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PART
I: FOUNDATIONS
CHAPTER
2: ATTITUDES: DEFINITION AND STRUCTURE
CHAPTER
OBJECTIVES
This chapter introduces
students to attitudes, the centerpiece of persuasion. The chapter presents
a definition of attitude, belief, and value. It discusses the structure
of attitudes and explores different approaches to the issue of attitude
organization. Strong, deeply-held attitudes are discussed, with emphasis
placed on how people process information in biased ways when they have
strong feelings about issues. The chapter provides practical illustrations
of value complexities and the psychology of selective perception (for
example, the case of Blacks' and Whites' divergent perceptions of the
movie, Do The Right Thing).
TERMS
AND ISSUES TO KNOW
Concept and definition
of attitude
Definition of value and belief
Expectancy-value theory of attitude structure
Symbolic and ideological views of attitude structure
Consistency among elements of an attitude
Balance theory
Psychology of strong attitudes
Social judgment theory
Latitudes of acceptance, rejection, and noncommitment
Assimilation and contrast
Ego-involvement
Selective perception
Accessibility
Implicit attitude
Dual attitudes
GLOSSARY
OF MAJOR TERMS
Attitude:
a learned, global evaluation of an object (person, place, or issue) that
influences
thought and action.
Value: an ideal, or guiding principle in one's life.
Belief: a cognition about the world. It can be prescriptive
(should-oriented) or descriptive.
Expectancy-Value Theory: approach emphasizing that attitudes
have two core components: cognitive expectations of an attribute, and evaluations,
or feelings, about these attributes.
Balance Theory: attitude theory developed by Fritz Heider
that emphasizes the need to attain mental harmony; stipulates that attitudes
are structured around need to obtain balance among triad of mental elements
involving perceiver, another person, and an issue.
Social Judgment Theory: a theory of attitudes that emphasizes
the role played by people's own attitudes in their judgments and evaluations
of persuasive messages. The theory says that people compare the position
advocated in a message with their attitude, assimilating similar viewpoints,
contrasting divergent positions, and responding in particularly strong ways
when they are ego-involved in the issue.
Latitude of acceptance: the positions on an issue the individual
finds acceptable.
Latitude of rejection: the positions on an issue the individual
finds objectionable.
Latitude of noncommitment: the positions on which the person
has preferred to remain noncommital.
Assimilation: perceptual distortion in which an individual
perceives that a congenial message is more similar to his or her attitude
than it really is.
Contrast: perceptual distortion in which an individual assumes
that a message differs more sharply from his or her own attitude than it
actually does.
Ego-involvement: deep-seated commitment to an issue; strong,
emotional, value-based concern about a social issue.
Selective perception: biased perception; perceiving events
so they fit one's preconceived beliefs and attitudes.
Accessibility: the degree to which an attitude can be automatically
activated from memory (the extent to which a person is in touch with his
or her attitude).
Implicit attitude: an attitude that is evoked automatically in the absence of conscious thought.
Dual attitudes: presence of two attitudes, one that operates on a conscious level and guides much everyday behavior, and an implicit attitude that influences responses over which we lack total control.
DISCUSSION
QUESTIONS
- Review the definitions
of attitude, belief, and value provided in the text. Would you define
these terms differently? What would be alternative ways of defining
these concepts? How do scholars decide which definitions are most preferable?
- The text applied
balance theory to attitudes toward former President Clinton in light
of his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Apply balance theory (and Abelson's
model) to another political and social issue.
- If you were faced
with persuading an individual with a strong attitude on a social, political,
or religious issue, what strategies should you adopt, according to social
judgment theory?
- How can we harness
knowledge of strong attitudes and selective perception to help reduce
prejudice and encourage individuals to become more tolerant of those
with whom they disagree?
- Taking into account the book’s discussion of prejudice, grapple with the following questions: In light of what we know about implicit attitudes, do you believe that prejudice can be “unlearned?” Can people who hate ever change their minds? Alternatively, given that Americans have become less prejudiced on a variety of issues, how do positive attitude learned later in life override negative feelings acquired at a younger age?
