Psychology Chapter on Attitudes

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Questions and Answers

Which component of an attitude refers to the emotional responses we have towards a target?

Cognitive

Behavioural

Implicit

Affective (correct)

What distinguishes explicit attitudes from implicit attitudes?

Explicit attitudes are automatic and rapid.

Explicit attitudes are solely based on cultural conditioning.

Explicit attitudes are subconscious and uncontrollable.

Explicit attitudes are consciously endorsed and accessible. (correct)

How are implicit attitudes typically measured?

Through interviews.

Through introspection.

Using self-reported questionnaires.

By measuring reaction time. (correct)

What is a significant limitation of the Implicit Attitudes Test (IAT)?

It may only reflect cultural associations rather than true attitudes. Signup and view all the answers

What was a key finding of the research by Gawronski (2019) regarding people's awareness of their attitudes?

People are aware of and can access their own implicit attitudes. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement about implicit attitudes is false?

They are thoroughly controllable by individuals. Signup and view all the answers

What does the cognitive component of an attitude encompass?

Thoughts and beliefs about a target. Signup and view all the answers

Why are explicit attitudes susceptible to social desirability bias?

Because individuals can consciously lie to present favorable views. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary mechanism through which new behaviors are acquired according to Bandura's social learning theory?

Observing and imitating others Signup and view all the answers

How does classical conditioning affect attitudes, as described in Olson & Fazio's work?

It pairs neutral stimuli with emotional responses. Signup and view all the answers

What effect does operant conditioning have on behavior?

It strengthens rewarded behaviors and weakens punished behaviors. Signup and view all the answers

What is perceptual fluency, as it relates to attitudes and experiences?

How easily one can recognize and process an object Signup and view all the answers

According to the findings of Zajonc, how does increased exposure to new words affect attitudes?

It strengthens the association between the word and positive meanings. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary reason behind self-serving bias according to the content?

To support a positive view of oneself Signup and view all the answers

What attribution do children and older people typically make for good outcomes?

Internal attributions Signup and view all the answers

Which demographic is most likely to exhibit a larger self-serving bias?

Children and older people Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes the attribution styles of Western cultures regarding winning a gold medal?

Internal self-construals about abilities Signup and view all the answers

In the context of attitudes, what does the term 'implicit' refer to?

Attitudes that are unconscious or unrecognized Signup and view all the answers

What was highlighted as a minimal factor influencing the development of attitudes according to Eaves & Hatemi's study?

Social learning from parents Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following issues did Eaves & Hatemi's study associate with genetic influence on attitudes?

Abortion and gay rights Signup and view all the answers

How do psychopathology conditions like anxiety and depression affect attributions for success and failure?

They result in blaming external factors for failure and seeing success as external Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by the term 'cognitive miser'?

An approach that conserves cognitive resources by relying on heuristics. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the 'naïve scientist' approach?

It seeks evidence and flexible thinking before making decisions. Signup and view all the answers

How does the Motivational Tactician Framework influence decision-making?

By factoring in time taken and cognitive resources for important decisions. Signup and view all the answers

What is 'illusory correlation'?

The false belief that there is a relationship between two unrelated events. Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of actor-observer bias?

Attributing your own mistakes to external factors. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main focus of Attribution Theory?

Examining the reasons behind people's beliefs and explanations for events. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following behaviors suggests a cognitive miser approach?

Making snap judgments based on past experiences. Signup and view all the answers

What key factor does the Motivational Tactician Framework emphasize in decision-making?

The availability of cognitive resources and time taken to reflect. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of a schema in cognitive processing?

To reduce cognitive load Signup and view all the answers

Which type of heuristic is defined by judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily it comes to mind?

Availability heuristic Signup and view all the answers

What misconception can arise from using representative heuristics?

Over-generalizing based on mental categories Signup and view all the answers

What effect does ease of recalling examples have on a person's belief in the truth of information according to Schwarz et al. (1991)?

