1Attitudes 1“Did you ever have to make up your mind?”The Lovin’ Spoonful•Attitudes• I. What are attitudes?• II. How do we develop attitudes?• III. The link between attitudes and behavior• IV. Attitude Change• A. Case example• B. Cognitive dissonance processesAttitudes & Persuasion• Attitudes: A positive, negative, or mixed evaluation of people, objects, or ideas.• ExerciseProcesses in the development of attitudes• Classical conditioning• Instrumental/operant conditioning• Modeling• Direct experience Classical conditioning• Association between an initially neutral stimulus and a stimulus that naturally produces a strong reaction.2Operant conditioning• You have been reinforced for expressing the “right” or correct views. Modeling• Modeling: We observe the behavior of others and base our beliefs on such observations. – Ex: Mother buys “Tide”Direct Experience• Four ways of learning are not mutually exclusive!Link between Attitudes and Behavior• Big question in social psychology: Can we predict behavior from people’s attitudes?• Richard LaPiere (1934): Traveled through U.S. with Chinese couple• Results:_________________When are attitudes poor predictors of behavior?• (1) Low correspondence between the attitude and the behavior (Aizen & Fishbein)• (2) Strength of attitude is weak– (strength=more knowledge; based on direct experience; more important; more accessible.)•3How do attitudes change?• The case of Patricia Hearst•Isolation• Guilt• Environmental control• Voicing particular views, even if we don’t believe them, might lead to attitude change.Cognitive 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.• Video clip of Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) studyFestinger and Carlsmith• IV: $1 or $20 to lie by saying a boring task was very interesting• DV: How much the participant reported enjoying the dull task• Results: Ps in the _________condition said the dull task was ______enjoyable than did those in the _______condition. ______=insufficient justification for lieImportance of Festinger & Carlsmith study• Demonstrates self persuasion• Contradicted long-held belief that big rewards produced attitude change“less [money] leads to more [attitude change]” effect4Ways 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.Insufficient 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 _____threat liked the toy ______than those faced with a _______ threat. Those in the mild threat group had “______________for their behavior, and therefore internalized the attitude.Insufficient justification principle works for punishment as well as rewards• Aronson & Mills (1959)• Female students; group discussions about sex• IV: Mild initiation or severe initiation or control (no initiation)• Heard boring tape about “secondary sex behavior in lower animals.”• Ss in __________initiation group rated the discussion _________than those in the _______initiation or control group. •Four steps to dissonance arousal (Cooper & Fazio)• The attitude discrepant behavior must produce unwanted negative consequences.• Must feel personally responsible for unpleasant consequences.• Must experience physiological arousal• Must attribute the arousal to your own inconsistent behaviorCognitive dissonance theory• Generated a lot of research• Explanations for effects are still being debated, but inconsistency appears to be