PRACTICE
TEST QUESTIONS
- An attitude is
best described as:
a. innate, global evaluation of social objects
b. learned, global evaluation of people, places, or issues
c. cognitive assessments that influence thoughts, but not actions
d. ideals; guiding principles in our lives
- Which of these
statements is NOT true of beliefs?
a. beliefs are cognitions about the world
b. prescriptive beliefs concern what people think should occur
c. beliefs are equivalent to facts
d. the expectancy value approach says that beliefs and evaluations comprise
attitudes
- According to balance
theory, individuals crave which of the following?
a. consistency among attitude elements
b. reward for holding the right attitude
c. social acceptance from peers
d. skill in balancing their bodies on a tightrope
- According to social
judgment theory, which of these is the most important factor in understanding
an individual's reaction to a persuasive message?
a. the arguments in the message
b. the speaker's credibility
c. intelligence
d. his or her own initial attitude
- You assume that
your new close friend shares your religious attitudes more than she
actually does. You have displayed which of these tendencies:
a. assimilation
b. contrast
c. latitude of rejection
d. accessibility
- An accessible attitude
is:
a. a strong attitude
b. one which can be automatically activated from memory
c. a negative attitude
d. a, b, and c
e. a and b only
- Which of these does NOT characterize an implicit attitude?
a. they are activated automatically, frequently without awareness
b. people are unaware of the basis of their evaluations
c. people consciously and deliberately put these attitudes into practice
d. they influence behaviors over which people have little control
Answers: 1: b, 2:
c, 3: a, 4: d, 5: a, 6: e; 7: c
EXERCISES
- Think of someone
you know who has a strong attitude toward an issue (politics, religion,
health, the environment, etc.) Set up an interview with this friend
or acquaintance. Develop a series of questions to explore this individual's
specific beliefs and feelings about the issue. What impresses (or depresses!)
you about what you find? Are some beliefs inconsistent with others?
Does the attitude seem to flow from an overall set of values or ideology?
Which approach to attitude structure seems to best illuminate your friend's
attitude?
- Find two people
who have extremely different attitudes toward the same issue (for
example, gun control, capital punishment, abortion, affirmative action,
school prayer, legalization of marijuana). First, probe their beliefs,
attitudes, and values on this and related topics through a series of
organized questions. Second, show each person an article from a newspaper
or magazine that takes a neutral stand on this issue, or an article
(or Web site) which presents their side in a negative fashion. Ask each
individual to discuss his or her views of the article. What do they
say? Do their reactions parallel the findings from the research on capital
punishment discussed in the chapter?
NEWS
FEATURES
You can locate these
articles in the library or perhaps the Internet. After reading them, you
might try answering the questions below:
Letters, Newsweek,
October 30, 1995, pp. 16, 18; Letters, Time, October 30, 1995,
pp. 7-8.
These letters, written
following the tumultuous trial of O.J. Simpson, concern the jury's 1995
verdict that he was not guilty of murder. The letters reflect a variety
of beliefs, attitudes, and values on the topic. Read the letters and analyze
them, trying to answer these questions: Why do different people view the
verdict in profoundly different ways? What types of attitudes do letter-writers
hold toward the verdict and trial? For each letter, to the extent possible,
sketch the writer's beliefs, values, or symbolic perspectives toward the
case. Which letters do you agree or disagree with? Are there internal
contradictions in any of the letters?
“Age of political segregation,” by David Brooks, The New York Times, June 29, 2004, p. A27.
This article argues that we live in social worlds peopled by individuals like us. It raises a host of questions. Thinking of your friends at college or where you grew up, do you agree? Do you believe that our society is becoming increasingly segregated by political and social beliefs, or do you believe that, with the Internet and increasing mixing among people of different cultural groups, Americans are gaining greater exposure to different points of view?
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