4: Attitudes, Behavior, and Persuasion
- Page ID
- 257081
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Chapter Overview
Attitudes influence how we think, feel, and behave toward people, objects, ideas, and situations. In this chapter, we explore how attitudes are formed, what makes them strong, and how well they predict behavior. We also examine how attitudes can change through persuasive communication and through our own actions. Along the way, we will consider important social psychological concepts such as persuasion, self-perception, and cognitive dissonance to better understand the relationship between our attitudes and behaviors.
Chapter Learning Objectives
1. Exploring Attitudes
- Define the concept of an attitude and explain why it is of such interest to social psychologists.
- Review the variables that determine attitude strength.
- Outline the factors that affect the strength of the attitude-behavior relationship.
2. Changing Attitudes through Persuasion
- Outline how persuasion is determined by the choice of effective communicators and effective messages.
- Review the conditions under which attitudes are best changed using spontaneous versus thoughtful strategies.
- Summarize the variables that make us more or less resistant to persuasive appeals.
3. Changing Attitudes by Changing Behavior
- Outline the principles of self-perception and explain how they can account for the influences of behavior on attitude.
- Outline the principles of cognitive dissonance and explain how they can account for the influences of behavior on attitude.
- 4.1: Prelude to Attitudes, Behavior, and Persuasion
- This page explores how Apple's persuasive marketing has reshaped consumer views on smartphones since the iPhone's launch in 2007. It highlights effective strategies like emotional storytelling and building customer relationships that enhance brand loyalty and sales.
- 4.2: Exploring Attitudes
- This page examines attitudes in social psychology as enduring evaluations that affect behavior, shaped by cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. It explores the ABC model (Affect, Behavior, Cognition) and the Theory of Planned Behavior, noting that strong attitudes are accessible and influence intentions. Factors like direct experiences, social norms, and self-monitoring impact the attitude-behavior relationship, with specificity in measurement enhancing predictability.
- 4.3: Changing Attitudes through Persuasion
- This page explores the dynamics of persuasion, emphasizing the importance of communicator attributes like appeal and trustworthiness. It discusses two processing routes: spontaneous, influenced by superficial cues, and thoughtful, based on deep evaluation. Strategies to enhance resistance to persuasion include forewarning and inoculation, while acknowledging potential negative effects like psychological reactance.
- 4.4: Changing Attitudes by Changing Behavior
- This page explores how behavior is influenced by external factors, leading to changes in self-perception and attitudes through concepts like overjustification and cognitive dissonance. Overjustification results in diminished enjoyment of activities due to external rewards, while cognitive dissonance arises from conflicting beliefs and actions, prompting individuals to rationalize or adjust their beliefs.
- 4.5: Thinking Like a Social Psychologist about Attitudes, Behavior, and Persuasion
- This page explores the importance of attitudes in social psychology and their impact on beliefs, feelings, and behaviors. It highlights their relevance in consumer behavior, particularly in advertising, with Apple's iPhone as a case study for effective persuasion. The page also prompts readers to consider their own self-perception and cognitive dissonance concerning attitudes and behaviors, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of recent advertisements they've seen.
- 4.6: Chapter Summary
- This page examines attitudes as evaluations shaped by emotions, actions, and thoughts, highlighting the importance of attitude strength in predicting behaviors. It discusses how persuasion can alter attitudes, especially from credible sources and when relevant to the audience. The processing of persuasive messages varies based on motivation and personal relevance.
- 4.7: Additional Learning Opportunities
- This page provides activities and resources to deepen understanding of attitudes and persuasion, utilizing a tripartite model to analyze affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of attitudes. It includes a case study on attitude-behavior consistency, an examination of persuasion techniques in advertisements, and encourages students to create persuasive messages.