Chapter Social cognition - STAGE 2 PSYCHOLOGY...Social cognition 49Although the affective, cognitive...

Curriculum statement topicSocial cognition

Chapter contentsSocio-cultural level of explanation ............ 00

Structure of attitudes ................................ 00

Functions of attitudes ................................ 00

Bi-directional relationship between

attitudes and behaviour ...................... 00

Principles governing attitude change ......... 00

Social cognition principles in

advertising ......................................... 00

Social issue — reducing prejudice ............. 00

Impression formation ............................... 00

Impression management ........................... 00

Personal growth ........................................ 00

Measurement of attitudes .......................... 00

Social cognition3

Chapter

Social cognition 47

Should the driving age for learners be increased to 18 years? What is the best age at which to get married? Should asylum seekers be allowed to settle in Aus-tralia? Who is responsible for saving the Murray River? Do you enjoy heavy metal music? Who should be Aus-tralia’s next Prime Minister? Your reactions to these questions reflect your likes and dislikes about objects, people, groups, events and issues. These reactions are what psychologists generally call attitudes. We have intense feelings about some of our attitudes, but others are less important to us.

Our attitudes are learnt through experience. They reflect our unique experience as individuals, as well as our cultural background and the society in which we live. As we interact with different indi-viduals and groups, and as we are exposed to various kinds of media, we form attitudes, are influenced by

them, display them to others, argue about them and sometimes change them. We are aware of many of our attitudes, but there are some of which we are unaware until we need to express them.

Attitudes can be viewed as ideas that we hold about ourselves, others, objects and experiences. The term ‘attitude’ can be defined in many dif-ferent ways, but psychologists often define an atti-

tude as an evaluation a person makes about an object, person, group, event or issue. This defini-tion indicates that we can form attitudes towards anything — for example, skyscrapers and computers (objects); ourselves and politicians (people); our friendship group and Greenpeace (groups); Easter and elections (events); and euthanasia and recycling (issues). In defining an attitude, the term evaluation refers to a judgement being made, either positive, negative or neutral, about some specific aspect of our lives and the world in which we live. This means that attitudes involve reactions — likes and dislikes, feelings for and against, preferences and aversions, or non-involvement (where an actual response is not necessary).

SOCIO-CULTURAL LEVEL OF EXPLANATIONThis chapter will demonstrate how our attitudes, behaviours, thoughts and feelings are influenced by socio-cultural factors. These factors include the influence of friends, family, the wider community, cultural and gender expectations and the media.

Figure 3.1 We form attitudes

towards all kinds of objects,

people, groups, events and

issues. A key characteristic of

an attitude is it involves an

evaluation, or judgement, which

may be positive, negative,

neutral or ambivalent.

48 Psychology for South Australia: Stage 2

STRUCTURE OF ATTITUDESTricomponent or ABC model of attitudesThere are a number of different theoretical views about what makes up an attitude; that is, the com-ponents, or parts, of an attitude. One of the most widely used theories is the tricomponent or ABC model of attitudes which proposes that any atti-tude has three related components — the affective, behavioural and cognitive components — which are sometimes referred to as the ‘ABCs of attitudes’.

The affective component of an attitude refers to the emotional reactions or feelings an individual has towards an object, person, group, event or issue. Thus, it is based on a judgement, which results in a positive response (for example, liking or favouring), a negative response (for example, disliking or hating) or a neutral response (for example, lack of interest

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.1Levels of explanation

Scenario: Nicole is in year 12 and she likes to exer-cise at the gym on a regular basis.

Each of the four levels of explanation could be used to explain Nicole’s positive attitude to exer-cise. At a biological level, the exercise reduces stress and increases relaxation, which improves the way that Nicole feels.

At a person level, Nicole has outgoing, assertive and venturesome as three of her personality traits, which makes her more likely to exercise and less likely to feel self-conscious about exercising in a public place like a gym.

At a basic processes level, Nicole has learnt that she enjoys the good feeling that she gets after exer-cise. Her increased fitness and reduced stress act as a positive reinforcer to make her more likely to exercise again.

A socio-cultural level of explanation could also be used to explain Nicole’s behaviour.

Explain how the following socio-cultural factors make Nicole more likely to exercise.(a) family(b) friends(c) wider community(d) cultural and gender expectations(e) media

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.1Levels of explanation

Scenario: Nicole is in year 12 and she likes to exer-cise at the gym on a regular basis.

Each of the four levels of explanation could be used to explain Nicole’s positive attitude to exer-cise. At a biological level, the exercise reduces stress and increases relaxation, which improves the way that Nicole feels.

At a person level, Nicole has outgoing, assertive and venturesome as three of her personality traits, which makes her more likely to exercise and less likely to feel self-conscious about exercising in a public place like a gym.

At a basic processes level, Nicole has learnt that she enjoys the good feeling that she gets after exer-cise. Her increased fitness and reduced stress act as a positive reinforcer to make her more likely to exercise again.

A socio-cultural level of explanation could also be used to explain Nicole’s behaviour.

Explain how the following socio-cultural factors make Nicole more likely to exercise.(a) family(b) friends(c) wider community(d) cultural and gender expectations(e) media

or concern). The affective component of an attitude is reflected by expressions such as ‘I enjoy eating Middle-Eastern food’ (positive), ‘I hate country music’ (negative) and ‘I’m not interested in politics’ (neutral). It is also possible to have an ambivalent response to something. An ambivalent response is when you have both positive and negative feelings towards something. You might have an ambivalent response to swimming at the beach. You could like swimming in the water because it is refreshing but dislike that you can’t see through the water.

The behavioural component of an attitude refers to the actions that we do in response to an object, person, group, event or issue. For example, doing aerobics to keep fit or protesting about an increase in tertiary HECS payments are actions that are the behavioural component of your attitudes towards fitness and the requirement to pay fees for university studies.

The cognitive component of an attitude refers to the beliefs we have about an object, person, group, event or issue. Our beliefs are linked to what we know about the world and they develop as a result of our experience throughout the course of our lives. Some beliefs are based on fact. For example, the belief that AIDS can be transmitted by hetero-sexuals as well as homosexuals is true. However, some beliefs are false. For example, it is not true that all psychologists and psychiatrists do the same kind of work. Furthermore, some beliefs can be veri-fied and others cannot be proven. For example, we can verify the belief about heterosexual transmission of AIDS by asking a doctor or by checking a book on AIDS. However, we cannot verify the belief that there is intelligent life in another galaxy. An attitude involving a verifiable belief is more easily changed than an attitude involving an unverifiable belief.

Cognitivecomponent

(beliefs)

Attitude

Affectivecomponent(feelings)

Behaviouralcomponent

(actions)

Figure 3.2 The tricomponent or ABC model of

attitudes proposes that all attitudes have three related

components.

Cognitivecomponent

(beliefs)

Attitude

Affectivecomponent(feelings)

Behaviouralcomponent

(actions)

Figure 3.2 The tricomponent or ABC model of

attitudes proposes that all attitudes have three related

components.

Social cognition 49

Although the affective, cognitive and behavioural components of an attitude have been explained separately, the tricomponent theory assumes that all three components must be present before it can be said that an attitude exists. In many cases, the affec-tive, cognitive and behavioural components are con-sistent. For example, you might like going to school (affective component) and work hard in and out of class (behavioural component) because you believe that good grades are required to get into the tertiary course of most interest to you (cognitive component). Similarly, you might avoid a spider (behavioural component) because you dont’t like them and are scared of spiders (affective component) and believe spiders can harm you (cognitive component).

Other theories about the structure of attitudesSome psychologists believe that there are possibly only affective and cognitive components of attitudes because a person’s behaviour does not always reflect an attitude that is held; that is, the behavioural com-ponent is often inconsistent with the affective and cognitive components of the attitude. For example, a person may dislike watching test cricket (affective component) because they believe it takes too long for a result (cognitive component), but they may choose to attend a match because some friends are going (behavioural component).

There are also times when the behavioural com-ponent is consistent with one other component, but these two components are inconsistent with the third component. This often results from one or more of the components being stronger, or more intense, than the other(s). For example, a person may be in love with their partner (affective component), have doubts about the future of the relationship (cognitive component), but continue in the relationship (behavioural component). In this example, the affective and behavioural com-ponents do not correspond with the cognitive component, and the ‘heart has ruled the head’. Consider also the example of a person who hates pumpkin soup (affective component) but eats it when staying at a friend’s place (behavioural com-ponent) because the person believes it is the polite thing to do (cognitive component). In this case, the ‘head has ruled the heart’. As will be explained later, situational factors can explain why all three components of an attitude may not be consistent at a given time.

Figure 3.3 The behavioural component of an attitude

refers to the way in which an attitude is expressed through

actions; for example, by attending a protest march.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.2Analysing attitudes

1. Consider the following attitude statements and identify the affective, behavioural and cogni-tive components that may form the attitude of each.(a) ‘Year 12 students should not have to bring

a note when absent from school. I resent being treated like a child.’

(b) ‘I don’t care if someone doesn’t get a job if they don’t dress appropriately for the job interview. They don’t deserve the job.’

(c) ‘I’d rather play basketball than netball because it’s much more exciting and you are less likely to be injured.’

(d) ‘I’m not particularly interested in Australian Rules football and I don’t know much about it so you wouldn’t catch me at a match.’

(e) ‘There should be harsher penalties for drink-driving. My friend was seriously injured as a result of a drink-driver’s recklessness. I’ll never drink when I’m responsible for driving.’

(f) ‘Supermarkets shouldn’t provide plastic bags. I always take environmentally friendly bags when shopping so that I am helping the environment.’


FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDESWhy do people develop attitudes? Functional theo-ries suggest that people have attitudes for a range of reasons and that different people may have exactly the same attitude but it may serve a different func-tion for each of these different people. It is also important to understand that an attitude can serve more than one function for a person. According to Katz (1960) there are four key functions of attitudes. In essence these are:1. Instrumental, adjustive or utilitarian function

(sometimes referred to as adaptive function)2. Ego-defensive function3. Value-expressive function (sometimes referred to

as self-expressive function)4. Knowledge function.

The instrumental, adjustive or utilitarian func-tion (sometimes referred to as adaptive function) helps people to strive to maximise the rewards and minimise penalties from the world around them.

Hence, we develop positive attitudes towards things that will reward us in some way and develop nega-tive attitudes towards things that don’t reward us or that punish or penalise us. For example, in an elec-tion a person will develop a positive attitude towards the candidate who offers them the policies that will provide the most rewards. However, the same can-didate may present policies that penalise another individual with different family, cultural, social and economic needs. That person may develop a nega-tive attitude to the candidate in the election. This illustrates that while the instrumental function is at work in both cases, it can result in two very dif-ferent attitudes depending upon the needs of the individuals.

The ego-defensive function helps people avoid admitting negative things about themselves or the harsh realities of the outside world.

For this function, forming attitudes is a defense mechanism to protect our self-image in our own eyes. For example we might develop a negative image of a minority group to convince ourselves that we are better than them. Reformed smokers will often be the strongest voices telling others about the dangers of smoking. In doing so, they are defending their own ego, protecting themselves from a decision they made (to smoke) which they now disagree with. Atti-tudes formed with an ego-defence function are often acknowledged as being the most difficult to change because they are often expressing some form of hos-tility and are covering up something that people find difficult to face and don’t want to admit to.

The value-expressive function allows us to gain satisfaction from expressing our attitudes and values, which are central to our concepts of ourselves.

This function allows us to gain positive feelings about ourselves through expressing attitudes about our beliefs and self-image. The reward is establishing our self-identity. For teenagers, this is often about making it clear to the world and parents ‘who I am’ and ‘what I believe in’ and ‘that I am independent enough to have my own values and beliefs’. Common examples are wearing an Adelaide Crows or Port Power jumper, driving a Holden car and wearing Calvin Klein jeans. Each of these are examples of expressing values, beliefs and ideas.

Figure 3.4 An instrumental/adjustive function will lead

people to develop a positive attitude towards the political

candidate who offers them the most rewards in their

policies.

Figure 3.4 An instrumental/adjustive function will lead

people to develop a positive attitude towards the political

candidate who offers them the most rewards in their

policies.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.3Review questions

1. What is a psychological definition of the term attitude?

2. Describe the tricomponent (ABC) model of the structure of an attitude.

3. Use the tricomponent model of attitudes to describe an attitude that you hold on a current issue. The issue could be environmental, social, economic or political. Summarise the affective, behavioural and cognitive components of your attitude.

