SocialPsy4

Social Psychology: 

Social Psychology Chapter 4 Behavior & Attitudes

Attitude & The ABC Components: 

Attitude & The ABC Components An internal evaluative view directed toward someone or something Can be favorable Can be unfavorable The ABCs of attitude Affect (feelings) Behavior (actions) Cognition (thoughts and intentions)

Do Attitudes Guide Behavior? It Depends: 

Do Attitudes Guide Behavior? It Depends The hypocrite within http://www.oldeenglish.org/puppy.html Many people believe themselves to be moral, yet do immoral things How many of you cheated on a test? Shoplifted? Many believe a sexual relationship should be between two loving, committed adults Yet they, themselves, have had one-night stands

Keep in Mind What We Know About People: 

Keep in Mind What We Know About People We all like to think of ourselves as being special & socially acceptable. As a result: We express attitudes that aren’t necessarily consistent with our true beliefs I’m not prejudiced against anyone, but those… We hold on to beliefs about ourselves that boost our self-esteem and concept Oh, I plan on volunteering at the homeless shelter…I’m just too busy to do it now

So Then, When Can Attitudes Predict Behavior?: 

So Then, When Can Attitudes Predict Behavior? When looking at the big picture as it relates to behavior (average behavior vs. isolated acts) Knowing one’s attitude toward someone or something will allow us to predict how a person will react in most situations Knowing one’s attitude toward someone or something will not allow us to predict how a person will react in a specific situation

So Then, When Can Attitudes Predict Behavior?: 

So Then, When Can Attitudes Predict Behavior? When an attitude is more specific, it is more indicative of how a person will act General attitude: concern for all living things How many people would protest the killing of an endangered species of the beetle or fly family? Specific attitude: for or against abortion Attend protests, write your congressperson, etc.

So Then, When Can Attitudes Predict Behavior?: 

So Then, When Can Attitudes Predict Behavior? When an attitude is strongly forged through experience Most people think the Amber alert system is a good idea Who made it possible?

So Then, When Can Attitudes Predict Behavior?: 

So Then, When Can Attitudes Predict Behavior? When we reflect upon our attitudes Spend time thinking about a specific attitude  more likely to act in a way consistent with it A death penalty proponent is more likely to sentence a person to die if s/he dwells upon her/his attitude before coming to a decision When you are made to feel self-conscious about your attitude Honesty and timed task: mirror vs. no mirror

How Behavior Can Determine Attitudes: 

How Behavior Can Determine Attitudes The impact of assuming a role E.g.: Absolute power corrupts Consider people with power (celebrities, sports figures, etc.), once unknown and with egos no bigger than most How many, after assuming the role of “celebrity” or “world class athlete” now have the attitude that they can do whatever they please Joan Rivers profanity-laced tirade because she was made to wait in line when renting a car

How Behavior Can Determine Attitudes: 

How Behavior Can Determine Attitudes The impact of assuming a role You don’t have to be a celebrity to be impacted Were the the other cooks right when they called me “Dale jr.?” Zimbardo’s “Quiet Rage: the Stanford prison study” video Even saying can lead to believing Jacobellis’ showboating: “I have no regrets”

How Behavior Can Determine Attitudes: 

How Behavior Can Determine Attitudes The foot-in-the-door phenomenon Our tendency to comply with a larger request after initially only agreeing with a small request E.g. Agree to go in to work for an hour  “Since you’re already here…” Low-ball technique Involves getting people to agree to something, then upping the ante E.g.: Olive Garden and the dipping sauces

How Behavior Can Determine Attitudes: 

How Behavior Can Determine Attitudes The door-in-the-foot technique Starting out with a large request, knowing that most people will turn it down, so as to get them to agree to a smaller request Can I put you down for 5 boxes of Girl Scout cookies? No? Oh, well, will you buy one or two? You will?! Great!

Evil Behavior & Its Impact on Attitude : 

Evil Behavior & Its Impact on Attitude Engaging in immoral behavior makes it easier to engage in worse behavior As a result, we tend to harbor negative attitudes toward the people the behaviors are aimed at Con someone  “It’s their fault for being so stupid” Moral behavior breeds more moral behavior

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes: 

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes Self-presentation theory: the desire to appear consistent We may feign attitudes that we don’t hold so that it seems to jog with our behavior E.g.: Drinking with your friends and telling them how cool it is to get drunk, even though you don’t really like drinking…you just want to fit in.

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes: 

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes Cognitive Dissonance Theory The desire to be consistent Internal tension experienced when experiencing simultaneous thoughts that are inconsistent with each other Occurs when a behavior does not match an attitude Causes pressure to change (attitude changes to fit behavior, usually) so as to bring about consistency

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes: 

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes Cognitive Dissonance Theory (cont.) Insufficient justification effect Reducing dissonance by inwardly justifying a behavior when there is a lack of external justification E.g.: Students perform boring task Group 1 gets $20.00 to lie and say it was interesting  attitude remained same…task was boring Group 2 gets $1.00  insufficient justification for why they performed act  adjusted attitude..not bad

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes: 

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes Dissonance after decisions…convincing ourselves we made the right choice We tend to experience dissonance over the choices we make, especially important ones Did I make the right choice? The other choice had a lot to offer… To get rid of tension, we focus on our choice’s positives while focusing on the negatives of the other option

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes: 

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes E.g.: Sasha has been offered two jobs. Both are good jobs with good pay, benefits, chances to move up and located downtown. I took Job A because the people seem more genuine, its located a little closer to home and I have a nice, spacious office Job B was less prestigious. The people at Job B seemed like they might be back-stabbers and my office was too close to the coffee machine

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes: 

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes Self-perception When unsure of our beliefs about someone or something, we turn to our own behavior and the situations in which that behavior occurs An attitude is then formed based on our behavior E.g. How do I feel about Bambi? I never really thought about it…

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes: 

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes Self-perception (cont.): The role of emotions Remember the facial-feedback hypothesis? It can have an effect on attitude as well E.g. I’m smiling…I must be happy

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes: 

Why Actions Often Affect Attitudes Self-perception (cont.): Overjustification and its impact on intrinsic motivation Overjustification occurs when one is rewarded for performing a behavior s/he already enjoys  shift from intrinsic to extrinsic motivation Your want your kids to play video games less often? Give them an allowance to play, watch them play, and praise their playing ability