Attitudes and Change Flashcards
Are attitudes stable over time?
Not always; attitudes can change due to persuasive messages or behaviour that contradicts them.
What are persuasive messages?
Deliberate attempts to change attitudes through communication, often used in advertising, health campaigns, and politics.
What are the main categories of theories explaining attitude change?
Cognitive consistency theories, automatic processing accounts, depth processing models, and dual processing models.
What do cognitive consistency theories propose about attitude organisation?
People strive for internal consistency in their attitudes; inconsistency leads to discomfort, prompting change.
: What is the core idea of Balance Theory (Heider, 1958)?
People are motivated to maintain harmony between attitudes toward people, objects, or ideas. Imbalance causes discomfort.
Give an example of an imbalanced attitudinal situation and a possible solution.
I like museums, I like my partner, but my partner finds museums boring. Solutions: change own attitude, change partner’s attitude, or change attitude toward partner.
What is Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger, 1957)?
When people behave contrary to their attitudes, they experience arousal (dissonance) and are motivated to change their attitudes to reduce it.
What was the key finding from Festinger & Carlsmith (1959)?
Participants paid $1 to lie experienced more dissonance and changed their attitude more than those paid $20.
Under what condition does counter-attitudinal behaviour cause dissonance?
When the behaviour cannot be explained by external factors.
How does Self-Perception Theory (Bem, 1972) explain attitude change?
People infer their attitudes from observing their own behaviour, especially when external reasons are absent.
What is the distinction between automatic and conscious persuasion processes?
Automatic processes occur without awareness (e.g., conditioning, heuristics); conscious processes involve thoughtful evaluation (e.g., message content).
What are examples of automatic processing in persuasion?
Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, heuristic processing.
What is heuristic processing (Chaiken, 1987)?
Attitude change based on mental shortcuts like “Experts can be trusted” or “I agree with people I like.”
Are people always aware of using heuristics?
Attitude change based on mental shortcuts like “Experts can be trusted” or “I agree with people I like.”
When are people more likely to use heuristics?
When they lack motivation or ability to process information deeply.
Are people always aware of using heuristics?
No, heuristic processing can occur without conscious awareness.
Communication Model (Hovland et al., 1953)
Q16: What three factors influence persuasion in the communication model?
Source, message, and audience characteristics.
What source characteristics increase persuasiveness?
Credibility (expertise, trustworthiness), attractiveness, likeability, similarity.
What message characteristics impact persuasion?
Message sidedness (one vs. two-sided), strength of arguments, repetition, and fear appeals.
: What did Hovland et al. (1949) and Lumsdaine & Janis (1953) find about two-sided messages?
Two-sided messages are more persuasive for people with higher intelligence or prior knowledge.
According to Petty & Cacioppo (1986), when are strong arguments persuasive?
When the audience is motivated and able to process information (e.g., not distracted).
What effect does repetition have on persuasion?
Increases persuasion for strong arguments and improves message recall (Cacioppo & Petty, 1985).
How does fear affect persuasion, according to Witte & Allen (2000)?
Fear increases persuasion only when combined with self-efficacy (belief in one’s ability to act).
: What audience traits influence persuasion effectiveness?
Distraction, intelligence, and self-esteem.
