Attitudes & Behaviour Flashcards
(30 cards)
What are attitudes?
Tendencies to like or dislike something.
- The more scientific way to talk about an opinion or belief.
What are the three attitude functions?
- The knowledge function.
- The utilitarian function.
- The ego defensive function.
What is the knowledge function?
Attitudes help us form opinions and make sense of the complex world.
What is the utilitarian function?
Attitudes can help us obtain rewards or avoid punishments.
What is the ego defensive function?
Attitudes can protect us from psychological threat.
How can attitudes differ?
- In valence.
- In strength.
A strong attitude is…
- Usually thought out.
- Well-known.
- Easily accessible.
- Personally relevant.
- Has a strong underlying emotional component.
A strong attitude is more likely to…
- Be stable and consistent over time.
- Be resistant to change.
- Influence behaviour.
What are the three components of attitude in the (Rosenberg & Hovland) TRIPARTITE model?
- Cognition.
- Affect.
- Behaviour.
Where do attitudes come from?
- Mere Exposure Effect.
- Genetics.
- Peers Groups (Norms).
- Classical Conditioning.
What is the Mere Exposure Effect (Zajonc, 1968)?
The more we realise we have seen the stimuli, the more prone we are to liking it.
What did Olsen et al. (2001) find about attitudes?
Attitudes are believed to be a result of environmental factors.
- Non-shared environmental experiences accounted for the most variance in each attitude.
- Shared attitude similarities are caused by personality traits.
What did Newcomb’s (1943) Normative Effect study find?
- Shift towards more liberal attitudes to fit in and become popular.
- No shift = strong family attachment and concern about response.
What did Olsen & Fazio’s (2001) study on classical conditioning find?
(Pokémon characters paired with unrelated positive or negative images and words)
Participants reported more positive attitudes towards the cards paired with positive pictures.
How do attitudes influence behaviour?
Consistent influence
- Attitudes often align with actions.
Inconsistent influence
- Automatic, spontaneous behaviours sometimes bypass conscious attitudes.
- Contradicts expressed behaviour.
What does attitude specificity mean?
Some attitudes are focused on specific objects or situations, and others are more general.
How are attitudes measured?
- Explicit measures (E.g. questionnaires - Attitude Response scale).
- Indirect measures (E.g. physiological measures - facial movements).
- Implicit association test.
What is cognitive dissonance?
An unpleasant psychological state that occurs when people notice that their attitudes and behaviours are inconsistent with each other.
What does the Theory of Planned Behaviour suggest (Ajzen, 1991)?
Attitudes are just one component that determines whether a behaviour is carried out.
What three factors influence an individual’s behavioural intention, which can impact actual behaviour?
- Subjective norms.
- Perceived behavioural control (PBC).
- (mediated by) intention.
What did Norman et al. (2000) research using the Theory of Planned Behaviour?
Attitudes towards exercise and actual exercise carried out.
- Surveyed 110 patients attending a health promotion clinic.
- 87 followed up by a postal questionnaire at six months.
- Positive scores on all items predicted behaviour six months later.
Why has the Theory of Planned Behaviour been extensively criticised?
It is considerably less predictive of behaviour when:
- Studies used a longitudinal design.
- Participants were not university students.
- Outcome measures were taken objectively rather than as a self-report.
What studies suggest that people’s attitudes are also influenced by their physical emotions and behaviour?
Wells & Petty (1980)
- Either nod heads (positive) or shake heads (negative) whilst listening to a persuasive message - head nodding = more positive attitudes.
Stepper & Strack (1993)
- Participants learned that they had succeeded on a test. If they were positioned in a slumped posture, they felt less proud, and their mood was worse.
How does priming influence attitudes? (Bargh et al., 1996)
- Primed rude words = interrupted experimenter.
- Primed with old words = walked more slowly when leaving the room.
