Questions and Answers
What do social psychologists mean when they use the word attitude?
An attitude is a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events, or symbols.
What are the three components of an attitude (ABCs)?
Affective component, behavioral component, cognitive component.
What is the consistency principle?
The consistency principle states that we often expect a person's behavior to be consistent with their attitudes.
What two variables determine the strength of an attitude?
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How might you operationalize an attitude using Likert scales?
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How are implicit attitudes different from explicit ones?
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Why are implicit attitudes challenging to measure?
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How does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) attempt to measure implicit attitudes?
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How would you use Heider's Balance Theory to explain marketing strategies?
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Study Notes
Attitudes in Psychology
- An attitude is a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies toward socially significant objects, groups, events, or symbols.
Components of Attitude (ABCs)
- Affective Component: Involves feelings or emotions toward the attitude object (e.g., "I am scared of spiders").
- Behavioral Component: Reflects how attitudes influence actions or behaviors (e.g., "I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one").
- Cognitive Component: Encompasses beliefs or knowledge about the attitude object (e.g., "I believe spiders are dangerous").
Consistency Principle
- Suggests that behavior is usually expected to align with held attitudes.
- LaPiere's 1934 study revealed discrepancies between attitudes and behaviors; despite widespread anti-Chinese sentiment, most establishments treated a Chinese couple politely, while later, 91% refused to accept Chinese guests in correspondence.
Strength of Attitude
- Determined by two key variables: knowledge and importance/personal relevance.
Measuring Attitudes
- Behavioral Observation: Directly observing actions related to attitudes.
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Likert Scales: Developed by Likert in 1932, these scales gauge attitudes through agreement with statements, tapping into cognitive and affective components.
- Respondents rate statements on a scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree, often using five to nine pre-coded responses.
Implicit vs. Explicit Attitudes
- Explicit Attitudes: Conscious and deliberately formed, making them easy to self-report.
- Implicit Attitudes: Unconscious and involuntarily formed, often unknown to the individual.
Challenges in Measuring Implicit Attitudes
- Implicit attitudes are difficult to measure because they remain unknown to the subject.
Implicit Association Test (IAT)
- A method for measuring implicit attitudes by categorizing words or pictures quickly to determine automatic associations between concepts and attributes.
Heider's Balance Theory and Marketing
- Marketing strategies can influence personal attitudes using balanced triads.
- By associating products with positive figures or concepts (e.g., a young person and Macs) and contrasting with negative ones (e.g., an older person and PCs), marketers aim to shape consumer attitudes.
- A positive relationship with the positive figure encourages favorable attitudes toward the associated product.
Example of Balanced and Imbalanced Triads
- Balanced: Young person + Macs = Positive attitude
- Imbalanced: Older person + PCs = Negative attitude
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Description
Explore key concepts in social psychology with these flashcards from Module 11. This quiz focuses on the definition of attitudes and their components, helping you understand how beliefs and feelings influence behavior. Perfect for quick revision or deepening your knowledge in psychology.