Social cognition 51

The knowledge func-tion operates because people require knowl-edge to give structure and order to the world in which they live.

This doesn’t mean that people need to have knowledge about everything in life. However, people do want to know about things that directly affect them or could potentially affect them. It helps us to know how to act when we face people and situations. We use our previous

attitudes and knowledge to decide how to react to the new situation. This is how stereotypes can help shape an attitude.

Other theories on the functions of attitudes that were developed in the 1950s and 1960s resemble Katz’s 1960 theory about the function of attitudes. More recent studies on the function of attitudes have labelled functions differently, yet ultimately still argue that attitudes serve similar functions to those described by Katz. One thing agreed on by many theorists is that when trying to change someone’s attitude, it is necessary to consider the function that attitudes hold.

BI-DIRECTIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOURIt is important, yet sometimes difficult, to understand that our behaviour makes up part of the structure of attitudes, as well as being influenced by and influencing attitudes.

The bi-directional relationship between atti-tudes and behaviour means that attitudes can affect behaviour and behaviour can also affect atti-tudes. It follows logically that if we like something, such as playing tennis, then we will continue to behave in a way that supports the attitude. In this example, the behaviour could be to play or watch tennis. However, sometimes external factors lead us to behave in a way that is different from an atti-tude, as was illustrated by the research of La Piere (1934). La Piere found that a group of restaurant and hotel managers generally accepted people of Chinese race in their establishments; however, six months later the same managers reported that they would not take Chinese guests (see box 3.1). While there are some criticisms of the research, it showed that sometimes our attitudes and behaviour can be inconsistent.

Factors affecting the attitude–behaviour linkThere are many factors that affect the attitude–behaviour link. Attitudes affect our behaviour when outside influences on what we say and do are minimal, when the attitude is specifically relevant to the behaviour, and when an attitude is strong and accessible.

Attitude strengthWhen referring to the strength of an attitude, we gen-erally mean the strength of the underlying emotion. Strong attitudes have a stronger influence on behav-iour, endure over time and are more resistant to change than weaker ones. Strong attitudes are based on strong emotion and therefore are often based on direct personal experience. If you form a positive attitude about a band by seeing them play live, then this attitude is likely to be considered strong because it was formed through direct personal experience. The attitude becomes strong when formed through direct experience because we are more likely to think and talk more about things that happen to us personally.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.4

1. Summarise the four main functions of attitudes as described by Katz (1960).

2. Illustrate each of Katz’s functions of attitudes with a real-life example.

3. The following are a list of attitudes that a person may hold. For each attitude, discuss one or more function(s) it may serve.(a) You vote for a particular candidate in the

school election because they promise to increase recycling within the school.

(b) A person dislikes all homeless people.(c) You like to wear your Manchester United

jumpers as often as possible to show who you support in soccer.

(d) You dislike going to the beach.

Figure 3.5 Fashion labels

that we wear are a way of

expressing our values.


BOX 3.1

6ii^ijYZh�VcY�WZ]Vk^djgAttitudes and behaviour are frequently linked because

many people believe that attitudes play a significant

role in influencing or even directing behaviour. There-

fore, it is sometimes assumed that understanding a

person’s attitude enables us to predict their behaviour

with considerable accuracy. However, this assumption

has been challenged by research findings.

One of the first empirical research studies on the

relationship between attitudes and behaviour was con-

ducted by American sociologist Richard La Piere (1934).

La Piere was interested in finding out whether there

was consistency between a person’s attitudes towards

others with different racial backgrounds and their

behaviour towards such people, as demonstrated by

discrimination (treating them differently). Over a two-

year period, beginning in 1930, La Piere travelled 16 000

km around the United States with a Chinese couple.

They stayed in 66 hotels, motels or caravan parks, and

dined in 184 different restaurants. La Piere expected

that he and his Chinese companions would experi-

ence considerable discrimination, because there was

widespread prejudice against Asians in America at that

time. To his surprise, however, La Piere and the Chinese

couple were refused service on only one occasion and

La Piere judged their treatment overall to be good in

nearly 50 per cent of the places they visited.

Six months later, he sent a questionnaire and

accompanying letter to the manager of each

restaurant and the places they had stayed at. In

the letter he asked the question, ‘Will you accept

members of the Chinese race as guests in your

establishment?’ La Piere received replies from about

50 per cent of the places they had visited. In these

replies, only one response stated that they would

accept Chinese visitors as guests. As indicated by

their responses, their attitudes clearly differed from

their actual behaviour towards the Chinese couple.

La Piere concluded that attitudes do not reliably

predict behaviour. However, a number of criticisms

have been made about La Piere’s research design

which may have led to an incorrect conclusion. For

example, La Piere’s presence with the Chinese couple

may have encouraged a different response from that

which the Chinese couple may have received had they

visited alone. Furthermore, while the group received

good customer service face-to-face, the responses

to the letters may have been completed by different

employees from those who actually attended to them

when they visited (Wicker, 1969).

Despite these criticisms, later studies have

also found inconsistency between attitudes and

behaviour. Most psychologists now believe that

a person’s attitudes and behaviour are not always

consistent and sometimes a person’s attitudes and

observable behaviour will be unrelated or only slightly

related.

Figure 3.6 Enjoying a rock concert is a direct experience that would probably lead to a strong positive

attitude towards that band.

Social cognition 53

Direct experienceDirect experience is when we actually experi-ence something ourselves, which in turn leads to us forming an attitude about that experience. For example, we could form an attitude about a person from meeting them, about a new soft drink by trying it, or about the issue of drink-driving if we have a friend who is killed in a car accident by someone who has driven after drinking too much.

Attitudes are likely to be stronger when developed through direct experience rather than indirect expe-rience or mere exposure. Direct experience also leads to people thinking and talking about their experience more, which in turn strengthens the attitude.

Indirect experience or mere exposureIn contrast to direct experience, indirect expe-rience (mere exposure) involves forming an attitude in a way that is less personal. Indirect experience could include reading about or being told about something that we then form an atti-tude about. Through in-direct experience you could form an attitude about a person through hearing your friend’s experience of meeting them. You could form an impression about a new soft drink by seeing an advertisement. You could form an attitude about the issue of drink driving by seeing a report of an accident on the television news. Attitudes that are formed through

BOX 3.2

6ii^ijYZ�[dgbVi^dcRegan and Fazio (1977) completed a field study on their

hypothesis that people who form their attitudes from

direct experience will have greater attitude–behaviour

consistency than those with attitudes formed through

other means, such as indirect experience.

In 1973, there was a university housing shortage at

Cornell University in the United States. The number of

new students wanting dormitory accommodation was

greater than expected and greater than the number of

rooms available. Some students received permanent

housing. However, once this ran out, the remaining

students who couldn’t be given a dorm were instead

given temporary accommodation, which was usually a

fold-out/temporary bed in the lounge of a dormitory.

Some students were in temporary accommodation for

up to two months.

Regan and Fazio then had two distinct groups for

their study. Firstly, there were those who had devel-

oped an attitude to the housing crisis through direct

experience. These were the students in temporary

accommodation who experienced the problems and

frustrations associated with it. The second group was

the students in permanent dorms who formed their

attitude through indirect experience through hearing

about the issue or seeing other people’s experiences.

All students surveyed were sent a form from ‘The

Research Group in Campus Housing’. Students were

told that the research group was attempting to assess

student reaction to the housing crisis. Anonymity was

assured and was maintained throughout the investi-

gation. A copy of the results was forwarded to the Uni-

versity Housing Office. Students were told this would

happen.

As part of the investigation, the students were

mailed an information sheet and a questionnaire.

Students were firstly asked to record whether or not

they had been provided with permanent housing.

This gave Regan and Fazio a record of which group

each participant belonged to. They were then asked to

indicate their attitude towards the crisis by responding

to a set of seven questions.

The questions covered the following topics:

• how tolerable or intolerable the student found the

crisis

• how much they thought students had suffered

because of it

• how adequate they found the administration’s

efforts to alleviate the crisis

• what priority the administration should assign to

solving the housing shortage

• how concerned the administration was about

the scarcity of on-campus housing for incoming

students.

Each question used a 5-point scale for participants

to record their attitude.

They were then asked which, if any, of seven behav-

iours they would take in response to the housing crisis.

The behaviours they could choose from included

signing a petition, writing a letter expressing opinions

about the housing crisis and getting other students

to sign a petition. Of the seven behaviours listed, stu-

dents could do as many as they wanted and mail them

with the questionnaire back to the researchers.

The results showed that the attitudes from the direct

and indirect experience groups were similar. Both

groups had a negative attitude towards the housing

crisis. However, there was a difference between the

direct and indirect experience groups in terms of

how likely their attitude was to affect their behaviour.

Those whose attitude was formed through the direct

experience of not having housing were much more

likely to be involved in stronger actions and have

direct contact with the housing administration to fix

the situation. They undertook more of the behaviours

that the researchers had suggested than did the per-

manent housing group.


indirect experience or mere exposure are more vulnerable to being changed and do not have the same degree of strength as those formed through direct experience. They are less emotionally intense and do not tend to result in retelling or thinking about the experience to the same extent that more personal experiences do.

Attitude accessibilityAccessibility of an attitude is how easily it comes to mind. Highly accessible attitudes come to mind quickly. Accessibility is influenced by atti-tude strength. An attitude that is strong is likely to be remembered more easily and hence is more accessible. Therefore, the accessibility of an atti-tude is also likely to be increased if the attitude is formed through direct personal experience. Prominent American social psychologist Elliot Aronson (1999) has proposed that attitudes and behaviour are more likely to be consistent when the attitude is accessible to the person who holds the attitude. For example, if asked to respond to the word ‘snake’, most people will be able to readily respond to the word in a way that reflects their attitude. Words such as ‘scary’ or ‘dan-gerous’ are likely to come to mind quickly. Simi-larly, our attitudes towards people we know are usually accessible. For example, we probably all know someone about whom we immediately think ‘creep’ or ‘wicked’ when we see or think about them. Aronson believes that, in some cases, acces-sible attitudes are so closely related to behaviour that they can guide or even predict behaviour.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.5Summary of the Regan and Fazio (1977) study

1. Did Regan and Fazio’s investigation have an experimental, quantitative observational or qual-itative design? Give reasons for your answer.

2. Describe the method of assessment used by Regan and Fazio.

3. Was the method of assessment used subjective or objective? Give reasons for your answer.

4. Evaluate whether Regan and Fazio did or did not follow ethical guidelines by today’s standards.

5. What did the results of Regan and Fazio’s investigation show about the attitude–behaviour link?

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.5Summary of the Regan and Fazio (1977) study

1. Did Regan and Fazio’s investigation have an experimental, quantitative observational or qual-itative design? Give reasons for your answer.

2. Describe the method of assessment used by Regan and Fazio.

3. Was the method of assessment used subjective or objective? Give reasons for your answer.

4. Evaluate whether Regan and Fazio did or did not follow ethical guidelines by today’s standards.

5. What did the results of Regan and Fazio’s investigation show about the attitude–behaviour link?

Attitude specificityAttitude specificity refers to the idea that an attitude can relate to a general concept or a specific aspect of the concept. For example, a person could have a positive attitude to exercise. Exercise is a broad term, as there are many things that can be counted as exercise. A more specific attitude would be that a person has a positive attitude to jogging as a form of exercise. An attitude is more likely to be found to affect a person’s behaviour if the attitude being examined is specific. Attitude specificity explains why a person might claim to have a positive attitude to good health but not jog to achieve this. Or why someone might value honesty but cheat on their income tax. Both of these examples show attitudes and behaviour that are not consistent. Good health and honesty are general terms and have many specific elements which form them. If an attitude is specific, such as a negative attitude to jogging rather than a general attitude to good health, then the attitude is more likely to affect the behaviour and hence be consistent.

AmbivalenceAmbivalence is a factor that can affect the link between attitudes and behaviour. In the section on structure of attitudes, you learnt that attitudes can be positive, negative, neutral or ambivalent. Ambivalence refers to the idea that we can have both positive and nega-tive responses to the same thing. This is different from a neutral attitude, which is when someone has no response, positive or negative. Ambivalence can lead to people having mixed feelings about an object, person or issue. For example, people commonly have an ambiv-alent attitude to food that they know to be unhealthy, such as chocolate. A person may have a positive attitude because they like the taste, yet try to avoid it because it is high in fat and they want to lose weight. Therefore an attitude that is ambivalent is likely to be affected by situ-ational factors in terms of its attitude–behaviour link. An ambivalent attitude doesn’t lead to predictable behaviour.

