1. Unit 2: Social Psychology
2.2 Attitudes & Persuasion

2. Attitudes
Beliefs and feelings about objects, people, and events that affect how people behave is certain situations
Ex. If we believe someone is mean, we may feel dislike for them and act unfriendly
Ex. A person who believes that strangers are dangerous will likely feel afraid around strangers, may try to avoid meeting new people
May be the primary motivator for how we behave and view the world
Ex. Affect who we’re friends with, where we live, wha.t jobs we want, how to vote, what to eat, what to buy, etc.

3. Attitudes 3 elements of attitude:
cognitive: the belief/opinion about something
affective: feelings about something
behavioral: the way people act about that thing
Ex. State Representative in Congress
Do you believe they are doing a good job?
Do you feel you can trust them?
Would you act on those beliefs & feelings by voting for them?

4. Attitudes So what determines that behavior?
Cognitive & affective elements are aligned, then behavior is usually consistent with beliefs
Behavior may be inconsistent if there is external pressure (friends/family don’t approve of your beliefs or feelings)
Can lead to dissonance: discomfort we feel when our behavior is inconsistent with our beliefs

5. Attitudes Cognitive Dissonance Theory:
We change our beliefs to align with our behaviors
Eliminates dissonance/anxiety caused
Rationalizing our behavior to make ourselves feel better

6. Persuasion
Attempts to influence other people’s attitudes and views (and thus change their behavior)
Central route: use evidence/logical arguments to persuade people
Ex. Ads pointing out the superior quality of their product; using statistics about bicycle accidents to get your kid to wear a helmet
Peripheral route: indirect; attempts to associate objects, people, events, with positive or negative cues
Ex. Ads for shoes featuring a popular athlete

7. Persuasion Foot-in-door:
People first agree to small requests/demands and are more likely to agree to a big request later
Ex. You want your parents to let you stay out until 1 am after a game one night. A few weeks before you ask just to stay out an hour past curfew. When you ask about staying out until 1, your parents are more likely to say yes.
Door-in-face:
People will first not agree to a larger request, but will later agree to a smaller one
Ex. You want to stay out until 1 am. You first ask to stay out until 3 am. When you parents stay no, you ask about 1 am. They are more likely to say yes.