Attitudes
An evaluation about some part of the social world.
The ABCs of attitudes:
– Attitudes influence Affect
– Attitudes influence Behavior
– Attitudes influence Cognition
– Key: Attitudes are evaluative!

Measuring Attitudes
• Measuring the ABC of attitudes (e.g., snakes) – Affect – fear, heart rate
– Behavior - avoidance
– Cognition - dangerous

• Reported attitudes can be influenced by social desirability concerns (e.g. modern racist scale, attitudes towards drinking)

How Do Attitudes Influence Behavior?
• LaPiere, 1934
– Suggests people aren’t always consistent!

• Attitude - Behavior link is influenced by:
– Aspects of the situation

– Aspects of the attitude

– Past Attitude - Behavior Match

Cognitive Dissonance
• What if attitudes and behavior don’t match? • You have three options:
– .
– .
– .
• Cognitive Dissonance
• An unpleasant internal state when individuals notice inconsistency between two or more of their attitudes or between their attitudes and their behavior.

Cognitive Dissonance
• Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959

Cognitive Dissonance
• Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959
• The occurrence of dissonance depends on a few things:
– Choosing to exhibit the behavior
• Leads to Spreading Alternatives: People rate the chosen option more favorably and the notchosen option less favorably.

Spreading Alternatives 
Brehm
Change in
Liking of
Chosen Item

Change in
Liking of
Nonchosen Item

Net Change

Items Disparate
Value (low dissonance) Items of Close
Value (high dissonance) Item was a gift
(no choice, no dissonance) Note: Higher numbers indicate more attitude change.

Choice causes people to change their liking of options

Spreading Alternatives 
Knox & Inkster

Already Bet

Not Yet Bet

Will Your Horse
Win?

Note: Higher numbers indicate higher belief that horse will win.

Spreading Alternatives 
Regan

Before Voting

After Voting

Chances of
Mondale Winning

Beauty of Foliage

Before the decision, people want to be accurate; after the decision, people want to feel good about their choice.

Cognitive Dissonance
• Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959
• The occurrence of dissonance depends on a few things:
– Choosing to exhibit the behavior
– Effort Justification

Effort Justification 
Aronson & Mills

Liking of discussion Control

Mild initiation

Severe initiation

Liking of other participants Persuasion
Efforts to change an individual’s attitudes to be in accord with the desired opinion. Persuasion
Two routes to persuasion:
• Central Route: Attitude change via a systematic processing of information

Persuasion
Two routes to persuasion:
• Peripheral Route: Attitude change in response to persuasion cues such as expertise or status of would-be
persuaders