COMM 318: EXAM 3
72 Cards in this Set
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unreasoned behavior
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-not a bad thing
-does not assume intentional deliberation about the best course of action prior to acting
-3 types
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3 types of unreasoned behavior
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1. habit
2. mindlessness
3. mere exposure
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habit
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-not all behavior is "reasoned" (several instances where attitudes and norms are less important than past behavior)
-habit plays a key role in routine behaviors (ex: shopping for groceries, buying coffee, etc.)
-habit provides a better explanation for some behaviors than subjective norm…
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mindlessness
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-state of minimal information processing and behaving in automatic fashion
-does not mean stupid, dumb, etc.
-rigid and rule governed behavior with conscious attention focused on only a few cues defining the situation, failing to take into account other substantive cues
-a version of h…
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premature cognitive commitment
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-assumption that there is a single appropriate response without interpreting other options
ex: person with clipboard on campus automatically means they want to ask you questions which is automatically assumed to be a waste of time
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over-learned behavior
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-steps in a sequence are no longer processed cognitively
ex: driving routine to school - you could drive the whole way without really thinking about it
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mere exposure
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-propensity for individuals to respond positively to repeated exposures to a stimulus
-familiarity breeds liking
-repetition makes a stimulus less threatening and more approachable
-challenges: ensuring that the repeated message is attended to, too much repetition may lead to a negativ…
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assumptions of consistency theories
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1. there is a strong tendency for people to maintain consonance (consistency) among the elements of a cognitive system
-consistency is adaptive
2. inconsistency causes the feeling of discomfort and motivates the resolution of the inconsistency
-inconsistency is seen as undesirable in…
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balance theory
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-we prefer balanced states, imbalance makes us feel awkward and uncomfortable
-imbalanced structures gravitate toward regaining balance
-deals with perceptions of links between yourself and two other elements
-an even number of cons = balance
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procedures for eliminating imbalance
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1. reverse the sign of one of the paths
2. change the sign of a path to a null relation (change the topic or don't discuss it)
3. differentiate the positive and negative attributes of an object or person
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cognitive dissonance theory
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-people have a need for cognitive consistency
-when cognitive inconsistency exists, people experience psychological discomfort which leads to dissonance
-psychological discomfort motivates people to resolve inconsistency and restore cognitive balance
ex: turning pegs on board study
…
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types of relations among cognitive elements
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1. irrelevant
-two cognition elements have nothing to do with each other
2. consonant
-one cognitive element follows from the other
3. dissonant
-one cognitive element is inconsistent with the other
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example of consonance
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I'm good at math and I am on the math team
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example of dissonance
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I'm not good at Basketball and I am on the Basketball team
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magnitude of dissonance
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determined by:
-the importance of the dissonant elements
-your involvement in the issue
-the proportion of consonant to dissonant relations among relevant elements in the cognitive system
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methods for reducing dissonance
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1. change the cognitive element related to the behavior (the decision)
2. change the cognitive element related to the attitude
3. add a new cognitive element
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self perception theory
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-represents a challenge to dissonance theory
-non-cognitive explanatory mechanism for attitudes
-motivation is to explain rather than justify behavior
-when people want to know how they feel, they look to their own behavior
-an individual comes to understand his/her feelings and att…
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self perception vs. dissonance
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-boring peg study
-dissonance: subjects were bothered by the fact that they liked for such little money so to reduce their dissonance they changed their attitude toward the task
-self perception: subjects merely wanted to understand why they had lied for so little money so they inferred…
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impression management theory
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-deals with how people present an image to others to achieve a particular goal
-similar to impression-relevant involvement, the motivation for holding an attitude is to "look good" in the eyes of observers
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impression management to explain dissonance
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-attitude change following dissonance is conceived of as nothing more than an attempt to manipulate one's impression in the eyes of a high status experimenter and to absolve oneself from the embarrassment of appearing inconsistent
-subjects in the the peg study who lied for a dollar fea…
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inoculation theory
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-attitudes can be inoculated in the same way that we can be inoculated against a virus
-introducing a weakened strain of an argument to promote resistance
-weakened strain leads to the development of antibodies (ex: counterarguments)
-prepares us to better defend against future attack…
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cultural truisms
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-beliefs that are so widely shared within the person's social milieu that he would not have heard them attacked, and indeed, would doubt that an attack were possible
-un-contested attitudes or beliefs (ex: tooth brushing is beneficial, democracy is good, etc.)
