ATTITUDE
A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour
Can be towards an concrete or abstract object
CLASSIC UNIDIMENTIONAL ATTITUDE APPROACH
Valence = positive, negative, neutral
Strength = weak -> strong
Differ from person to person
Measured using bipolar scales
Assumes attitude can be +ve or –ve, not both
AMBIVALENT ATTITUDE APPROACH
Simultaneously holding an attitude of mixed valence towards an attitude object
BIDIMENSIONAL ATTITUDE APPROACH
People evaluate attitude objects on a separate positive dimension and negative dimension
+ve and –ve measured using unipolar scales
Can separate true neutral from ambivalent attitudes
ATTITUDE STRENGTH
Greater stability/duration over time
Better at predicting behaviour
More resistant to persuasion
INDICATORS OF ATTITUDE STRENGTH
Attitude extremity
- How much an attitudes deviates from normality
Attitude certainty
- How sure a person is of their attitude
Attitude importance
- How important/relevant an attitude is to a person
Attitude accessibility
- How easily an attitude comes to mind
MORALISATION OF ATTITUDES
Some attitudes are linked to deeply entrenched beliefs that certain things are ‘right’ vs ‘wrong’
Belief attitude is universal and objectively true
Intolerance of dissimilar people
Greater resistance to compromise, authority
MORAL MANDATE HYPOTHESIS
Attitudes tied to moral convictions are more powerful influences of behaviour than those that aren’t
ATTITUDE STRUCTURE - TRIPARTITE MODEL
COGNITIONS - Thoughts, beliefs
AFFECT - Feelings, emotion
BEHAVIOURAL TENDENCIES
Positive cognitions + affect + behavioural tendencies = positive attitude
*Vice versa
UTILITARIAN ATTITUDE FUNCTION
Helps us maximise reward and minimise punishment
EGO DEFENSIVE ATTITUDE FUNCTION
Helps us protect our self-esteem
VALUE- EXPRESSIVE ATTITUDE FUNCTION
Allows us to express values important to our self-concepts
SOCIAL ADJUSTIVE ATTITUDE FUNCTION
Help us gain social acceptance and connection, and fit into social groups
DIRECT BEHAVIOURAL EXPERIENCE - ATTITUDE FORMATION
Attitude formation from direct experience with attitude object
Positive experience = positive attitude
Positive experiences are rewarding, negative are punishing.
Attitudes formed through direct experience are more predictive of behaviour than not
MERE EXPOSURE EFFECT - ATTITUDE FORMATION
Exposure, even without interaction, can elicit a positive attitude towards a novel stimulus.
We like things we’re exposed to more frequently
Effect is only positive when initial attitude is +ve
If –ve, attitude gets worse with exposure.
EVALUATIVE CONDITIONING - ATTITUDE FORMATION
Attitudes formed by association
Pair novel attitude object with an object you already have +ve/-ve attitude for
Celebrity/brand endorsements
Ex. Hard to separate between music and musician
SPREADING ATTITUDE EFFECT - EVALUATIVE CONDITIONING
Dislike/liked objects may affect attitude of object directly associated to novel object and so forth.
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING - ATTITUDE FORMATION
Adopt the attitudes we see others have towards an object
Emerges when very young
SOCIAL IDENTITY & GROUP NORMS - ATTITUDE FORMATION
Social groups often defined by shared attitudes
We may be drawn to groups that share our attitudes
GENETICS - ATTITUDE FORMATION
Right environmental factors need to be in place for genetic predisposition to manifest
Similarities in attitudes more in identical twins
DISPOSITIONAL ATTITUDES - ATTITUDE FORMATION
Individual difference in general tendency to like/dislike attitude objects
Positive dispositional attitude associated with openness, extraversion, optimism
ATTITUDES -> BEHAVIOUR
Attitudes are powerful predictor of behaviour
- Products -> purchase
- People -> interactions
- Jobs -> performance
-Politicians -> voting
Sometimes attitudes don’t predict behaviour
- Attitudinal ambivalence
- Social norms
- Lack of control
THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR
Behaviour is predicted by behavioural intention
Behavioural intention predicted by:
- Attitude (behavioural beliefs)
- Subjective norms (normative beliefs)
- Perceived behavioural control (control beliefs)
JOB ATTITUDES
Behaviour linked to motivation
Work motivation linked to attitudes
