Chapter 5

Attitudes and Persuasion

Copyright Allyn and Bacon 2005

Chapter Outline
The Nature of Attitudes
What is Persuasion?
Goals of Persuasion: Why People
Change Their Attitudes and Beliefs
Seeking Accuracy
Being Consistent
Seeking Social Approval

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The Nature of Attitudes

Attitudes spring from several
sources:
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Observational learning
Heredity
Name five attitudes:

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Attitude Strength
Strong attitudes
Are more likely to remain unchanged as
time passes,
Are better able to withstand persuasive
attacks or appeals specifically directed
at them.

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Attitude Strength
The two main reasons strong
attitudes resist change are
Commitment
people are sure they are correct,
Embeddedness
people have connected these attitudes
to other features of their self-concept,
values, and identity.

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Attitude Strength
The two main reasons strong
attitudes resist change are
Commitment
People review information in a biased
fashion, dismissing evidence that goes
against their attitude.
Embeddedness
Restricts change because an attitude is
tied to many other ideas of the self that
would also have to change
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Attitude-Behavior
Consistency
The following factors influence the
likelihood that a persons attitude will
be consistent with his behavior:
Knowledge
Personal relevance
Attitude accessibility

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Attitude-Behavior Consistency

Theory of planned behavior (page 149)

A theory stating that the best
predictor of behavior is ones
behavioral intention, which is
influenced by:
Ones attitude toward specific behavior,
The subjective norms regarding the
behavior, and,
Ones perceived control over the behavior.
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Theory of planned behavior

Attitude

(Ones evaluation of the

specific behavior in question)

Subjective Norm

(Ones perception that

important others will approve
of the behavior)

Behavioral
Intention
(Ones aim to
perform the
behavior)

Perceived
Behavioral Control
(Ones perception of how
difficult it would be to
perform
theand
behavior)
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Behavior

Example of Planned
Behavior

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What Is
Persuasion?
Persuasion
change in private attitude or belief as
a result of receiving a message

Persuasion may or may not lead

to changes in behavior, but when
it does, the change in behavior is
longer lasting and resistant to
change
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Measuring Attitude Change

Covert opinion measure
one that gauges your opinion without
you knowing about it
Example: measuring how close you sit
to a handicapped person, as opposed to
asking: "Are you prejudiced against
handicapped people?"

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Measuring Attitude Change

Covert techniques are more accurate
than self-report measures only when
participants have reason to be less
honest about true feelings
(for example, when they want to appear
more fair-minded than they actually
are).

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Measuring Attitude Change

Nonreactive measurement
measurement that does not change a
subjects responses while recording
them
Covert techniques are more nonreactive than self-reports.

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The After-only Design

The after-only design assesses
persuasion by measuring attitude
only after the persuasion attempt
(message).
Page 152

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Cognitive Responses: Self-Talk

Persuades
Cognitive response model
a theory that locates the main cause
of persuasion in the self-talk of the
persuasion target

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Cognitive Responses: Self-Talk

Persuades
Counterarguments
arguments that challenge and
oppose other arguments

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Cognitive Responses: Self-Talk

Persuades
Inoculation procedure
a technique for increasing
individuals' resistance to an
argument by first giving them weak,
easily defeated versions of it

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Dual Process Models of Persuasion: Two

Routes to Change
Dual process model of persuasion
a model that accounts for the two
ways that attitude change occurs
with and without much thought

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Dual Process Models of Persuasion: Two

Routes to Change
Message recipients will consider a
communication deeply when they
have both:
the motivation
the ability- cognitive

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Dual Process Models of Persuasion: Two

Routes to Change
Factors that influence a person's
motivation to process a message
deeply:
Personal relevance of the topic (does it
matter to you?)
Need for cognition
the tendency to enjoy and engage in
deliberate thought

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Persuasion
Attempt

Audience
Factors

Processing
Approach

Persuasion
Outcome

High
motivation and
ability to think
about the
message

Central processing,
focused on the quality of
the message arguments.

Lasting change
that resists
fading and
counterattacks

Low motivation
or ability to
think about the
message

Peripheral processing,
focused on surface
features such as the
communicators
attractiveness or the
number of arguments
presented.

