Introduction to Attitudes Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos r. K. A. Korb niversity of Jos
Dec 30, 2015
Overview
Concept of AttitudesFormation of AttitudesRelationship between Attitudes and
Behavior
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Attitudes
Attitude: Positive or negative reaction to a person, object, or idea Good-bad Harmful-Beneficial Pleasant-Unpleasant Likeable-Dislikable
VeryGood
VeryBad
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Attitudes
Personality: Characteristic patterns of thought, emotions, and behavior Attitudes should change based on experience Personality should be relatively stable over
time
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Assumptions
Three assumptions in the study of attitudes: An attitude is a hypothetical construct An attitude is a unidimensional construct Attitudes influence behavior
Differences in behavior toward an object can be explained by underlying attitudes
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Areas of Research in Attitudes
How attitudes are formedHow attitudes are changedHow attitudes relate to behavioral
intentions How attitudes relate to behaviors
themselves
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Function of Attitudes (Daniel Katz, 1960)
Instrumental: Develop attitudes to obtain a reward or avoid punishment Change: Convince alternative is more beneficial
Knowledge: Make sense of the world Change: Provide an explanation that makes more sense, or
explains more data Value-Expressive: Attitudes are an expression of one’s
values Difficult to change: Convince that an alternative attitude is
more consistent with values Social Adjustment: Hold the attitudes of people who
are similar Change: Change the social norms
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Attitude Expression
Attitudes are manifested by Affective: Feelings about the object Behavioral: Interactions with the object Cognitive Information: What you think about
the object
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Forming Attitudes
Direct Instruction: Instruction in attitudes Classical Conditioning: Law of Association Operant Conditioning: Law of Effect Observational Learning: Modeling Cognitive Dissonance: Behavior inconsistent
with attitudes results in attitude change Rational Analysis: Carefully weigh both sides
of an issue Social Comparison: Compare one’s attitudes to
others Primacy effect: First impression
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Balance Theory (Heider, 1946)
Assumption: People have a drive toward psychological balance
Three components of the system: Person (P) Other Person (O) Object (X)
Liking relationships are balanced if the affect multiplies to positive
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Person:You
Object:PDP
Other Person: Traditional Ruler
Like
Like
Like
Balance Theory (Heider, 1946)Balance Theory
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Person:You
Object:PDP
Other Person: Traditional Ruler
Like
Dislike
Dislike
Balance Theory
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
P
O X
- +
-
Person:You
Object:PDP
Other Person: Traditional Ruler
Dislike
Dislike
Like
Balance Theory
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
P
O X
+ -
+
Person:You
Object:PDP
Other Person: Traditional Ruler
Like
Like
Dislike
Balance Theory
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
P
O X
+ +
-
Person:You
Object:PDP
Other Person: Traditional Ruler
Like
Dislike
Like
Balance Theory
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Balance Theory
With an imbalance, a person can: Change the opinion of the other person Change the opinion of the object Decide the other person is mistaken Avoid the other person and object
ConclusionMy friend’s friend is my friendMy friend’s enemy is my enemyMy enemy’s friend is my enemyMy enemy’s enemy is my friend(Heider, 1958)
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Andrew left the house to go to the market with two of his friends. The market was filled with people, and he talked to an acquaintance while he waited on the vendor. On the way out, he stopped to chat with an old friend who was just going to the market. Leaving the market, he walked to school. On the way to the school, he talked to a girl whom he met the night before. Leaving the school, he started the walk home. He saw the girl he met the night before and crossed the street. He stopped by a Food Is Ready. The restaurant was filled with people and he noticed a few familiar faces. Andrew sat down at a table and waited quietly until he was able to place his order. When he finished his mineral, he went home.
Thomas left the house to go to the market. The market was filled with people and he noticed a few familiar faces. He waited quietly until he caught the attention of the vendor. When he finished at the market, he walked to school. On the way to the school, he saw a girl he met the night before and crossed the street. Leaving the school, he started the walk home with two of his friends. He stopped by a Food Is Ready. The restaurant was filled with people and he talked to an acquaintance while he waited to place his order. When he finished his mineral, he chatted with an old friend on his way out the door. He saw the girl he met the night before and stopped to talk to her.