-because they are untested…
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inoculation theory key elements
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threat, refutational preemption
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threat
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-forewarning of an impending attack (ex: new campaign ad about how common methods of recycling do not benefit the environment)
-people must feel that their existing attitudes are threatened in order to motivate them to strengthen those attitudes
-creates motivation to defend one's exist…
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refutational preemption
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-(weakened) counterarguments against one's current attitude
-refutations of those counterarguments
-two types: active and passive
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active refutation
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-identify counterarguments against the attitude and have the audience develop their own refutations
-mostly used in early inoculation research
-strength: people are more committed to refutations they develop on their own
-limitation: people have difficult identifying refutations
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passive refutation
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-provide the audience with counterargument and refutations to those counterarguments
-strength: more efficient - does not rely on audience
-limitation: people may be less committed
-two types: refutation-same and refutation-different
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refutation-same passive refutation
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-addresses the exact same arguments as are raised in the attitude-attacking message
-limitation: must know attack in advance
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refutation-different passive refutation
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-addresses a generic form of the arguments raised in the attitude-attacking message
-limitation: may be less effective
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factors to consider with inoculation theory
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1. time between inoculation and attack
-McGuire said 2 days to build resistance
-some evidence that effects of inoculation may persist - even up to months later
2. topic involvement
-inoculation works best when people are moderately involved as opposed to high or low involvement
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reactance theory
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-we greatly value our personal freedom (autonomy and self-determination are central to who we are)
-when we perceive that a relevant freedom has been threatened, we feel "psychological reactance"
-reactance motivates a person to reestablish the threatened or eliminated freedom
focuses …
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freedom
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-the belief that one can: engage in a particular behavior, hold a particular orientation toward a person object or issue
-for a freedom to exist one much: have knowledge that the freedom exists (awareness), have the competence to exercise that freedom, believe that we could, if we chose,…
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freedom threat
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-the recognition of an attempt to reduce or eliminate one's freedom
-perceived threat = threat (ex: "...is prohibited" "you must not...")
-freedoms can be threatened by implication - implied freedom threats can create reactance
-almost any kind of persuasion attempt can be constructed …
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reactance
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-was originally conceptualized in general terms as a "motivational state"
-has more recently been conceptualized as a combination of anger and counterarguments
-can vary in magnitude (it is possible to feel more or less)
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magnitude of reactance
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1. importance of the threatened freedom
-more important = more reactance
-ex: prohibiting your attendance at graduation if you are a senior vs. if you are a junior
2. number of freedoms threatened
-greater number of freedoms threatened = greater reactance
-ex: it is illegal to text …
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characteristics of the freedom threat
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1. magnitude of the threat
-greater magnitude = more reactance
-freedom reduction vs. freedom elimination
-ex: smoking is banned everywhere on campus vs. smoking is banned in the union
2. the degree to which the freedom threat is justified
-more justification = less reactance
-ex: …
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reinstatement
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1. direct freedom restoration
-exercise the behavior associated with the restricted freedom
2. indirect freedom restoration
-exercise a different freedom
3. aggress the source (does not involve violence)
-derogate the source
-question the sources ability to tell us what to do
4. d…
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reactance and persuasion
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-reactance is most often used to explain the failure of a persuasion attempt
-through limiting freedoms, persuasive messages can fail to change attitudes or behaviors (in some instances a boomerang effect can occur)
-reactance is rarely discussed as a method to increase the effectivenes…
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norms
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-expectations held by a group about what is good/bad or right/wrong
-socially constructed
-these vary depending on the group
-explicit norms: written or discussed
-implicit norms: unwritten
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Ash study
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-which of the three lines in the right box matches the line in the left box
-everyone in group is told to give the wrong answer except for the subject
-no group disagreement: 100% right
-conformity effect: 75% of people gave the wrong answer at least once, 10% agreed with the group on …
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Ash findings
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-members conform for two main reasons: liking and because they perceived group to be more informed
-conformity is important even in small groups: conformity in groups of 3 or 4 as likely as in larger groups
-the strength of an ally: a single nonconformist reduced conforming behavior by…
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the why's of conformity
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1. group locomotion
-we are motivated to achieve group goals
2. social comparison
-we make judgements about ourselves by comparing ourselves to others
3. consistency (or balance)
-uncomfortable to go against a liked group
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conformity in action
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social proof, deindividuation, social loafing, cults
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social proof
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-we tend to see action as appropriate when others are doing it
-especially when we are uncertain about the action
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deindividuation
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-less focus on self
-see one's self as a member of a group and not a distinct individual
-size of the group can lead to greater deindividuation
-mob behavior
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social loafing
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-in groups, people may not try as hard as when they are working alone because:
-we don't expect our efforts to lead to personally valued outcomes
-people suspect that others are loafing and do the same ("sucker effect")
-people try to benefit from others' efforts whenever possible
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cults
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-indoctrination occurs in 4 stages:
1. softening up stage
-befriended and invited to meetings