Figure 3.7

Believing jogging

to be a good form

of exercise is an

example of a

specific attitude.

Social cognition 55

Social situation

Why can a person say that they don’t like a particular food, yet eat it at a friend’s house? The social situa-tion that we are in affects how freely we express our attitudes; in other words, sometimes we choose to not express our attitudes because we are concerned that we will present a negative image to others. We might choose to eat a food that we don’t like while at a friend’s house so that we don’t offend them or appear rude. A teenager might smoke a cigarette, even though they believe it is bad for their health, because they are in a situation in which they believe that they must be seen to like smoking to be accepted into a peer group. Therefore, attitudes are a better predictor of behaviour when social infl uences that confl ict with the attitude are lessened.

Behaviour affects attitudesWhile it is accepted that attitudes can affect behav-iour, there are also situations in which behaviour

affects attitudes. The situation above refers to a common peer pressure situation in which a teen-ager might try a cigarette (behaviour) even though they think smoking is fi lthy and unhealthy (atti-tude). If the situation were to happen just once or twice, it could be argued that the social situa-tion the teenager was in caused the inconsistency between their attitude and behaviour. However, the same teenager might continue to smoke in order to fi t in with a group they wanted to be friends with, despite the fact that their attitude about smoking was inconsistent with this behaviour. Leon Festinger (1957) would argue that in this situation the behav-iour that the teenager is now doing on a regular basis would lead to a change in their attitudes so that their attitudes and behaviour were once again consistent.

Leon Festinger’s work on cognitive dissonance theory attempted to explain how attitudes can affect behaviour and how behaviour can affect attitudes (see box 3.3).

BOX 3.3

8d\c^i^kZ�Y^hhdcVcXZIf we are aware of inconsistencies in our various atti-

tudes, or when the way we actually behave is different

from the way we believe we should behave, we can

experience psychological tension or discomfort. This

experience is called cognitive dissonance. For example,

dissonance is likely to occur for people who continue

to smoke even though they are aware that smoking is

harmful to their health. When people experience dis-

sonance, they try to reduce the discomfort they feel so

they may change their attitudes or their behaviour.

American psychologist Leon Festinger (1957), who

developed cognitive dissonance theory, believed that the

experience of dissonance is psychologically unpleasant

and people are not only motivated to avoid it but will

actively work at reducing or abolishing it. According to

Festinger, this can be done in several ways.

One way is to change your attitude. You might abso-

lutely adore your boyfriend or girl-

friend but if they leave you

for someone else, disso-

nance may occur. To

reduce or avoid

psychological

d i s c o m f o r t

you might

say that it was only a crush and you are glad it is over.

Similarly, if you are rejected for a job interview you may

conclude that the job was not what you really wanted

anyway. In this way we avoid the unpleasant feelings of

cognitive dissonance by changing our attitude.

Another way of reducing dissonance described by

Festinger involves changing the behaviour to suit the

attitude. For example, if you hold the attitude that

sport is necessary to maintain good health yet do not

play any sport, you could reduce dissonance by taking

up basketball, hockey or some other sport.

Festinger also suggested that we can avoid dis-

sonance by reducing the importance we give to our

attitudes and behaviour. Using the sport example,

you might say, ‘playing strenuous sport is not such a

good idea and I probably get enough exercise in daily

activities anyway’. We can also add new elements to

the situation to support our belief in the attitude or

behaviour. Using the sport example again, you might

say, ‘I don’t play sport because I have a bad knee’.

Festinger believes that people will choose the

easiest course of action to reduce or avoid dissonance.

This can often mean changing our attitudes. Some-

times, however, people make no attempt to reduce or

avoid dissonance. This may occur because they can

tolerate some level of dissonance, particularly if the

confl ict is not too strong.

Figure 3.9If you are on a diet but feel like eating pizza, reading the label on the

supermarket packet may provide some information about nutritional

content which is comforting and thereby reduces dissonance.


Self-perception theoryThe self-perception theory argues that people observe their own behaviour and use this observ-ation to infer what their attitudes must be (Bem, 1967, 1972). Unlike Festinger’s dissonance theory, which assumes there is cognitive discomfort, Bem’s self-perception theory focuses simply on the observ-ation of behaviour.

PRINCIPLES GOVERNING ATTITUDE CHANGE‘Vote Labor’, ‘Drink Coca-Cola’, ‘Wear Nike shoes’. Each of these statements is attempting to change or maintain a person’s attitude. While Katz’s theory

Figure 3.8 (Caption to come)Figure 3.8 (Caption to come)

LEARNINGACTIVITY 3.6Review questions

1. Describe the bi-directional relationship between attitudes and behaviour.

2. Summarise the factors that lead to attitudes infl u-encing behaviour.

3. Explain why attitudes are more likely to have a strong effect on behaviour when they are learnt through direct experience rather than mere exposure or indirect experience.

4. According to Festinger, when does cognitive dis-sonance occur?

5. What happens so that people can overcome cog-nitive dissonance?

6. Mr Smith has behaved in a manner inconsistent with his attitude. He hates speeding but did so when running late for work. Explain how he could overcome dissonance.


1. Describe the bi-directional relationship between attitudes and behaviour.

2. Summarise the factors that lead to attitudes infl u-encing behaviour.

3. Explain why attitudes are more likely to have a strong effect on behaviour when they are learnt through direct experience rather than mere exposure or indirect experience.

4. According to Festinger, when does cognitive dis-sonance occur?

5. What happens so that people can overcome cog-nitive dissonance?

6. Mr Smith has behaved in a manner inconsistent with his attitude. He hates speeding but did so when running late for work. Explain how he could overcome dissonance.

dealt with the function of attitudes, it also explained that people can share an attitude but, at the same time, the attitude can serve a different function for each person. Following this, it is logical that if an attitude can serve different purposes for different people, then different methods may be necessary to change an attitude.

Psychologists have a variety of views about how attitudes are changed.

One view is to look at the source, message, channel and audience of the message. The second is to con-sider whether the central route of persuasion or peripheral route of persuasion is used to change a person’s attitude.

Central route of persuasionThe central route of persuasion is about making the audience of the message think carefully about the message, so as to evaluate the information. This route of persuasion is most effective upon those people who are more likely to think about the message and analyse the content of it. They will evaluate the arguments. These people need a message that is credible, presented clearly and simply, and backed up by evidence. They will be persuaded by advertisements that focus on the quality of the product.

Less durable

attitude change

Low elaboration:

Minimal processing

of the information

More durable

attitude change

High elaboration:

Careful processing

of the information

Persuasion

based on content and

logic of the message

Persuasion based

on nonmessage factors

such as attractiveness,

credibility, emotion

Central route Peripheral route

Figure 3.10 The above fi gure shows how the central and

peripheral routes can infl uence attitude change.

Less durable

attitude change

Low elaboration:

Minimal processing

of the information

More durable

attitude change

High elaboration:

Careful processing

of the information

Persuasion

based on content and

logic of the message

Persuasion based

on nonmessage factors

such as attractiveness,

credibility, emotion

Central route Peripheral route

Figure 3.10 The above fi gure shows how the central and

peripheral routes can infl uence attitude change.

Social cognition 57

Peripheral route of persuasionThe peripheral route of persuasion is about per-suading people using ‘peripheral’ cues. It requires little thinking by the audience. Instead it uses images of beauty and pleasure. These could include an attractive or popular person having fun to deliver the message, such as a Hollywood, sports or music star. For example, Coca-Cola advertisements often have images of a party on the beach with beautiful people having fun. The audience that is targeted by the peripheral route is often one that is young, has low self-esteem and a negative self-concept. The peripheral route of persuasion is also often used to persuade young children. Advertisements try to persuade children with cartoons, images of people having fun and catchy jingles. Studies show that over a period of time the central route of persuasion is

likely to have a longer lasting effect upon a per-son’s attitudes than peripheral cues do because the person has to carefully process information.

The other way of looking at attitude change involves examining the source, message, audience and channel of communication. These elements are also a part of the central and peripheral routes of persuasion.

Source

The source is the person who conveys the message. Taylor et al. (2000) explain that the more favourably we regard the communicator or source, the more likely we are to view the communication and the message favourably. The effectiveness of the source is very much determined by their credibility, trust-worthiness, perceived or real expertise, and attrac-tiveness/likeability. Someone who is credible is more effective at provoking change than someone who is not. Experts and trustworthy people would generally be regarded as credible. If you were trying to persuade a teenager about the dangers of taking drugs, then a doctor may be seen as an expert — however, an ex-drug taker could also be considered an expert. An expert is assumed to have more knowledge and valid reasons for the opinion that they are presenting, therefore people are more likely to assume that an expert’s opinion is correct. Talking quickly increases trustworthiness as it makes people seem more objective, intelligent and

Figure 3.11 This advertisement is aiming to persuade

people using the central route of persuasion as it uses clear

information about the features of the product.

Figure 3.12 This advertisement is aiming to

persuade people using the peripheral route

of persuasion.


knowledgeable. We think they know what they are taking about. In addition, talking fast doesn’t give the audience time to think deeply about issues and analyse them. Attractive people are also generally better at changing the attitudes of others. It might just be that we are more willing to listen to the views of someone who we consider to be attractive, but it could also be due to peripheral cues — the memory of an attractive person gives us something positive to link to the message.

MessageFor the message to be effective, you need to evoke strong emotions or strong processing in the audi-ence. The message could include statistics or a story to arouse emotions. Good feelings can make a message more convincing. Happy music accom-panying the message has the same effect. Negative emotions are also effective. Fear is often used to create strong messages, often in health and safety campaigns such as drink-driving, anti-smoking and anti-terrorism. It is also commonly used in wartime propaganda. A message that uses statistics is using the central route of persuasion as it requires someone to think carefully about what they know.

A message is more effective when people don’t think that they are being tricked or manipulated. When we feel we are being manipulated, we switch off from the message. Repetition of a message is a valuable way of getting people to remember it.

Channel of communicationThe channel of communication used also affects the likelihood of attitude change. It was established earlier in the chapter that direct experience is more likely to create enduring attitudes than is indirect experience. The same situation applies for per-suasion of attitude change. Direct contact with people is more persuasive than a message delivered via the media. However, through a continuous indirect method, the media becomes a very powerful route of persuasion, particularly for children. Media that includes video images is more persuasive than written media, although a complicated message may be more persuasive in written form, where someone can read or re-read it at their own pace.

AudienceFeatures of the audience of a message also affect how easy it is to provoke attitude change. Older gener-ations often have more conservative views. They are also more likely to have formed attitudes through direct experience at some time in their lives, hence their attitudes are harder to change. Young people often form attitudes based on what someone else has

told them, so are easier to persuade. Once they have direct experience of something, they are likely to have their attitude either confi rmed or changed and to form a stronger attitude through direct experi-ence. The time of day and alertness of an audience can also affect how easily they can be persuaded to change their attitudes. So, too, can whether they have counter arguments for points that are made. People with low self-esteem are persuaded more easily than people with high self-esteem. Personality and how much we know about a topic can also be factors. If people are uninformed about a subject, then they are more likely to be persuaded by a long message because they assume that a long message means that there are many reasons to adopt that attitude.

SOCIAL COGNITION PRINCIPLES IN ADVERTISINGEncountering advertising is an everyday experi-ence for most people. Ultimately, advertising is persuading people to either change their attitude, or to continue to keep the same attitude if it is one that agrees with the message being presented in the advertisement. Advertisements may appear on tel-evision, radio, the Internet, billboards, in magazines or as ‘junk mail’ delivered to letterboxes. Advertisers spend a lot of money each year to promote their product(s) and hence need to ensure that each cam-paign will be as persuasive as possible. Figure 3.13 shows four magazine advertisements. When creating a campaign, advertisers need to create something that will encourage people to remember the adver-tisement. Very often, things that evoke strong emo-tions, whether they are positive or negative, are most


1. Summarise the difference between the central and peripheral routes of persuasion.

2. A company wants to persuade teenagers to wear a new brand of clothing. Describe how they could use the peripheral route of persuasion to make teenagers have a positive attitude to the clothes.

3. A government campaign aims to use the central route of persuasion to encourage parents to vac-cinate their children. Describe two factors that could make the campaign more successful.


1. Summarise the difference between the central and peripheral routes of persuasion.

2. A company wants to persuade teenagers to wear a new brand of clothing. Describe how they could use the peripheral route of persuasion to make teenagers have a positive attitude to the clothes.

