1. Social Thinking: Attitudes & Prejudice

2. What is an attitude? Predisposition to evaluate some people, groups, or issues in a particular way Can be negative or positive

3. Has three components –Cognitive: thoughts about given topic or situation –Emotional: feelings or emotions about topic –Behavioral: your actions regarding the topic or situation

4. Components of Attitudes

5. Effect of Attitude on Behavior Most likely to behave in accordance with your attitude when: 1.Attitudes are extreme or are frequently expressed 2.Attitudes have been formed through direct experience 3.You are very knowledgeable about the subject 4.You have a vested interest in the subject 5.You anticipate a favorable outcome or response from others for doing so

6. Attitudes Affecting Behavior Many studies suggest a person’s attitudes do not match their actions Attitudes do determine behavior in some situations: –If there are few outside influences –Behavior is guided by attitudes specific to that behavior –Behavior is guided by attitudes that come to mind easily

7. Behavior Affecting Attitudes Under some circumstances one’s actions can influence attitudes They include: –Foot-in-the-door phenomenon –Role playing –Cognitive dissonance

8. Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request

9. Role Playing Playing a role can influence or change one’s attitude Zimbardo’s Prison Study (Stanford University) –College students played the role of guard or prisoner in a simulated prison. –The study was ended after just 6 days when the guards became too aggressive and cruel. Dr. Phillip Zimbardo

10. Cognitive Dissonance (Leon Festinger) The theory that people act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) they feel when their thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent with their actions When our attitudes are inconsistent with our actions, we change our attitudes to reduce the dissonance. 1919-1989

11. How Cognitive Dissonance Leads to Attitude Change

13. Justification of Effort Justification of effort refers to the idea that if people work hard to reach a goal, they are likely to value the goal more They justify working hard by believing that the goal is valuable

14. Prejudice

15. A negative belief or feeling about a particular group of individuals Based on exaggerated idea that members of other social groups are very different form members of our own social group

16. Keep in mind… Racial and ethnic groups are far more alike than they are different Any differences between groups are far smaller than differences among various members of the same group

17. Categorization Tendency to group similar objects May be a means to explain stereotypes

18. Stereotype Generalized belief about a group of people Are sometimes accurate but often over- generalized

19. Studying Stereotypes 3 levels of stereotypes -Public - what we say to others about a group -Private - what we consciously think about a group, but don’t say to others -Implicit - unconscious mental associations guiding our judgments and actions without our conscious awareness

20. Implicit Prejudice People may often have implicit unconscious prejudices even when they do not have explicit prejudices.

21. Ingroups & Outgroups People’s social identities depend on the groups they belong to From a person’s perspective, any group he belongs to is an ingroup, and any group he doesn’t belong to is an outgroup

22. Discrimination In social relations, taking action against a group of people because of stereotyped beliefs and feelings of prejudice

23. Scapegoat Theory The theory that prejudice provides an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

24. Accounting for Prejudice

25. Two Theories Prejudice and inter-group hostility increase when different groups are competing for scarce resources People are prejudices against groups that are perceived as threatening to important in- group norms and values

26. Reducing Prejudice Research shows that prejudice & conflict can be reduced if four conditions are met: –The groups have equality in terms of legal status, economic opportunity, and political power. –Authorities advocate equal rights. –The groups have opportunities to interact formally and informally with each other. –The groups cooperate to reach a common goal.