Temporary
change that
that is
susceptible to
fading and
counterattacks

Message

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esearch

The Effects of
Personal Relevance

Petty & Cacioppo (1984) asked

college students to read arguments
in favor of mandatory comprehensive
exams.
Students would be required to pass
these exams before being allowed to
graduate.

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esearch

The Effects of
Personal Relevance

The issue was either highly relevant

to them
(They would personally have to take the
exams to graduate)

Or of low relevance to them

(Policy would not take effect for 10 years
long after theyd graduated).

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esearch

The Effects of
Personal Relevance

Arguments were either high

quality
e.g., Average starting salaries are
higher for graduates of schools
with exams

Or low quality
Exams would allow students to
compare performance with other
schools

Some students heard only 3

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esearch

High

Low

Personal Relevance

Personal Relevance

Argume
nt Qualit
yHigh

Low

Attitude Toward
Exams

1
2
1
0
8

For students
with a personal
stake, more
strong
arguments were
more convincing

6
4
2
0

Number of
Arguments

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esearch

High

Low

Personal Relevance

Personal Relevance

Argume
nt Qualit
yHigh

Low

Attitude Toward
Exams

12
1
0
8

But more weak

arguments left
them less
convinced

6
4
2
0

Number of
Arguments

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esearch

High

Low

Personal Relevance

Personal Relevance

Argume
nt Qualit
yHigh

Low

Attitude Toward
Exams

1
2
10
8
6

Students who
wouldnt be
affected didnt
process quality

4
2
0

Number of
Arguments

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The Goals of Persuasion:

Why People Change Their Attitudes and Beliefs

Individuals may yield to a persuasive

message in order to:
hold a more accurate view of the world,
be consistent with themselves, and
gain social approval and acceptance.

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Seeking Accuracy

31

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Good Shortcuts
When we cant make a thorough
evaluation of a persuasive argument,
we may rely on shortcuts, such as:
Credibility of communicator

page 161

Is the person an expert? Trustworthy?

Others responses

page 162

Which side do other people seem to be

taking?

Ready ideas

page 164

What side have I heard frequently or recently?

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What affects the Desire for

Accuracy?

Issue Involvement
Mood
Done Deals
Unwelcome Information
Expertise and Complexity

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Issue Involvement
Cognitive resources are too limited to
think deeply about every issue.
People focus their accuracy concerns
on issues that involve them directly.

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Mood
A sad mood
Motivates people to acquire accurate
attitudes about the situation at hand
Warns of potential danger of making
errors in immediate environment.

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Done deals
Desire to be unbiased and accurate
is much stronger before a person
makes a decision.
After the decision, the accuracy
motive fades in favor of the desire to
feel good about the decision.

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Unwelcome Information
People tend not to expend cognitive
effort looking for flaws in an
argument that supports their beliefs.
Those who encounter information
that doesn't fit search for
weaknesses they can use to form
counterarguments.

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Defensiveness and Denial

Fear may lead people to deny
information, unless that information
is accompanied by a plan to reduce
the threat.

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Expertise and Complexity

People rely on the expertise of a
communicator principally when the
message is highly complex.

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Being Consistent

40

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Being Consistent
Consistency principle
the principle that people will change
their attitudes, beliefs, perceptions,
and actions to make them consistent
with each other

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Balance Theory
Fritz Heider

We want to:
Agree with people we like
Disagree with people we dislike
Associate good things with good people
Associate bad things with bad people.

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Balance Theory
Cognitive system out of
balance

Uncomfortable tension
To remove this tension, we will have
to change something in the system.

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Balance Theory
Rhoda is strongly pro-choice.
Mary is strongly pro-life.
Rhoda considers Mary her best
friend.

Rhoda

+
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Mary

44

Abortion

Balance Theory
Rhoda could restore balance by
changing her feeling about abortion.

Rhoda

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Mary

45

Abortion

Balance Theory
Or she could restore balance by
changing her feelings about her
friend.

Rhoda

+
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Mary

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Abortion

Balance Theory
Or she could restore balance by
changing Marys feelings about
abortion.

