C180 Final Exam Review

Social Learning Theory - correct answer A theory of learning process and social behavior which proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others; Bandura Assumptions of social learning theory: - correct answer - Media have cultivating power - Humans are self-reflective and are capable of reflecting upon the appropriateness of behavior - Observational learning through modeling Modeling - correct answer Taking note of what others do Example of Modeling - correct answer In the Pretty Women dinner scene, the character doesn't know how to act at a fancy dinner and follows others' behavior The Observational Learning Process - correct answer Attention, retention, reproduction, motivation Direct motivation - correct answer When you perceive you will be rewarded as a consequence of modeling an observed behavior Vicarious Motivation - correct answer Motivation by the success of others who are similar to you Self-Produced Motivation - correct answer Often the strongest type of motivation; relies on personal standards to decide whether to engage in behaviors Bobo doll experiment - correct answer Nursery school students observed an adult play aggressively (yelling & hitting) with an inflatable clown (Bobo); when children were later allowed to play with the Bobo, those children who witnesses the Bobo doll performed the same aggressive actions and improvised new ways of playing aggressively Selective Exposure - correct answer The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own beliefs - Also known as congeniality or confirmation bias Why does selective exposure occur? - correct answer - Cognitively easier - Moods/emotions - Motivated reasoning + seeking validation - A way to reduce cognitive dissonance Types of Selective Exposure - correct answer - News/entertainment - Messages about different issues - Specific mediums What moderates selective exposure? - correct answer - Individual characteristics - Certainty of attitudes - Strength of attitudes - Political Knowledge Environmental characteristics that affect selective exposure - correct answer - Information utliity - Number of available choices - More likely to expose oneself to information presented all at once - Social context Consequences of Selective Exposure - correct answer - Echo Chambers/Filter Bubbles - Polarization - Different perceptions of reality - Heightened partisan reactions - Tuning out news altogether - Encourage political participation Echo Chamber Phenomenon - correct answer People seek out information that supports their worldview and rejects information that doesn't - Americans have diverse media outlets, but only expose themselves to political news when something big happens Clark Doll Experiment - correct answer African American lawyers decide to attack Plessey v. Ferguson, to prove that separate is not equal, gathered children and showed them identical dolls (one with white skin, one with black skin), black children would say that the white doll is the best doll and the black doll was the bad doll, scientific proof that segregation was having a negative effect on self-esteem Selective Attention - correct answer Choosing to attend to certain materials that align with your beliefs Selective Interpretation - correct answer How you interpret things that are ambiguous/unclear, likely to interpret in a way that is consistent to current beliefs Selective Avoidance - correct answer Motivated avoidance of messages that are inconsistent with your beliefs Cognitive Dissonance Theory - correct answer The theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when there is a conflicting relationship between beliefs and behavior Relationship between beliefs and behaviors - correct answer Beliefs and behaviors that are irrelevant and/or consistent are less likely to experience cognitive dissonance Dissonance Ratio - correct answer The proportion of incongruent beliefs held in relation to the number of consonant beliefs Rationalize - correct answer The degree to which one can justify their inconsistent beliefs and behaviors High Dissonance - correct answer Increases likelihood of attitude change Moderate Dissonance - correct answer Leads to selective exposure Lucky Strike Cigarettes - correct answer Convinced audience you will lose weight if you smoke Persuasion - correct answer Human communication that is designed to influence others by modifying their beliefs, values, or attitudes - Receiver must have free will Attitude - correct answer Relatively enduring predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably toward something Elaboration Likelihood Model - correct answer A dual-process model that explains information processing in relation to issue-related thinking What affects elaboration? - correct answer Ability - ability to process information and not be influenced by distractions Motivation - motivation to process information and relevance of topic to oneself, need for cognition Peripheral Route - correct answer - Elaboration is LOW and don't have the motivation/ability to think deeply - Weak attitude toward idea/product - Successful persuasion depends on heuristics Heuristics - correct answer Mental shortcuts - Social proof, bandwagon - Source credibility - Source likability Consequences of Peripheral Route - correct answer - Less enduring - Less resistant to counter persuasion - Less likely to lead to behavior consistent with attitudes Central Route - correct answer - Elaboration is HIGH and does have the motivation/ability to process centrally - Successful persuasion depends on: thought valence, predisposition to messages, quality + strength of argument Consequences of Central Route - correct answer - More enduring - More resistant to counter-persuasion - More likely to lead to behavior consistent with attitudes Inoculation Theory - correct answer A theory based on the medical analogy that if people can be protected from a virus, then they can also be protected from persuasion Inoculation Message - correct answer Weekend form of an argument against a person's beliefs Refutation - correct answer Counter-warnings to rebut the attacks that may be coming Forewarning - correct answer Advance knowledge that one is about to become the target of an attempt at persuasion. Forewarning often increases resistance to the persuasion that follows. What moderates the effects of inoculation? - correct answer - Pre-existing attitudes - Involvement/relevance Credit Card Companies + College Students - correct answer Students who received an inoculation message were less likely to sign up to the fictitious credit card company and overall showed more positive attitudes toward cautioning use of credit card to avoid debt Persuasion Knowledge Model - correct answer Suggests that consumers develop knowledge about persuasion and use this knowledge to cope with or deal with persuasive attempts Target - correct answer Active receiver of advertisements, interprets information and decides how to respond to it Topic knowledge - the target's beliefs about the product Persuasion knowledge - their own past