ATTITUDES

GERAMY OGWON
ATTITUDES VS BELIEF

• Attitudes – are global evaluations toward

some object or issue.
• -a favorable or unfavorable evaluative
reaction toward something or someone.
• Belief- pieces of information about
something.
DUAL ATTITUDES

• Different evaluations of the same attitude object,

implicit versus explicit.
• Implicit attitudes- non conscious evaluative
responses.
• Explicit attitudes- conscious responses.
Why people have Attitudes?

• Attitudes are necessary and adaptive to human.

• Attitudes can be a matter if life or death.
• Attitudes are just matter of liking and disliking.
• Attitudes are also tremendously helpful in making choices.
• Attitudes increase the ease, speed and quantify of decision making.
HOW ATTITUDES ARE
FORMED
Ella Aparece
FORMATION OF ATTITUDES

• simple explanations
• Mere Exposure Effect
• Classical Conditioning
• more complicated explanations
• Operant Conditioning
• Social Learning
Mere Exposure Effect

• Proposed by the influential social psychologist Robert Zajonc in 1968

• the tendency for novel stimuli to be liked more after the individual
has been repeatedly exposed to them
• If you initially dislike something, being exposed to it repeatedly will
not make you like it more
 Classical Conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov developed the theory
of classical conditioning and demonstrated it in
his experiments with dogs.
• This principle is one of the
foundations of the psychology of
learning
Classical Conditioning
• unconditioned stimulus a stimulus
that naturally evokes a particular response
• unconditioned response a naturally
occurring response
• neutral stimulus a stimulus that initially
evokes no response
• conditioned stimulus a neutral stimulus that, through repeated
pairings with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to evoke a
conditioned response
• conditioned response a response that, through repeated pairings, is
evoked by a formerly neutral stimulus
Operant Conditioning (also called
instrumental conditioning)
• developed by behaviorists such as Edward Thorndike and B. F.
Skinner, participants are more likely to repeat behaviors that have
been rewarded and less likely to repeat behaviors that have been
punished
• For example, if parents or teachers praise a child for doing well on math
problems, then the child may develop a more positive attitude toward math.
Social Learning (also called observational
learning and vicarious conditioning)
• In this type of conditioning, people are more likely to imitate
behaviors if they have seen others rewarded for performing those
behaviors, and are less likely to imitate behaviors if they have seen
others punished for performing them.
Polarization

• Attitude polarization - Research suggests that as people reflect on

their attitudes they become more extreme. Even just thinking about
an issue can move a person toward holding a more extreme attitude.
• The attitude polarization effect is especially likely to occur in people
who have strong initial attitudes
Consistency
Heider’s P-O-X Theory

• Fritz Heider proposed balance theory sometimes called P-O-X theory

because it focuses on situations containing three elements (triads):
• the person (P)
• the other person (O)
• the attitude object (X)
Two types of relationships exist among elements:
• Sentiment relationships involve attitudes or evaluations
• Unit relationships involve possession
Heider’s P-O-X Theory

• person’s understanding of the relationships among P, O, and X was

either “balanced” or “unbalanced.” Balanced is the term for
consistency.
• A sign, + or –, is assigned to each relationship.
To determine whether balance exists, simply
multiply the signs together. If the outcome is
positive, the cognitive structure is balanced
(consistent). If the outcome is negative,
it is unbalanced
Cognitive Dissonance and Attitude Change

• Discrepancies between attitudes and behaviors produce

psychological discomfort (cognitive dissonance). It is a theory about
how people rationalize their behavior so as to bring their attitudes
into line with their actions
• effort justification – the finding that when people suffer or work hard
or make sacrifices, they will try to convince themselves that it is
worthwhile
Do attitudes really predict
behavior?
Julie Ann Casas
Defeating attitudes

Any behavior you engage in that is self-sabotaging, that takes you away
from what you want, or that distracts you from your goals is behavior
that is self-defeating.
Example:
Prioritizing your to-do list and then starting at the bottom.
General attitudes and specific behaviors

once they’re formed, we don’t usually go back and constantly

reevaluate our fundamental beliefs. If we were always doing that,
then we would never get anything done.
Behavior aggregation

Combining across many different behaviors in different occasions.

Broad attitude in control
General attitudes can help cause behaviors, but only if they are
prominent in the person’s conscious mind and influence how the
person think about the choices he or she faces.
Attitude accessibility
Refers to how easily the attitude comes to mind.
References

• https://www.care2.com/greenliving/twelve-self-defeating-behaviors.
html
• https://books.google.com.ph/books?
id=sjjTCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT286&lpg=PT286&dq=chapter+7+attacking+a
ttitude&source=bl&ots=w7WhHcry68&sig=OPaIYuBb5gsYVn7lgB3WV
OAyoOw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi67O6nlJXZAhXBU7wKHZ1NDb
0Q6AEISjAK#v=onepage&q=chapter%207%20attacking
%20attitude&f=false
Beliefs and Believing
Stephanie Zeljie Kaye T. Bustamante
Believing Versus Doubting

• “I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t believe it!” Clearly

there is a big gap between understanding and believing.
• Doubting/believing is separate from understanding.
• But believing immediately, automatically accompanies
understanding

• Ex. if someone tells you the moon is made of green cheese,

there is a brief moment when you believe it, even though
you probably quickly change your opinion
Religion and Political Cults sometimes accused of “brain
washing” their members into believing strange things.

• To strengthen belief in their ideas, then often make sure their

coverts are tired or distracted (even by physical, hunger, or
discomfort) when the doctrines are presented

• If you wanted people to understand your cult’s ideas best, you

would want them to rested and alert when you presented your
teachings
• But if you want someone to believe everything, then you
should present your ideas when the person is not at full mental
power.

• Tired and distracted people do not make it to second step (of

doubt), they stop at the first step, which combines
understanding and believing
 Belief Perseverance

• Once beliefs form, they are resistant to change. This is true even
of false beliefs that have been discredited. This effect is called
belief perseverance.
Belief and Coping

• belief defines an idea or principle which we judge to be true.

• Coping – term for how people attempt to deal with traumas

and go back to functioning effectively in life.
Assumptive worlds

• Termed by Social Psychologist Ronnie Janoff-Bulman

• A term expresses the view that people live social worlds
based on their assumptions of how things operate.

Three main types of assumptions

• The world is benevolent
• The world is fair and just
• I am a good person
Types of coping

Cognitive coping
several kind of belief need to be restored in the wake of trauma.
Downward comparison
belief that whatever happened could have been worse, so at least
the person is happy.
Religious belief

• Involves very important category of beliefs.

• Its appeal throughout history has been partly its ability to explain the
world, especially those things that cannot be explained by science.
• Explain both small and large things.
• It can also provide other benefits, including social support, a sense of
meaning, purpose,and direction for ones life, and an environment
that fosters the development of virtues such as honesty or integrity.
• Religious belief can help people cope with stress.
Irrational belief

• A belief about lots of crazy things, even though there is no rational

basis, include paranormal belief, UFO’s, ghost, etc.
• People who hold irrational beliefs are more anxious and more likely
to “choke” when they are required to perform important behaviors.
• They cope less well with terminal illnesses
• They are more likely to become depressed over time.
• They have lower levels of self-esteem.