Psychology: Attitudes, Beliefs, and Consistency

Attitudes, Beliefs, and Consistency

Attitudes

• A learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner to a person, object, idea, or situation
• Comprise of three components:
  • Cognitive (thoughts/beliefs)
  • Affective (emotions/feelings)
  • Conative (actions/tendencies)

Beliefs

• Thoughts or convictions about the way things are or should be
• Can be based on facts, experiences, or cultural norms
• Influence attitudes and behavior

Consistency

• The tendency for people to maintain consistency between their attitudes, beliefs, and behavior
• Cognitive dissonance theory:
  • When attitudes and behavior are inconsistent, discomfort (dissonance) arises
  • People tend to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, beliefs, or behavior to achieve consistency

Factors Influencing Consistency

• Self-perception theory:
  • People form attitudes and beliefs based on observations of their own behavior
• Foot-in-the-door technique:
  • Compliance with a small request leads to increased likelihood of compliance with subsequent, larger requests
• Low-ball technique:
  • Initial agreement to a request is followed by an increased commitment request

Applications

• Persuasion: understanding attitudes, beliefs, and consistency can aid in persuasive messaging
• Social influence: recognizing the power of consistency can help individuals resist or adopt certain behaviors
• Self-awareness: recognizing personal attitudes, beliefs, and inconsistencies can lead to personal growth and change

Attitudes

• An attitude is a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner to a person, object, idea, or situation
• Comprises three components: cognitive (thoughts/beliefs), affective (emotions/feelings), and conative (actions/tendencies)

Beliefs

• Thoughts or convictions about the way things are or should be
• Based on facts, experiences, or cultural norms
• Influence attitudes and behavior

Consistency

• The tendency for people to maintain consistency between their attitudes, beliefs, and behavior
• Cognitive dissonance theory:
  • Inconsistency between attitudes and behavior causes discomfort (dissonance)
  • People reduce dissonance by changing attitudes, beliefs, or behavior to achieve consistency

Factors Influencing Consistency

• Self-perception theory:
  • People form attitudes and beliefs based on observations of their own behavior
• Foot-in-the-door technique:
  • Compliance with a small request increases the likelihood of compliance with subsequent, larger requests
• Low-ball technique:
  • Initial agreement to a request is followed by an increased commitment request

Applications

• Persuasion: understanding attitudes, beliefs, and consistency aids in persuasive messaging
• Social influence: recognizing the power of consistency helps individuals resist or adopt certain behaviors
• Self-awareness: recognizing personal attitudes, beliefs, and inconsistencies leads to personal growth and change

Quiz on attitudes, comprising cognitive, affective, and conative components, and their relationship with beliefs and behavior.