PSYC 351 Lecture Notes - Attitude Change, Cognitive Dissonance, Three Steps
Chapter4 Behavior & Attitude
• Attitudes
o A favorable or unfavorable reaction toward something or someone,
exhibited in one’s beliefs, feelings, or intended behavior
• Attitude-Behavior Inconsistency
• Often a person’s attitudes and behaviors do not appear to match.
• We have an attitude against something going wrong but we cannot do anyting
because it is against the rules of society
o Chinese Couple Study:
o Refused service at only 1 of 251 hotels/restaurants (i.e., served at
99.6% of places visited)
o But 90%, in reply to a letter sent out by researchers, said that they
would not serve Chinese clientele
o Public and private attitudes
• Personal Example
− What are some of your personal examples of a time when your attitude and
behavior did not match?
• When Do Attitudes Predict Behavior?
o Either implicitly or explicitly
o Overtly or subtly
o When the attitude occurs frequently
o When attitudes are specific to the behavior
o When attitudes are potent
• Implicit vs Explicit
o The attitudes people have may not be explicitly stated
o Literal statement of how we feel about something
o They may be underneath the surface: implicit
o Implied but subtle
o Implicit association task
o The combination of both implicit and explicit attitudes predicts
behavior and judgement
o When the consequences of bias are minimal: explicit attitudes
better predict behavior
o E.g.: consumer behavior
o When the consequences of bias are high: implicit attitudes better
predict behavior
o E.g.: racial/gender inequality
• Overt vs. Subtle
▪ Being in favor of stricter voter ID laws- implicit?
o Aggregating Behavior
− Principle of aggregation
o We can tell someone's attitude based on several samples of
behavior
E.g.: going to church
• Specific Attitudes
o When people have a specific attitude towards some action, they
are more likely to act in accordance with the attitude in the near
future
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
99. 6% of places visited: but 90%, in reply to a letter sent out by researchers, said that they would not serve chinese clientele, public and private attitudes, personal example. Implicit vs explicit: the attitudes people have may not be explicitly stated, literal statement of how we feel about something, they may be underneath the surface: implicit. Implicit association task: the combination of both implicit and explicit attitudes predicts behavior and judgement, when the consequences of bias are minimal: explicit attitudes better predict behavior, e. g. : consumer behavior: when the consequences of bias are high: implicit attitudes better predict behavior, e. g. Subtle: being in favor of stricter voter id laws- implicit, aggregating behavior. Principle of aggregation: we can tell someone"s attitude based on several samples of behavior. Interracial behavior and attitudes: role playing, does what you wear change your behavior, stanford prison experiment, saying becomes believing, college students asked to summarize a personality description to some other student.
