Social Psychology:
Attitudes

James Neill

Centre for Applied Psychology

University of Canberra

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Learning Objective

• To define attitudes and their role in predicting behaviour

Attitudes - Definition

• Belief and feeling that predisposes one to respond in a particular way to objects, people and events.
• e.g., What is your attitude towards:
  • Guns?
  • George Bush?
  • Drug users?

Attitudes - Definition

An attitude is an association between an object of thought and a valenced evaluation (+ve or -ve) with 3 components:

• Cognitive: ‘Exams assess knowledge’
• Emotional: ‘I get anxious about exams’
• Behavioral: ‘I will study for my exam’

Attitudes - Questions

• How we form our beliefs and attitudes?
• How does attitude effect behaviour?
• How can attitudes be influenced and behaviour changed?

Attitude - Dimensions

Attitudes can vary along several dimensions, including:

• Strength
• Accessibility
• Importance
• Ambivalence

Attitudes - Change

Factors in changing attitudes:

• Source: e.g., authority, status
• Message: e.g., believability, argument
• Receiver: e.g., knowledge

Can Attitudes Predict Behaviour?

• General attitudes are poor predictors of behaviour e.g., attitude to environment
• However, attitudes are likely to predict behaviour when:
• The attitude and behaviour are specific
• Environmental reinforcement matches attitude
• Important others share the same attitude

Can Attitudes Predict Behaviour?

• ...attitudes are likely to predict behaviour when:
• Attitudes are implicit (unconscious)
• Attitudes are strong
• Attitude has developed from personal experience

Persuasion

• Deliberate attempt to change an attitude held by another
• Several components of effective persuasion — attending to each is crucial to the success of a persuasive appeal

Components of Persuasion

• Persuasive sources are credible, attractive, likeable, powerful and similar to the recipient
• Persuasive messages match the recipients level of consideration of the topic
• Persuasive channels of delivery are personal (e.g. face-to-face)

Components of Persuasion

• Context — messages should be delivered at the right time and in the right place
• Persuasion is likely if the receiver has weaker attitudes and/or is attending to the message

Processes of Persuasion

2 routes by which to alter attitudes:

• Central route: Induce a recipient consider arguments carefully to change their attitude
• Peripheral route: Appeal to the emotions of the recipient

Cognitive Dissonance

• We prefer beliefs which are consistent.
• Inconsistent beliefs cause distress.
• CD is perceived discrepancy between an attitude and a behaviour that results in a state of psychological tension similar to anxiety

Cognitive Dissonance

• Motivates the individual to reduce tension by changing the:
• Behaviour
• Attitude
• Perception of the inconsistent information

Cognitive Dissonance - Example

• I don't believe in sex before marriage (attitude), but I just had sex before marriage (behaviour).
• I believe that speeding increases the risk of car accidents (attitude) yet speed on a daily basis (behaviour).