Attitude and Attitudes Change (Lecture 11&12)

A favorable or unfavorable evaluation of people, objects, and ideas, exhibited in one’s affect, behaviors, and/or cognitions.

Attitudes based more on feelings and values rather than on objective facts or logic.

Attitudes based on observations of how one behaves toward an attitude object, as explained by self-perception theory.

Attitudes based primarily on one's beliefs about the properties of an attitude object, typically logical and rational.

A model of attitudes that includes three components: Affect (feelings), Behavior (actions), and Cognition (thoughts).

When attitudes contain both positive and negative evaluations toward an object, leading to mixed feelings.

When a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that elicits a natural response, eventually the neutral stimulus elicits the same response.

When behaviors that are freely chosen increase or decrease in frequency depending on whether they are followed by reinforcement or punishment.

The phenomenon where repeated exposure to something leads to positive attitudes toward it, often due to increased familiarity.

Attitudes can be formed by observing and imitating the behaviors of others, particularly influential figures.

The process by which attitudes are formed through social influences, such as parents, peers, and culture.

Consciously endorsed and easily reportable attitudes, often measured through surveys or self-report methods.

Involuntary, uncontrollable, and often unconscious attitudes that may be measured through physiological or behavioral reactions.

A test that measures the strength of associations between concepts (e.g., elderly) and evaluations (e.g., good, bad) using reaction times.

Social desirability concerns, scale design, and introspection bias, where people may not always know the true reasons behind their beliefs.

Controllable behaviors, such as making public statements or choosing partners.

Automatic behaviors, such as nonverbal cues, eye blinks, or speech errors.

The strength of the association between an attitude object and your evaluation of it, with highly accessible attitudes predicting spontaneous behaviors.

A theory that predicts deliberative behaviors based on attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control.

A form of attitude change where behavior leads to a change in attitude.

A form of attitude change where attitude change leads to a change in behavior.

Central/systematic processing (thoughtful, deep processing) and peripheral/heuristic processing (thoughtless, shallow processing).

Cognitive load, message complexity, knowledge, and intelligence.

Personal relevance, need for closure, and need for cognition.

A model that explains two routes to persuasion: central route (thoughtful, quality argument) and peripheral route (superficial cues like attractiveness).

A model similar to ELM, which explains persuasion through systematic processing (deep processing) and heuristic processing (quick, shallow cues).

The degree to which a source is perceived as expert, trustworthy, and likable, influencing persuasion effectiveness.

A phenomenon where a message from a non-credible source can gain influence over time as people forget the source’s credibility.

Superficial or surface-level factors, like the attractiveness of the speaker or their likability, which influence persuasion without deep processing.

Strong, logical arguments that are persuasive when the audience is motivated and able to process them deeply.

People in a good mood are more likely to be less critical and more open to persuasion, while those in a bad mood may be more skeptical.

Cultural differences influence how persuasive messages are received, with Western cultures focusing on individual benefits and Eastern cultures on group harmony.

An advertising strategy that uses fear to persuade by emphasizing harmful consequences, but it needs to provide solutions to reduce the fear.

When people are mildly punished or rewarded, they tend to change their attitudes to justify their behavior, leading to long-term attitude change.

The reduction in intrinsic motivation when people are given large external rewards for behaviors they already enjoy.

A sales technique where a product is offered at a low price, but after commitment is made, the price is raised, leveraging cognitive dissonance to ensure the person still buys.

The use of hidden messages (either visual or auditory) intended to influence people’s attitudes or behaviors without their conscious awareness.

The negative reaction people have when they feel their freedom to choose is being restricted, often leading them to do the opposite of what is being pushed.

A technique to strengthen people’s attitudes by exposing them to weak persuasive arguments, which prepares them to resist stronger persuasive attempts later.