Introduction to Attitudes

1. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Introduction to Attitudes Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos

2. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Overview • Concept of Attitudes • Formation of Attitudes • Relationship between Attitudes and Behavior

3. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Attitudes • Attitude: Positive or negative reaction to a person, object, or idea • Good-bad • Harmful-Beneficial • Pleasant-Unpleasant • Likeable-Dislikable Very Good Very Bad

4. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Attitudes • Personality: Characteristic patterns of thought, emotions, and behavior • Attitudes should change based on experience • Personality should be relatively stable over time

5. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

6. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Areas of Research in Attitudes • How attitudes are formed • How attitudes are changed • How attitudes relate to behavioral intentions • How attitudes relate to behaviors themselves

7. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

8. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Attitude Expression • Attitudes are manifested by • Affective: Feelingsabout the object • Behavioral: Interactionswith the object • Cognitive Information: What you think about the object

9. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

10. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

11. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Balance Theory (Heider, 1946) Balance Theory Person: You Like Like Other Person: Traditional Ruler Object: PDP Like

12. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Balance Theory Person: You Dislike Like Other Person: Traditional Ruler Object: PDP Dislike

13. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Balance Theory Person: You P - + Dislike Like - O X Object: PDP Other Person: Traditional Ruler Dislike

14. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Balance Theory Person: You P - + Like Dislike O X Object: PDP Other Person: Traditional Ruler + Like

15. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Balance Theory Person: You P + + Like Like - O X Object: PDP Other Person: Traditional Ruler Dislike

16. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Balance Theory

17. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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 • Conclusion My friend’s friend is my friend My friend’s enemy is my enemy My enemy’s friend is my enemy My enemy’s enemy is my friend (Heider, 1958)

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos 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

21. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Primacy Effect Adapted from (Luchins, 1957)

22. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Primacy Effect • Initial Interaction: Actively process information to make a decision • Decision: Positive or Negative Attitude • Future Interactions • Accept further information related to decision • Reject information not related to decision • Conclusion: Established attitudes shape future perceptions of information

23. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

24. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

25. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

26. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos -1 0 +1 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 Nature: Negative Positive Strength:

27. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Correlation = 1.00

28. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Correlation = .04

29. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Correlation = .78

30. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Correlation = -.86

31. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Attitudes and Behavior • Early Major Research Question: • Do attitudes determine behavior? Attitudes Behavior

32. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Attitudes and Behavior • LaPiere’s Classic Study (1934) • American’s perception of Chinese • Corey (1937) attitudes and cheating study • Wicker (1969) reviewed 42 studies • Average correlation between attitudes and behavior was .15 • Recommended to abandon construct of attitude

33. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

34. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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 Criterion • Correlations will be about .60 • Measure specific attitudes

35. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

36. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos General vs. Specific Attitudes and Behavior (Davidson & Jaccard, 1979) • Predict use of birth control pills

37. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

38. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

39. Dr. K. A. Korb University 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

40. Dr. K. A. Korb University of Jos Revision • What are attitudes? • How are attitudes formed? • How should attitudes and behavior be measured to get a significant relationship?