3. A government campaign aims to use the central route of persuasion to encourage parents to vac-cinate their children. Describe two factors that could make the campaign more successful.

Social cognition 59

memorable. To ensure this is done in an appropriate way, there are ethics that all advertisers are required to follow. The Australian Association of National Advertisers has guidelines for all advertisements and those specifi cally aimed at children.

LEARNINGACTIVITY 3.8Group activity — magazine advertising

In groups, choose a magazine advertisement from fi gure 3.13 or one of your own.

Discuss the principles that the advertisers have used to govern attitude change.

Report your ideas back to the class.

LEARNINGACTIVITY 3.8Group activity — magazine advertising

In groups, choose a magazine advertisement from fi gure 3.13 or one of your own.

Discuss the principles that the advertisers have used to govern attitude change.

Report your ideas back to the class.

Figure 3.13These four

advertisements

show some of the

different methods

advertisers use to try

to change our attitudes.


Public safety and health promotion campaignsHealth promotion and public safety campaigns can take a range of forms, including media campaigns through print, television and radio, and campaigns such as those developed through schools or work-places. In developing effective campaigns, those who initiate and create them need to consider what techniques would be most effective in persuading people to adopt safe and healthy behaviours. It is important to consider the audience, message, source and channel of communication. A source who is credible is more likely to be believed. If issues are complicated, it is most effective to set out clear conditions and action to be taken by the audience, particularly if the audience is not very intelligent or well informed. A more intelligent audience is more likely to be persuaded by a message if they have to think about it and draw their own conclusions about the best course of action.

It is valuable to encourage discussion among the audience. This promotes retention of information, as it forces people to think about the message. If the campaign is in a school setting, it might also be useful to ask questions to encourage students to con-sider the information.

Some recent health promotion media campaigns include the ‘Quit’ anti-smoking campaign, and the ‘Eat Well, Play Well, Live Well’ campaign. Prominent public safety campaigns have covered issues such as drink-driving and speeding on our roads. Public safety campaigns are an example of a psychological intervention. They aim to change a person’s behav-iour by changing their thoughts and opinions about an issue. They operate on a community level, trying to make changes to many people at one time, unlike many other psychological interventions (discussed in other chapters in this text) that work with indi-viduals or small groups.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.9Class discussion

View a television advertisement and listen to a radio advertisement.(a) Discuss the principles that the advertisers have

used to govern attitude change.(b) Explain whether magazine, radio or television

would be the best medium to use to persuade teenagers.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.9Class discussion

View a television advertisement and listen to a radio advertisement.(a) Discuss the principles that the advertisers have

used to govern attitude change.(b) Explain whether magazine, radio or television

would be the best medium to use to persuade teenagers.

Use of fear in public safety and health promotionIt is common to use fear arousal in health promotion and public safety campaigns in order to increase the audience’s perceived threat (Hastings et al., 2004). Much research supports the idea of using fear in social advertising. Fear creates arousal, which is emo-tional tension. The idea is that people change their behaviour to reduce this tension. For example, the images in figure 3.14 aim to create fear in smokers of how they will look in the future if they continue to smoke, which, in turn, will lead to a change in behav-iour (quitting). However, there are some studies that suggest that once some individuals reach a certain level of fear, they tune out from the advertisement and hence it loses its effectiveness. One classic study of the use of fear in persuasive campaigns was under-taken by Janis and Feshbach (1953) (summarised in Legge, 2005). Janis and Feshbach used a high school class as their sample. They divided the class into four groups. The first three groups were each given a lecture on tooth decay but different degrees of fear appeal were used for each of the different groups: strong, moderate and minimal fear appeal. The fourth group acted as a control. Participants completed three questionnaires about oral hygiene behaviour. They completed them immediately before and immediately after the lectures and then one week later. The group that was exposed to the session intended to evoke the strongest fear actually showed the least behaviour change of the experi-mental groups. The researchers concluded that the group experienced extreme fear and therefore switched off from the message and the communica-tion. If the people weren’t paying attention to the message, they were not going to be persuaded by it.

Figure 3.14 A recent anti-smoking advertisement.Figure 3.14 A recent anti-smoking advertisement.

Social cognition 61

One of the issues surrounding the use of fear-arousing advertising is the ethics of doing so. Essen-tially fear-arousing advertisements deliberately create fear and anxiety within people. Exposing people to graphically upsetting images could be con-sidered unethical. These images could be seen by

children, and producers of the advertisements can’t be certain that there are no health risks associated with increasing people’s anxiety. For this reason, certain kinds of advertisements are not able to be aired during children’s programs, in order to mini-mise the possible harm to young minds.

BOX 3.4

:i]^XVa�\j^YZa^cZh�[dg�VYkZgi^h^c\�id�X]^aYgZcAUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL

ADVERTISERS CODE FOR ADVERTISING TO

CHILDREN

This Code has been adopted by the AANA as part of

advertising self-regulation. The object of this Code

is to ensure that advertisers develop and maintain a

high sense of social responsibility in advertising to

children under 14 years of age in Australia.

2. CODE OF PRACTICE

2.1 Factual Presentation

2.1.1 Advertisements to Children:

(a) must not mislead or deceive Children;

(b) must not be ambiguous; and

(c) must fairly represent, in a manner that is clearly

understood by Children:

(i) the advertised Product;

(ii) any features which are described or

depicted in the Advertisement; and

(iii) the need for any accessory parts.

2.2 Safety


(a) must not portray images or events which depict

unsafe uses of a Product or unsafe situations

which may encourage Children to engage in

dangerous activities; and

(b) must not advertise Products which have been

officially declared unsafe or dangerous by an

authorised Australian government authority.

2.3 Social Values


(a) must not portray images or events in a way that

is unduly frightening or distressing to Children;

and

(b) must not demean any person or group on the

basis of ethnicity, nationality, race, gender,

age, sexual preference, religion or mental or

physical disability.

2.4 Parental Authority


(a) must not undermine the authority, responsi-

bility or judgment of parents or carers;

(b) must not state or imply that a Product makes

Children who own or enjoy it superior to their

peers; and

(c) must not state or imply that persons who buy

an advertised Product are more generous than

those who do not.

2.5 Price

2.5.1 Prices, if mentioned in Advertisements to Chil-

dren, must be accurately presented in a way which

can be clearly understood by children and not mini-

mised by words such as ‘only’ or ‘just’.

2.6 Qualifying Statements

2.6.1 Any disclaimers, qualifiers or asterisked or foot-

noted information used in Advertisements to Chil-

dren must be conspicuously displayed and clearly

explained to Children.

2.7 Competitions

2.7.1 Competitions which appear in Advertisements to

Children must:

(a) contain a summary of the basic rules for the

competition;

(b) clearly include the closing date for entries;

and

(c) make any statements about the chance of

winning clear, fair and accurate.

2.8 Premiums

2.8.1 Advertisements to Children which include or

refer to a Premium (something that is offered

free or at a reduced price with the purchase of a

product):

(a) should not create a false or misleading impres-

sion in the minds of Children about the nature

or content of the Product;

(b) should not create a false or misleading impres-

sion in the minds of Children that the product

advertised is the Premium rather than the

Product; and

(c) must make the terms of the offer clear as well

as any conditions or limitations.

2.9 Alcohol

2.9.1 Advertisements to Children must not be for, or

relate in any way to, alcoholic drinks or draw any

association with companies that supply alcoholic

drinks.

2.10 Food and Beverages

2.10.1 Advertisements to Children for food and/or

beverages:

(a) should not encourage or promote an inactive

lifestyle combined with unhealthy eating or

drinking habits; and

(b) must not contain any misleading or incorrect

information about the nutritional value of that

Product.


Other studies have shown that a certain amount of fear can help to change attitudes. Researchers Davis–Kirsch and Pullen studied the effectiveness of a school-based health and safety program. The initial aim of the campaign was to increase fear through showing a video about how the children could have an accident while on a bicycle. The education program then focused on the ways that students could control their behaviour to avoid an accident. Davis–Kirsch and Pullen concluded that the program was successful for two key reasons: firstly, it instilled fear in children about what could happen to them if they weren’t safe on a bicycle. However, it also pro-vided clear, simple steps for the children to follow so that they could remain safe while riding their bicy-cles. They added that a follow-up program every 1 to 2 years would help to remind students of the safety measures. The value of receiving clear practical steps to follow in order to stay safe is that it increases the individual’s self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief that a person has in themself that they can change their own behaviour. Providing individuals with

simple steps to change their behaviour helps them to actually make the changes. Use of this technique makes safety campaigns, in particular, more effective at changing attitudes, and hence behaviours.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.10Advertisement

evaluation

1. What is the purpose of the ‘Eat Well, Play Well, Live Well’ campaign?

2. Describe the message and audience of the advertisement.

3. Does it use the central or peripheral route of per-suasion? Explain your answer.

4. Would it be ethical for this advertisement cam-paign to use fear-arousing messages or images? Explain your answer.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.10Advertisement

evaluation

1. What is the purpose of the ‘Eat Well, Play Well, Live Well’ campaign?

2. Describe the message and audience of the advertisement.

3. Does it use the central or peripheral route of per-suasion? Explain your answer.

4. Would it be ethical for this advertisement cam-paign to use fear-arousing messages or images? Explain your answer.

Food giants push health messageLara Sinclair

NATIONAL advertisers including Coca-Cola, Masterfoods and Nestle are behind a $10 million advertising campaign to be launched today that encourages children to eat healthy food, exercise and eat treats in moderation.

The ‘eat well, play well, live well’ campaign, which features a cartoon character called Jo Lively and his dog Jive, is the advertising industry’s answer to calls from nutritionists and children’s lobby groups for restrictions on food advertising targeting children.

Australian Association of National Advertisers chairman Ian Alwill, who is also director of marketing communications for Nestle, said the initiative was an example of how advertising could be used constructively to address the issue of childhood obesity, which has doubled in the past decade.

But already groups such as the Coalition on Food Advertising to Children — whose members include nutritionists, academics and doctors — claim it will not offset the role food advertising plays in encouraging childhood obesity.

‘This is a mere Band-Aid,’ said Kaye Mehta, who chairs the coalition. ‘Nothing is going to change in relation to the dominance of junk food messages

that children are getting.’The federal Government is expected

to be represented at today’s launch but four months ago declined to endorse the campaign, despite its initial launch in December 2002 as a joint initiative between the Government’s Committee on Health and Ageing and the AANA.

The Government confirmed in February it would instead run a two-phase campaign addressing the issues of food and exercise separately. The first phase of the campaign, featuring a ‘Vegieman’ character to promote vegetables and fruit to children, launched nationally earlier this year.

Individual advertisers including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Nestle and Cadbury Schweppes have announced their own measures to regulate advertising targeting children in recent years.

The existing code on advertising to children says ads should not promote an inactive lifestyle combined with unhealthy eating or drinking habits.

The Jo Lively campaign, which is aimed at children six to 12 and their parents, will include TV, radio, print, outdoor and cinema ads.

FIG 3.16 TO COME

Figure 3.15 The campaign’s logo. HdjgXZ: I]Z�6jhigVa^Vc, 9 June 2005

Social cognition 63

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.11Application task — increasing the effectiveness of a health promotion.

1. Describe the principles that the advertisement in figure 3.16 uses to promote an active lifestyle.

2. How could the advertisement be improved so that it is more likely to achieve its aim, to promote attitude change?

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.11Application task — increasing the effectiveness of a health promotion.

1. Describe the principles that the advertisement in figure 3.16 uses to promote an active lifestyle.

2. How could the advertisement be improved so that it is more likely to achieve its aim, to promote attitude change?

FIG 3.16 TO COME

Figure 3.16 Advertisement used by the South Australian

Government to promote an active lifestyle

FIG 3.16 TO COME

Figure 3.16 Advertisement used by the South Australian

Government to promote an active lifestyle

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.12Safety campaigns — psychological interventions

Go to www.jaconline.com.au/psychology/psych???? and click on the Road Safety campaigns weblink.

Select an advertisement from this website that is a part of a safety campaign.(a) Complete an evaluation of the methods of per-

suasion used in the campaign.(b) Evaluate ethical considerations about showing

the advertisements on television.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.12Safety campaigns — psychological interventions

Go to www.jaconline.com.au/psychology/psych???? and click on the Road Safety campaigns weblink.

Select an advertisement from this website that is a part of a safety campaign.(a) Complete an evaluation of the methods of per-

suasion used in the campaign.(b) Evaluate ethical considerations about showing

the advertisements on television.

