COMM 318 1st Edition Lecture 5 Outline of Last Lecture I. Social Cognitive TheoryOutline of Current Lecture II. Theory of AttitudeCurrent Lecture(5)Thursday, February 5, yTHEORY OF ATTITUDEI. Computational TheoriesA. assume that attitudes are the product of relatively in-depth thinking 1. people are like computers, scanning all available information and combining it to arrive at their attitude or behavior 2. PEOPLE ARE RATIONALB. focus on making predictions about the likelihood of performing a particular behavior1. getting the H1N1 vaccine2. flu shotsC. 3 theories (theory of..)1. attitude (predicts behavior)• A(ttitude)= sum of (bi)(ei)• attitude is equal to the sums of the individual beliefs times the evaluation of each of those beliefs ***beliefs are the evaluations of an outcome associated with a behavior***• a mathematical model of attitudes• attitude toward a behavior is a function of:• BELIEFS about the implications of the behavior• the corresponding EVALUATIONS of those consequence• Beliefs & evaluations make up attitudes• change in beliefs or evaluation=change in attitudeex: ATTITUDE OBJECT: Taking a Spring Break Trip…outcome bi (0-4) ei(-3 to +3) (bi)(ei)1. will be fun (4) (+2) =(8)These 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.2. spending time w/ friends (4) (+3) =(12)3. time missed studying (2) (-1) =(-2)4. is expensive (2) (-3) =(-6)possible range= -48 to +48A= +122. reasoned action (subjective norms predict behavior)3. planned behavior (subjective norms & self-efficacy predict behavior)D. implications for persuasion1. change an existing belief• likelihood that money will be well spent?2. change an existing evaluation• importance of money being well spent 3. add a new belief-evaluation pair (new consequence)E. concluding thoughts1. like all the computational theories, the theory of attitude requires the theorist to be very specific• must identify salient beliefs 2. this has two benefits• it allows us to formulate specific predictions and that means that it gives us a lot of guidance on how to be persuasive• it allows us to know right away if the theory is incorrect or falsifiable• if a theory is false we can change it or throw it
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