Attitudes

1
Attitudes

• The tendency to respond positively or negatively
  toward a certain idea, person, object, or
  situation attitudes are learned
• Affective component the way a person feels
  toward the object, person or situation
• Behavior component the action a person takes in
  regard to the person, object, or situation
• Cognitive component the way a person thinks
  about the object, person, or situation

2
Attitudes and Behavior

• Attitudes are poor predictors of behavior
• Predict when people have the means to act on
  belief
• Predict when attitude is very specific
• Predict when attitude is very strong

3
Attitude Formation

• Direct contact
• Direct instruction
• Interaction with others
• Vicarious conditioning (Observational learning)

4
Persuasion

• Source
• Message
• Target audience
• Way process information
• central-route processing
• peripheral-route processing

5
Cognitive Dissonance

• Festinger 1950- to explain cult behavior
• The feeling of uncomfortable tension that comes
  from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind
  at the same time.
• Increases with importance of the subject how
  strongly dissonant thoughts conflict and our
  inability to rationalize and explain away the
  conflict

6
Cognitive Dissonance

• Release tension by
• change behavior to match attitude
• justify behavior by changing conflicting
• cognition
• justify behavior by adding new cognitions

7
Attribution

• Attribution the process of explaining ones own
  behavior and the behavior of others
• Attribution theory theory of why people choose
  particular explanations of behavior
• Situational cause cause of behavior attributed
  to external factors
• Dispositional cause cause of behavior attributed
  to internal factors like personality

8
Fundamental Attribution Error

• The tendency to overestimate the influence of
  internal factors in determining behavior while
  underestimating situational factors

9
Prejudice and Discrimination

• Prejudice - negative attitude held by a person
  about the members of a particular social group.
• Discrimination - treating people differently
  because of prejudice toward the social group to
  which they belong.
• Forms of prejudice include ageism, sexism,
  racism, and prejudice toward those who are too
  fat or too thin.

10
Prejudice

• Social cognitive theory views prejudice as an
  attitude acquired through direct instruction,
  modeling, and other social influences.
• Social identity theory theory in which the
  formation of a persons identity within a
  particular social group is explained by social
  categorization, social identity, and social
  comparison.
• Social identity - the part of the self-concept
  including ones view of self as a member of a
  particular social category.
• Social comparison the comparison of oneself to
  others in ways that raise ones self-esteem.

11
Stopping Prejudice

• Equal status contact contact between groups in
  which the groups have equal status, with neither
  group having power over the other.
• Jigsaw classroom - educational technique in
  which each individual is given only part of the
  information needed to solve a problem, causing
  the separate individuals to be forced to work
  together to find the solution.

12
Attraction

• Interpersonal attraction - liking or having the
  desire for a relationship with another person.
• Proximity - physical or geographical nearness.
• People like people who are similar to themselves
  OR who are different from themselves
  (complementary).
• Reciprocity of liking - tendency of people to
  like other people who like them in return.

13
Love

• Love - a strong affection for another person due
  to kinship, personal ties, sexual attraction,
  admiration, or common interests.
• Sternberg states that the three components of
  love are intimacy, passion, and commitment.
• Romantic love - type of love consisting of
  intimacy and passion.
• Companionate love - type of love consisting of
  intimacy and commitment.

14
Aggression

• Aggression - behavior intended to hurt or destroy
  another person.
• Biological influences on aggression may include
  genetics, the amygdala and limbic system, and
  testosterone and serotonin levels.
• Social role - the pattern of behavior that is
  expected of a person who is in a particular
  social position.
• Violent TV, movies, and videos are related to
  aggression.