CHAPTER 5 – SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Source: Social Psychology (10th Edition) by Saul Kassin (Author), Steven Fein (Author), Hazel
Rose Markus
Recommended additional study source:
Youtube – Frank M. LoSchiavo (Channel)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v:2jfVFdDAqCQandlist:PLApmiahrmPkuC0Y4FCdnCD1L1ZrHen
sssandab_channel:FrankM.LoSchiavo)
Chapter 5 – Attitudes
• Attitude: evaluation of various aspects of the social world.
• Explicit attitudes: consciously accessible attitudes that are controllable and easy to report.
• Implicit attitudes: unconscious associations btw objects and evaluative responses.
SEE FIGURE 5: Factors That Influence Attitudes and Medical Decision-Making
Attitude Formation
• Social learning: The process through which we acquire new info and forms of
behaviour/attitudes from other people. (Contributes to attitude development.)
Classical Conditioning
• A basic form of learning in which one stimulus, initially neutral, acquires the capacity to
evoke reactions through repeated pairing with another stimulus. In a sense, one stimulus
becomes a signal for the presentation or occurrence of the other.
• Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that evokes a positive/negative response without a
substantial learning
• Conditioned stimulus: The stimulus that comes to signal a prior unconditioned stimulus.
• For example, advertising
✓ Direct route – positive stimuli (attractive women, beautiful island) are repeatedly
paired with the product to directly transfer the affect felt toward them to the brand
✓ Indirect route – by pairing a specific celebrity endorser already liked by the target
audience with the new brand, a memory link between the two can be established.
o The product should also come to mind whenever that celebrity is thought of.
• Subliminal conditioning can influence attitudes: exposure to stimuli below an individual's
threshold of conscious awareness. Classical conditioning occurs in the absence of
conscious awareness of the stimuli involved.
• Mere exposure: having seen an object before but too rapidly to remember having seen it
can result in attitude formation.
• The illusion of Truth Effect: the mere repetition of info creates a sense of familiarity and
more positive attitudes.
- Only when a threat is absent can change negative responses effectively by using
explicit norms.
, Instrumental Conditioning
• A basic form of learning in which responses that lead to positive outcomes/which permit
avoidance of negative outcomes are strengthened.
✓ E.g. if a student is rewarded with praise every time she raises her hand in class, she
becomes more likely to raise her hand again in the future
• Social networks: Composed of individuals with whom we have interpersonal relationships
and interact regularly.
• The desire to fit in with others and be rewarded for holding the same attitudes can be a
powerful motivator of attitude formation and change.
• We may find ourselves expressing one view on a topic to 1 audience and another view to a
different audience, e.g. politicians.
✓ Both the attitudes we form and our attitude expression can depend on the rewards
we have received in the past and those we expect to receive in the future for
expressing particular attitudes
Observational Learning
• : a basic form of learning in which individuals acquire new forms of behaviour from
observing others, e.g., advertising.
• Why do we adopt the attitudes of others or acquire behaviour of others?
- Social comparison: The process through which we compare ourselves to others to
determine whether our view of social reality is/is not correct.
➢ "If others hold the same views as me, these views must be right!"
- Reference groups: Groups of people with whom we identify and whose opinions we
value. (more likely to follow behaviour).
➢ We often adjust our attitudes to hold views closer to our reference grp.
When and Why Do Attitudes Influence Behaviour?
Role of the Social Context in the link between attitudes and behaviour
• Depending on the degree to which the action has social consequences/not, attitudes may
be differentially related to behaviour.
• We hold attitudes with greater certainty are more strongly linked to behaviour - more stable
over time and thus more likely to act on them.
• Pluralistic ignorance: when we collectively misunderstand what attitudes others hold and
misbelieve that others have different attitudes than us. (Miller and Morrison).
Strength of Attitudes
• Attitudes that are based on moral convictions can give rise to intense emotion and strongly
predict behaviour.
