Attitudes

Attitudes Summary

Triadic Model

Cognitive component: what we know & believe about the attitude object.

Affective component: how we feel about the attitude objective

Behavioural component:  how we actually behave towards, respond to, or intend to respond to the attitude object

Attitudes are entirely learned from modelling usually at an early age from parents, peers, teachers, role models and other influences in society.  This is called socialisation.  As we grow attitudes are conditioned by experience and familiarity with the attitude object.

bad attiude progression

sterotype 
prejudice
discrimination



Changing attitudes
2 methods: persuasive communication

Receiver must attend, understand and retain the message

Persuader: expert/ trusted role model
message: clear and balance between emotion and logic
receiver: must be willing to listen
situation can affect the attitude (others present)


Cognitive dissonance 

the creation of conflicting feelings to change a attitude

cognitive: change knowledge of object

Affective: engineer situation where object is more favourable to person

Behavioural: use rewards and incentives

Measuring attitudes

Observation of behavioural signals:

Viewing of the manifestations of an individual becoming overly aroused, including changes in HR & body language; such as standing tall or making eye contact.

Questionnaires:

More common method often form of attitude scale that attempts to give an indication of an idividual's attitudes to a range of objects by asking them to respond to a set of statements. 

Others describe how participants feel.

Eg

Thurstone scale  (Do you like?)

Likert scale (how much do you like?)

Semantic differential scale (what do you like more?)