SOCIAL ISSUE — REDUCING PREJUDICEAs Mellor’s (2003) research shows, racism and preju-dice do exist in Australia, as they do throughout the world (see box 3.5). To understand how to reduce prejudice, it is first necessary to understand its struc-ture as an attitude, the function it serves and the factors that lead to it forming.

Prejudice is a prejudgement of someone. It is usually associated with negative attitudes, although positive prejudice does exist. Someone could be prejudiced towards women, men, teenagers, the elderly, those with a mental illness or a disability, people of different ethnic groups, those of certain occupations or indigenous Australians.

Prejudice is an example of an attitude. Stereotypes and discrimination are aspects of prejudice. We can use the tricomponent/ABC model of attitudes to assess the structure of a racist attitude.

Affective component — feelings and emotion

Behaviour component — action (often discrimination)

Cognitive component — thoughts and beliefs (often based on a stereotype)

Prejudice typically happens when someone views another person negatively because of the group that they associate them with. In reality, the person may have individual characteristics that are quite dif-ferent from the group stereotype. Prejudice is often shown by members of a majority group in negative attitudes towards members of a minority group, based on a stereotype. A stereotype is a generalisation made about a person based on the social group that someone associates them with. This is the cognitive component of an attitude.

Prejudice happens when people in the majority group feel that they are superior to those in the minority group. Secondly, the majority group tend to believe that the minority group is different and that they don’t belong. The majority also believe that they are more powerful.

To understand how we can change prejudice and reduce it, it is useful to consider some of the ways that prejudice begins in the first place. Prejudice can readily be learnt through observational learning and operant conditioning. Through observational learning, we can form a prejudice via people on tel-evision, in movies, in books and real people who we come in contact with. Prejudice also can be learnt through operant conditioning and positive rein-forcement. For example, in certain groups people may receive approval for making racist remarks.

Economic and political competition in society leads to social inequalities, which in turn can lead to prejudice. These social, economic and political


differences can lead to resentment. Those people who are better off need to justify the differences in roles, money and power that exist between them-selves and those in minority groups.

Managing social change to reduce prejudice is very difficult as prejudice usually begins in childhood. It is easy to change legislation but it is much harder to change the social attitudes that people have towards one another. It has also been observed that people find it easier to express changes to attitudes verbally than to actually change their behaviour.

Discrimination is the behavioural component of prejudice. This can include overt things such as physical violence or putting people down. It can also occur in more subtle forms such as ignoring someone or excluding them from places.

It has been argued that prejudice today is more subtle than it once was. This is referred to as ‘modern prejudice’, as opposed to ‘old-fashioned prejudice’. Old-fashioned prejudice includes the ideas that white people are superior to black people, that people of

different races should be separated, or that people with a disability should be separated from those without a disability. However, research completed by Mellor (2003) concluded that a sample of indig-enous Australians in Melbourne experienced both modern and old-fashioned prejudice.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.13Summary of research by Mellor (2003)

1. Why do you think that Mellor chose to collect qualitative rather than quantitative data?

2. What disadvantages or difficulties would Mellor have faced due to using qualitative data?

3. Is the method of assessment objective or subjec-tive? Explain.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.13Summary of research by Mellor (2003)

1. Why do you think that Mellor chose to collect qualitative rather than quantitative data?

2. What disadvantages or difficulties would Mellor have faced due to using qualitative data?

3. Is the method of assessment objective or subjec-tive? Explain.

BOX 3.5

GVX^hb�^c�6jhigVa^VMellor (2003) completed a qualitative investigation

to research Indigenous Australians’ experiences of

racism. Mellor interviewed 34 Aboriginals from the

suburbs of Melbourne. All of the participants referred

to themselves as @ddg^ people. The interviews lasted

for approximately 40 to 80 minutes. There were also

20–30 minutes used for preparation and debriefing.

Mellor presented the results in a descriptive format.

He provided a series of quotes from participants to

illustrate his summaries.

Mellor reduced the volume of relevant data by iden-

tifying patterns and themes from the data. He was able

to detect four categories of racism that were experi-

enced by the participants: verbal racism, behavioural

racism, discrimination and macro-level racism.

Verbal racism included name calling such as the

words ‘abo’ or ‘coon’ and the emphasis of the word

‘black’ before using another derogatory term to refer

to the person, for example ‘You black ____’. Overheard

comments, deliberate direct comments, jokes and

taunts were other examples of verbal racism that the

participants reported experiencing.

Behavioural racism was displayed in ways such as

ignoring and avoiding, and by doing things such as

not sitting next to Aboriginal people on public trans-

port. Other examples of behavioural racism included

assault, being stared at and segregation, such as

parents not wanting their children to play with Abor-

iginal children.

Discrimination was a third area of racism identified

by Mellor. Examples of this included being denied

hotel accommodation despite having a booking at the

hotel. Another example from participants was of stu-

dents on a school bus not letting Aboriginal students

sit down.

The fourth area of racism worked at the macro-level.

The macro-level means the wider community level, as

opposed to racism from individuals. Macro-level racism

includes things such as a selective view of history. Par-

ticipants reported that they believed events such as

the removal of children from their families, now often

referred to as the Stolen Generation, and the fact that

Aboriginal people occupied Australia before Euro-

pean colonisation, were often trivialised. Participants

also reported that the dominance of white culture

means that Aboriginal people cannot practise many tra-

ditional aspects of their culture, and hence was a form

of racism.

The Koori participants believed that non-Aboriginal

people hold negative stereotypes about Aboriginal

people.

Mellor found that the participants in this study

didn’t just experience modern racism, which is less

obvious and is seen to be milder, but rather experi-

enced a wide range of racism, much of which was

blatant and obvious.

Mellor therefore concluded that when researching

levels of racism in society, it was important to ask

groups of people who are potentially victims of racism

about their experiences, not just focus on the per-

petrators of racism and the degree to which they are

racist.

Figure 3.17 Reconciliation marches such as this one can

help to increase contact, and therefore understanding,

between groups.

Social cognition 65

Given that there are a number of factors that affect prejudice formation, we need to examine ways that prejudice can be reduced.v� Equal legal status and economic opportunities and

power must first be in place for social prejudice to be reduced. During the 1960s, the Freedom Rides in Australia were a public way of Aboriginal people campaigning to attain equal legal and political status. This was essential for Indigenous Australians to have the same opportunities as non-Indigenous Australians.v� Authorities and institutions must show that it is

normal for the groups to have equality. People follow the lead of people and organisations that are seen to have power. These people are perceived to act in a way that others should. When they act in a way that does not show prejudice, others are more likely to behave in a similar manner.v� Increased contact between groups is important

but it must occur after the groups have achieved equal status. The equal status must be at a legal, political and economic level. If either group per-ceives themselves to be more important, then it is difficult to reduce prejudice. Increased contact helps to overcome many perceived stereotypes as people meet individuals from a particular group, such as women, men, Indigenous Australians, hairdressers or immigrants. As the stereotypes are usually negative, the contact provides oppor-tunities to meet real people and discover that they don’t match the negative stereotype.

v� Prejudice can also be reduced through coopera-tion and superordinate goals. A superordinate goal is one that cannot be achieved by any one person or group alone. In one example of this, Eliott Aronson and his colleagues (1978) devel-oped the concept of the ‘jigsaw classroom’ to force children from different ethnic backgrounds to work together. In this study, classrooms in Texas and California were desegregated. Prior to this, children of different ethnic backgrounds were taught in separate classrooms. A concept behind the jigsaw classroom was that students of different ethnic backgrounds would each be given a piece of information that was required to complete a task. Students would have to work together to be able to complete the task.v� Creating cognitive dissonance can be used to

change attitudes and hence remove prejudice. If you meet a person who you associate with a par-ticular stereotype, and discover that this person doesn’t fit the stereotype, then you will experience dissonance if you behave in a negative prejudiced way towards them. This can lead people to change their prejudiced attitudes to fit the behaviours that they want to display.v� Cognitive interventions and retraining are another

way that we can try to reduce prejudice. Psycholo-gists believe that the first step to using cognitive interventions to overcome prejudice is to make people aware of their prejudice, then make a con-scious effort to try to overcome the thoughts. An unprejudiced person may still have stereotypical thoughts come to mind, but they work at over-coming these thoughts and do not allow them to affect their behaviour.One of the reasons it is so hard to reduce preju-

dice is that just one of these methods on its own isn’t enough to create change. Many or all at once are required and it is rare for this to happen.

GdWWZg¼h�8VkZ�ZmeZg^bZciResearch by Muzafer Sherif (1956) focused on two

groups of boys on summer camp. The participants

were 22 white, middle-class, Protestant boys aged

11 to 12 with no record of school, psychological or

behavioural problems. The researchers obtained

informed consent from the children in the presence

of their parents. The boys were randomly allocated

to one of two groups. Each group hiked, swam and

prepared meals together, but in isolation from the

other group. Within each group there was a strong

sense of cohesion and cooperation.

(Xdci^cjZY)

BOX 3.6


When the two groups were put together it was

for competitive activities such as baseball, football

and tug-of-war. A rivalry developed between the two

groups of boys. Each group developed a negative

attitude towards the other group, which was evident

in the behaviour they displayed. Groups burned the

other group’s flag, there was name-calling, cabins

were ransacked and a near-riot broke out. The boys

didn’t like one another and hated being in each

other’s company. Sherif concluded that just being

together doesn’t overcome prejudice.

Sherif then made the groups mutually inter-

dependent on one another. Sheriff created situations

in which the groups could not achieve goals alone.

For example, the water system needed repairing and

the only way that this could happen was for all of the

boys to work together. Another situation required all

the boys to push a truck over a hill after it stalled

while they were out on an excursion.

Sheriff found that the hostile feelings that each

group had towards the other began to diminish and

friendships developed as the goal-focused activities

continued.

BOX 3.6 (continued)

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.14Summary of the Robber’s Cave experiment

1. What type of investigation design was used in the Robber’s Cave experiment? Explain your answer.

2. Describe any ethical considerations relevant to this investigation.

3. In what ways could the sample used in this research be considered unrepresentative of the population?

4. What did this investigation show about how preju-dice can be reduced?

6\Z�Y^hXg^b^cVi^dc�V\V^chi�i]Z�aVl��VcY�WVY�[dg�Wjh^cZhh

The Equal Opportunity Commission Victoria today

welcomed the introduction of a Federal Age Discrimi-

nation Bill to Parliament but pointed out that similar

laws have been in place in Victoria for several years.

Discrimination on the basis of age was outlawed in

Victoria under the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic).

Since then more than 1000 complaints of age dis-

crimination have been lodged with the Commission.

BOX 3.7

Commission Chief Executive Dr Diane Sisely said

businesses faced severe labour shortages unless dis-

crimination against older people was stopped.

‘Despite the laws, older workers are discriminated

against in recruitment, training, promotion, redun-

dancy and retirement.’ she said. Age discrimination

forces people out of the workforce prematurely, and

then prevents them from re-entering.

‘Older people face difficulties getting a job, are the

first to be made redundant and are less likely to be

given training and promotion.’

Dr Sisely said not only is age discrimination

against the law, it is bad for business.

She called on employers to counter negative stereo-

types about older workers and adopt ‘age diverse’

employment policies.

‘Our declining birth rate coupled with an ageing

population means that businesses will be forced to

think differently about workers older than 45 years

face labour shortages, decreased productivity and

loss of competitiveness,’ she said.

‘In the future the businesses that thrive will be

those that capitalise on our current social and econ-

omic challenges by recruiting and retaining staff of

all ages.’

The Equal Opportunity Commission has been

working with the Office of Senior Victorians (Depart-

ment of Human Services), VicHealth, the Department

for Victorian Communities and the Department of

Innovation, Industry and Regional Development to

develop guidelines to encourage employers to recruit

and retain older workers.

(HdjgXZ: Equal Opportunity Commission Victoria, 2004.)

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.15Movie analysis

Remember the Titans (2000)

Watch the movie Remember the Titans, directed by Boaz Yakin.As a class, discuss how the coach in this film reduces the prejudice that exists between the two dif-ferent groups of students.

Figure 3.18 Coach Boone is

played by Denzel Washington in

the movie GZbZbWZg�i]Z�I^iVch.

Social cognition 67

BOX 3.8

HZm�Y^hXg^b^cVi^dc�¸�`cdl�ndjg�g^\]ihUnder the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995, it

is unlawful to treat someone unfairly or harass them

because of their sex.

