PSY 556 1st Edition Lecture 8Outline of Last Lecture I. Self-Fulfilling ProphecyII. Implicit StereotypingIII. Nonverbal CommunicationOutline of Current Lecture I. Attitudes and Attitude ChangeII. Expectancy-Value TheoryIII. Learning TheoryIV. Consistency TheoriesV. Cognitive ConsistencyCurrent LectureAttitudes and Attitude ChangeI. What is an attitude?a. Attitud e : Enduring response disposition with an affective, cognitive and behavioral componentb. What do attitudes do for us? What is their function?i. Stable across time and situationsii. Predictive of behavioriii. We are aware of them and can accurately self-report on themII. Theories of attitude formation and attitude changea. Expectancy-value theoryb. Learning theoryc. Consistency theoriesi. Balance theoryii. Cognitive dissonanced. Self-Perception theoryIII. Expectancy-Value Theorya. Attitude= Value (emotional part) x Expectancy (cognitive part)i. Together, these form an attitude, which then accurately predicts behaviorb. We consciously choose our attitudesThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.c. To do so, we weight the pros and cons of various attitudes and pick the one that works bestd. Value x Expectancy = attitude  behaviore. People aren’t always rational/use controlled thought all the timei. More of a normative then a descriptive ideaf. Where do our attitudes come from?!i. Example: “Telling more than we can know” ii. Example: Mere exposure1. Suggests that attitudes are more implicit than explicitg. Telling More Than We Can Know (Nisbett& Wilson, 1977)i. Which do you prefer, why?IV. Learning Theorya. Derived from the study of behaviori. Associations1. Link in memory between stimuli2. Formed through repeated pairings3. E.g. Romeo > Juliet. Stereotypesii. Reinforcement1. Learn a response through reward2. e.g. social rewards for expressing certain opinions3. e.g. subtle reinforcement for gender attitudesiii. Punishment1. learn NOT to perform certain behavior through punishment2. e.g. social punishment for other kinds of opinionsiv. Observation1. Learning by watching others and repeating2. Modeling “appropriate” or socially acceptable behavior3. Role for “mirror neuron” system4. Ex: social media, we know what pics are likely to get lots of ‘likes’V. Rationalizationa. We all do it when it comes to schools, jobs, dating, sports, losing on reality showsb. How does it affect the way we understand the actions of others and ourselves?i. Seems inauthenticc. Why do people rationalize?i. A need to feel (if not actually be) consistent/authenticd. How does it work?i. Balance theoryVI. Cognitive Consistencya. Balance Theory (Fritz Heider, 1946)i. People want to be consistentii. Example: Liking people who like what we likeb. Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Leon Festinger, 1957)i. Intrapersonal conflict1. Unlike balance theory which is interpersonalii. Two cognitions conflict, causing dissonance1. Often, one of the cognitions is awareness of a behaviora. “Dissonance” is an aversive feeling2. 3 options for Dissonance Reductiona. Change attitudeb. Change behavior (can’t always do this)c. Justify/minimize conflictd. Rationalize  reinterpretVII. Insufficient Justification (Classic Study #1: Festinger&Carlsmith)a. Do silly uninteresting task for an hourb. Asked to tell next new subject that they will really enjoy the taskc. Either paid $1 or $20 to lie to next subjecti. Separate from payment for being in studyd. Later, subject is asked how much they really like the taskVIII. Free Choice (Classic Study #2: Brehm, 1956)a. Rank 8 appliances in terms of likingb. Given choice between items ranked #4 and #5 (free choice)…both have pros and consc. Or simply given item #4 (No choice)IX. Effort => Liking (Classic Study #3: Initiation Rites)a. Women subjects show up because they have been invited to join a women’s discussion groupb. In order to join the group, must pass a testi. Control taskii. Mild Initiation (read slightly taboo paragraph)iii. Severe Initiation (very taboo paragraph)c. How much did you like the later conversation?d. Dissonant cognitionsi. “I’m a traditional person who speaks appropriately”ii. “I just freely engaged in inappropriate public speech”X. Counterattitudinal Essays (Classic Study #4: Bem&McConnnell, 1970)a. Attitude towards X is measuredb. Write a counter-attitudinal essay on Xi. Some feel coerced to do soii. Some feel they have chosen freely1. Really subtly coerced, but they believe they have chosen freelyand that’s what mattersc. Attitude towards X is measured againd. Dissonant cognitions:i. “I’m against X”ii. “I just freely wrote an essay in favor of X”e. Change attitude to be more consistent with essay writing behaviorf. Don’t realize they’ve changed their attitudesg. They misremember original attitude to be consistent with currentXI. Why misremember attitudes?a. Attitudes aren’t stored with “tags” withinformation about when they were formedb. We misremember lots of things (perhapsunwillingly) that serve our current goalsc. Michael Ross – autobiographical errorsi. SATs, WeightXII. How does dissonance reduction happen?a. Initial Attitude Counter-Attitudinal Event –(Dissonance)--Revised AttitudeXIII. Misattribution of Dissonance Arousal (Zanna& Cooper, 1974)a. Given a pill (really a placebo that does nothing), but told different things in different conditionsi. “Arousal Pill” – Will make you feel physiologically arousedii. “Relaxatin” – Will make you feel relaxediii. No Pillb. Counter-Attitudinal Essay ParadigmXIV. Misattribution of Dissonance Arousal (Zanna& Cooper, 1974)a. If given a pill that you believe will relax you, thendissonance induced arousal is surprising andexperienced as more intense leading to greater dissonance reductionb. If given a pill that you believe will arouse you, thensubjects mistakenly believe that their dissonance-inducedarousal is really a result of the pill. Thus, there is no attempt to alleviate this arousal and the attitude is unchangedXV. Self Perception Theory (Bem, 1967)a. We infer our attitudes by observing our behaviorb. Studies demonstrated that people observing participants in the $1 / $20 experiment could guess attitudes of the participantsi. No “dissonance” needed….just observationXVI. What is an attitude? In reality…a. Attitude: enduring response