It strengthens belief in truth Signup and view all the answers

How do schemas typically influence behavior in familiar situations?

They guide expectations and reactions Signup and view all the answers

Which statement correctly distinguishes between heuristics and schemas?

Heuristics involve shortcuts, while schemas are complete mental frameworks Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential drawback of relying on availability heuristics for making decisions?

It may lead to underestimating rare events Signup and view all the answers

What characteristic distinguishes a script from a schema?

Scripts provide detailed steps for actions, schemas outline general beliefs Signup and view all the answers

What happens to the desirability of a chosen option after selecting between two difficult choices?

It increases. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes cognitive dissonance?

A feeling of discomfort from holding inconsistent thoughts. Signup and view all the answers

According to self-perception theories, how do individuals infer their attitudes?

By observing their own behavior in relevant situations. Signup and view all the answers

What is one way individuals can reduce cognitive dissonance after experiencing it?

Change behavior to match the cognitions. Signup and view all the answers

How can behaviors influence cognitions as suggested by Mills (1958)?

Behaviors can lead to justification of previously held beliefs. Signup and view all the answers

What does the process of adding new cognitions serve to do when experiencing cognitive dissonance?

It justifies the behavior that caused the dissonance. Signup and view all the answers

What was the focus of Aronson & Mills' (1959) study on cognitive dissonance?

The behavior of students in boring discussion groups. Signup and view all the answers

What does cognitive dissonance often result in regarding self-image?

Altered perceptions of choices to maintain a positive self-image. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Attitudes

Attitudes consist of three components: cognitive (thoughts and beliefs), affective (emotions and feelings), and behavioral (actions and observable behaviours).
An attitude is an evaluation of people, objects, and ideas.
Attitudes are demonstrated through behaviors like petting a puppy, which reflects the affect (adorableness) and cognition (belief of friendliness).

Types of Attitudes

Explicit Attitudes: These are attitudes we are aware of and consciously endorse. We have control over them and can share them with others. They are susceptible to social desirability bias (lying to please others).
Implicit Attitudes: These are attitudes that are less accessible to our conscious awareness. We have less control over these attitudes and they are less susceptible to social desirability bias. Implicit attitudes are unconscious and automatic. They are measured through reaction time and response.

Implicit Attitudes Test (IAT)

Measures the speed at which people respond, indicating implicit attitudes outside of awareness.
Criticisms of the IAT include: validity concerns (measuring accurately what it intends), and reliability concerns (inconsistency/lack of repeated results across measurements). It may measure cultural associations or the first thought that comes to mind rather than true attitude.

Implicit and Explicit Attitudes

Research (Gawronski, 2019) shows a low correlation between implicit and explicit attitudes. This is partially due to influence by motivation and opportunity, and the different content of implicit versus explicit attitudes.
Participants can partly predict their scores; suggesting that we do have an awareness of our own implicit attitudes, despite implicit attitudes being less accessible consciously..

Schemas

Schemas are mental representations of everyday experiences/things.
They act as mental blueprints.
They influence our beliefs and expectations.
They can simplify information processing (cognitive load) and decision-making (schemas save time).
They enable us to understand information based on what we already know.
Example: recognizing a familiar scenario in a fast-food restaurant.

Heuristics

Heuristics are mental shortcuts to aid decision making and judgments.
Representative heuristic: judgments based on similarity to categories (ignoring base-rate statistics).
Availability heuristic: assessing the likelihood of an event based on how easily it comes to mind. This can lead to inaccurate conclusions/misconceptions about the frequency of events, based on the ease of remembering them.
Example: believing school shootings are more common in the USA than China based on ease of recalling news reports.

Schwarz et al. (1991) Heuristics Study

German female students were asked to recall examples (6 or 12) of words.
Easier recollection of examples leads to stronger belief in their validity; less recollection leads to a decreased belief in their validity.
The study highlights the influence of ease of recall in judging the truthfulness of ideas/events/information.

Illusory Correlations

Misunderstanding of associations between variables. Believing two things are linked even when they aren't.
Example: attributing strange acts to full moons.