What is discrimination?Sex discrimination may be direct or indirect.

Direct discrimination means treating a person of

any sex less favourably than a person who is of a dif-

ferent sex, in the same or similar circumstances.

B^`Z�hVl�Vc�VYkZgi^hZbZci�[dg�V�_dW�Vh�V�hVaZh�gZegZhZciVi^kZ�[dg�V�XdhbZi^Xh�XdbeVcn#�L]Zc�]Z�iZaZe]dcZY�id�ZmegZhh�]^h�^ciZgZhi�^c�i]Z�edhî^dc�i]Z�eZghdccZa�bVcV\Zg�hV^Y!�¹Hdggn!�lZ�Ydc¼i�]VkZ�Vcn�bVaZ�gZeh�VcY�lZ�a^`Z�id�`ZZe�î�i]Vi�lVnº#�I]Z�XdbeVcn�^h�Y^gZXian�Y^hXg^b^cVi^c\�V\V^chi�B^`Z�dc�i]Z�WVh^h�d[�]^h�hZm#

Indirect sex discrimination happens when a require-

ment, condition or practice that does not appear to be

unfair, in fact discriminates against people of a par-

ticular sex.

6�[VXidgn�YZX^YZY�i]Vi�Vaa�ZbeadnZZh�l]d�]VY�ldg`ZY�Xdci^cj"djhan�[dg�i]Z�eVhi�&%�nZVgh�ldjaY�\Zi�V�eVn�g^hZ#�I]^h�^h�^cY^gZXi�hZm�Y^hXg^b^cVi^dc�Vh�̂ i�̂ h�a^`Zan�i]Vi�V�]^\]Zg�egdedgi^dc�d[�ldbZc�i]Vc�bZc�ldjaY�b^hh�dji�dc�i]Z�g^hZ!�Vh�bdgZ�ldbZc�i]Vc�bZc�^ciZggjei�i]Z^g�ldg`^c\�a^kZh�id�]VkZ�VcY�XVgZ�[dg�X]âYgZc#

When is discrimination unlawful?It is unlawful to treat someone unfairly on the basis of

their sex in the areas of:

Accommodationwhich covers renting, offering or providing temporary

or permanent accommodation such as business prem-

ises, a house, flat, hotel or motel room, boarding house

or hostel, caravan, mobile home or camping site.

Clubs and club memberswhich covers social, recreational, sporting or commu-

nity service clubs that are located on Crown land or

receive any financial assistance from the Government

or a municipal council.

BVg\VgZi�VcY�?Zccn�lZgZ�idaY�i]Vi�i]Zn�lZgZ�lZaXdbZ�id�_d^c�V�Wdla^c\�XajW�dc�8gdlc�aVcY�Vh�¹VhhdX^ViZ�bZbWZghº�Wji�i]Z�XajW¼h�gjaZh�gZhig^XiZY�¹[jaa�dgY^cVgn�bZbWZgh]êº�id�bZc#�I]Zn�bVn� adY\Z�V�XdbeaV^ci�lî]� i]Z�:fjVa�Deedgijcîn�8dbb^h"h^dc#�Edhh^WaZ�gZhdaji^dc�XdjaY�^cXajYZ�Vc�Vedad\n�VcY�Vc�V\gZZ"bZci�Wn�i]Z�XajW�id�VbZcY�̂ ih�gjaZh�id�bV`Z�i]Zb�Xdch^hiZci�lî]�i]Z�aVl!�i]ZgZWn�Vaadl^c\�ldbZc�id�WZ�[jaa�XajW�bZbWZgh#

Disposal of landwhich includes selling or transferring land.

Educationwhich includes refusing to admit a student to an edu-

cational institution, setting unfair entry terms, denying

or limiting access to benefits, expelling the student or

any other unfair treatment based on sex.

Employmentwhich includes job applicants, employees and contract

workers. It covers recruitment, terms and conditions of

employment, promotion and transfer opportunities,

leave entitlements, redundancy, dismissal and exiting

arrangements, including the provision of references.

An employer may offer employment only to a person

of a particular sex if:

• a person of that particular sex can most effectively

provide welfare or support services for other people

of the same sex;

• it is a genuine occupational requirement that

employees be of a particular sex. This may be for

reasons of decency and privacy such as the fitting of

clothes, entering lavatories or areas where people

are in state of undress or conducting body searches;

• that person is required to live in communal accom-

modation not suitable for people of both sexes;

• it is necessary to maintain authenticity or credibility

in dramatic, artistic, entertainment, photographic

or modelling performances or work.

7VgWVgV�Veea^ZY�id�V�Wjh�XdbeVcn�[dg�V�_dW�Vh�V�Wjh�Yg^kZg#�H]Z�]VY�WZZc�V�igVchedgi�Yg^kZg�^c�i]Z�G66;�VcY�]VY�eaZcin�d[�ZmeZg^ZcXZ#�I]Z�7jh�XdbeVcn�hV^Y�i]Vi�i]Zn�ldjaY�¹\^kZ�]Zg�V�\dº�Wji�YdjWiZY�i]Vi�h]Z�ldjaY�WZ�VWaZ�id�¹]VX`�i]Z�eVXZº�VcY�hV^Y�i]Vi�h]Z�ldjaY�WZ�eV^Y�aZhh�i]Vc�i]Z�bZc�jciâ�h]Z�¹egdkZY�]ZghZa[º#�7VgWVgV�bVn�adY\Z�V�XdbeaV^ci�lî]�i]Z�:fjVa�Deedg"ijcîn� 8dbb^hh^dc#� 6i� XdcXâ^Vi^dc!� edhh^WaZ� gZhdaji^dc� bVn�^cXajYZ�Vc�V\gZZbZci�Wn�i]Z�ZbeadnZg�id�eVn�7VgWVgV�i]Z�hVbZ�lV\Z�Vh�]Zg�bVaZ�XdjciZgeVgih#

Goods and serviceswhich includes refusing to supply a person with goods

or services, supplying a person with goods or services

on less favourable terms or any other unfair treatment

based on sex. It does not matter whether the goods

and services are provided for money or not.

?VcZ�lVh�ldg`^c\�[jaa� i^bZ�VcY�Veea^ZY� [dg�V�XgZYî�VXXdjci�lî]�V�YZeVgibZci�hidgZ#�H]Z�lVh�idaY�i]Vi�h]Z�XdjaY�cdi�]VkZ�i]Z�VXXdjci�jcaZhh�]Zg�]jhWVcY�VXiZY�Vh�V�\jVgVcidg#�I]Z�hidgZ�Y^Yc¼i�^bedhZ�i]Z�hVbZ�gZfj^gZbZci�dc�bZc#�6[iZg�^ckZhi^\Vi^dc�VcY� XdcXâ^Vi^dc� Wn� i]Z� :fjVa� Deedgijcîn� 8dbb^hh^dc!� i]Z�hidgZ�X]Vc\ZY�îh�eda^Xn�VcY�?VcZ�lVh�\^kZc�Vc�VXXdjci#

Sportwhich includes refusing to select a person for a

sporting team or excluding them from participating in

a sporting activity.

Organisers of competitive sporting activities for people

over 12 years of age may discriminate on the basis of sex

if strength, stamina or physique is relevant.

@VgV�XdbeZiZY�^c�V�b^mZY�WVh`ZiWVaa�iZVb�^c�i]Z�jcYZg�&)�XdbeZiî^dc#�H]Z�lVh�dcZ�d[�i]Z�iZVb¼h�higdc\Zhi�eaVnZgh�VcY�]VY�ldc�V�¹WZhi�VcY�[V^gZhiº�VlVgY#�L]Zc�h]Z�ijgcZY�&'�i]Z�XdVX]�idaY�]Zg�h]Z�XdjaY�cd�adc\Zg�XdbeZiZ�̂ c�i]Z�iZVb!�hVn^c\�i]Z�Xdb"eZiî^dc�]VY�WZXdbZ�idd�e]nh^XVaan�YZbVcY^c\�[dg�]Zg#�@VgV�XdjaY�adY\Z�V�hZm�Y^hXg^b^cVi^dc�XdbeaV^ci�lî]�i]Z�:fjVa�Deedgijcîn�8dbb^hh^dc#�6i�XdcXâ^Vi^dc!�edhh^WaZ�djiXdbZh�bVn�^cXajYZ�Vc�

Vedad\n�VcY�Vc�d[[Zg�[dg�@VgV�id�gZ_d^c�i]Z�iZVb#

(HdjgXZ: @cdl�ndjg�g^\]ih brochure, Equal Opportunity

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IMPRESSION FORMATIONWhat impression did you get of your best friend the first time you saw them? Did you think they were confident or shy? What factors led you to form this impression? Was your first impression accurate? When we interact with people, we form impressions of them. Impressions can be formed in person, from a phone conversation or from viewing an image of someone on the television or Internet. When you meet a person for the first time, you form an impres-sion of them from what they say, how they say it, their physical appearance and their body language. This impression formation is also known as ‘person per-ception’. We often make assumptions about things, such as a person’s personality, work ethic, inter-ests and even their likes and dislikes, from the first impression that we form.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the impression and perception that we form of others, just as there are also things that lead to these impres-sions being biased and potentially inaccurate.

Firstly, we form impressions from both verbal and non-verbal communication.

Figure 3.19

We form

impressions based

on the physical

appearance, facial

expressions and

body language of

people.

EZdeaZ�lViX]Zgh�XVc¼i�^\cdgZ�WdYn�aVc\jV\Z

?Zcc^[Zg�K^Z\Vh

People pay more attention to body language than to

facial expressions, even when observers are trying to

focus on faces, according to a new study.

The finding, published in this week’s EgdXZZY^c\h�d[�

i]Z�CVi^dcVa�6XVYZbn�d[�HX^ZcXZh, suggests that people

interpret body language without consciously being

aware of it.

This instantaneous response also works like a silent

alarm system in the brain whenever facial expressions

do not match the individual’s body language.

The ‘alarm’ is a message in the brain of the onlooker

that something is not right with the other person.

‘The information from body language and its coher-

ence with the facial expression are apprehended

rapidly [along with] the assurance that we can trust

our gut feeling when we feel somebody ‘feels’ funny,’

explains Professor Beatrice de Gelder, one of the

study’s authors.

De Gelder, a scientist in the Cognitive and Affec-

tive Neuroscience Laboratory at Tilburg University in

the Netherlands, and her team took photographs of

men and women who looked either fearful or angry.

Body language that expresses fear can include a

defensive posture with feet slightly out-turned and

shoulders held back.

Body language expressing anger may involve an

offensive stance, with shoulders and chest forward

and arms slightly bent and held to the sides.

The researchers, using computer software, then

created images where facial expressions either

matched or were incongruent to these body moods.

A mismatched photo, for example, showed a

fearful face attached to an angry body, or an angry

face attached to a person whose body was expressing

fear.

The researchers then showed the photographs to

12 male and female study participants wearing scalp

electrodes that measured brain activity. The test sub-

jects were asked to focus on facial expressions.

Super-quick reaction

In just 115 milliseconds, their brains reacted to the

photos, with mismatched photos generating the

most activity, particularly in a visual processing part

of the brain located at the back of the head behind

the ears.

The ultra-fast response indicates that first impres-

sions are made before awareness kicks in.

The participants also judged the individuals in the

photos based on body language, even though they

were asked to focus on faces.

BOX 3.9

Social cognition 69

Verbal communication is the content of what a person says. Non-verbal communication is the way that we present information without using spoken language. There are non-verbal visible cues that include such things as facial expression, gesture, posture and appearance. There are also non-verbal paralinguistic cues, which relate to how we present the verbal communication, through things such as pitch, amplitude, rate and voice quality.

Verbal communicationVerbal communication is what is said. The context in which we meet someone is important in terms of the impression that we form from what people say. If someone tells you how well they did on a test, you may interpret the comment differently depending upon the context. If you had asked ‘how well did you do?’, you would probably just see it as a response to a question. If it came out of the blue, then you may form an impression of the person as bragging and being immodest. Whether someone swears or is

polite can also affect the impression they present. If a person uses slang and speaks informally, it might be perfectly normal in a home environment, but could be interpreted negatively if you don’t know the person well and they are attending a formal busi-ness luncheon.

Non-verbal communication Visible cuesNon-verbal visible cues can include a range of things including the distance you stand from someone, gestures, eye-contact, facial expressions and physical appearance.