2. compliance
-experiment with behaviors requested by the cult (ex: changes in clothing or diet)
3. internalization
- consider some of the cult beliefs more acceptable
4. consolidation
-…
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influence in small groups
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persuasive arguments theory, distributed valence model, group argument model
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persuasive arguments theory
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-focuses on explaining influence at the individual level
-within each group there are a standard set of arguments for or against any decision
-novel arguments (ex: those unknown to the group and created during discussion) cause members to reconsider their initial choices
-groups are ul…
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distributed valence model
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-focuses on explaining influence at the sub-group level
-a groups final decision can be determined by counting up each group member's positive and negative comments for each decision option
-majority rule wins
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group argument model
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-focuses on explaining influence at the group level
-examines the types of arguments made by groups and subsequent outcomes
-four argument types: claims, reasoning statements, agreements, and disagreements
-the first three are accurate predictors of decision outcomes
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minority influence in small groups
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-small number of people can influence a larger number of their fellow group members
-however, occurs considerably less frequently than majority influence
-what makes minority influence work:
1. consistency: must express view consistently throughout the discussion
2. minority size: sma…
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compliance gaining
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-an attempt to induce a behavior regardless of the individuals attitude
-not trying to change attitude like persuasion, only concerned with inducing behaviors
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6 pillars of interpersonal influence
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reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, scarcity
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reciprocity
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-Gouldner's "norm of reciprocity"
-must give back what we take
-possible operating mechanism: guilt
-reciprocity in action: free samples at grocery stores
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commitment and consistency
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-once we make a choice or take a stand we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressure to behave consistently with that commitment
-public commitment is key
-consistency is key: it allows us to predict our behavior and the behavior of others
-possible operating mechanism: disso…
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social proof and interpersonal influence
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-we view a behavior as correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it
-especially important in high uncertainty situations
-possible operating mechanism: social norms
-social proof in action: best selling book list
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liking
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-we most prefer to say yes to the requests of people we know and like
-attractiveness, similarity, compliments, and familiarity foster liking
-possible operating mechanisms: liking
-liking in action: Tupperware parties
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authority
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-we are trained from birth to believe that obedience to proper authority is right and disobedience is wrong
-response to authority is adaptive (at some level)
-practical advantages of complying with those people who had power over us (ex: parents)
-authority can be counterfeited (ex: t…
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scarcity
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-rule of few
-opportunities seem more valuable to use when they are less available
-possible operating mechanism: reactance (scarcity represents a lost/threatened freedom)
-scarcity in action: Beanie Babies, "buy now or price goes up"
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sequential request strategies
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foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, lowball procedure, that's not all, disrupt then re-frame
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foot-in-the-door strategy
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-small request followed by a moderate/large request
-ex: "mom, can I have a dollar?" then "actually, can I have $50"
-theory: self-perception, commitment
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door-in-the-face strategy
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- large request followed by a moderate/small request
-ex: "mom, can I have $500?" then "well, then can I have $50?"
-theory: reciprocal concessions, guilt, perceptual contrast
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lowball procedure strategy
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-gain commitment and slowly raise the cost of compliance
-changing the deal
-ex: "do you want to participate in this study, you will receive 4% extra credit" then after they agree "perfect, the study takes place a 5 AM, you can sign up here"
-theory: commitment and consistency
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that's not all strategy
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-additional "reward" for complying
-ex: "you get this great product, but that's not all! If you buy in the next 10 minutes you get two"
-theory: reciprocity, perceptual contrast
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disrupt then re-frame strategy
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-creates confusion to disrupt resistance
-use non sequiters, state request in a peculiar way
-ex: "it's only 300 pennies....that's 3 dollars. It's a bargain!"
-theory: disrupts refusal script, decreases counter arguing
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non-sequential request techniques
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even a penny will help, pique technique, alter casting
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even a penny will help strategy
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-"even a penny will help"
-theory: legitimizes paltry contributions, gain initial agreement (commitment and consistency)
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pique technique
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-"can you spare 17 cents?"
-request for a very unusual amount in order to make them think there is a good reason for it rather than just saying no
-theory: disrupt script for refusal
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alter casting strategy
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-projecting an individual (the target) into a particular role that is consistent with ones goals
-"a good person would give me $10" "a good friends would take me to the airport"
-theory: social roles
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is persuasion unethical
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- virtually any act of communication can be seen from a moral point of view
-persuasion is not manipulation
-persuasion does involve affecting others
-persuasion can be used for pro-social causes (ex: donate to charity)
-persuasion can be used for anti-social causes (ex: fostering ha…
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approaches to ethics
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1. ends vs. means
-does the outcome justify the means
2. consequentialism
-weighing benefits and limitations
-which actions produce the greatest good or the least bad
3. machiavelianism
-whatever the persuader can get away with, constrained only by law
-people deserve what they g…
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COMM 318: COMM 318