Rhoda

+
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Mary

47

Abortion

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Leon Festinger

Cognitive dissonance
the unpleasant state of psychological
arousal resulting from an
inconsistency within one's important
attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors

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Cognitive Dissonance
Theory
Counterattitudinal action
a behavior that is inconsistent with
an existing attitude

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Cognitive Dissonance
Theory
In a study by Festinger and Carlsmith
Students first performed a boring task
(turning pegs in holes)
Then were asked to tell another student
it was interestingand for this, they
were paid either $1 or $20.

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Cognitive Dissonance
Theory
When later asked their attitudes
toward the boring task:
Those receiving $1 payment had come
to see it as more enjoyable
Those receiving $20 hadn't changed
their attitudes at all.

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Cognitive Dissonance
Theory
Why? Dissonance theory explains:
$20 provided adequate justification for
misleading another student.
$1 was insufficient justification, thus
arousing dissonance.
Changing beliefs about the task reduced
the cognitive discomfort.

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Cognitive Dissonance
Theory
Postdecisional dissonance is the
conflict one feels between the
knowledge that he or she has
made a decision and the
possibility that the decision may
be wrong.
Just seconds after placing a bet,
gamblers are more confident their
horse will win (Knox & Inkster,

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Initiation

Amplification

Dissonanc
e begins
with:

More
dissonance
arises when the
action or
decision:
is seen as freely

Motivation

Reduction

Dissonance is Dissonance is
experienced
reduced
as:
through:

chosen

an action
or decision
that
conflicts
with an
important
aspect of
the self.

cannot be justified
as due to strong
rewards or threats
unpleasant
arousal
produces negative
consequences that
were foreseeable

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cannot be
withdrawn

54

change
designed to
remove the
unpleasant
arousal

Arousal
No arousal = no dissonance = no
need to change
Cooper, Zanna, and Taves
participants in an experiment who
were given a tranquilizer (eliminating
any dissonant arousal) did not change
their opinions, even after writing a
counter-attitudinal essay.
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Consequences
The more impact your behavior has
had on the world, the more you will
feel motivated to change your
attitudes to fit the behavior.

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Consequences

If you are on a committee that

recommends a harsh penalty for a
fellow student accused of cheating
on a math test,
you will maintain your negative
opinion of that student more to the
extent that the consequence is
expulsion from school as opposed to
a lowered grade in the math class.
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Salience of the Inconsistency

We must be aware of the inconsistency

Factors that make inconsistency

more salient (prominent) will
enhance dissonance, and should
produce greater change. Examples?

(page 173)
Assignment 7

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Consistent with What?

Different Ads appeal to different
self-related motives in different
cultures.
Han & Shavitt (1994) asked
Americans and Koreans to rate
advertisements that suggested
either
Personal benefits (treat yourself),
Group benefits (share an

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esearch

Rating of Product:

Ad Focus:

+30
+30

Personal
Personal
Benefit
Benefit
Group
Group
Benefit
Benefit

+20
+20
+10
+10

-10
-10
-20
-20
-30
-30

Korea

U.S.

Americans had a
more favorable
reaction
to ads
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stressing
personal

60

Koreans had a
more favorable
reaction to ads
stressing group

Gaining Social Approval

61

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Gaining Social Approval

The motivation to achieve approval is
called impression motivation,
because the goal is to create a good
impression on others.
This motivation to create a good
impression can sometimes conflict
with the pursuit of the accuracy and
consistency goals.

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Self-Monitoring
High self-monitors were more
persuaded by ads promoting socially
appealing images associated with
particular brands of coffee, whiskey,
and cigarettes than by ads touting
the quality of the same brands
(Snyder and DeBono).

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Gender
Like high self-monitors, women tend
to be sensitively attuned to
relationships and interpersonal
issues.
This sensitivity affects the way they
respond to persuasive appeals.

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The Expectation of
Discussion
People who expect to discuss a topic
tend to hold more moderate
opinions.
Opinion shifts designed to create a
good impression can become lasting
when the process of shifting causes
people to think about the topic in a
different way.
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Self-Monitoring and
Expectation of Discussion
When expecting a discussion, high
self-monitors (who pay more
attention to social rewards) shift their
attitudes and beliefs more than do
low self-monitors.

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