The Nature of Attitude

1. The Nature of Attitude Chapter 10

2. Social Influences on Beliefs Attributions Attitudes

3. Attitudes • Attitude: A relatively stable opinion containing beliefs and emotional feelings about a topic. • Three Components to make sense, provide ego-defense, & express ideas (Yadov, 1978; Moghaddam, 1998). • Cognitive component = knowledge about an object or event, including facts, thoughts, and beliefs retained in memory • Emotional component = the affective component i.e., emotional evaluation of an object • Behavioral component = predisposition to act a certain way re: an object

4. Influencing Attitudes Effective ways to influence attitudes Repetition of an idea or assertion (validity effect) Endorsement by an attractive or admired person Association of message with a good feeling

5. Values • Attitudes that reflect a principle, standard, quality considered by the individual as the most desirable or appropriate • Instrumental values are the stable, enduring views that a specific behavior or goal (terminal value) is preferred to another behavior or goal • Terminal values are social and personal concerns

6. Cultural Differences in Values • Differences in Values • Individualism v. collectivism • Power distance • Masculinity/femininity • Uncertainty avoidance • Smith & Schwartz (1997) individual values • Independence or dependence in groups • Views on prosperity & profit • Views or appropriateness to exploit, fit in, or submit to the outside world

7. Spectrum of Human Values(Schwartz et al., 2001) • Conservatism v. Autonomy • Status quo v. individual rights • Hierarchy v. Egalitarianism • Legitimacy or not of unequal power, resources and social roles • Mastery v. Harmony • Mastery encourages individuals to exercise control over society & exploit its natural resources East Asian high on conservatism & hierarchy esp. in large families/ W. Eurp was the opposite Mosquera et al., (2002) found that people in Spain & Netherlands viewed honor differently as Spaniards were tied to family & social interdependence, but Netherlands were tied to self-achievement & autonomy

8. Western Values • Economic Prosperity & Democratic Attitudes Assumption • The nature of human beings is selfish (Freud & Marx) • Scarcity is a primary condition of nature (Darwin) • Progress means growth, complexity, competition, & freedom (Weber) (Don’t produce social satisfaction)

9. The Cognitive Balance Theory • Heider (1959) holds that people seek consistency among their attitudes • E.g., if like Ricky Martin then will agree with his criticism of U.S. president unless dislike the comments he made about the U.S. president as the attitude toward Ricky Martin will change • U.S. is more concerned about consistency of their attitudes than those from Japan who view inconsistency as a sign of maturity

10. Need for Cognitive Consistency • Cognitive Dissonance: A state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, or when a person’s belief is inconsistent with his or her behavior.

11. Psychological Dogmatism • Dogmatism- tendency to be extremely selective, rigid, and inflexible in opinions and subsequent behavior • Negative correlation between democracy & dogmatism (Schwartz, 2000)

12. Attributions • Attribution Theory/Social Attribution: The theory that people are motivated to explain their own and other peoples’ behavior by attributing causes of that behavior to a situation or a disposition. • Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency, in explaining other people’s behavior, to overestimate personality factors and underestimate the influence of the situation. May be impacted by ethnicity (Legman, 1968; Triandis, 1994)

13. The Limits of Control • Locus of Control: A general expectation about whether the results of your actions are under your own control (internal locus) or beyond your control (external locus) e.g., gambling, drinking. • Cross-cultural differences where U.S. saw happiness as being contingent on personal success & enjoyable life experiences v. El Salvador where religion is viewed as important (Chiasson et al., 1996) • Primary Control: An effort to modify reality by changing other people, the situation, or events; a “fighting back” philosophy. • Secondary Control: An effort to accept reality by changing your own attitudes, goals, or emotions; a “learn to live with it” philosophy.

14. Attribution of Success and Failure • Three Common Explanations • Individual Ability • Effort • Task Difficulty • Biases • Self-centered i.e., don’t take responsibility for failure, but take credit for success • Unassuming i.e., explain personal success as a result of external factors

15. Self-Perception • Furnham et al., 1999 found that men tend to overestimate their IQ scores by 3 points • Self-critical elements of self-perception are found more in Japan than in the U.S. • India’s caste system seems to facilitate folks’ self-perceptions & perception of their relationships on the basis of this hierarchy (Sinha & Verma, 1983)

16. Cross-cultural Selves • Private self– thoughts and feelings about oneself for oneself • Public self– concept of self in relation to others and for others; found more in collectivist societies • Most Japanese cultures accept a difference jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

17. Social Norms & Body Image • Sobal & Stunkard (1989) found a negative correlation between SES & body weight in rich countries, but positive in poor countries e.g., Ghana (Cogan et al., 1996) • India, China, Philipines, & some Latin American countries have positive correlation between affluence & weight (Rothblum, 1992) • U.S. & Japanese elementary school girls showed a preference for fitness (Mukai & McCloskey, 1996)

18. Duty & Fairness • Justice-based view emphasizes the autonomy of an individual & their personal rights; Autonomy & personal rights should be impartial & applicable to all (U.S. reflects this; Miller, 1994) • Duty-based view emphasizes belief that obligation to others is the basis of morality (Arabs reflect this, Abu-Saad, 1998)

19. Fairness • Bernman & Murphy-Bernman (1996) found twice as many Germans endorse statements like: • The government should guarantee all a minimum standard of living • Govt. should place limit on amount of money all can make • People should help needy even if it means getting money from those who have it many Germans endorse statements like: • Cockerham et al., (1988) found U.S. individuals are responsible for their material success

20. Work • Adigun, 1997; Shraev, 1988; Yadov, 1978 found people surveyed would still work even if economic necessity were removed • Confounders • Because the questions were about values, people may have been more apt to give expected answers • With data that came from more economically advanced nations • Respondents had better working conditions • Greater chance of democratic environment • Overall social protection could influence people’s positive views about work

21. Stereotypes • Stereotype: A cognitive schema or a summary impression of a group, in which a person believes that all members of the group share a common trait or traits (positive, negative, or neutral). • These could be internalized and externalized • Judgments are made about self and others