Distance A person who wants to seem friendly or intimate will often stand close to the person they are speaking to. Friends generally stand closer than strangers. A person who moves away from someone else is indicating that they don’t feel comfortable being so close and hence don’t feel as friendly or want to be as intimate.

Gestures Some gestures are straightforward and obvious while others are more subtle. To understand gestures, it is important to understand the context and culture in which they are being used. An open palm is an invitation but it can also mean stop if someone puts their hand up with the palm facing out. Crossed legs are defensive. Nodding your head while someone is talking can mean that you agree with what they are saying but can also be an indi-cation that you are simply listening. Because context is so important, there isn’t a reliable dictionary of gestures and their meanings.

Open and closed postures Postures affect the impres-sion we present. Standing tall with an upright posture presents an image of confidence. A hunched posture suggests that someone lacks confidence and isn’t as sure of themself.

Eye contact Once again, the meaning of eye contact varies depending upon context. Making eye contact while someone is talking shows interest in what they are saying, just as breaking eye contact and looking somewhere else is an indication that you are not interested in what is being said. However, people may avoid eye contact for other reasons. A lack of eye contact may mean someone is shy or fright-ened. When giving eye contact, people don’t always maintain it constantly as this can make the situation uncomfortable. If someone is embarrassed, a direct gaze can be further embarrassing and threatening, and in that situation it wouldn’t be rude to look away from the person. Eye contact may also be used to threaten. If a person is threatening another they will stare directly at the person. Teachers sometimes use this technique when reprimanding students. Stu-dents in a bullying situation who are threatening

The study suggests that phony expressions usually

do not fool us.

‘We can try to control our facial expression of fear,

for example, not to frighten children when we notice

something unexpected, to smile when we eat some-

thing unpleasant etc, but body language often gives

away the real feelings,” says de Gelder.

She adds that even animals try to deceive other

animals visually, such as birds that pretend to have

broken wings or bugs that play dead, so it is possible

that many creatures form first impressions based on

instantaneous gut reactions too.

Body responds clearly

Jaak Panksepp, professor emeritus at Bowling Green

State University, Ohio, says, ‘Most of our evolu-

tionary history has been characterised by very clear

bodily responses for basic emotions.’

‘This suggests that most of our information pro-

cessing may be designed to extract emotional values

from situations pretty rapidly, and may explain why

we often have affective feelings about situations

which we cannot readily understand at a cognitive

level,’ he says.

‘It would be lovely to have an fMRI [funtional

magnetic resonance imaging] study of the same

emotional stimuli, to see what differences may exist

in deeper structures of the brain . . . Those results

would increase our ability to put these findings into

a larger brain-systems context.’

HdjgXZ: 9^hXdkZgn�CZlh, www.abc.net.au, 28 October 2005


others will stare. Therefore, making eye contact can show both friendship or a threat depending upon the context in which it is used and other verbal and non-verbal cues that happen at the same time.

Facial expression Whether someone smiles, frowns or appears uninterested can affect the impression that you form of them.

Physical appearance We often form impressions based on what people wear, their hairstyle and their physical attractiveness. Research shows that we tend to assume that people who we find to be physically attractive are also ‘good’. This is influenced by stereotypes that we hold. These stereotypes are often biased, yet they can still guide the impressions that

we form.

Paralinguistic cuesParalanguage consists of variations in speech, rather than the actual words spoken. In particular, para-language carries emotion. It can include things such as voice pitch, loudness, rhythm, inflection and hesitations.

Emphasis and inflection can change the meaning of a series of words depending upon the word(s) that are emphasised or have an inflection. For example, if you say the sentence ‘You want to become a teacher’ in a flat tone with no emphasis, it sounds like a state-ment. If you say it with an inflection (rising voice) at the end, it questions the idea of becoming a teacher. Say it with emphasis on the first word and it questions whether the person being spoken to should become a teacher. If you put the emphasis on the word ‘teacher’ then it becomes a question about whether it is a good idea to become a teacher. Changing the emphasis on each of the other words further changes the meaning of the statement. A pause may be used by some people to add emphasis but for others it may mean uncertainty. A higher voice pitch can indi-cate excitement or lying. Increased volume can indi-cate anger, emphasis or excitement.

We form first impressions very quickly, often based on a limited amount of information. A well-known early study into how impressions are formed was by Asch in 1946. This study, which has become known as the ‘warm–cold’ study, was later summarised and evaluated by Hock (2002).

Asch proposed that there are some characteris-tics that play a greater role in forming our impres-sions than others. He gave a list of six descriptive characteristics to two different groups of univer-sity students. Asch then asked the participants to describe their impression of a person who would have these qualities. Group A contained 90 partici-pants and they heard the words ‘intelligent, skilful, industrious, warm, determined, practical’. The 76 participants in group B heard the list ‘intelligent,

skilful, industrious, cold, determined, practical’. Other than the words ‘warm’ and ‘cold’, the lists were identical.

The participants were then asked to write a brief sketch of the person described and select a word from each of 18 pairs of opposite adjectives that they believed would best fit the person. Examples included:

Generous — ungenerousShrewd — unwiseHappy — unhappyParticipants in group A, who heard the descrip-

tion ‘warm’, were much more likely to choose the adjectives generous, wise, happy and good-natured than the group that heard the descriptive word ‘cold’. Despite all of the other positive words, group B didn’t form a very positive image of the person. Further similar studies have found similar results. This is even the case after people meet a person who acted in the way of the positive characteristics.

First impressions are influenced by stereotypes. Stereotypes act as schemas filling in the missing details in a situation. For example, in a word like ‘sch__l’, a schema from past experience tells us that the letters ‘oo’ should fill in the gap. If looking at a photo of a beach, our schemas tell us that seeing people with towels and wearing bathers is logical. When we meet a new person, we notice things about them. We often categorise people into a particular group and then stereotypes that we hold about that group fill in the gaps we don’t yet know about the person. This assessment can obviously be biased and incorrect.

Cognitive schemas are another way that people form impressions. We need to see only one or two behaviours and link these to others that fit our schemas of ‘usual behaviour’. An advantage of this is that we can process information faster; however, a disadvantage is that we may form inaccurate first impressions that are often based on stereotypes.

Essentially we assess a person and judge them based on stereotypes. We make a stereotype based on gender, cultural group, employment, age or per-sonality. A stereotype is made up of the beliefs that we have about a certain group. The stereotype itself allows us to put new experiences into order more quickly. Problems arise when stereotypes lead to prejudice and discrimination.

Our first impression can lack accuracy due to things such as the fundamental attribution error. This is when we attribute behaviours to a person’s personality or internal characteristics without taking the context of the behaviour into account. A teacher may be seen as a grumpy person because they yell at students; however, the students may have been very badly behaved on a particular day.

Social cognition 71

Social comparisonsIn general, the term social comparison refers to people’s tendency to make assessments of them-selves by comparing themselves to others. People compare such things as physical appearance, skills, personality traits and wealth. Festinger (1954) developed social comparison theory to explain how and why people learn about themselves by making comparisons with other people. He suggested that people need to know whether they meet society’s

norms and expectations, in addition to needing reassurance that their perceptions, attitudes, feel-ings and behaviour present favourably to those around them. In essence, this is a method used to assess the image that others might be able to form of us, but we make social comparisons for a variety of reasons.

Festinger believed that we want truthful infor-mation about ourselves. However, more recent research has concluded that we make social com-parisons to feel good about ourselves (Baron et al., 2006). One way of achieving this is through making a downward social comparison. A downward social comparison is when we compare ourselves to someone who is slightly worse off than ourselves. It generally makes us feel good because the compar-ison presents us in a positive light, showing us to be better than someone else. This gives our self-esteem a boost.

When comparing our behaviours and perfor-mance, we aim to compare ourselves to people who perform slightly worse. It is generally considered acceptable in society to be slightly better in perfor-mance than others. But we might also make a com-parison with someone who is much less fortunate, less happy or not as successful as us.

A second type of social comparison encourages us to improve ourselves. In this case we make an upward social comparison and compare ourselves with someone who is more fortunate, happier or better at a task than us. This can give us something to aim towards and has the advantage of encouraging people to try to improve themselves. However, the comparison can also make people feel that they are inadequate and hence be disillusioned about their own abilities. If the standard that they aim for isn’t achievable, this may discourage them from trying to improve their performance.

People also seek out similar people with whom to compare their perceptions and attitudes. This is known as a similar social comparison. We con-stantly need to know that we fit social ‘norms’. Similar people can be people who we already con-sider ourselves similar to or those who we want to be similar to. People also make social comparisons to know that they fit in with other people in their peer group.

In reality, people can’t always choose whom they will compare themselves to. Siblings will naturally compare themselves to others in the family. This is particularly the case for younger siblings who often look up to and compare themselves to their older siblings. Within a class at school, it is natural for classmates to compare themselves to each other. However, within the class you can choose whether you make upward or downward comparisons.


1. What are the three general areas of communi-cation that can affect the first impressions that we form of others?

2. Describe a common non-verbal way of communi-cating each of the following.(a) Goodbye(b) Hello(c) Go away(d) No(e) Yes

3. (a) Complete the table below using gestures and their context. List five common ges-tures, then explain the context in which they could be used and the impression that it would present of someone.

Gesture ContextImpression presented

(b) Compare your table with those of others in the class. Do other people in the class agree with the impression presented? If not, why not?

4. Cut out photos of people from a magazine or newspaper, or use a camera to take them your-self. Explain what the facial expressions and eye contact could mean in each picture.

5. Say each of the following statements aloud, placing emphasis upon the bolded word in each case. Write down the meaning of each statement.You want to eat snails.You want to eat snails.You want to eat snails.You want to eat snails.


People may choose to make upward, downward or similar social comparisons. Research tends to suggest that we feel better off after downward comparisons and worse off after upward comparisons.

Figure 3.20 Siblings or students in the same class are

likely to make social comparisons.

Figure 3.20 Siblings or students in the same class are

likely to make social comparisons.

Social comparisons are common for all people, even

for those who appear to have achieved at the highest

level in their field of expertise. Medvec, Madey and

Gilovich (1995) completed a study of the reactions

of medal winners in the 1992 Olympic games in

Barcelona, Spain. Their investigation involved three

studies. They concluded that even though silver

medallists perform better than bronze medallists,

they don’t feel better or happier than bronze medal-

lists. They compared the facial expression of medal

winners when they were on the podium to collect

their medals. Gold medallists appeared very happy,

which is logical as they could only make downward

social comparisons, given that at that point in time

they were the best in their field. Interestingly, Medvec

and her colleagues also found that bronze medallists

appeared happier than silver medallists. They con-

cluded that this was because silver medallists were

making upward social comparisons and realised how

close they were to receiving a gold medal, yet they

weren’t good enough and missed out. However, the

researchers concluded that, while bronze medal-

lists performed worse than silver medallists, bronze

medallists could easily make a downward social

comparison and see that the next worst performer

didn’t receive any medal, nor the glory and celebra-

tion that go with it.

BOX 3.10

Social comparisons are common for all people, even

for those who appear to have achieved at the highest

level in their field of expertise. Medvec, Madey and

Gilovich (1995) completed a study of the reactions

of medal winners in the 1992 Olympic games in

Barcelona, Spain. Their investigation involved three

studies. They concluded that even though silver

medallists perform better than bronze medallists,

they don’t feel better or happier than bronze medal-

lists. They compared the facial expression of medal

winners when they were on the podium to collect

their medals. Gold medallists appeared very happy,

which is logical as they could only make downward

social comparisons, given that at that point in time

they were the best in their field. Interestingly, Medvec

and her colleagues also found that bronze medallists

appeared happier than silver medallists. They con-

cluded that this was because silver medallists were

making upward social comparisons and realised how

close they were to receiving a gold medal, yet they

weren’t good enough and missed out. However, the

researchers concluded that, while bronze medal-

lists performed worse than silver medallists, bronze

medallists could easily make a downward social

comparison and see that the next worst performer

didn’t receive any medal, nor the glory and celebra-

tion that go with it.

BOX 3.10

IMPRESSION MANAGEMENTHow many times have you said that you agreed with someone even when you actually didn’t, or pre-tended to have a different attitude from the one you really had, or spent longer getting ready than you really needed to? Each of these is a way that we try to manage the impression that we present to other people. While we form an impression of other people by verbal and non-verbal communi-cation and we can assess our position within society by making social comparisons, we are also in a position to manage the impression of ourselves that is presented to other people. Social psycholo-gists use the term impression management or self- presentation to describe the process by which people attempt to manage the impression of them-selves that they present to others. Generally, people want others to like and respect them.


