Attitudes a belief and feeling that predisposes one to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events Can be formed through learning and exposure Serve 2 functions – Rapidly evaluate – Express values and convey an identity

ABCs of Attitudes A for affective (emotional) component B for Behavioral (action) component C for Cognitive (belief) component Affective: “ I love pizza” Behavioral: “I eat pizza five times per week. I even work at an Italian restaurant.” Cognitive: “I believe pizza is healthy for me because it has all of the important food groups.”

Attitudes can be Explicit ( reported consciously) Implicit ( attitudes that are automatic responses, possibly unconscious)

Attitude Behavior Link Our current attitude is influenced by past behaviors and our future behavior is predicted by our current attitude. Attitudes often guide rational choices we make- I believe dirt is bad so I wash my dirty clothes. Attitudes influence what we pay attention to in the world and therefore affect our behavior I believe safe driving is important I look for speed signs and say within the speed limit.

Attitudes can influence behavior Negative attitudes toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered individuals may lead to discriminatory behaviors ( banning from military) How might the events in Ferguson be related to attitudes?

Attitudes tend to predict behaviors when the attitude is strong. If we support one presidential candidate we might…

Understanding Attitudes: 2 routes to persuasion Central Route- Attitude change involves carefully processing a messages content. The message is important (strength of arguments). This route usually requires motivation and ability to process. Deciding on what college you will attend: a person would talk to lots of people, investigate class size tuition, course offerings, etc. before making a decision

Peripheral route – Devotes little attention to the actual content of the message and tends to be affected by persuasion cues such as confidence, attractiveness, or other characteristics of the person delivering the message. Michelle Obama endorsing a college. People would go because the celebrity endorses it.

Cognitive Dissonance Tension resulting from the lack of consistency in a person’s attitudes or beliefs and their behaviors. Recycling is good for the environment. I never recycle plastic bottles. We often bring attitudes in line with our behavior when we are aware that our attitudes and actions don’t coincide…in other words we RATIONALIZE

Festinger Students were given either $1 or $20 to tell another group of students that a very boring task was interesting. Those in $1 group experienced more cognitive dissonance than those in the $20 group because $1 was not a justifiable reason to lie. When asked to rate how enjoyable the task was, the $1 group rated the task as more enjoyable ( to reduce the dissonance; the $1 group had to reevaluate the task)

Conformity Following a group’s standards, methods, or behavior as a result of unspodeng group pressure, real or imagined. Asch

Reasons for Conformity Normative Social Influence: a person’s desire to gain group approval and avoid group disapproval (going along in order to be “liked”) Informational Social Influence: a person’s willingness to accept other’s opinions regarding reality (going along in order to be “right”) Cultural effects: collectivist cultures are societies that value putting a group’s needs above the individual’s needs.

Compliance: obeying a direct request or giving in to overt social pressure Foot in the Door: first apply to small request, they are more likely to comply with a larger request Door in the Face: If people are asked for a large favor first, which they deny), they are more likely to comply with a subsequent smaller request Free Gift Technique: giving someone a small free gift increases the possibility of agreement with a later request

Design your own persuasion campaign Identify something you want from someone. 1.What do you want? 2.Who will approach decision maker and why? 3.How might you employ foot in the door technique? 4.How might you employ door in the face technique?