Attitude Change and Prejudice 20-2

Objectives Cite the sources of attitude change Describe prejudice and its relationship to stereotypes and roles

Bell Ringer Use overhead from the notebook Read story p. 582

Attitude Change Cognitive consistency- trying to fit a new situation into your existing assumptions. Make a prejudgment about a situation that presents you from considering all the possibilities

Attitude Change Compliance Identification Change of behavior to avoid discomfort or rejection and gain approval Identification Seeing oneself as similar to another person or group and accepting the attitudes of another person or group as one’s own. Man may say he is for the women’s rights movement but after dinner settles into his chair and yells at his wife to bring him more coffee, you may not believe him. Yet, he may hire women at work and allow his wife to work, because if he didn’t he would be seen as old fashioned. People often adapt their actions to the wishes of others to avoid rejection and gain support. This type of attitude change is only temporary. Identification- You have a favorite uncle who is everything you hoped to be. He asks you why you don’t vote. At first, you say it doesn’t matter, but as you start to listen to him you find yourself starting to agree with him. You have adopted a new attitude because of your identification with your uncle. Identification is different from compliance because the individual actually believes the newly adopted views. Yet because these views are based on emotional attachment to another person or group rather than the person’s own assessment of the issues, they often fade if the person’s attachment to that particular person or group fades. Adolescents move towards independence and away from peer groups as they grow older. Those 18-25 were most likely to change their attitudes. Those age 34 and older held attitudes that were essentially stable. Based on what you know? Can changes in attitude be legislated. A person may wear a seatbelt to comply with a law, but has their attitude really changed or are they concerned with getting a ticket?

Attitude Change Internalization-incorporating the values, ideas, and standards of others as part of oneself. Attitude is an integral part of the person Is the most lasting of attitude formation The attitude is consistent with your basic beliefs and values. You will be more resistant to pressure from other people because your reasons for holding these views have nothing to do with other people. Often the three types of attitude formation overlap. You may support a political candidate in part because you know your friends will support this decision, in part because someone you admire speaks highly of the candidate, and in part because you believe his or her ideals are consistent with your own.

Cognitive Consistency Cognitive consistency- the idea that you are always trying to get things to fit logically inside your head Cognitive dissonance-the uncomfortable feeling that arises when a person experiences contradictory or conflicting thoughts, attitudes, or beliefs. Examples of cognitive dissonance- a dr. who smokes, overweight P.E. teacher, John McCain saying that candidates should not use money from special interest groups to support Presidential campaigns when he himself uses money from special interest groups. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were both slave owners. How do people get rid of cognitive dissonance? 1. they pretend it didn’t happen, ignore it. A smoker may say that the information on the hazzards of smoking is just propaganda by antismoking groups. They choose to surround themselves only with people who smoke and avoid situations that may cause conflict in their belief system. 2. When some information does get through they may re-evaluate the event and change their attitude. Ask students to prepare an essay describing someone who has strongly influenced their own attitudes or beliefs.

Attitudes and Actions Actions can affect attitudes Counterattitudinal behavior- the process of taking a public position that contradicts one’s private attitude. Self-justification- the need to rationalize one’s attitude and behavior. Actions affect attitudes- You like Ford’s but you buy a Chevy because you can get a better deal. You will end up liking Ford’s less and Chevy’s more. Attitudes affect actions. Counterattitudinal behavior- act and speak as though you believe something you may actually start to believe that way. People who confess to crimes they did not commit in order to relieve the pressure, begin to believe they really are guilty. If a person acts one way and believes another, they experience dissonance. To reduce dissonance, they will have to change either their behavior or their attitude. Self-justification- people in an experiment were led to believe that they had injured or hurt another participant in some way. The aggressors were then asked how they felt about their victim they had just harmed. It was found they had convinced themselves they did not like the victims. (they deserved their injuries) They also considered their victims to be less attractive after the incident than before the incident. Again they had to justify their actions to themselves. The woman who was robbed should not have been walking alone.

Attitudes and Actions Self-Fulfilling Prophecy-a belief, prediction, or expectation that operates to bring about its own fulfillment. If you tell people they are smart, they become smart.

Prejudice Prejudice- preconceived attitudes toward a person or group that have been formed without sufficient evidence and are not easily changed. Stereotype-an oversimplified, hard-to-change way of seeing people who belong to the same group or category Pre-judge- to judge before knowing. Prejudices are strengthened and mainatained by the existence of stereotypes and roles. Common stereotypes- racial groups (blacks, Native Americans, Jews), women, rich, football players Brainstorm prejudices about certain professions- construction worker, teacher, hairdresser, computer programmer

Prejudice Role- an oversimplfied, hard-to-change way of acting Illusory correlation- we see relationships that match our set of beliefs while ignoring other relationships. Stereotypes and roles work together to make prejudice very hard to break down. Illusory correlation- all women are bad drivers. You can recount many times when you have seen women driving poorly, however you ignore all the times you have seen males drive poorly. If you do see a good woman driver, she is the exception to all others. In this way you can maintain your beliefs. How was prejudice used against Nisei Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor? In 1988, the Senate apologized an gave tax-free payments of 20,000 each to the surviving 60,000 surviving Nisei.

Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice is an attitude, discrimination is an act Discrimination-the unequal treatment of individuals on the basis of race, ethnic group, age, gender, or membership in another category rather than on the basis of individual characteristics. It is possible for a person to be prejudice, but not discriminate. Similarly, a person may discriminate, not out of prejudice, but in compliance with social or economic pressures.