Ch. 4: Behavior and Attitudes What is the direction of relationship between attitudes and behavior?

Outline Do Attitudes Determine Behavior? Are people hypocrites? When do attitudes predict behavior? Does Behavior Determine Attiudes? Role Playing, Saying is Believing, Foot-in-the-Door phenomenon, Evil acts, Interracial Behavior and Racial Attitudes, Social Movements. Why Do Actions Affect Attitudes? Self-Presentation, Self-Justification (Cognitive Dissonance), Self-Perception, Comparing Theories.

Attitude Definition 3 dimensions of attitude assessment Affect (feelings) Cognition (thoughts) Behavior (intentions) The relationship between attitude and behavior

Attitude Behavior Imperfection prediction

Behavior Attitude

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Attitude Behavior Minimizing social influences on expressed attitudes Minimizing other influences on behavior Examining attitudes specific to the behavior Making attitudes potent Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Behavior Attitude Role playing Saying becomes believing The foot-in-the-door phenomenon Evil acts and attitudes Interracial behavior and attitudes Social movements Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Why does behavior affect attitudes? Self-presentation theory Cognitive dissonance theory Insufficient justification Dissonance after decisions Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Why does behavior affect attitudes? (cont) Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Why does behavior affect attitudes? (cont) Self-perception theory Overjustification and intrinsic motivations Comparing the theories Self-perception vs. Dissonance Theory Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.