1. Behaviour, Attitudes, & Persuasion: Lecture #4 topics  How we measure attitudes  Persuasion by communication  Persuasion by our own actions

2. Measuring attitudes (my nephew, Zachary)

3. Measuring attitudes attitude:  positive, negative, or mixed reactions to people, objects or ideas  attitude formation is _________ & often _________  attitudes let us judge quickly without much thought

4. Measuring attitudes self-report measures:  agreement with statements using multiple-point scales  question _________ may bias responses  vulnerable to social desirability biases  one solution: _________

5. Measuring attitudes Implicit Association Test (IAT):  taps implicit (_________) attitudes we hold  reaction time test measuring how quickly you associate different concepts with “_________” and “_________”

6. Measuring attitudes GOOD (press ‘e’) BAD (press ‘i’)

7. Measuring attitudes GOOD (press ‘e’) BAD (press ‘i’)

8. Linking attitudes & behaviour attitudes predict behaviour when:  attitudes _________ correspond to the behaviour  attitudes are _________  strong attitudes develop through:  _________

9. Persuasion by communication

10. dual-process model of persuasion (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986): PERSUASIVE MESSAGE CENTRAL ROUTE _________  focus on _________ of arguments PERIPHERAL ROUTE focus on _________ cues reliance on _________

11. Persuasion by communication “The receptive ability of the masses is very limited, their understanding small; on the other hand, they have a great power of forgetting.” —Adolf Hitler

12. Persuasion by communication  source speaks well  important message  we care about the information  source speaks too fast  unimportant message  we’re not interested in the information ROUTE SELECTION _________ ROUTE

13. Persuasion by communication a good source is: _________  similar to the audience  physically attractive (Chaiken, 1979) _________  competent (smart, well-spoken, has credentials)  trustworthy (honest)

14. Persuasion by communication WOULD YOU BUY A PRODUCT ENDORSED BY BRITNEY SPEARS? soft drinksroller skatesmilkcameras

15. Persuasion by communication the sleeper effect:  when a message from a _________ source _________ in persuasiveness over time  you immediately _________ the message, but then you eventually _________ the message from the source

16. Persuasion by communication 3 factors influencing message impact: message length  _________ messages seem more valid & factual presentation order  primacy vs. recency effects  which is better? it depends on _________ (Miller & Campbell, 1959).

17. Persuasion by communication Miller & Campbell (1959): GROUP 1 message 1 message 2 (1 week) decision _________ EFFECT GROUP 2 message 1 (1 week) message 2 decision _________ EFFECT

18. Persuasion by communication message discrepancy  extreme vs. cautious positions?  _________ discrepancy is necessary for persuasion to occur

19. Persuasion by communication (courtesy: Cancer Institute NSW, Australia) FEAR APPEALS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80fux1DE1kQ&mode=related&search=

20. Persuasion by communication

21. fear appeals ARE persuasive:  they feed on our vulnerabilities by grabbing our attention with graphic images  …but they only work if they _________ about how to cope with the danger

22. Persuasion by communication positive emotions are also persuasive:  good moods cognitively _________ us  they activate the “lazy” _________ route to attitude change  we are motivated to maintain our good moods so we don’t think too critically about anything

23. Persuasion by communication HOW DO WE RESIST PERSUASION? attitude inoculation:  exposure to _________ opinions reinforces existing attitudes  e.g., Freedman & Sears (1965) “driving” study psychological reactance:  motivation to protect our ability to think, act, & feel _________  triggered when someone tries to _________ us

24. Persuasion by our own actions Patty HearstPhil Zimbardo ROLE PLAYING

25. Persuasion by our own actions foot-in-the-door phenomenon:  compliance with a _________ request after agreeing to a _________ one  e.g., Freedman & Fraser (1966) “drive carefully” study low-ball technique:  committing to a superficially attractive proposition before hidden costs are revealed  popular with _________

26. Persuasion by our own actions cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957):  _________ state of _________ resulting from attitude-behaviour _________  occurs when attitude-discrepant behaviour is committed:  _________

27. Persuasion by our own actions REDUCING DISSONANCE: STRATEGYEXAMPLE Change perception of behaviour“I didn’t eat a LOT of ice cream” Add consonant cognitions“Ice cream is a good source of calcium” Minimize importance of conflict“Life’s too short to worry about weight” Reduce perceived choice“The ice cream would have gone bad” Change attitude to match behaviour “I don’t need to be on a diet anyway”

28. Persuasion by our own actions Festinger & Carlsmith (1959): Justifying our actions HIGH LOW

29. Persuasion by our own actions Aronson & Mills (1959): Justifying our effort HIGH LOW

30. Persuasion by our own actions George:  handsome  brings me flowers  chews with mouth open Justifying our choices Brad:  handsome  funny  pessimistic

31. Persuasion by our own actions Brehm (1956): Justifying our choices HIGH LOW PRE-CHOICE RATINGSPOST-CHOICE RATINGS

32. Persuasion by our own actions ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS FOR DISSONANCE EFFECTS self-perception theory (Bem, 1965):  inference of attitudes through _________  attitude change is “ _________ ” process  evidence: neutral observers who read Festinger & Carlsmith’s procedure generated _________ results as original participants

33. Persuasion by our own actions self-esteem theory (Aronson, 1999):  dissonance threatens our _________ self- concepts, leading to _________ self-esteem  _________ self-esteem leads to attitude change self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988):  self-affirmation: reminders of our _________  if dissonance threatens our self-concepts, self- affirmation should _________ attitude change

34. Persuasion by our own actions Steele, Spencer, & Lynch (1993): Justifying our choices HIGH LOW EGO AFFIRMEDEGO THREATENED