Social Psych Lecture 11 3.16

Hypocrisy Induction
- Aronson & colleagues, 1991
  - Method: compose speech in favor of condom use
  - Conditions:
    - Private (written for self)
    - Public (recorded on video)
  - Hypocrisy Induction:
    - Aware of failure to wear condoms
    - Control
  - Public Hypocrisy group more likely to purchase condoms & use them a few months later
- Attitudes to Victims:
  - Dissonant Cognitions:
    - I hurt someone who didn't deserve it
    - I'm a good person
    - Change cognition: perhaps the person deserved it
Cognitions: evaluations of people, objects, or ideas
- Three Parts
  - Affective: emotional reaction toward the attitude object
  - Cognitive: thoughts and beliefs abt the attitude object
  - Behavioral: actions or observable behaviors toward attitude object
- Where do attitudes come from?
  - Cognitively based attitudes
    - Beliefs about the properties of an attitude object
    - "Pluses and minuses"
    - Utilitarian objects (vacuums rather than snakes)
  - Affectively Based Attitudes
    - Based on emotions and values (politics, sex, religion, etc.)
    - Voters often care more about how they feel about a candidate than that candidate's specific policies
- Classical Conditioning
  - Neutral stim paired w/CS (e.g. attitudinal similarity, heat, crowding)
- Operant Conditioning:
  - Behavior is followed by reward/punish
- Behaviorally Based Attitudes:
  - Self-perception Theory: We infer internal states from freely chosen behavior
  - Attitudes and Behavior:
    - "Attitudes are not good predictors of behavior" (see LaPiere, 1934; Wicker, 1969)
    - Spontaneous Behaviors
      - Whatever attitude is currently accessible
    - Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985)
      - Attitude Toward Behavior (characteristics & evaluations)
      - Subjective Norm (perceived social pressure to act in a certain way)
      - Perceived Behavioral Control (self capable of performing given behavior?)
      - Intention
    - Compatibility of Attitude and Behavior Measures
      - General attitudes, general behaviors
      - Specific attitudes, specific behaviors
      - Theory of Planned Behavior
- Persuasive Comm
  - Yale Attitude Change Studies
    - Source ("Who")
      - Credibility (Expertise)
      - Attractiveness (including fame)
    - Message ("says what")
      - one-sided vs two-sided (two-sided, if refute arguments for other side)
      - First or second (primacy and recency effects)
        
        Primacy effect: #1, #2, delay, decision
        
        Recency effect: #1, delay, #2, decision
    - Target ("to whom")
      - Distraction
      - Intelligence
      - Self-esteem (moderate > low, high)
      - Age (18-25)