Lecture 4 - Attitudes

Question 1

Attitude

Answer 1

• mental and neural state of readiness
• organized through experience
• exerting influence on one’s responses to related objects and situations

Question 2

4 interconnected components of attitudes

Answer 2

CABB

(1) Cognitions
(2) Affective Responses
(3) Behavioral Intentions
(4) Behaviors

Question 3

Tripartite Model of Attitudes

Answer 3

ABC

(1) Affective Processes
(2) Behavioral Processes
(3) Cognitive Process
- NOT all required to have an attitude

Question 4

Values

Answer 4

• Closely related to attitudes
• Standards for what is desirable for one’s actions
• Broad and abstract, whereas attitudes are directed toward people, objects, ands situations
• Attitude = expression of value

Question 5

How Are Attitudes Formed?

Answer 5

1. Mere exposure
2. Self-percention theory
3. Direct personal experience
4. Classical/operant conditioning
5. Observational learning
6. Genetic?

Question 6

Mere exposure (attitude formation)

Answer 6

• Mere exposure to an object results in positive attitudes toward that object
• Stimuli you’re exposed to must initially be neutral or held in positive regard (cannot start out with negative regard)
• If start with negative regard, will have increasing negative feelings/increased disliking
• Exposure must occur randomly and over time
• Applications: Advertising

Question 7

Self-perception theory

Answer 7

• When attitudes are weak or ambiguous (do not have a strong attitude one way or the other)
• People observe their own behavior to determine their attitudes

Question 8

Direct personal experience

Answer 8

• Tend to be strongly held/less vulnerable to persuasion and affect behavior
• Strong affective component
• More likely to discount contrary evidence that goes against attitude

Question 9

Classical conditioning

Answer 9

Stimulus evokes a response it did not previously evoke to form an attitude

Question 10

Operant conditioning

Answer 10

bx = strengthened or weakened by punishment or reward

Question 11

Observational learning

Answer 11

Attitude formation via observing other people

Question 12

Homogenous group

Answer 12

attitude change less likely

Question 13

Heterogeneous group

Answer 13

attitude change more likely

Question 14

Attitude-Behavior compatibility

Answer 14

• General attitudes tend to NOT predict specific behaviors

- To predict a specific behavior, you must ask about a specific attitude

Question 15

Theory of Reasoned Action

Answer 15

• People think about their actions or behaviors

- Attitudes and norms influence our intentions and intentions influence our behavior

Question 16

Theory of Planned Behavior

Answer 16

• We take into account whether we’re capable of performing a particular behavior, which informs our behavior intentions
• If a behavior seems our of our capabilities, you’re not going to form the behavioral intention
• good at predicting deliberative behaviors

Question 17

Nonrational actor

Answer 17

View that humans are not always rational in their behavior and their behavior can be inconsistent with their attitude

Question 18

Mindless bx

Answer 18

Overlearned and routinized behaviors rigid, preconceived patterns without thought

Question 19

Rational vs. Nonrational Actors: A Resolution

Answer 19

• When attitude not important, behavior may be unpredictable and uncoupled from attitudes
• Attitudes we hold with conviction less susceptible to uncoupling with behavior

Question 20

Types of attitudes

Answer 20

1. Explicit

2. Implicit

Question 21

Explicit attitude

Answer 21

• A self-reported favorable or unfavorable evaluation of an attitude object
• Measured with explicit/direct attitude measures
• Operates at the conscious level

Question 22

Implicit attitude

Answer 22

• Attitudes that affect behavior on an automatic level
• Nondeliberative; below the level of awareness
• Automatic processing
• A favorable or unfavorable evaluation residing outside of awareness an conscious control
• Measures with implicit/indirect attitude measures

Question 23

Explicit Attitude Measures

Answer 23

1. Semantic Differential
2. Feeling Thermometer
3. Likert scale

Question 24

Semantic differential

Answer 24

• Please evaluate “XXX” on the following dimensions

E.g.,: Ugly -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Beautiful

Question 25

Feeling thermometer

Answer 25

- Rate your general level of warmth or coolness toward “XXX” by indicating the temperature on the feeling thermometer where you would place “XXX” - More effective measure of explicit attitudes

Question 26

Likert-type rating scale

Answer 26

Indicate your agreement or disagreement on a scale of 1-7

Question 27

Problems w explicit attitude measures

Answer 27

1. Self-Presentation Concerns - Especially with self-esteem and prejudice 2. Self-Report Biases - Acquiescence Bias – Say “yes” to everything 3. Can we report all attitudes? - Problems with introspection Eg why do you like your favorite color

Question 28

Implicit attitude measures

Answer 28

``` A measure of attitudes that is impervious to conscious control o Implicit Association Test (IAT) o Automatic Activation Measure o Response Latency Measure o Expectancy Bias o Explanatory Bias ```

Question 29

How the IAT Works - 5 stages

Answer 29

(1) Training Trial – Categorizing pleasant words vs unpleasant words (Learning Trial) (2) Presented with Categories of Interest (Learning Trial) (3) Combine categories (Critical Trial) (4) Relearning of Categories of Interest – Categories on opposite side of screen (5) Combine Categories of Interest – Opposite paired categories on same side (e.g., Pleasant + Insect on left vs. Unpleasant + Flower on right)

Question 30

Karpinski’s Model of Attitudes

Answer 30

- Environmental association formulate our attitudes and beliefs - Our evaluative beliefs comprise our explicit attitudes - Environmental associations are tapped by the association measure

Question 31

Evaluative beliefs are

Answer 31

controlled behavior | - explicit attitudes

Question 32

Environmental associations are

Answer 32

automatic beliefs | - implicit

Question 33

Nisbett and Wilson

Answer 33

- People have little introspective access, so can’t report accurately - When explaining behavior, we don’t base on memory of event, but on a priori theories about causal relations between S and R - When subjective causal theories are correct doesn’t reflect introspected awareness, but incidental use of correct causal theory

Question 34

Evidence for Lack of Awareness

Answer 34

- People are unaware of response | - People are unaware of a change (i.e., attitude change)

Question 35

Evidence for Reliance on Causal Theories

Answer 35

- Observers just as accurate as actors in explaining actions - People make judgments about how plausible it is that a stimulus would have influenced the response based on the representative heuristic o Based on available data to you

Question 36

Why do we misunderstand the causes of our behavior?

Answer 36

- Many judgments, thoughts, behavior, and emotions produced by adaptive unconscious - People cannot access adaptive unconscious - People confabulate reasons for their behaviors (because they cannot access their adaptive unconscious)