PSY 201 Study Guide - Final Guide: Rigid Body, Psychopathy, Asperger Syndrome
2 Jul 2018
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Psych 201 Final Study Guide
Chapter 12 – Social Psychology
Explain how attitudes guide behavior.
● we form attitudes through experience and socialization
○ opinions, beliefs, and feelings are called attitudes
■ shaped by social context
■ play an important role in how we evaluate and interact with other
people
○ direct experience of, or exposure to, things shape attitudes
○ the mere exposure effect
■ the more we are exposed to something, the more we are to like it
○ attitudes can be conditioned
■ advertisers take advantage of this
● behaviors are consistent with strong attitudes
○ an attitude is more likely to predict behavior, to be consistent over time,
and to be resistant to change: the stronger it is, the more personally
relevant it is, the more specific it is, if it is formed through direct
experience
○ attitude accessibility predicts behavior consistent with the attitude
■ explicit attitudes: those you are aware of and can report
■ implicit attitudes: those you are not aware of, may be associated
with brain areas involved with implicit memories, implicit association
test
● a belief we do not necessarily endorse but may affect our
behavior
● discrepancies lead to dissonance
○ theory of cognitive dissonance: when we are confronted with information
implying that we may have behaved in ways that are irrational, immoral, or
stupid, we experience a good deal of discomfort. This feeling of discomfort
caused by performing and action that runs counter to one's customary
(typically positive) conception of oneself is referred to as cognitive
dissonance.
○ Leon Festinger (1957) was the first to investigate the precise workings of
this powerful phenomenon and elaborated his findings into what is
arguably social psychology’s most important and most provocative theory,
the theory of cognitive dissonance.
○ Dissonance is most powerful when people behave in ways that threaten
their self-image.
○ There are three basic ways we try to reduce cognitive dissonance:
■ By changing our behavior to bring it in line with the dissonant
cognition.
■ By attempting to justify our behavior through changing one of the
dissonant cognitions.
■ By attempting to justify our behavior by adding new cognitions.
○ Every time we make a decision, we experience dissonance.
■ In any decision (between two cars, two colleges, two potential
lovers), the chosen alternative is seldom entirely positive, and the
alternative is seldom entirely negative.
■ So while making the decision, you have doubts.
■ After the decision, your cognition that you are a smart person is
dissonant with aspects that didn’t fit your choice.
■ You reduce dissonance by downplaying the negative aspects of the
one you chose and the positive aspects of the one you rejected.
○ Postdecision dissonance: dissonance aroused after making a decision,
typically reduced by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen alternative
and devaluing the rejected alternatives
○ Discrepancies led to Dissonance
■ attitude change: Researchers have found that people are likely to
change their attitudes as a result of dissonance and to provide
justifications
● attitudes can be changed through persuasion
○ In the elaboration likelihood model persuasion leads to attitude change in
two ways:
■ The central route
● People pay attention to arguments, consider all the
information, and use rational cognitive processes
● Leads to strong attitudes that last over time and are resistant
to change
■ The peripheral route
● People minimally process the message
● Leads to more impulsive action
○ Three critical factors influence the extent to which a message is
persuasive:
■ Source
■ Content
■ Receiver
Explain the mere exposure effect and why it operates.
● the mere exposure effect
○ the more we are exposed to something, the more we are to like it
Distinguish between implicit and explicit attitudes.
● explicit attitudes: those you are aware of and can report
● implicit attitudes: those you are not aware of, may be associated with brain areas
involved with implicit memories, implicit association test
○ a belief we do not necessarily endorse but may affect our behavior
What is cognitive dissonance? How does it relate to decisions? How does it
relate to justification of effort?
● theory of cognitive dissonance: when we are confronted with information implying
that we may have behaved in ways that are irrational, immoral, or stupid, we
experience a good deal of discomfort. This feeling of discomfort caused by
performing and action that runs counter to one's customary (typically positive)
conception of oneself is referred to as cognitive dissonance.
● There are three basic ways we try to reduce cognitive dissonance:
○ By changing our behavior to bring it in line with the dissonant cognition.
○ By attempting to justify our behavior through changing one of the
dissonant cognitions.
○ By attempting to justify our behavior by adding new cognitions.
● Every time we make a decision, we experience dissonance.
○ In any decision (between two cars, two colleges, two potential lovers), the
chosen alternative is seldom entirely positive, and there jected alternative
is seldom entirely negative.
○ So while making the decision, you have doubts.
○ After the decision, your cognition that you are a smart person is dissonant
with aspects that didn’t fit your choice.
○ You reduce dissonance by downplaying the negative aspects of the one
you chose and the positive aspects of the one you rejected.
Distinguish between the central and peripheral routes to persuasion in
Elaboration Likelihood Model.
● The central route
○ People pay attention to arguments, consider all the information, and use
rational cognitive processes
○ Leads to strong attitudes that last over time and are resistant to change
● The peripheral route
○ People minimally process the message
○ Leads to more impulsive action
Identify the cues that influence a message’s persuasiveness.
