Chapter 6

Attitudes

What is an Attitude?

• A positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object, or idea expressed at some level of intensity.

How Attitudes Are Measured: Self-Report Measures

• Self-report measures are direct and straightforward, but sometimes attitudes are too complex for a single question.

• Attitude Scale: A multiple-item questionnaire designed to measure a person’s attitude toward some object.– e.g., Likert Scale

• Bogus Pipeline: A phony lie-detector device that is sometimes used to get respondents to give truthful answers to sensitive questions.

How Attitudes Are Measured: Covert Measures

• Observable behavior• Facial Electromyograph (EMG): An electronic

instrument that records facial muscle activity associated with emotions and attitudes.

• Neuroscience research ongoing– Appears attitudes may be measurable by electrical

brain activity

How Attitudes are Formed

• Our most cherished attitudes most often form due to exposure to – Attitude objects– History of rewards and punishments– Attitudes of family, friends, enemies, etc.– Social and cultural context– Personal experiences

• Clearly, attitudes are formed through basic processes of learning but how much do they influence behavior?

Attitudes in Context

• Theory of planned behavior: attitudes toward a specific behavior combine with subjective norms and perceived control to influence a person’s actions

Strength of the Attitude

• Why do some attitudes have more influence on behavior?– Depends on attitude’s importance or strength

• Why are some attitudes stronger than others?– Because of our genetic make-up?– Does it directly affect one’s own outcomes and self-

interests?– Is it related to deeply held philosophical, political,

and religious values?– Is it of concern to one’s close friends, family, and

social ingroups?

Factors That Indicatethe Strength of an Attitude

• The more well informed on a topic, the more consistent behavior is with attitude

• Not only amount of information, but also how that information was acquired

• An attitude can be strengthened by an attack against it from a persuasive message

• Strong attitudes are highly accessible to awareness, how quickly and easily they are brought to mind.

Two Routes to Persuasion

• Central Route: Person thinks carefully about a message.– Influenced by the strength and quality of the

message

• Peripheral Route: Person does not think critically about the contents of a message.– Influenced by superficial cues

The Central Route (cont’d)

• Assumption that the recipients are attentive, active, critical, and thoughtful.– Assumption is correct only some of the time.– When it is correct, the persuasiveness of the

message depends on the strength of the message’s content.

• The central route is a thoughtful process.– But not necessarily an objective one

The Peripheral Route

• People are persuaded on the basis of superficial, peripheral cues.– Message is evaluated through the use of simple-

minded heuristics.

• People are also influenced by attitude-irrelevant factors.

What Makes an Effective Source?

• Believable sources must be credible sources.• To be seen as credible, the source must have

two distinct characteristics:– Competence or expertise– Trustworthiness

• How likable is the communicator?• Two factors influence a source’s likability:– The similarity between the source and the audience– The physical attractiveness of the source

Is the Source MoreImportant Than the Message?

• It depends…• How personally relevant is the message for

the recipient?

What Makes an Effective Message?• How should the argument be presented to

maximize its strength?• Are longer messages better?– If peripheral, the longer the message, the more

valid it must be.– If central, message length is a two-edged sword.

• Does presentation order matter?

Subliminal Influence

Regulatory Fit

• To what extent does the message meet the psychological needs of the audience?

• Does the message fit the frame of mind of the audience and “feel right”?

• Promotion-oriented vs. prevention-oriented

Forewarning and Resistance

• Advanced knowledge allows time to develop counterarguments.– Inoculation hypothesis

• Being forewarned elicits a motivational reaction.– Psychological reactance

• Effects of forewarning depends on personal importance of message.

Cognitive DissonanceTheory: The Classic Version

• We are motivated by a desire for cognitive consistency.

• Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Inconsistent cognitions arouse psychological tension that people become motivated to reduce.– Can lead to irrational and sometimes maladaptive

behavior

Alternative Routes to Self-Persuasion

• Self-Perception Theory: Self-persuasion through observation of own behavior.

• Impression Management Theory: What matters is not a motive to be consistent but rather a motive to appear consistent.

• Self-Affirmation Theory: Dissonance situations create a threat to the self.