Attitudes and Behaviors

Click to edit Master subtitle style Jessica R Mendez

PSY/285 Kavita Leone

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What Is Attitude
Psychologist

s define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. This can include evaluations of people,

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Basic Questions
Is there a relationship between attitudes and behavior

and, if so, how strong is it?

When might such a relationship exist? How do attitudes influence behavior? In other words,

what is the psychological process?

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Do Attitudes Predict Behavior? Yes, but not strongly.

Classic Study of Cheating Relationship between attitudes toward cheating and

actual cheating behavior.

Students took True-False exam then asked to assign

themselves a score.
Instructor also graded the exam. Discrepancy between students self-assigned score

and instructors score was measure of cheating behavior. actually cheating close to zero.
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Relationship between attitude toward cheating and

How behaviors Influence Attitudes

Certain peoples attitudes are more consistent with

their behaviors than others.

Example: High Self Monitors A high self monitor changes their behavior depending

on the situation. A low self monitor behaves the same way across situations.
Are you a high self monitor? The behavior of low self monitors is consistent with

their expressed attitudes.

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Influence Attitudes

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What is Social Cognition?

Social Cognition: How people think about themselves

and the social world to process.

All of the information in our environment is too much Operating on automatic pilot increases efficiency Example: driving a car Past experience provides a filter to help us interpret

and evaluate new people and events.

Advantage = efficiency Disadvantage = errors (Amadou Diallo, mistook for

serial rapist, reached for wallet, 41 shots)

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Social Cognition Behavior

Attitudes- a positive or negative belief held

about something.
3 components: 1. cognitive - beliefs about the attitude

object
2. affective - emotions/feelings toward the

attitude object
3. behavioral - behavioral tendencies

toward the attitude object

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References

Hockenbury, D., & Hockenbury, S. E. (2007).

Discovering Psychology. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Myers, D. G. (1999). Social Psychology. McGraw-Hill

College.
Smith, E. R. & Mackie, D. M. (2007). Social

Psychology. London: Psychology Press.

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