Behavior and Attitudes • Cruel acts, such as the 1994 Rwandan genocide, tend to breed even
How well do our attitudes predict our behavior? crueler and more hate-filled attitudes. "At first, killing was obligatory,"
Attitude- Beliefs and feelings related to a person or an event (often rooted in explained one participant in the Rwandan genocide. "Afterward, we
one's beliefs and exhibited in one's feelings and intended behavior). got used to it. We became naturally cruel. We no longer needed
encouragement or fines to kill, or even orders or advice"
When Attitudes Predict Behavior
• Our attitudes do predict our behavior when these other influences on Social Movements
what we say and do are minimal, when the attitude is specific to the • Our political rituals-the daily flag salute by schoolchildren, singing the
behavior, and when the attitude is potent. national anthem-use public conformity to build private allegiance.
WHEN SOCIAL INFLUENCES ON WHAT WE SAY ARE MINIMAL Why does our behavior affect our attitudes?
• IMPLICIT ASSOCIATION TEST (IAT) - A computer-driven • Our actions influence our attitudes. Do these observations offer clues
assessment of implicit attitudes. The test uses reaction times to to why action affects attitude? Social psychology's detectives suspect
measure people's automatic associations between attitude objects three possible sources:
and evaluative words. Easier pairings (and faster responses) are • Self-presentation theory assumes that for strategic
taken to indicate stronger unconscious associations. reasons we express attitudes that make us appear
• Neuroscientists have identified brain centers that produce our consistent.
automatic, implicit reactions (Stanley et al., 2008). One area deep in • Cognitive dissonance theory assumes that to reduce
the brain (the amygdala, a center for threat perception) is active as discomfort, we justify our actions to ourselves.
we automatically evaluate social stimuli. • Self-perception theory assumes that our actions are
• For example, White people who show strong unconscious racial bias self-revealing: when uncertain about our feelings or
on the IAT also exhibit high amygdala activation when viewing beliefs, we look to our behavior, much as anyone else
unfamiliar Black faces. would.
OTHER INFLUENCES ON BEHAVIOR ARE MINIMAL Self-Presentation: Impression Management
• On any occasion, it's not only our inner attitudes that guide us but also • No one wants to look foolishly inconsistent. To avoid seeming so, we
the situation we face. As we will see again and again, social express attitudes that match our actions. To appear consistent, w
influences can be enormous-enormous enough to induce people to automatically pretends those attitudes. Even a little insincerity or hyr
violate their deepest convictions. can pay off in managing the impression we are making-or so self
• The findings define a principle of aggregation: The effects of an presentation theory suggests.
attitude become more apparent when we look at a person's aggregate
or average behavior. Self-Justification: Cognitive Dissonance
• Cognitive dissonance- Tension that arises when one is
WHEN ATTITUDES ARE SPECIFIC TO THE BEHAVIOR simultaneously aware of two inconsiste cognitions. For example,
• A practical lesson: To change habits through persuasion, we must dissonance may occur when we realize that with little justification,
alter people's attitudes toward specific practices. acted contrary to our attitudes or made a decisic favoring one
• So far, we have seen two conditions under which attitudes will predict alternative despite reasons favoring another.
behavior: • Selective exposure- The tendency to seek information and media
(1) when we minimize other influences upon our attitude that agree with one's views and to avoid dissonant information.
statements and on our behavior, and (2) when the attitude
is specifically relevant to the observed behavior. (3) INSUFFICIENT JUSTIFICATION
condition also exists: An attitude predicts behavior better • Reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one's behavior wher
when the at itude is potent. justification is "insufficient."
• Dissonance theory predicts that when our actions are not fully
WHEN ATTITUDES ARE POTENT explained by external rewards or coercion, we will experience
Bringing Attitudes to Mind -Make them self-aware dissonance, which we can reduce by believing in what we have done.
Forging Strong Attitudes Through Experience • Children were more likely to internalize a request not to play with an
• The attitudes that best predict behavior are accessible (easily brought attract toy if they were given a mild threat that insufficiently justified
to mind) as well as stable (Glasman & Albarracin, 2006). And when their compliance.
attitudes are forged by experience, not just by hearsay, they are more • Dissonance theory insists that encouragement and inducement
accessible, more enduring, and more likely to guide actions. should be enough to elicit the desired action (so that attitudes may
follow the behavior, but it suggests that managers, teachers, and
When does our behavior affect our attitudes? parents should use only enough incentive to elicit the desired
Role Playing behavior.
• Role- A set of norms that defines how people in a given social position
ought to behave. DISSONANCE AFTER DECISIONS
• In a new career-as teacher, soldier, or businessperson, for example- • The emphasis on perceived choice and responsibility implies that
we enact a role that shapes our attitudes. decision produce dissonance. When faced with an important
decision-what college to attend, whom to date, which job to accept—
Saying Becomes Believing we are sometimes torn between two equally attractive alternatives.
• Saying becomes believing: In expressing our thoughts to others, we Perhaps you can recall a time when, having committed yourself, you
sometimes tailor our words to what we think the others will want to became painfully aware of dissonance cognitions-the desirable
hear and then come to believe our own words. features of what you had rejected and the undesirable features of
what you had chosen. After making important decisions, you can
Evil and Moral Acts reduce dissonance by upgrading the chosen alternations and
• The attitudes-follow-behavior principle also works with immoral acts. downgrading the unchosen option.
Evil sometimes results from gradually escalating commitments. A
trifling evil act erodes one's moral sensitivity, making it easier to SELF-PERCEPTION
perform a worse act. • Self-perception theory- The theory that when we are unsure of our
• Harmful acts shape the self, but so, thankfully, do moral acts. Our attitudes, we infer them much as would someone observing us—by
character is reflected in what we do when we think no one is looking. looking at our behavior and the circumstances under which it occurs.
