All flashcards
Flashcard 1: Describe the behavioral component of an attitude.
Answer: Actions or observable behavior towards an object. Refers to overt actions and behavioral intentions directed at the object.
Flashcard 2: Who proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance?
Answer: Leon Festinger. His 1957 theory remains fundamental to understanding attitude-behavior consistency.
Flashcard 3: What is cognitive dissonance?
Answer: Mental discomfort from conflicting beliefs. Festinger's theory explains the discomfort motivating attitude or behavior change.
Flashcard 4: What constitutes the cognitive component of an attitude?
Answer: Beliefs and thoughts about an object. Mental representations including knowledge, opinions, and beliefs about the object.
Flashcard 5: Identify the three components of an attitude.
Answer: Affective, behavioral, cognitive. These form the tripartite model of attitudes in social psychology.
Flashcard 6: What is the foot-in-the-door technique?
Answer: Small request followed by a larger one. Compliance with small requests increases likelihood of agreeing to larger requests.
Flashcard 7: What does the term 'attitudinal ambivalence' mean?
Answer: Conflicting evaluations towards an object. Having both positive and negative feelings simultaneously toward the same object.
Flashcard 8: Define the peripheral route of persuasion.
Answer: Focus on superficial cues. Heuristic processing relies on simple cues rather than argument analysis.
Flashcard 9: Identify a factor that affects susceptibility to persuasion.
Answer: Need for cognition. Individual differences in motivation to think carefully affect persuasion outcomes.
Flashcard 10: Who developed the social judgment theory?
Answer: Muzafer Sherif. His theory focuses on latitude of acceptance and rejection in persuasion.
Flashcard 11: What does social judgment theory explain?
Answer: How people evaluate persuasive messages. The theory predicts attitude change based on message position relative to existing views.
Flashcard 12: What is an attitude change?
Answer: A shift in evaluation towards an object. Modification occurs through persuasion, experience, or cognitive dissonance reduction.
Flashcard 13: Explain the concept of attitude strength.
Answer: How stable and resistant an attitude is to change. Strong attitudes are more accessible, stable, and predictive of behavior.
Flashcard 14: What is self-perception theory?
Answer: Inferring attitudes from behavior. Bem's theory suggests we observe our behavior to understand our attitudes.
Flashcard 15: What is an implicit attitude?
Answer: Unconscious evaluation of an object. Measured through indirect methods like the Implicit Association Test (IAT).
Flashcard 16: What is the boomerang effect in persuasion?
Answer: Persuasive attempt causes opposite effect. Strong persuasive pressure can backfire and strengthen original attitudes instead.
Flashcard 17: What is the effect of repeated exposure on attitude formation?
Answer: Leads to more positive attitudes. Mere exposure effect demonstrates that familiarity increases positive attitude formation.
Flashcard 18: What is priming in the context of attitude change?
Answer: Exposure influences response to a later stimulus. Prior exposure to concepts makes related attitudes more accessible and influential.
Flashcard 19: Define the low-ball technique in persuasion.
Answer: Initial agreement followed by hidden costs. Commitment secured before revealing additional costs or requirements.
Flashcard 20: What characterizes the central route of persuasion?
Answer: Focus on argument quality. Systematic processing involves careful evaluation of message content and logic.
Flashcard 21: What is the sleeper effect in persuasion?
Answer: Delayed impact of a persuasive message. Low-credibility sources can become more persuasive over time as source forgotten.
Flashcard 22: What is the role of persuasive communication?
Answer: To change attitudes through messages. Strategic messaging designed to influence attitudes and subsequent behavior.
Flashcard 23: What does the term 'attitudinal ambivalence' mean?
Answer: Conflicting evaluations towards an object. Having both positive and negative feelings simultaneously toward the same object.
Flashcard 24: What is the mere exposure effect?
Answer: Increased liking due to repeated exposure. Zajonc's phenomenon shows familiarity breeds preference, not contempt.
Flashcard 25: Who developed the social judgment theory?
Answer: Muzafer Sherif. His theory focuses on latitude of acceptance and rejection in persuasion.
Flashcard 26: What is an attitude in psychology?
Answer: An evaluation of an object, person, or idea. The basic definition encompasses feelings, thoughts, and predispositions toward targets.
Flashcard 27: Identify the two routes of persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model.
Answer: Central route and peripheral route. These represent systematic versus heuristic processing of persuasive information.
Flashcard 28: What is the elaboration likelihood model?
Answer: Theory on how attitudes are changed. Petty and Cacioppo's dual-process model explains persuasion mechanisms.
Flashcard 29: Describe the behavioral component of an attitude.
Answer: Actions or observable behavior towards an object. Refers to overt actions and behavioral intentions directed at the object.
Flashcard 30: What is the affective component of an attitude?
Answer: Emotional response towards an object. Includes feelings, emotions, and mood reactions associated with the attitude object.