Social Cognition and Process of Attitude Change

Formation of Attitudes Gives Insight Into Conflict, Persuasion

Sep 30, 2009

Examining the formation of attitude and attitude change can help with understanding conflicting opinions and how to think about novel information and persuasive messages.

In daily life, people are presented with messages that are intended to shape attitudes and opinions about a particular topic. It is important to understand the extent that certain situations or people impact attitudes and the process involved with this impact.

In general, attitudes are how individuals feel about things. It is the opinions and beliefs, typically either negative or positive in nature, that are developed about people, places, and things. Attitudes can be based on:

The Relationship Between Attitudes and Behavior

Attitudes can predict behavior, and similarly, there are many situations where an individual’s behavior will change their attitude. When the person’s attitudes are strong, when the person shows a strong awareness of his or her attitudes, and when the person rehearses and practices behavior, attitudes will have greater impact. Similarly, attitude impacts behavior when the attitudes are relevant to a behavior or situation, and when the person has a vested interest in the issue at hand.

According to King (2009), behavior can also predict attitudes. Research has shown that changes in behavior sometimes precede changes in attitudes. One theory know as Cognitive Dissonance Theory, occurs when an individual’s psychological discomfort is caused by two inconsistent thoughts. What an individual does and what they say they believe are inconsistent, which may cause uncomfortable feelings and distress. The individual can either change their attitude or change their actions. They will try to justify their actions or change their attitude before changing their behavior.

Self-esteem plays a very strong role when it comes to cognitive dissonance. There is a discrepancy between cognition about a particular behavior and the person’s self-image, and this dissonance propels people toward attitude change or justification of the attitude to improve self-image.

How are Attitudes Changed?

Of more practical matter is the examination of how attitudes are changed. A major theme in this process is persuasion, which occurs when individuals try to change another person’s attitudes.

According to King, there are three main factors that are involved with whether persuasion occurs. These are the communicator or source, the message, and the medium.

The viewers perception of the source has important implications on whether to believe and consider the content or message that is being presented. This depends on whether someone is believable, do they have any expertise in the field or on the topic, and are they a credible source. A person's perception of the communicator or source of information will impact whether the argument presented is believed.

One major aspect of the message is the emotional appeal and impact it supplies. Does it play on vulnerable emotions? Many times, negative emotional appeals play at the audience’s feelings more strongly. Another part of the emotional component is considering the audiences' experience with the topic. The less informed an audience, the more likely there will be a response to an emotional appeal. Though if an audience is more informed and knowledgeable it is more likely there will be a response to the underlying message itself.

According to Tesser (1995), the elaboration likelihood model explains the relationship between the rational and emotional aspects of appeals. It describes two ways to persuade: one is a central route, which engages someone thoughtfully, based on the content and logic of the message, and the other is a peripheral route, which involves non-message factors, such as the credibility, attractiveness, and more emotional plies of the communicator.

Similarly, the order in which arguments are presented has an impact on persuasion. The foot-in-the-door technique states that the strongest point or demand should be made in the beginning, or presenting the listener "with the real sales pitch" first. It involves making a small request at the beginning to get listeners engaged and agreeable to increase the chances they will comply to a larger request at the end.

The medium refers to how the message is presented; it refers to what type of technology is used. Is the message presented in writing alone or is the message on television providing visual and auditory reference? Television can provide a stronger medium as it appeals to more senses.

The target audience also must be considered. Age and attitude strengths are two characteristics of the audience that can determine whether or not a message will be effective. Younger people are more likely to change their attitudes than older ones. Similarly, the stronger or more ingrained the attitude, the more difficult the persuasion.

The copyright of the article Social Cognition and Process of Attitude Change in Psychology is owned by Joseph Wilner. Permission to republish Social Cognition and Process of Attitude Change in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.