Attitudes, Beliefs, and Attitude Formation (8B) - MCAT Psychological and Social Foundations

Compliance by starting with a small request before a larger one. Initial agreement creates consistency pressure for larger requests.

Dissonance involves discomfort; self-perception involves inference without distress. Dissonance requires arousal; self-perception occurs without emotional tension.

Any of the three can reduce dissonance. All three strategies effectively restore cognitive consistency.

A message becomes more persuasive over time as the source is forgotten. Message content persists while source credibility fades from memory.

Low self-monitoring. Low self-monitors act consistently with internal attitudes across situations.

People infer attitudes by observing their own behavior and context. Bem's theory: we deduce our attitudes from our actions like outside observers.

A stable, enduring principle that guides judgments and behavior. Values serve as fundamental standards for decision-making and actions.

Explicit: conscious and reportable; implicit: automatic and unconscious. Explicit attitudes are deliberate; implicit are measured indirectly.

Strength of automatic associations underlying implicit attitudes. IAT measures reaction time differences to reveal unconscious biases.

Psychological discomfort from holding inconsistent cognitions or behaviors. Dissonance motivates people to restore consistency between thoughts/actions.

Cognitive dissonance theory. Festinger's theory explains post-behavior attitude adjustment.

Belief: cognitive statement held true; attitude: overall evaluation. Beliefs are specific cognitions; attitudes are broader evaluative judgments.

A learned evaluation of an object, person, or idea (positive or negative). Attitudes involve evaluative judgments that can be favorable or unfavorable.

Repeated exposure increases liking, even without conscious awareness. Familiarity breeds preference through unconscious processing.

Persuasion via careful, effortful processing of argument quality. Central route requires motivation and ability to analyze message content.

Persuasion via superficial cues (e.g., attractiveness, authority). Peripheral route relies on heuristics when motivation/ability is low.

Compliance by starting with a large request then retreating to a smaller one. Reciprocity norm makes smaller request seem reasonable after rejection.

Source characteristics. Who delivers the message affects persuasion effectiveness.

Agree to a deal, then costs increase; commitment promotes compliance. Initial commitment persists even when terms worsen.

Large request first, then a smaller request to increase compliance. Rejection of large request makes smaller request seem reasonable.

Small request first, then a larger request to increase compliance. Initial compliance makes people more likely to agree to bigger requests.

Attitude shifts to align with the lie (greater internalization). People reduce dissonance by changing attitudes to match behavior.

Low external justification (insufficient reward or pressure). Without strong justification, people must resolve the inconsistency internally.

Psychological discomfort from inconsistent beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. Dissonance arises when cognitions clash, creating tension.

Actions or behavioral intentions toward the attitude object. Behavior reflects how attitudes influence our actions.

Repeated exposure increases liking, even without conscious awareness. Familiarity breeds liking through unconscious processing.

Pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus creates a learned attitude. Attitudes form through association with emotional responses.

People infer attitudes by observing their own behavior and context. "If I did it, I must have liked it" - behavior shapes attitudes.

Effort justification (a form of cognitive dissonance reduction). People value outcomes more when they work hard for them.