1. Social psychology: Attitudes, social cognition 16th November 2007

2. Social psychology Study how people’s thoughts, feelings and actions are affected by others Study how people’s thoughts, feelings and actions are affected by others

3. Attitudes Learned predispositions to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manner to a particular person, behavior, belief or thing. Learned predispositions to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manner to a particular person, behavior, belief or thing. ABC model of attitudes ABC model of attitudes Affect componentAffect component Behavior componentBehavior component Cognition componentCognition component

4. Do you like oranges? What do you think about oranges? A: I like them. I like the taste… A: I like them. I like the taste… B: I try to eat at least one daily… B: I try to eat at least one daily… C: Oranges are healthy, contains lot of vitamin C… C: Oranges are healthy, contains lot of vitamin C…

5. Forming and maintaining attitudes Classical conditioning Classical conditioning

6. Forming and maintaining attitudes Operant conditioning Operant conditioning Can we maintain attitude others don’t share?Can we maintain attitude others don’t share? Observational learning Observational learning Children pick up prejudices of their parents…Children pick up prejudices of their parents… Learning attitudes through mediaLearning attitudes through media

7. Persuasion: changing attitudes One sided versus two sided arguments Fear producing Central versus peripheral route processing Attractiveness Expertise Trustworthiness Message source Message characteristics Recipient (target) of message

8. Message source: attitude communicator Greatest attitude change: Greatest attitude change: physical and social attractivenessphysical and social attractiveness expertise and trustworthinessexpertise and trustworthiness

9. The message One sided arguments One sided arguments Two sided arguments Two sided arguments Fear producing messages Fear producing messages

10. Characteristics of the recipient intelligence??? intelligence??? gender differences??? gender differences??? central route processing (careful perceiving, thinking about the content) central route processing (careful perceiving, thinking about the content) peripheral route processing (other factors than content) peripheral route processing (other factors than content) age, race, religion, income, marital status… age, race, religion, income, marital status…

11. Attitudes and behavior consistency between attitudes and behavior is likely consistency between attitudes and behavior is likely people tend to be consistent in different attitudes they hold people tend to be consistent in different attitudes they hold liberalismliberalism vegetarianism…vegetarianism…

12. How our behavior shapes our attitudes Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance the conflict that arises when a person holds contradictory cognitionsthe conflict that arises when a person holds contradictory cognitions this dissonance must be reducedthis dissonance must be reduced can be done by changing attitudescan be done by changing attitudes

13. Two contradictory cognitions 1. “I smoke.” 2. “Smoking leads to cancer.” Dissonance Modifying one or both cognitions (“I really don’t smoke too much”) Changing perceived importance of one cognition (“The evidence is weak that smoking causes cancer”) Adding additional cognitions (“I exercise so much that it doesn’t matter that I smoke”) Denying that cognitions are related (“There is no evidence linking smoking and cancer”)

14. Social cognition = How people understand others = How people understand others What other people are like… What other people are like… Schemas about people and social experiencesSchemas about people and social experiences Impression formation Impression formation Central traitsCentral traits

15. What have you mentioned at first glimps? What have you mentioned at first glimps? How do you feel about him? How do you feel about him? Why is he so Why is he so fed-up? fed-up? Is he good goalkeeper? Is he good goalkeeper? What you don’t like about him? What you don’t like about him?

16. Attribution process Why is he so fed-up? Why is he so fed-up? 1. Is the cause situational or dispositional? Biases in attribution: Biases in attribution: Fundamental attribution errorFundamental attribution error Hallo effectHallo effect Assumed similarity biasAssumed similarity bias

17. Thank you for your attention!