How well do our attitudes predict our behavior? crueler and more hate-filled attitudes. "At first, killing was obligatory,"
Attitude- Beliefs and feelings related to a person or an event (often rooted in explained one participant in the Rwandan genocide. "Afterward, we
one's beliefs and exhibited in one's feelings and intended behavior). got used to it. We became naturally cruel. We no longer needed
encouragement or fines to kill, or even orders or advice"
When Attitudes Predict Behavior
• Our attitudes do predict our behavior when these other influences on Social Movements
what we say and do are minimal, when the attitude is specific to the • Our political rituals-the daily flag salute by schoolchildren, singing the
behavior, and when the attitude is potent. national anthem-use public conformity to build private allegiance.
WHEN SOCIAL INFLUENCES ON WHAT WE SAY ARE MINIMAL Why does our behavior affect our attitudes?
• IMPLICIT ASSOCIATION TEST (IAT) - A computer-driven • Our actions influence our attitudes. Do these observations offer clues
assessment of implicit attitudes. The test uses reaction times to to why action affects attitude? Social psychology's detectives suspect
measure people's automatic associations between attitude objects three possible sources:
and evaluative words. Easier pairings (and faster responses) are • Self-presentation theory assumes that for strategic
taken to indicate stronger unconscious associations. reasons we express attitudes that make us appear
• Neuroscientists have identified brain centers that produce our consistent.
automatic, implicit reactions (Stanley et al., 2008). One area deep in • Cognitive dissonance theory assumes that to reduce
the brain (the amygdala, a center for threat perception) is active as discomfort, we justify our actions to ourselves.
we automatically evaluate social stimuli. • Self-perception theory assumes that our actions are
• For example, White people who show strong unconscious racial bias self-revealing: when uncertain about our feelings or
on the IAT also exhibit high amygdala activation when viewing beliefs, we look to our behavior, much as anyone else
unfamiliar Black faces. would.
OTHER INFLUENCES ON BEHAVIOR ARE MINIMAL Self-Presentation: Impression Management
• On any occasion, it's not only our inner attitudes that guide us but also • No one wants to look foolishly inconsistent. To avoid seeming so, we
the situation we face. As we will see again and again, social express attitudes that match our actions. To appear consistent, w
influences can be enormous-enormous enough to induce people to automatically pretends those attitudes. Even a little insincerity or hyr
violate their deepest convictions. can pay off in managing the impression we are making-or so self
• The findings define a principle of aggregation: The effects of an presentation theory suggests.
attitude become more apparent when we look at a person's aggregate
or average behavior. Self-Justification: Cognitive Dissonance
• Cognitive dissonance- Tension that arises when one is
WHEN ATTITUDES ARE SPECIFIC TO THE BEHAVIOR simultaneously aware of two inconsiste cognitions. For example,
• A practical lesson: To change habits through persuasion, we must dissonance may occur when we realize that with little justification,
alter people's attitudes toward specific practices. acted contrary to our attitudes or made a decisic favoring one
• So far, we have seen two conditions under which attitudes will predict alternative despite reasons favoring another.
behavior: • Selective exposure- The tendency to seek information and media
(1) when we minimize other influences upon our attitude that agree with one's views and to avoid dissonant information.
statements and on our behavior, and (2) when the attitude
is specifically relevant to the observed behavior. (3) INSUFFICIENT JUSTIFICATION
condition also exists: An attitude predicts behavior better • Reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one's behavior wher
when the at itude is potent. justification is "insufficient."
• Dissonance theory predicts that when our actions are not fully
WHEN ATTITUDES ARE POTENT explained by external rewards or coercion, we will experience
Bringing Attitudes to Mind -Make them self-aware dissonance, which we can reduce by believing in what we have done.
Forging Strong Attitudes Through Experience • Children were more likely to internalize a request not to play with an
• The attitudes that best predict behavior are accessible (easily brought attract toy if they were given a mild threat that insufficiently justified
to mind) as well as stable (Glasman & Albarracin, 2006). And when their compliance.
attitudes are forged by experience, not just by hearsay, they are more • Dissonance theory insists that encouragement and inducement
accessible, more enduring, and more likely to guide actions. should be enough to elicit the desired action (so that attitudes may
follow the behavior, but it suggests that managers, teachers, and
When does our behavior affect our attitudes? parents should use only enough incentive to elicit the desired
Role Playing behavior.
• Role- A set of norms that defines how people in a given social position
ought to behave. DISSONANCE AFTER DECISIONS
• In a new career-as teacher, soldier, or businessperson, for example- • The emphasis on perceived choice and responsibility implies that
we enact a role that shapes our attitudes. decision produce dissonance. When faced with an important
decision-what college to attend, whom to date, which job to accept—
Saying Becomes Believing we are sometimes torn between two equally attractive alternatives.
• Saying becomes believing: In expressing our thoughts to others, we Perhaps you can recall a time when, having committed yourself, you
sometimes tailor our words to what we think the others will want to became painfully aware of dissonance cognitions-the desirable
hear and then come to believe our own words. features of what you had rejected and the undesirable features of
what you had chosen. After making important decisions, you can
Evil and Moral Acts reduce dissonance by upgrading the chosen alternations and
• The attitudes-follow-behavior principle also works with immoral acts. downgrading the unchosen option.
Evil sometimes results from gradually escalating commitments. A
trifling evil act erodes one's moral sensitivity, making it easier to SELF-PERCEPTION
perform a worse act. • Self-perception theory- The theory that when we are unsure of our
• Harmful acts shape the self, but so, thankfully, do moral acts. Our attitudes, we infer them much as would someone observing us—by
character is reflected in what we do when we think no one is looking. looking at our behavior and the circumstances under which it occurs.
