UNIT FOURThe Nature of

Attitudes

ACCEPTANCEWhere Persuasion Comes Into Play

MOREON

ATTITUDES

AttitudesA predisposition to behave in a particular way in response to something

ATTITUDESARE

HYPOTHETICAL

ATTITUDESARE

TENDENCIES/ PREDISPOSITIONS

ATTITUDESARE

EVALUATIVE

OBJECTSOF

ATTITUDES

ATTITUDESARE

LEARNED1. Learned

2. Vicariously

FUNCTIONSOF

ATTITUDES

SUMMARIZE BELIEFS1. We may have several beliefs about an attitude object2. An attitude provides a synthesis of those beliefs

-- We may beliefs any number of things when describing a movie, but our attitude is an evaluation of the movie in general.

KNOWLEDGE1. They make sense of our experiences

2. They help us explain our experiences

-- Our “knowledge” of (attitude towards) the person who cut us off in traffic helps us explain why that person did so.

UTILITARIAN1. They help us get reward and avoid punishments2. Positive attitudes help us gain reward rather than punishment

-- This is why we try to “think positive” when we are not looking forward to something.

Social- Adjustive1. We are innately social creatures

2. Our attitudes help us relate to social groups

-- We tend to conform our attitudes to fit those of groups which are important to us.

EGO DEFENSIVE1. They shield us from something we don’t want to face2. Attitudes help us rationalize our behavior

-- We may feel guilt about something we did, but we use our attitudes to put a more positive spin on our behavior.

VALUE-EXPRESSIVE1. They help us express our values.

-- We may express a positive attitude for a movie because that movie projects values with which we agree.

ACTIVITY