1Attitudes & Persuasion• Attitudes: Evaluations of people, objects, ideas• Text: how attitudes develop, types of attitudes (e.g., behavior-based, explicit, implicit)How do attitudes change?• The case of Patricia Hearst•Isolation• Guilt• Environmental controlAttitude change• Voicing particular views, even if we don’t believe them, might lead to attitude change.2Cognitive dissonance theory(Festinger, 1957)• Assumed we feel tension (dissonance) when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are psychologically inconsistent. We change our thinking to reduce this tension.Ways to Reduce Dissonance• TECHNIQUES EXAMPLES• Change your attitude “I don’t really need to be on a diet.”• Change your perception• of the behavior “I hardly ate any mousse.”• Add consonant cognitions “Chocolate mousse is very nutritious.”• Minimize the importance “I don’t care if I’m • of the conflict. overweight— life is short;mousse is great.• Reduce perceived choice. “I had no other choice; it was prepared for the occasion.• Video clip of Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) study3Importance of Festinger & Carlsmith study• Demonstrates self persuasion• Contradicted long-held belief that big rewards produced attitude change“less [money] leads to more [attitude change]” effectInsufficient justification• Aronson & Carlsmith (1963)• Forbidden toy study• IV: Mild threat• (I won’t like it)• or severe threat (will be spanked)• DV: later liking for the toy• Results: Those faced with a mild threat liked the toy _____ than those faced with a more severe threat. Those in the mild threat group had _____________for their behavior, and therefore internalized the attitude.Four steps to dissonance arousal (Cooper & Fazio)• The attitude discrepant behavior must produce _____________consequences.• Must feel _______________for unpleasant consequences.• Must experience ______________• Must attribute _______________inconsistent behavior4Cognitive dissonance theory• Generated a lot of research• Explanations for effects are still being debated, but inconsistency appears to be important.Persuasion: The Peripheral Route• Example: Native American jewelry store• Robert Cialdini: Influence: Science and PracticeHeuristic• Short cut: Expensive=good• Advantage: Saves time, energy, mental capacity• Disadvantage: Can make costly mistakes.5Two routes to persuasionPetty & Cacioppo (1981)• Peripheral route: automatic responses based on superficial cues (e.g., heuristics, moods)• Central route: Requires thoughtful, effortfulprocessing. Receiver must have the ability and motivation to take this route.• We’ll focus on the peripheral route– Communicator– MessageCommunicator• Credibility– Cues to expertise, competence• E.g., type of speech6Erickson et al., 1978• Evaluate courtroom testimony• IV: Witness speaks in straightforward or hesitating manner• DV: Evaluations of the competence and credibility of the witness•Results:Communicator• Physical attractiveness– Halo effect: If attractive also viewed as – Handsome men on trial for criminal offenses received _________sentences than those who were less handsome.– Attractive people are ________to receive help. Communicator• Similarity– We like people who are similar to us.– IV: hippie or conservative dress– DV: Give dime to make a phone call– Results:7Message• Appeals to emotion– Fear or scare tacticsLeventhal studies• High fear-arousing messages lead to attitude change IF they also include specific instructions about how to avoid the danger.Positive emotions• Razran “luncheon technique”• IV : Presented some political statements• while subjects were eating and other political• statements while subjects were not eating.• DV: Attitude change from Time 1 to Time 2•Results:8Social psychological principles at work?• Consistency and commitment– Make public commitment– Recruitment strategy• Foot-in-the-door technique: A two-step compliance technique in which an influencer prefaces the real request by first getting a person to comply with a much smaller request.• Freedman & Fraser (1966)• IV : First asked or did not ask to put a 3 inch• square sign reading "Be a safe driver" in their•window.• DV: Whether agreed to place a large ugly• billboard ("Drive Carefully) on their front lawn.• Results:9Communicator• Charismatic– “psychic readings”Emotional, vivid message• Trust the all-knowing leader• Be a part of the familyAudience• Most susceptible include young (< 25 yrs.) and people facing a crisis/turning point10Group isolation• Group isolation: The cult is isolated from other support systems; other members define reality.• Principle of Social Proof (Cialdini) : People use the behavior of similar others as guidelines for what to do, especially in novel or ambiguous situations.Nature of Persuasion• Not inherently good or bad. Can be used in many ways – for positive, negative, or neutral