PSY 223 1nd Edition Lecture 10 Outline of Last Lecture I Inferring dispositions and forming impressions continued A Effects on impressions II III IV V VI Attitudes Measurement of Attitudes Sources of Attitudes Predicting Behavior from Attitudes Predicting Attitudes from Behavior Outline of Current Lecture VII Ch 6 contd a Cognitive Dissonance Theory b Self perception Theory VIII Persuasion a Central Route b Peripheral Route IX Persuasive messages Current Lecture Chapter 6 Contd Cognitive Dissonance Theory inconsistencies between thoughts feelings and behavior create cognitive dissonance uncomfortable feelings Which then can cause changes in thoughts and or feelings to rationalize behaviors 3 ways cognitive dissonance has been used 1 Making tough decisions a Difficult choices can induce cognitive dissonance b Dissonance typically is resolved by emphasizing the positive and minimizing the negatives of the selected choice and the opposite for choice not taken 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 i Example if get into ISU and not SIU you want to hear good things about ISU and bad things about SIU ii When living in Midwest and not California focus on why would anyone want to live where there are earthquakes rather than nice weather 2 Justifying effort a Attempts to reduce dissonance produced by the effort or cost spent to obtain something unpleasant or disappointing i Classic study by Aronson Mills 1959 women came into lab and they told them they would be part of discussion but they first had to go through initiation test controlled if mild or severe initiation and in the second part they were told to listen on headphones and they thought they were listening to people around them but it was just a recording and it was extremely boring Then they rated the conversation if they were in severe initiation then ranked it better 3 Induced forced compliance a Subtly getting people to act in a way inconsistent with their attitudes b Often leads to change in attitude in order to resolve dissonance c Occurs when there is insufficient justification for attitude discrepant behavior i Study do really boring task in study and then asked them if they could tell the next person it was a lot of fun because confederate wasn t there yet They were told they would get paid either 1 or 20 for doing this and then rated how much they enjoyed the experiment People being paid 1 actually said enjoyed experiment more d Can also occur when there is insufficient deterrence for attitude discrepant nonbehavior i Example won t like toy that would get in big trouble for playing with ii Classic Festinger Carlsmith 1959 Necessary conditions for inconsistent to produce dissonance Free Choice o Choosing to engage in a behavior that s inconsistent with beliefs will cause dissonance Insufficient justification o Dissonance may occur when the reason for a behavior is weak or unclear Negative consequences o Feely chosen inconsistent behaviors may not cause dissonance if there was no negative consequence of behavior Foreseeability o Dissonance may not occur if the consequence was not something that could be foreseen Self Perception Theory Offers another explanation for findings from dissonance studies argues that people didn t change their attitudes instead they inferred their attitudes from their behavior in the situation 2 things related to self perception Overjustification effect Movements can affect emotions and attitudes Persuasion 2 routes to persuasion 1 Central Route use when high ability and motivation 2 Peripheral Route low ability or motivation Central Route Process by which a person thinks carefully about a communication and is influenced by the strength of its arguments Topic is important to audience They have the ability to process the information Attitude change occurs throughout high quality arguments If opposite then attitude won t change Process can include attending paying attention to the message comprehend the message and then accept the message Peripheral Route Process by which a person does not think carefully about a communication and is influenced instead by superficial cues Person isn t motivated Person doesn t have to ability Attitudes are changes through feelings and superficial associations think someone is an expert because wearing lab coat or think someone is attractive so listen Persuasive messages have 3 components 1 Source of message a Influences i Credibility expertise competence trustworthiness ii Likeability attractiveness similarity physical attractiveness b Sometimes noncredible sources have influence i The sleeper effect 1 An effect that occurs when messages from unreliable sources initially exert little influence but over time cause individuals attitudes to shift 2 A phenomenon that over time people separate the message from the messenger a Conditions needed i The message needs to be persuasive and have a big impact ii A discounting cue for effect to occur the source of the message should not be trusted and should be given after the message example government ad paid for by opponent 1 Since source becomes forgotten the message gains more credibility iii Hovland Weiss study Nuclear Submarine Study 1951 participants had attitude change when surveyed again in 4 weeks even though didn t think nuclear submarine study would be made soon initially 2 Content of message a What makes an effective message Depends on whether audience is taking a central route or peripheral route i Length if peripheral long message may seem impressive If central length only works if argument is good ii Most change comes from moderate amounts of discrepancy not too extreme iii Should you refute the opposition Yes ex Recycling signs when acknowledge other side then almost doubled success of recycling iv If 2 opposing sides going first or second depends on how soon they will be voting 1 If wait one week after both people go primacy effect go with who went first 2 If one person goes then wait 1 week and the other person goes and people vote after that then recency effect go with 2 nd person v Should you use fear message Can be effective but most effective when include instructions vi Should you use subliminal message No it won t influence that much 3 The audience or target of the message