1. PERSUASION SOCIAL INFLUENCE & COMPLIANCE GAINING
Robert H. Gass & John S. Seiter

2. Chapter 3
Attitudes and Consistency
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3. Attitude Defined
An attitude is “a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor”
Eagly & Chaiken, 1993
Characteristics of attitudes
Learned or acquired, not innate
predispositions that guide behavior
evaluative dimension
like-dislike
good-bad
attitude object
attitudes are directed toward something
Rosseli, F., Skelly, J. J., & Mackie, D. M. (1995). Processing rational and emotional messages: The cognitive and affective mediation of persuasion. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31, 163–190.
Statistics Brain, Dec 7, 2013
Berger, A. A. (2011). Ads, fads, and consumer culture (4th ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Jones, J. P. (2004). Fables, fashions, and facts about advertising. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

4. Attitudes defined--continued
Which statements express an attitude, as opposed to a fact or belief?
Paris is the most beautiful city in the world
Last night, my temperature was 1020
I have a rare blood type: AB-
I love skinny jeans, but I loathe man buns
A person is more likely to be hit by lightning than to win the lottery
Avocados have more fat than any other fruit or vegetable
I adore Mindy Kaling
Attitude
Fact or information

5. Measuring attitudes Likert scale
Rating scale, typically ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”
A person’s attitude is the average of all the ratings provided.
____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Strongly
agree
Moderately
agree
Mildly
agree
Neutral
no opinion
undecided
Mildly
disagree
Moderately
disagree
Strongly
disagree

6. Measuring attitudes Semantic Differential scale
Bipolar adjectives (opposites) are created
A respondent checks the “semantic space” between the adjectives
A person’s attitude is the average of all the ratings provided
Expert ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Inexpert Bold ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Timid Relaxed ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Tense

7. Visual ATTITUDE SCALES
___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Which face best reflects your attitude toward legalizing recreational marijuana use?

8. Pitfalls in measuring attitudes
social desirability bias giving the polite or socially correct answer non-attitudes making up an attitude to appear informed mindfulness not knowing one’s attitudes

9. Other ways to infer attitudes
Implicit Association Test (IAT)
reaction times when making snap judgments reflect attitudes
Appearance cues
clothing, mannerisms, posture, body art, can reveal attitudes
Associations
memberships, affiliations, reveal attitudes
segmentation analysis examines characteristics of niche groups

10. Other ways to infer attitudes--continued
Behavior
Actions, habits, lifestyles,
Physiological measures
blood pressure, heart rate, galvanic skin response
fMRI brain scans
mixed results: physiological measures tend to be bi-directional

11. Reasoned Action APPROACH RAA
Fishbein & Ajzen’s model
Behavioral beliefs
beliefs about performing a behavior
“I would be better off if I stopped binge drinking.”
Normative beliefs
descriptive norms: “Many college students engage in binge drinking.”
injunctive norms: “Binge drinking increases the risk of being sexually assaulted.”
Perceived behavioral control
“I have enough self-control to have 1-2 drinks at a party, then stop drinking.”

12. Reasoned Action APPROACH RAA

13. Attitudes as associative networks
Attitudes exist in associative networks.
Associations are often unconscious or implicit.
Changes in one attitude have a “ripple effect” elsewhere in a person’s cognitive system.
Persuaders seek to establish connections among attitudes.
The goal is to link their product, brand, idea to favorable attitudes.

14. Manufacturing positive associations
Branding
fostering a favorable brand image
Brand personality
cultivating brand relationships
aspirational brands
Brand authenticity
perceived genuineness
Bloomicon / Shutterstock.com

15. Manufacturing positive associations
Cause related marketing
socially conscious brands
moral licensing
Sloganeering
Sponsorship
Miune / Shutterstock.com

16. Psychological Consistency
People desire consistency among their attitudes, beliefs, behaviors.
Inconsistency causes psychological discomfort.
The greater the psychological discomfort, the greater the desire to restore consistency.
Stacey Newman/shutterstock.com

17. + _ Consistency theory A child admires Popeye.
The child doesn’t like to eat spinach.
Popeye is positively associated with spinach.
This is a cognitively imbalanced state, which should motivate the child to change one of the associations. _ +

18. BalanceD and unbalanced states
Any combination of even minus signs, or all plus signs is psychologically comfortable. + -
Any combination of odd minus signs, or all minus signs is psychologically uncomfortable. + -

19. Maintaining consistency
Denial: ignoring or denying any inconsistency
Bolstering: adding rationalizations
Bargaining: striking a balance between alternatives
Differentiation: separating or distinguishing good and bad qualities of a decision
Transcendence: focusing on a greater good, a life lesson, higher purpose
Modifying one or more attitudes: changing attitudes to fit a choice or behavior

20. COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
People seek to maintain a stable, positive, self-concept .
People rationalize their choices and actions in light of their self- concept.
Behavior that contradicts one’s beliefs or self-concept causes dissonance.
Making a decision produces dissonance or “buyer’s remorse.”
The more important the decision, the greater the dissonance.
WAYHOME studio/Shutterstock.com

21. Psychological reactance
Also known as “reverse psychology”
Backlash: A perceived threat to one’s freedom produces a defensive reaction.
Forbidden fruit: Outlawing something may make it even more attractive.
Examples:
A pushy salesperson may drive customers away.
A parent who criticizes a daughter’s boyfriend may drive the daughter into the boyfriend’s arms.

22. Counter-attitudinal advocacy
Playing “Devil’s Advocate”:
No external incentives should be present.
The advocacy should be volitional (not compelled).
The advocacy should be public (in writing or out loud).
The person’s attitudes will shift (partially) toward the contrary position.
Art Konovalov/shutterstock.com

23. Pyschological commitment
Once we are committed, it is hard to turn back.
A car owner may “throw good money after bad” making one repair after another.
Gamblers may double their bets every time they lose.
Social customs are designed to increase commitments.
wedding customs
initiation rituals
Commitments can grow legs.
People add additional justifications for their original decision.