Ch 6: Attitudes Part 1: Feb. 23, 2012

Attitude defined: 3 dimensions of attitudes – Affect – Behavior – Cognition – How can we assess attitudes?

Attitude Assessment The problem: Our attitudes don’t always match our behaviors – LaPiere’s early study of self-reported prejudice & observed discrimination – results? – Fishbein & Ajzen’s research: see Fig 6.4 1) Principle of Aggregation – What is most effective? 2) Level of Specificity – Importance of level of measurement of attitudes & behaviors

Fishbein & Ajzen’s model (cont.) – Importance of social norms & control – What is the best predictor of a behavior? Alternatives to self-reports: – Covert measures Implicit Association Tests

Role Playing Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) as example… – Details of the study How participants were recruited – How participants were assigned to ‘guard’ or ‘prisoner’- How participants were treated – Situation  authority differences and anonymity

Differences in groups’ behaviors by Day 2: – Guards: – Prisoners: How/why did the experiment end? Main Results from the SPE: – 1) – 2) – 3)

Persuasion Attempt to change an attitude 2 routes: – Central route - Focus on argument How does it work? – Peripheral route - Focus on emotion or other cues besides argument How does it work? – What determines which route we use?

1) Source of the persuasion – – Importance of credibility: 2 main dimensions? – Exceptions based on self-interest? – Importance of likeability: 2 main dimensions? Effect of personal involvement – – What is the ‘sleeper effect’?

2) The Message – – Primary vs. recency effect – which has more evidence? Depends on timing of decision – Fear-based messages – do they work? Need to induce certain conditions –