Cognitive Miser

A way to process information by relying on heuristics and schemas to conserve cognitive resources.
This is reluctant to engage in effortful, time-consuming thinking; using simplified mental shortcuts.

Naïve Scientist

We look for clear and reasonable explanations of events, analyzing everything, gathering evidence, and using cognitive resources before making decisions.
This approach uses effortful thinking to arrive at wise, well-considered decisions.

Motivational Tactician Framework

Explains how individuals decide whether to use cognitive miser or naïve scientist thinking approaches based on factors like urgency or importance of decision. Time available and personal resources influence the decision-making process.

Attribution Theory

Examines why things happen. We seek to understand why specific events occurred.
This theory differentiates between internal dispositional attributions (blame on individual characteristics/traits) and external situational attributions (blame on external factors).
Example: If you achieve a perfect score on a test, you might attribute that success to working hard. (internal) or to an easy test. (external).

Attribution Biases

Actor-Observer Bias: The tendency to make external attributions for our own behaviors and internal attributions for others’ behaviors. Example: blaming traffic for lateness (external), while assuming someone's lateness is due to carelessness or lack of planning (internal).
Self-Serving Bias: The tendency to attribute successes to internal factors and failures to external factors. Example: taking credit when succeeding but blaming others or circumstances when failing.

Mezuilis et al. (2004) Study

High self-serving bias is observed in older and younger generations compared to middle-aged individuals. Also, Children and older people tend to use internal attributions for good performances and external for poor performances, unlike middle-aged individuals.

Attributions and Self-Serving Bias Study 2

Examined gold medal winners' accounts.
Western cultures tend to attribute their success to internal factors.
Non-Western cultures tend to attribute their success to external or situational factors.

Origin of Attitudes

Attitudes stem from various sources including peers, operant conditioning, cognitive appraisal, societal/cultural influences, and direct experiences.

Genes/Attitudes

Eaves & Hatemi (2008) indicated that genetics can play a role in forming attitudes towards specific issues such as abortion, gay rights, etc.

Bandura's theory: Attitudes are learned and acquired from observing and imitating others from early childhood.

Attitudes and Classical Conditioning

Attitudes can change through classical conditioning, where positive or negative stimuli are paired with a neutral stimulus to evoke an emotional response associated with the original stimulus (e.g., positive stimuli can change explicit attitudes).

Attitudes and Operant Conditioning

Attitudes or behaviours that are reinforced are more likely to occur.
Attitudes or behaviours that are punished are less likely to occur.

Attitudes and Mere Exposure/Experiences

Increased exposure to a stimulus, particularly if it's not accompanied by a negative experience, often leads to a more positive attitude, potentially without conscious awareness. Exposure can reduce/eliminate fear/dislike.
Example: the more a person is exposed to a city, building or culture, the more they tend to like it/it.

Self-Perception Theory

We infer our attitudes and feelings based on observing our own behaviors in certain situations.
If we are unsure of our feelings about something, we look at our past actions as clues.
Example: If you consistently support a particular cause, then you develop a positive attitude toward it.

Cognitive Dissonance

Psychological discomfort caused by inconsistent thoughts, values, or beliefs.
People strive to reduce this discomfort by altering their behaviour or thoughts to align them.
Example: choosing a less desirable option that is less in conflict with one’s values might result in a more positive attitude (e.g., buying a product that doesn't perfectly align with one's values, and justifying the purchase by changing one's attitude toward it/the product).

Aronson & Mills (1959)

College students engaged in "boring discussion groups"
Their behaviour (participating in the discussion) led to a change in their attitudes or beliefs, attempting to justify that choice, in this case, the "boring" discussion.

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Description

This quiz focuses on the components and types of attitudes in psychology, including explicit and implicit attitudes. It examines how attitudes are evaluated and demonstrated through behavior. Test your knowledge on concepts like the Implicit Attitudes Test (IAT) and the factors that influence attitudes.