rated the topics and members as way awesome.the other conditions, DIDN’T

Question 27

Explain the “new look” of cognitive dissonance and how it expands upon the original theory

Answer 27

.says specific conditions on which cognitive dissonance arises.4 necessary steps for both arousal and reduction of dissonance.attitude-discrepant behavior must produce unwanted negative consequence.must feel personal responsibility for unpleasant outcomes of behavior (must have known the consequences beforehand, must have been foreseeable, must have exercised freedom of choice).physiological arousal.must make an attribution for physiological arousal to own behavior (researchers have played with placebo pills saying they make you tense, and then they attribute their discomfort from cog diss to this and don’t change attitudes)

Question 28

Consider alternate routes to self-persuasion such as those described by self-perception theory, impression-management theory, and theories of self-esteem. Explain how the processes postulated by these theories differ from those described by cognitive dissonance theory.

Answer 28

.self-perception theory: look at own behavior, persuade self after the fact.this doesn’t explain SPREADING OF ALTERNATIVES or attributing arousal to different causes because of placebo pill.impression management theory: not a motive to be consistent, but a motive to appear consistent to others.if i look like i genuinely liked the task, then they can’t later be like WE KNEW HE LIED BAD MAN.self-affirmation theory: dissonance situations create a threat to the self? so want to change because want to still feel like a good person?