Week 5 Flashcards
(118 cards)
What is an attitude?
Attitude is a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings and behavioural tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols.
What are three examples of an object?
Coca cola, iPhone and pokie machine.
Three examples of events are:
What are three examples of groups?
University students, SES and Girl Guides
What are three examples of events?
Olympic games, ANZAC Day and Christmas
Have attitudes been a major interest of social psychologists for many years?
Yes.
Which social psychologist described atttitudes as the most important concept in social psychology?
Gordon Allport In the past social psychology had been defined as the study of attitudes.
What was the first point of the study of attitudes?
A concentration on attitude measurement and how these attitudes are related to behaviou
When was there a concentration on attitude measurement and how these relate to behaviour?
1920s and the 1930s.
What is the second point on a study of attitudes?
A focus on the dynamics of change in an individual’s attitudes
When was there a focus on the dynamics of change in an aindividual’s attutudes?
1950s and 1960s.
When was there a focus on the cognitive and social structure and function of attitudes and attitude systems?
1980s and 1990s.
What was the third point in the study of attitudes?
A focus on the cognitive and social structure and function of attitudes and attitude system
What do theories of attitude structure generally agree on?
That attitudes are lasting general evaluations of socially significant objects (including people and issues).
What is the one component model of attitudes?
One component model is that an attitude consists of affects towards or against the evaluation of the object.
What is the two component model of attitude?
An attitude consists of a metal readiness to act. It also guides evaluative responses.
According to the three component model of attitude, what does an attitude consist of?
An attitude consists of cognitive, affective and behavioural components.
Why do attitudes probably exist?
Attitudes probably exist because they are useful as they serve a purpose and have a function.
How does an attitude save cognitive energy?
An attitude saves cognitive energy as we do not have to figure out from scratch how we relate to the object or situation in question.
What are the functions of an attitude?
- Knowledge: information
- Instrumentality
- Ego Defence
- Value expressiveness
When did cognitive consistency theories begin to emerge?
Late 1950s and the 1960s.
What are cognitive consistency theories?
Cognitive consistency theories are a group of attitude theories stressing that people try to maintain internal consistency, order and agreement among their various cognitions.
What did cognitive consistency theories and their emphasis on cognition do?
Deal a fatal blow to simplistic reinforcement explanations.
How has attitude structure mostly been studied?
From a cognitive viewpoint.
What are two examples of cognitive consistency theories?
Cognitive dissonance theory and balance theory.