Attitude (psychology) Study Guide

📖 Core Concepts Attitude – a mental shortcut that evaluates an object (person, idea, group) as favorable or unfavorable. ABC Model – attitudes consist of Affective (feelings), Behavioral (action tendencies), and Cognitive (beliefs) components. Latent Construct – attitudes cannot be observed directly; we infer them from responses or physiological cues. Explicit vs. Implicit – Explicit attitudes are conscious and self‑reported; implicit attitudes operate automatically outside awareness. Attitude‑Behavior Link – the stronger and more accessible an attitude, the more likely it will guide actual behavior. --- 📌 Must Remember Measurement Tools Likert Scale – agreement / disagreement on a series of statements (e.g., 1 = Strongly disagree → 5 = Strongly agree). Semantic Differential – bipolar adjectives (e.g., good–bad) rate the object. Guttman Scale – items ordered by difficulty; endorsing a harder item implies endorsement of all easier items. Implicit Association Test (IAT) – faster responses when associated concepts share the same attribute indicate stronger implicit linkage. Key Theories Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) → Behavioral Intention (BI) = Attitude toward behavior + Subjective norm. Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) → $BI = Attitude + Subjective\ Norm + Perceived\ Behavioral\ Control$. MODE Model – behavior occurs when (M)otivation, (O)pportunity, and (D) ability to process the attitude are present. Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) – central route (high involvement, strong arguments) vs. peripheral route (cues like source credibility). Functions of Attitudes – Utilitarian, Knowledge, Ego‑defensive, Value‑expressive. Formation Mechanisms – Classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, social learning, mere‑exposure, cognitive dissonance reduction, balance theory, self‑perception. --- 🔄 Key Processes Measuring an Explicit Attitude Choose a scale (Likert/semantic differential). Write balanced statements covering the target object. Administer, sum or average scores → higher scores = more favorable attitude. Running an IAT (Implicit Measure) Pair target concepts with positive/negative attributes. Record response latencies for compatible vs. incompatible pairings. Faster latency for compatible pairings → stronger implicit bias. Predicting Behavior with TPB Assess Attitude (evaluation of the behavior). Assess Subjective Norm (perceived social pressure). Assess Perceived Behavioral Control (ease/difficulty). Combine (often via weighted regression) to estimate Behavioral Intention, then actual behavior. Persuasion via ELM Step 1: Determine audience involvement. Step 2: If high → use strong, logical arguments (central route). Step 3: If low → leverage peripheral cues (source credibility, attractiveness). --- 🔍 Key Comparisons Explicit vs. Implicit Attitudes Explicit: conscious, self‑report, reliable when motivation & ability to introspect are high. Implicit: unconscious, measured indirectly, predicts behavior under low cognitive resources. Central vs. Peripheral Route (ELM) Central: high motivation, careful scrutiny, durable attitude change. Peripheral: low motivation, relies on superficial cues, change may be short‑lived. TRA vs. TPB TRA: no account for perceived control; assumes volitional behavior. TPB: adds perceived behavioral control → better for behaviors with external constraints. Utilitarian vs. Value‑Expressive Functions Utilitarian: “I like this because it gets me rewards / avoids punishment.” Value‑Expressive: “I like this because it reflects who I am / my core values.” --- ⚠️ Common Misunderstandings “Attitudes always predict behavior.” Only when attitudes are strong, accessible, and the behavior is volitional. “A high IAT score means a person is prejudiced.” IAT reflects associative strength, not necessarily conscious endorsement or intent to act. “More arguments always improve persuasion.” Overloading low‑involvement audiences can backfire; relevance and clarity matter more. “All components of the ABC model must be equally strong.” Attitudes can be cognitively dominant (beliefs) or affectively dominant (feelings) and still be functional. --- 🧠 Mental Models / Intuition “Attitude as a Gear” – Think of attitude components as gears: if the cognitive gear turns, it can drive affective and behavioral gears, but a stuck gear (e.g., low accessibility) prevents movement. “Accessibility Switch” – An attitude that is highly accessible flips on automatically when the object appears, guiding perception and action like a light switch. “Motivation‑Opportunity‑Ability (MOA) Funnel” – Only attitudes that pass through all three MOA filters (motivation, opportunity, ability) reach the behavior outlet. --- 🚩 Exceptions & Edge Cases Ambivalent Attitudes – Simultaneous positive & negative evaluations; can lead to unstable behavior and heightened susceptibility to situational cues. Mood‑Dependent Attitudes – Contemporary views: attitudes may shift with current mood, violating the “persistent” assumption. High‑Stress Situations – Implicit attitudes dominate; explicit attitudes may be suppressed or ignored. Cultural Variability – Functions (e.g., ego‑defensive) may differ in collectivist vs. individualist societies. --- 📍 When to Use Which | Situation | Preferred Measure / Model | Reason | |-----------|---------------------------|--------| | Predicting planned health behavior | TPB (include perceived control) | Accounts for external constraints (e.g., access to gym). | | Assessing automatic bias in hiring | IAT or other implicit measure | Explicit self‑reports are socially desirable; implicit captures automatic associations. | | Evaluating effect of a TV ad | Likert + semantic differential | Direct self‑report of attitude toward the product. | | Designing a persuasion campaign for low‑involvement audience | Peripheral cues (source credibility, attractiveness) | Central arguments unlikely to be processed. | | Measuring attitude strength | Guttman scale + certainty items | Captures gradations of endorsement and confidence. | | Understanding ambivalence | Separate affective & cognitive scales, compute ambivalence index | Allows detection of mixed evaluations. | --- 👀 Patterns to Recognize “High involvement → central route” – Look for cues like personal relevance, strong emotions, or complex decisions. “Stress or cognitive load → implicit influence” – When a scenario mentions time pressure, multitasking, or fatigue, implicit attitudes become predictive. “Repeated exposure → increased positivity” – The mere‑exposure effect shows up whenever a stimulus is presented multiple times before attitude measurement. “Discrepancy among ABC components → potential dissonance” – If beliefs and feelings clash, expect attitude change attempts (e.g., justification, selective exposure). --- 🗂️ Exam Traps Confusing “Attitude Accessibility” with “Attitude Strength.” Trap: Assuming a highly accessible attitude is automatically strong. Why wrong: Accessibility is about retrieval speed; strength also involves certainty, importance, and ambivalence. Choosing the wrong route in ELM based on “message length.” Trap: Longer messages = central route. Why wrong: Length matters only if the audience is motivated and able to process; otherwise it may cause fatigue. Using TRA for behaviors with limited control. Trap: Omitting perceived behavioral control. Why wrong: TPB is required when external barriers exist (e.g., legal restrictions). Assuming a high IAT score equals conscious prejudice. Trap: Over‑interpreting implicit data. Why wrong: Implicit measures reflect automatic associations, not necessarily endorsed beliefs or intentions. Believing that more arguments always improve persuasion. Trap: Adding weak or irrelevant arguments can dilute message quality and lower credibility. ---