Primacy Effect
Four potential interactions Left the house/market Waiting on vendor/place order Leaving the market/Food Is Ready Run into girl met the night before
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Primacy Effect
Adapted from (Luchins, 1957)
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
Friendly Only Friendly-Unfriendly
Unfriendly-Friendly
Unfriendly Only
Per
cent R
ate
as F
rien
dly
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Primacy Effect
Initial Interaction: Actively process information to make a decision
Decision: Positive or Negative AttitudeFuture Interactions
Accept further information related to decision Reject information not related to decision
Conclusion: Established attitudes shape future perceptions of information
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Educational Implications
Teacher’s Attitudes Toward Students Ability Motivation Effort Likability
Student’s Attitudes Toward Teachers Start the course strict, can lighten up later Think of the impression you want to make,
specifically aim to foster that impression early
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Educational Implications
If students do not have a positive attitude, try to teach the appropriate attitude directly Direct Instruction and Rational Analysis
Model positive attitudes because your students will be observing you Classical Conditioning, Observational Learning, Social
Comparison
Reward students for appropriate attitudes with social approval and recognition Operant Conditioning
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Educational Implications
Ensure that students with appropriate attitudes are not punished Operant Conditioning
If students’ behavior does not match their professed attitudes, point it out Cognitive Dissonance
Use popular students to assist you with attitude modification Social Comparison
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Interpreting Correlations
Nature Positive: Two variables increase or decrease together Negative: As one variable increases, the other
decreases
Strength Closer to -1 or +1 is stronger relationship 0 is no relationship
Negative PositiveNature:
Strength:
0-1 +1
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Correlation = 1.00
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
30 35 40 45 50
Shoe Size
Siz
e o
f Feet
(cm
)
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Correlation = .04
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00
Shoe Size
Inte
llig
ence
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Correlation = .78
-
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 2 4 6 8 10
Hours Studied
Exa
m S
core
.
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
0 2 4 6 8 10
Hours per day watching TV
GP
A .
Correlation = -.86
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Attitudes and Behavior
Early Major Research Question: Do attitudes determine behavior?
Attitudes Behavior
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Attitudes and Behavior
LaPiere’s Classic Study (1934) American’s perception of Chinese
Corey (1937) attitudes and cheating studyWicker (1969) reviewed 42 studies
Average correlation between attitudes and behavior was .15
Recommended to abandon construct of attitude
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Attitudes and Behavior
Reasons why Attitudes do not correlate with Behavior Expressed attitudes may not be the same as
true attitudes Aspects of Attitude have varying relationships
with behavior Affective, Behavioral, or Cognitive
Differences in perceptions of the question General vs. Specific Attitudes and Behavior
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
General vs. Specific Attitudes and Behavior
Most studies tried to predict specific behaviors from general attitudes
Three solutions: Predict wide range of behaviors
Multiple Act Criterion Predict same behavior in several contexts
Repeated Observation CriterionCorrelations will be about .60
Measure specific attitudes
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
General vs. Specific Attitudes and Behavior
(Fishbein & Ajzen, 1974) Assessed participants’:
General religious attitude 100 specific religious behaviors
Own bible, take a course in religion, going shopping on the Sabbath, refuse to attend class on religious holiday
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
Single Act Multiple Acts
Corr
elat
ion
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
General vs. Specific Attitudes and Behavior (Davidson & Jaccard, 1979)
Predict use of birth control pills
00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9
1
Birth Control Birth Control Pills Using Pills Using Pills within2 Years
Corr
elat
ion
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Attitudes and Behavior
Principle of Compatibility: Attitudes and Behavior should correspond on the following Target: Reason for performing a behavior Action: Behavior to be examined Context: Location where behavior will be executed Time: When behavior will be completed
Conclusion: If measure general attitude, use multiple behaviors If predicting specific behavior, measure attitude toward
that specific behavior
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Attitudes and Behavior(Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977) Analyzed studies to determine whether
they met the Principle of Compatibility All studies that met the Principle of
Compatibility had significant correlations (N=26)
Near-perfect correlation between Compatibility and Level of Attitude-Behavior consistency r = .83
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos
Conclusion
Fishbein & Ajzen concluded that Attitude is one of a number of constructs that influences behavior
Current research questions: What variables moderate the influence of
attitudes on behavior?
Attitudes Moderator Behavior
Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos