Attitudes & Attitude Change Chapter 7

What are attitudes?  Evaluations of people, objects and/or ideas that often determine what we do

Where do attitudes come from?  They may be indirectly linked to genes via temperament, personality, etc.  They definitely come from social experiences.

The social component of attitudes:  Has three sub-components:  Cognitive: rests on relevant facts  Affective: connected to emotions, values  Behavioral: works by self-perception only when the initial attitude is ambiguous

The affective component of attitudes:  May have gained its emotional values from:  Values, morals or religion  Sensory experiences/aesthetics  Classical conditioning  Operant conditioning

The affective component of attitudes:  Is not rational  Is not based on logic

Explicit vs. Implicit Attitudes  - are often contradictory  Explicit attitudes are consciously endorsed  Implicit attitudes are non-conscious and at times may be involuntary and/or uncontrollable

How do attitudes change?  By what others have to say  By changing behavior (Cognitive Dissonance/internal justification)  Persuasive communication

Yale Attitude Change Approach  Source  A credible source (expert) is more likely to be believed that one less credible  An attractive source (physical or personality) is more likely to be believed than one less attractive

Nature of the Communication  People are more persuaded if they believe that the communication was not designed to persuade them.  A two-sided communication is generally more persuasive than a one-sided one. However, the communicator should be careful to refute the counterarguments.

The Nature of the Audience  A distracted audience is easier to persuade.  An audience of lower intelligence is easier to persuade than a more intelligent one.  The audience with moderate self-esteem is easier to persuade than one with high or low self-esteem.  People between the ages of are easier to persuade. Attitudes will become more stable and resistant to change as we age.

Paying Attention  Distraction  Fatigue  Boring Speaker  Need for cognition  Motivation to pay attention  Speaker credibility  Topic relevance/ personal relevance

Elaboration Likelihood Model  Central Route to Persuasion  Listeners are likely to elaborate  Logic matters  Listeners must be able and motivated to pay attention  Peripheral Route to Persuasion  Listeners are not likely to elaborate  Logic does not matter  Listeners take mental shortcuts

Motivation to Pay Attention Personal Relevance With high personal relevance, arguments are important With low personal relevance, sources are important (also when you are just unable to pay attention)

Targeting Your Ads  Is the attitude emotional or is the attitude cognitive?  Utilitarian products  Social Identity products  Those with both aspects – and possibly different for different people

Attitude Inoculation  How do you resist attempts to change your attitude?  Thinking about it beforehand  Small doses of arguments  Cultural truisms  Being alert to product placement  Peer pressure  Values and emotions  Fear of rejection

Reactance Theory  When persuasion attempts boomerang.  Too much fear - dissociation  Strong prohibitions - resistance

When do attitudes predict behavior? La Piere, went cross-country with a young Chinese couple.  Did attitudes predict behavior?  Attitudes predict spontaneous behaviors only when they are highly accessible

When do attitudes predict behavior?  Theory of Planned Behavior:  When people have time to contemplate how they are going to behave, the best predictor of their behavior is their intention  Intention is determined by three things:  Attitudes toward the behavior  Subjective norms  Perceived behavioral control  (Must be specific attitudes.)

Subliminal Advertising  Is this a form of mind control?  Is advertising in general a form of mind control?  Hidden persuasion  Product placement

Confidence in Your thoughts and attitude Change  Headphone Study (Brinol & Perry, 2003) – Did you shake your head up and down or side to side?  Results differed for strong and weak arguments.