How to Be a Puppet Master

Persuasion
Effort to change attitudes
through various kinds of
messages

Social
Influence

Attempts to change
behavior (and maybe
attitudes) X
 Outcomes of Influence Attempts

Commitment Compliance Resistance

Attitudes

Chapters 7 and 8
Why Study Attitudes?

Attitudes are important because they:

 strongly influence our social thought
– help to organize and evaluate stimuli (e.g.,
categorizing stimuli as positive or negative)
 presumably have a strong affect on
behavior
– help to predict people’s behavior in wide range of
contexts (e.g., voting, interpersonal relations)
The Basics of Attitudes

Attitude - evaluation of an object in a positive or negative

fashion that includes the 3 elements of affect,
cognitions, and behavior

1. The 3 Components of Attitudes

affect, cognition, and behavior
2. Measuring Attitudes
likert scale - used to assess people’s attitudes that
includes a set of possible answers and that has anchors
on each extreme
Attitude Structure
Gun Control

Affect: “Guns make me sick!”

Behavior: “I vote for gun control

whenever possible.”

Cognition: “Guns in the house

increase the likelihood of children
accidentally shooting themselves.”
Behavior
Attitude Formation

 social learning- acquire attitudes from others

– classical conditioning- learning based on
association
 subliminal conditioning- without awareness
– instrumental conditioning- learn to hold the “right”
views
– observational learning- learning by observing
actions of others and exposure to mass media
Attitude Formation (con’t)

 social comparison- compare ourselves to

others to determine if our view of reality is
correct
– attitudes are shaped by social information from
others we like or respect
 genetic factors- inherited general dispositions
(e.g., see world in a positive or negative light)
– highly heritable attitudes and gut-level preferences
(music) are especially influenced
 Summary

 Attitudes are evaluations of any aspect of our

social world
 Attitudes are often learned
 Attitudes are also formed through social
comparison
 New research suggests attitudes are
influenced by genetic factors
The Functions of Attitudes

1. The Utilitarian Function of Attitudes

serves to alert us to rewarding objects and
situations we should approach, and costly or
punishing objects or situations we should avoid
2. The Ego-Defensive Function of Attitudes
enables us to maintain cherished beliefs about
ourselves by protecting us from awareness of our
negative attributes and impulses or from facts that
contradict our cherished beliefs
The Functions of Attitudes

Terror Management Theory - says that to ward off the

anxiety we feel when contemplating our own demise,
we cling to cultural worldviews and conventional values
out of a belief that by doing so, part of us will survive
death

3. The Value-Expressive Function of Attitudes

4. The Knowledge Function of Attitudes
Attitude-Behavior Link

 Attitudes do not always predict behavior

– LaPiere (1934) found that virtually all businesses
served Chinese couple courteously, yet most owners
held negative attitudes
– Sun-worshippers know the dangers of exposure to
the sun, yet they tan anyway
 “looking good” attitude takes precedence over
attitudes toward personal health

Forward
 LaPiere Study
Would you serve Chinese people?

Did Serve Would Serve

120% 100% 99%

100%
80%
60%
40%
8% 9%
20%
Back 0%
Restaurants Hotels, Motels
Moderators of A-B Link

 Aspects of the situation

– situational constraints (e.g., sparing one’s feelings)
may prevent us from expressing our true attitudes
– often we choose situations where we can engage in
behaviors consistent with our attitudes
 Aspects of attitudes
– origins- how attitudes were formed
– strength- intensity, importance, accessibility
– specificity- general vs. specific
How Do Attitudes Influence Behavior?

 Theory of planned behavior (considered)

– intentions are a function of attitudes toward
behavior, subjective norms, and perceived
behavioral control
 Attitude-to behavior process model (impulsive)
– attitudes spontaneously shape our behavior of
situation
 Prototype/willingness model (risky)
– behavior is a function of attitudes toward behavior,
subjective norms, behavior intentions, willingness to
engage in specific form of behavior, and prototypes
 Theory of Planned Behavior

Attitudes

Subjective Behavioral
Behavior
Norms Intentions

Perceived
Behavioral
Control

Back
 Attitude to Behavior Process Model

Perception of
Event

Event Attitude Behavior

Social
Norms

Back
 Prototype/Willingness Model

Subjective Behavioral
Norms Intentions

Previous
Attitude Behavior
Behavior

Behavioral
Prototype
Willingness
 Summary

 Several factors moderate the link between attitudes

and behaviors.
 Situational constraints may prevent us from
expressing our attitudes.
 We often engage in activities that allow us to express
our attitudes.
 Attitude formation, attitude strength, and attitude
specificity also moderate the A-B link.
 Attitudes influence behavior through several
mechanisms.