Persuasion + Theories of self Flashcards
(26 cards)
What are attitudes
Attitudes influence our thoughts (organise and evaluate stimuli - degrees of positive or negative)
- Evaluations of aspects of the world
Structure of attitudes
Affect
Cognition
Behaviour
How are attitudes formed
- Classical conditioning (associative learning)
○ Subliminal conditioning - Instrumental conditioning (holding attitudes = reward/punishment)
- Social/observational learning (exposure)
- Social comparison (compare to others to determine if views of reality are correct)
- Genetic factors
When attitudes are more likely to predict behaviour
- Strong attitudes
- Strong intention to preform behaviour
- Attitude and behaviour both occur in similar situations
- Attitudes are measured at specific rather than general levels (measured with specific questions e.g.)
Aspects of persuasion
○ Communicator (sources)
○ What they said (message)
○ How they said it (channels)
○ Who was listening (audience)
Two routes that information is processed
- Elaboration-likelihood model (Petty and Cacioppo)
- Heuristic-Systematic model (Chaiken)
Elaboration-likelihood model
Central route: important messages > systematic processing > strength of argument is important
Peripheral route: unimportant messages > heuristic processing > non verbal ques are important
When do you use systematic processing
- Strongly motivated
○ Accuracy motivation
○ Impression motivation
○ Defensive motivation
Have high ability to do so (no distractions/have a lot of knowledge)
When do you use heuristic processing
- Unmotivated
- Lack ability to systematically process info
Source (communicator) characteristic
Characteristics of a person who delivers a persuasive message
○ Attractiveness: attractive communicators promote attitude change through the peripheral route
○ Credibility: expert or trustworthy sources are likely to influence attitudes in situations that promote the peripheral route
○ Certainty: sources that express their views with confidence tend to be more persuasive
Sleeper effect
When a persuasive message comes from an unreliable source
- Initially exert little influence but later causes attitudes to change
- (forgot the source and remembered the message) - conspiracy theories e.g.
Message characteristics
○ Message quality: high quality messages = more persuasive
○ Vividness: vivid information is more effective (interesting, memorable)
○ Fear: especially when paired with instructions on how to respond to the fear can lead to attitude change
○ Culture: message need to fit the norms, values and outlook of cultural group (individualistic vs collectivist cultures)
Identifiable victim effect
Tendency to be more persuaded by the vivid predicament of single individual than by a more abstract number of people
E.g. A person might be more likely to donate to a charity that features a picture and story of a child in need than to a charity that simply states how many children are suffering globally
Predictor of attitude
Mere exposure effect
- Novel stimulus evoke mild fear response = repeated exposure = gradual positive response
Audience characteristics
- Characteristics of those receiving the persuasive message
○ Need for cognition: degrees to which people like to think deeply about things
§ People with a high need for cognition = persuaded by high-quality arguments
People with low need for cognition more persuaded by easier-to-process peripheral cues
○ Age: younger people = more likely to be persuaded
○ Embodiment: Non-verbal body sources influence thoughts/feeling (nodding to get them to agree)
Reasons to resist persuasion
○ Selective attention: selectively attend to information that confirms original attitudes
- Previous commitments: messages fail because they cannot overcome the prior commitments
- Thought polarization hypothesis: more extended thought about a particular issue tends to produce a more extreme attitude
Lewins theories of dynamic forces drive
Potential needs (needs not yet realised) > Actual needs > Tension (continues till goal is acquired)
Zeigarnik effect
Tasks interrupted before they are completed are more likely to be recalled better
○ Idea that you’re motivated to complete interrupted tasks
○ Motivation to do so can be reduced if given substitute activities and if both tasks lead to same goal or if the substitute becomes a social fact
Symbolic self-completion theory
- Focused on commitment to self-defining goal
- Posits that people strive to acquire and display symbols that are linked to their desired self-definition, especially when they lack concrete achievements or recognition in a particular area.
- Symbols of completeness
○ Markers of possessing an aspired-to self definition (shows to others that they have acquired the skill e.g. medical doctor wearing coat) - Social reality
○ Communicate to others that they possess the self-definition
How does social validation affect women’s self-perception in relation to motherhood goals?
Women committed to motherhood goals who received social validation were less likely to exaggerate their alignment with the “ideal mother” profile. Without validation, they were more likely to adjust their self-perception to match the idealized public image.
Self-discrepancy theory
- Begins with idea that there are self-guides/schemas
○ Actual self: attributes you believe you possess
○ Ideal self: hopes and aspirations
○ Ought self: duties, responsibilities - Standpoints (view the self-guides) from:
○ Own views
○ Significant others (family etc..) - Assumes that you have your
actual self motivated to match the relevant self-guides
○ The relationships among the different selves (actual or ideal) are different psychological situations that cause different types of emotions
What emotional outcomes are linked to different types of self-discrepancies?
Larger actual–ideal self-discrepancies are linked to greater depression, while larger actual–ought discrepancies are linked to greater anxiety.
How does the accessibility of a self-discrepancy affect emotional responses?
The more accessible or frequently reminded a self-discrepancy is, the stronger the emotional response associated with it.
Self-evaluation maintenance theory
- Explains how our self concept (the way we see ourselves) is affected by our relationships with others
○ Ones self-concept can be threatened by the behaviour of others
○ Determined by:
§ Performance feedback
§ Closeness of individual
§ Relevance of behaviour