• Determines to extend to which attitude influences our behaviour:
- Strength
- Certainty
- Personal experience
- Accessibility
SEE FIGURE 5.11: How Attitudes Strength Influence Attitude-Behaviour
Source: Social Psychology (10th Edition) by Saul Kassin (Author), Steven Fein (Author), Hazel
Rose Markus
Recommended additional study source:
Youtube – Frank M. LoSchiavo (Channel)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v:2jfVFdDAqCQandlist:PLApmiahrmPkuC0Y4FCdnCD1L1ZrHen
sssandab_channel:FrankM.LoSchiavo)
Chapter 5 – Attitudes
• Attitude: evaluation of various aspects of the social world.
• Explicit attitudes: consciously accessible attitudes that are controllable and easy to report.
• Implicit attitudes: unconscious associations btw objects and evaluative responses.
SEE FIGURE 5: Factors That Influence Attitudes and Medical Decision-Making
Attitude Formation
• Social learning: The process through which we acquire new info and forms of
behaviour/attitudes from other people. (Contributes to attitude development.)
Classical Conditioning
• A basic form of learning in which one stimulus, initially neutral, acquires the capacity to
evoke reactions through repeated pairing with another stimulus. In a sense, one stimulus
becomes a signal for the presentation or occurrence of the other.
• Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that evokes a positive/negative response without a
substantial learning
• Conditioned stimulus: The stimulus that comes to signal a prior unconditioned stimulus.
• For example, advertising
✓ Direct route – positive stimuli (attractive women, beautiful island) are repeatedly
paired with the product to directly transfer the affect felt toward them to the brand
✓ Indirect route – by pairing a specific celebrity endorser already liked by the target
audience with the new brand, a memory link between the two can be established.
o The product should also come to mind whenever that celebrity is thought of.
• Subliminal conditioning can influence attitudes: exposure to stimuli below an individual's
threshold of conscious awareness. Classical conditioning occurs in the absence of
conscious awareness of the stimuli involved.
• Mere exposure: having seen an object before but too rapidly to remember having seen it
can result in attitude formation.
• The illusion of Truth Effect: the mere repetition of info creates a sense of familiarity and
more positive attitudes.
- Only when a threat is absent can change negative responses effectively by using
explicit norms.
, Instrumental Conditioning
• A basic form of learning in which responses that lead to positive outcomes/which permit
avoidance of negative outcomes are strengthened.
✓ E.g. if a student is rewarded with praise every time she raises her hand in class, she
becomes more likely to raise her hand again in the future
• Social networks: Composed of individuals with whom we have interpersonal relationships
and interact regularly.
• The desire to fit in with others and be rewarded for holding the same attitudes can be a
powerful motivator of attitude formation and change.
• We may find ourselves expressing one view on a topic to 1 audience and another view to a
different audience, e.g. politicians.
✓ Both the attitudes we form and our attitude expression can depend on the rewards
we have received in the past and those we expect to receive in the future for
expressing particular attitudes
Observational Learning
• : a basic form of learning in which individuals acquire new forms of behaviour from
observing others, e.g., advertising.
• Why do we adopt the attitudes of others or acquire behaviour of others?
- Social comparison: The process through which we compare ourselves to others to
determine whether our view of social reality is/is not correct.
➢ "If others hold the same views as me, these views must be right!"
- Reference groups: Groups of people with whom we identify and whose opinions we
value. (more likely to follow behaviour).
➢ We often adjust our attitudes to hold views closer to our reference grp.
When and Why Do Attitudes Influence Behaviour?
Role of the Social Context in the link between attitudes and behaviour
• Depending on the degree to which the action has social consequences/not, attitudes may
be differentially related to behaviour.
• We hold attitudes with greater certainty are more strongly linked to behaviour - more stable
over time and thus more likely to act on them.
• Pluralistic ignorance: when we collectively misunderstand what attitudes others hold and
misbelieve that others have different attitudes than us. (Miller and Morrison).
Strength of Attitudes
• Attitudes that are based on moral convictions can give rise to intense emotion and strongly
predict behaviour.
• Determines to extend to which attitude influences our behaviour:
- Strength
- Certainty
- Personal experience
- Accessibility
SEE FIGURE 5.11: How Attitudes Strength Influence Attitude-Behaviour
