Attitudes and behavior Please indicate the extent to which you agree - - PDF document

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Attitudes and behavior

Attitude: A positive, negative, or mixed evaluation of people,

• bjects, or ideas.

Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the statements below: 1=strongly disagree 2=disagree 3=neither agree nor disagree 4=agree 5=strongly agree

• 1. Engaging in regular physical exercise three times a week

promotes good health.

• 2. Eating a variety of foods each day, including five or more

servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, contributes to wellness.

• 3. It is essential that all citizens exercise their right to vote if

government is to effectively reflect the will of the people.

• 4. Homelessness is a serious social problem that needs

attention. Please indicate whether you have performed each of the following actions: (Answer YES or NO to each one)

• 1. I take time to engage in regular physical exercise at least

three times a week.

• 2. I regularly eat at least five servings of fresh fruits and

vegetables each day.

• 3. I voted in the last election for which I was eligible.
• 4. Within the last year, I have personally done something to

address the problem of homelessness (e.g., made a charitable contribution, talked with a homeless person, wrote my congressman regarding the problem of homelessness).

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Processes in the development of attitudes: Classical conditioning Instrumental/operant conditioning Modeling Direct experience Richard LaPiere (1934): Traveled through U.S. with Chinese couple 183/184 restaurants served them Later asked if provide service to Chinese people. 91% (of 128 who replied) said, “No.” When are attitudes poor predictors of behavior? (1) Low correspondence between the attitude and the behavior (Aizen & Fishbein) (2) Strength of attitude is weak (strength=more knowledge; based on direct experience; more important; more accessible.) Attitude change Need for cognitive consistency Cognitive dissonance (Leon Festinger, 1957) Assumed we feel tension (dissonance) when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are psychologically inconsistent. We change our thinking to reduce this tension. Ways to Reduce Dissonance Techniques Examples Change your attitude “I don’t really need to be on a diet.” Change your perception “I hardly ate any

• f the behavior

ice cream.” Add consonant cognitions “Ice cream is very nutritious.” Minimize the importance “I don’t care if I’m

• f the conflict.
• verweight”

Reduce perceived choice. “I had no other choice; it was prepared for the occasion.”

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Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) IV: $1.00 (dissonance) or $20.00 (no dissonance) reward for lying, or control group (no reward) DV: Reported enjoyment of task Result: Ss in the control group and $20 group thought the task was boring. Ss paid $1, who had insufficient justification for lying, thought the task was somewhat enjoyable.

• -Demonstrates self-persuasion
• -Contradicts belief that big rewards produce attitude change

(“less leads to more effect") Instead, demonstrates “insufficient justification” Aronson & Carlsmith (1963) Forbidden toy study IV: Mild threat (I won’t like it) or severe threat (will be spanked) DV: later liking for the toy Results: Those faced with a mild threat like the toy LESS than those faced with a more severe threat. Those in the mild threat group had “insufficient justification” for their behavior, and therefore internalized it. Insufficient justification principle works for punishment as well as rewards Aronson & Mills (1959) Female students; group discussions about sex IV: Mild initiation or severe initiation or control (no initiation) Heard boring tape about “secondary sex behavior in lower animals.” Result: Ss in severe initiation group rated the discussion more favorably than those in the mild initiation or control group. Conditions for Dissonance Arousal

• 1. The attitude discrepant behavior must produce unwanted

negative consequences

• 2. Individual must feel personally responsible for the

unpleasant consequences

• 3. Physiological arousal must occur
• 4. Must attribute the arousal to your own inconsistent behavior