Chapter 6 Attitudes What is an Attitude A
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Chapter 6 Attitudes
What is an Attitude? • A positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object, or idea expressed at some level of intensity.
How Attitudes Are Measured: Self-Report Measures • Self-report measures are direct and straightforward, but sometimes attitudes are too complex for a single question. • Attitude Scale: A multiple-item questionnaire designed to measure a person’s attitude toward some object. – e. g. , Likert Scale • Bogus Pipeline: A phony lie-detector device that is sometimes used to get respondents to give truthful answers to sensitive questions.
How Attitudes Are Measured: Covert Measures • Observable behavior • Facial Electromyograph (EMG): An electronic instrument that records facial muscle activity associated with emotions and attitudes. • Neuroscience research ongoing – Appears attitudes may be measurable by electrical brain activity
How Attitudes are Formed • Our most cherished attitudes most often form due to exposure to – Attitude objects – History of rewards and punishments – Attitudes of family, friends, enemies, etc. – Social and cultural context – Personal experiences • Clearly, attitudes are formed through basic processes of learning but how much do they influence behavior?
Strength of the Attitude • Why do some attitudes have more influence on behavior? – Depends on attitude’s importance or strength • Why are some attitudes stronger than others? – Because of our genetic make-up? – Does it directly affect one’s own outcomes and self-interests? – Is it related to deeply held philosophical, political, and religious values? – Is it of concern to one’s close friends, family, and social ingroups?
Factors That Indicate the Strength of an Attitude • The more well informed on a topic, the more consistent behavior is with attitude • Not only amount of information, but also how that information was acquired • An attitude can be strengthened by an attack against it from a persuasive message • Strong attitudes are highly accessible to awareness, how quickly and easily they are brought to mind.
Two Routes to Persuasion • Central Route: Person thinks carefully about a message. – Influenced by the strength and quality of the message • Peripheral Route: Person does not think critically about the contents of a message. – Influenced by superficial cues
The Central Route (cont’d) • Assumption that the recipients are attentive, active, critical, and thoughtful. – Assumption is correct only some of the time. – When it is correct, the persuasiveness of the message depends on the strength of the message’s content. • The central route is a thoughtful process. – But not necessarily an objective one
The Peripheral Route • People are persuaded on the basis of superficial, peripheral cues. – Message is evaluated through the use of simpleminded heuristics. • People are also influenced by attitudeirrelevant factors.
What Makes an Effective Source? • Believable sources must be credible sources. • To be seen as credible, the source must have two distinct characteristics: – Competence or expertise – Trustworthiness • How likable is the communicator? • Two factors influence a source’s likability: – The similarity between the source and the audience – The physical attractiveness of the source
Is the Source More Important Than the Message? • It depends… • How personally relevant is the message for the recipient?
What Makes an Effective Message? • How should the argument be presented to maximize its strength? • Are longer messages better? – If peripheral, the longer the message, the more valid it must be. – If central, message length is a two-edged sword. • Does presentation order matter?
Regulatory Fit • To what extent does the message meet the psychological or phsyiological needs of the audience? • Does the message fit the frame of mind of the audience and “feel right”? • Promotion-oriented vs. prevention-oriented
Forewarning and Resistance • Advanced knowledge allows time to develop counterarguments. – Inoculation hypothesis • Being forewarned elicits a motivational reaction. – Psychological reactance • Effects of forewarning depends on personal importance of message.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory: The Classic Version • We are motivated by a desire for cognitive consistency. • Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Inconsistent cognitions arouse psychological tension that people become motivated to reduce. – Can lead to irrational and sometimes maladaptive behavior
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