PSYCO241 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Likert Scale, Polygraph, Attitude Change
26 Nov 2018
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Document Summary
Attitude: a positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object, or idea. Attitudes are not simply represented along one simple continuum (positive on one side and negative on the other) Attitudes serve several important functions (judge relatively quickly without much though whether something is good or bad) Things we form attitudes about are called attitude objects. However, having preexisting attitudes can bias the way we interpret new information and make us resistant to change. You can"t just turn it up or down like a knob on a stereo. Attitudes can vary in strength/intensity along both positive and negative dimensions. You can react to something with a positive attitude/affect with a low negative reaction. Also, you can act with ambivalence high positive and negative attitude. Attitudes serve a function we can judge if something is good or bad, safe or harmful, if we should avoid or approach. Attitudes can lead us to be biased and closed minded.
