Social Psychology Chapter 5 Flashcards

Attitude Inoculation

• Attitude inoculation involves exposing individuals to small counterarguments to strengthen their stance against persuasion attempts.
• This technique aims to make individuals resistant to changes in their attitudes.

Processing Types

• Spontaneous processing refers to superficial processing of information, leading to quick acceptance of messages.
• Thoughtful processing involves deeper cognitive engagement with the message, encouraging critical evaluation.

Attitudes

• Attitudes are enduring evaluations of objects, people, or events that consist of cognitive (beliefs), affective (feelings), and behavioral (actions) components.
• Example: Expressing a liking for chocolate includes cognitive recognition, emotional response, and resultant behavior.

Learning Attitudes

• Attitudes are learned through both direct experiences and indirect influences, reflecting personal interactions with attitude objects.

Implicit Association Test

• A method for measuring attitudes through physiological responses, including facial expressions and arousal levels.

Neuroimaging and Attitudes

• The prefrontal cortex and amygdala are areas in the brain where emotional attitudes can be observed via neuroimaging techniques.

Attitude Strength and Consistency

• Strong attitudes are indicated by their accessibility; they are quickly brought to mind.
• Direct experiences enhance the strength and impact of attitudes, creating a more robust belief system.
• Attitude consistency occurs when cognitive, affective, and behavioral components align, influencing behavior predictability.

Self-Monitoring

• Self-monitoring defines an individual's tendency to adjust behavior based on social cues.
• High self-monitors are adaptive and strive for social acceptance, while low self-monitors are less concerned with fitting into social contexts.

Effective Communication

• Effective communication encompasses capturing attention, delivering a clear message, and prompting recipient processing in desired manners.
• Successful persuaders consider the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of their messages to resonate with the audience.

Persuasion Techniques

• The sleeper effect refers to gradual attitude changes over time as individuals eventually forget the source of initial persuasive information while retaining its content.
• Spontaneous attitude change occurs through immediate emotional responses, while thoughtful change relies on deeper cognitive engagement.
• Fear appeals leverage strong negative emotions to enhance memory retention.

Resistance to Persuasion

• Forewarning prepares individuals by alerting them of potential persuasive attempts, allowing them to formulate counterarguments.
• Inoculation prepares attitudes for defense against persuasion by introducing mild challenges.

Psychological Reactance

• Psychological reactance is an emotional response triggered when individuals perceive a threat to their freedom of choice.

Subliminal Advertising

• Subliminal advertising involves presenting messages without consumers' conscious awareness, potentially influencing decisions subconsciously.

Self-Perception Theory

• Self-perception theory suggests individuals deduce their feelings and thoughts by observing their own behavior.

Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive dissonance occurs when individuals experience discomfort from actions that contradict their beliefs or expectations.
• Buyer's remorse is a form of post-decisional dissonance, where feelings of regret surface after significant choices.

Persuasion Strategies

• The foot-in-the-door technique involves securing agreement to a small request before escalating to a larger appeal.
• The lowball technique uses initial enticing promises to create an emotional commitment, making the associated behavior more appealing.
• Bait-and-switch tactics advertise products at lower prices but may lead to disappointment if the product is unavailable upon arrival.

Test your knowledge on key concepts from Chapter 5 of Social Psychology with these flashcards. Explore essential terms like attitude inoculation, spontaneous processing, and thoughtful processing to enhance your understanding of how attitudes are formed and changed.