1. Why do people make social comparisons?2. What is the difference between an upward and

a downward social comparison? Think of an example of each to illustrate your answer.

3. Name an advantage and a disadvantage of an upward social comparison.

4. Name an advantage and disadvantage of a down-ward social comparison.

5. Name an advantage and a disadvantage of making a social comparison to someone who is similar.

6. Joel was initially disappointed with his most recent exam result as it was lower than his usual marks. However, he felt better about his exam result once he asked others in the class what their score was and he realised that he received the highest exam mark in the class. Describe the type of social comparison that Joel is making. Give a reason for your answer.

7. Amanda is her school’s top 100 m sprinter in athletics competitions. During the Common-wealth and Olympic games she spends a lot of time studying the running techniques and per-formances of the athletes who are successful at the Olympics. Describe the type of social com-parison that Amanda is making. Give a reason for your answer.


1. Why do people make social comparisons?2. What is the difference between an upward and

a downward social comparison? Think of an example of each to illustrate your answer.

3. Name an advantage and a disadvantage of an upward social comparison.

4. Name an advantage and disadvantage of a down-ward social comparison.

5. Name an advantage and a disadvantage of making a social comparison to someone who is similar.

6. Joel was initially disappointed with his most recent exam result as it was lower than his usual marks. However, he felt better about his exam result once he asked others in the class what their score was and he realised that he received the highest exam mark in the class. Describe the type of social comparison that Joel is making. Give a reason for your answer.

7. Amanda is her school’s top 100 m sprinter in athletics competitions. During the Common-wealth and Olympic games she spends a lot of time studying the running techniques and per-formances of the athletes who are successful at the Olympics. Describe the type of social com-parison that Amanda is making. Give a reason for your answer.

Social cognition 73

Non-verbal communicationPeople use non-verbal communication to improve the image they present to others. The methods discussed in the impression formation section (p. XXX) on the influence of non-verbal commu-nication on impression-making also apply here. Consider the image that your clothing, hairstyle, make-up and jewellery present. If applying for a job in a bank, a business/conservative image would be preferred, so wear a suit, have neat hair, and wear jewellery and make-up that are simple and not too flashy. Giving eye contact in a job interview or when being questioned will make you appear more believable and trustworthy. Chaplin et al. (2000) investigated the link between a handshake and the impressions that people form. Their research con-firmed what many people accept to be true: a firm handshake presents a more positive image of both males and females. Women with a firm handshake were considered to be more open to experience and hence perceived more favourably. In general, people with a firm handshake are perceived to be more confident and assertive. Chaplin and his col-

leagues concluded that, when going for a job inter-view, a firm handshake is important for presenting a positive image.

Verbal communicationThe things that people say influence the impression that they present of themselves. In a job interview or on a date, people tend to emphasise good quali-ties about their actions and beliefs. Sometimes this might even involve telling lies to appear better.

Baron, Byrne and Branscombe (2006) have dis-cussed two key methods of impression management. There are those that increase our appeal and make us seem better people, and those that make the person or people to whom the image is being pre-sented feel better, so that in turn they form a better impression of us.

Impression management and making others feel better.

One way to manage the impression that others form of us is to make them feel better so that they associate this positive feeling with being around us. Methods include using flattery and expressing agreement, doing favours and showing that you like the person through positive body language (Baron et al., 2006).

FIG. 3.21 TO COME

Figure 3.21 The impression you present is very important

when going to a job interview.

FIG. 3.21 TO COME

Figure 3.21 The impression you present is very important

when going to a job interview.

>begZhh^dc�bVcV\ZbZci�VcY�i]Z��Vii^ijYZ·WZ]Vk^djg�a^c`

Self-presentation theory

Snyder (1987) completed research into people’s

self-monitoring tendency. Self-monitoring is con-

tinuously assessing how other people react to us

and then adjusting our behaviour if the reactions

aren’t those that we desire most. Snyder’s work

on self-monitoring suggests that some people are

‘high self-monitors’. These people score high on the

self-monitoring tendency. Those who score low on self-

monitoring care less about what others think and are

more guided by their own values and motivation. Most

people are in between the two extremes. With this in

mind, impression management helps to explain why

people’s behaviour and attitudes aren’t always

consistent. People may behave differently to their

attitude so that they can present a favourable impres-

sion to those around them. Turnley and Bolino

(2001) found that people who are high self-monitors

are more sensitive to the image they present and

hence are often more successful at using impression

management techniques. They found that high self-

monitors were better at using ingratiation (flattery)

or doing favours to be seen as likable. They were also

better at self-promotion, which is when people adver-

tise their abilities to be seen as more competent.

BOX 3.11


Self-handicappingSelf-handicapping is another way in which people protect their self-image and manage the impression that others have of them. Self-handicapping is making excuses for why you may present a less than desirable impression in an activity in which you are about to engage. Very often, self-handicapping is used to make an excuse for poor performance. This could include performance in the sporting arena, academic arena or in activities such as pubic speaking. Psychologists and researchers in this area focus on two different sorts of self-handicapping: real handicapping and feigned or artificial handi-capping. Real handicapping is when something has actually happened that will potentially affect your performance. It is important to understand that self-handicapping happens prior to an event or per-formance; for example, either not sleeping before an exam (real) or saying that you didn’t sleep before an exam (feigned) so as to self-handicap your performance. This is different from an attri-bution, which is something you might say after an event to justify the outcome (Midgely et al., 1996); for example if after the exam, you then attributed your poor performance to lack of sleep. Examples of real handicapping include behaviours such as drinking alcohol prior to a test or important occa-sion, a decrease in practice or a reduction in effort. Real handicapping also includes non-behaviours such as being anxious, in a bad mood or experi-encing a traumatic life event (Zuckermann, et al., 1998). Feigned or artificial handicapping is when you make up an excuse for potential poor perform-ance. Essentially, you are claiming that one of these previously listed things exists when in fact it doesn’t. You might say that you have a pain when you don’t or that you didn’t study for a test when you actually did. Self-handicapping gives other people an expla-nation for your potential failings.

When trying to improve or maintain the impression that others have of you, the real advan-tage comes not from actually having a handicap, but from seeming to have one. This way, if you don’t perform well, you have an excuse. If you do perform well, it will improve the impression that others have of you because you succeeded despite a handicap.

Berglas and Jones (1978) concluded that people who don’t do as well are more likely to self-handicap. In an experiment, they required participants to perform problem-solving tasks. One group of par-ticipants had solvable problems and one group had unsolvable problems. At the end of the first session of problem-solving, all participants were told that they had done well. Before the second session, they

were given a chance to take a drug ‘Activil’ which would improve intellectual functioning or ‘Pando-crin’ which would do the opposite. The majority of participants in the group with the unsolvable prob-lems chose to take the drug that impaired intellec-tual functioning. Jones and Berglas concluded that this was because they had struggled with the first set of problems, and were concerned about how they would perform in the second session. Taking Pandocrin meant that they would have an excuse if they failed, as they believed was possible. If they succeeded, it would make their success seem even greater.

Some studies have also concluded that boys are more likely than girls to self-handicap, although there are some discrepancies with this. Midgley et al. (1996) concluded that, among teenagers, self-handicapping may be a strategy that appears as dis-engagement from school. The need to fit in with their peers can make teenagers self-conscious about achieving low grades in school. The researchers concluded that low achievers self-handicap more than high achievers. The problem with this is that real self-handicapping, such as not studying until the last minute for an exam, will have a real effect on performance. This can then become a vicious circle as the lack of learning results in the student falling behind, really underperforming and being unable to catch up, which increases their disengage-ment from school. Self-handicapping is merely a way to mask lack of success. Teachers must consider this carefully when looking for ways to increase stu-dents’ engagement, interest levels and success in school.

Dangers of self-handicapping Self-handicapping is a way for people to protect their self-esteem and self-image, but problems can develop from it. Real self-handicapping, in partic-ular, can lead to reduced performance (Midgeley et al., 1996; Zuckerman et al., 1998). If a sport-sperson self-handicapped for a long time, they would probably be dropped from their team or not be as successful. In the academic arena, receiving lower marks than you should leads to disengage-ment, and falling further behind. Artificial self-handicapping can lead to lower self-esteem, which over time can lead to reduced performance. If people don’t study as hard in order to have an excuse, it can actually reduce their learning and performance in the long run.1234 LINES NEEDED HERE

Social cognition 75

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.18Self-handicapping and impression management

1. Give two examples of self-handicapping.2. Describe the disadvantages for someone who

uses self-handicapping as a means of impression management.

3. How does self-handicapping aid impression management?

EgZ_jY^XZ�VcY�^begZhh^dc�bVcV\ZbZci�Compared to the 1960s, self-reported prejudice has

decreased. In other words, if you try to gauge the level

of prejudice in a population by asking people if they

are prejudiced, results will show that it is lower than

it was in the 1960s. Despite this, there is still racial

violence within society. Moghaddam (1998) explains

that impression management is one possible reason

for this apparent discrepancy. In the United States,

discrimination (whether it is racial or gender) became

illegal after the 1960s civil rights movement legisl-

ation. People want to present themselves according

to accepted new norms and rules about appropriate

behaviour. Moghaddam cites evidence to show that

this doesn’t mean prejudice levels have actually

decreased. Instead people are less willing to publicly

admit to being prejudiced because they believe that

will present them in a negative light and they aren’t

doing what society expects of them. Moghaddam

makes the point that researchers must be aware of

this when researching social prejudice using self-

report methods to collect their data.

BOX 3.12

Dangers of impression managementHow many times have you done something that you knew would be potentially dangerous for your health or safety? Westen et al. (2006) discuss several common behaviours that are potentially dangerous. Smoking, drinking, driving dangerously and sun tanning are some of these behaviours that are often practised by teenagers. We know that increased sun exposure leads to an increased incidence of skin cancer, yet many people still sunbathe so that they can get a tan and hence change their physical appearance. People believe that a tan makes them more desirable and, despite the future health risks, continue to do it.

Many younger people try smoking and alcohol because they believe that it will make them more socially desirable to people around them. They are protecting their image.

Accidents happen among young people because they drive too fast, and do burnouts or other dan-gerous driving behaviour so that they can look ‘cool’ to their friends. Therefore impression management is a factor that can contribute to potentially dan-gerous behaviour.

PERSONAL GROWTHEffective persuasive communicationYou can apply the theory of persuasion to your own life to improve your own life experiences. There are many situations in which effective persuasive com-munication can help you to change people’s atti-tudes and make people listen to you. This could include giving a formal presentation to a group of people, persuading an employer to give you a job, or persuading someone to rethink their attitude to a particular issue. Consider the audience that you are trying to persuade and ask yourself these questions: Do they have any special interests? What is their level of formal education? Will they have a sense of humour about the issue? Do they want to hear what you have to say? What is their cultural background?

Think about the context of where and why you are trying to persuade them. The relationship that you already have with the audience can affect how you approach them.

In the message, consider other perspectives on the issue. Try using a combination of facts and emotion to make your case. This will allow you to consider whether people can be best persuaded using the central or peripheral route of persuasion.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.19Impression management — roleplay

In small groups, roleplay scenarios in which people use impression management. Use the following situ-ations or create a few of your own.(a) a classroom(b) a sporting event(c) a job interview

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.19Impression management — roleplay

In small groups, roleplay scenarios in which people use impression management. Use the following situ-ations or create a few of your own.(a) a classroom(b) a sporting event(c) a job interview


It is also valuable to consider impression man-agement techniques. What type of ‘source’ do you want to appear as? If you are an expert on a topic, what clothes or physical appearance would help to convey that?

MEASUREMENT OF ATTITUDESPsychologists use two main approaches to measur-ing or assessing attitudes. One approach involves observing people’s behaviour, thus obtaining infor-mation about underlying attitudes that may be associated with the observed behaviour. Another approach involves asking participants to tell the researcher about their attitudes — for example, by responding to questions or statements in an inter-view, questionnaire or rating scale. One approach is not necessarily more valid than the other. There are advantages and limitations for each approach and for each assessment device. Which approach or assessment device is used depends on the particu-lar attitude under investigation or the situation in which it will be investigated. Some attitudes or situa-tions may be more suited to one approach than the others. The specific attitude measurement device used also determines the type of data obtained; that is, qualitative data or quantitative data.

Behavioural observationsObservation of behaviour is one method of gaining information about a person’s attitude. Observation

of behaviour involves watching and describing behaviour as it occurs. The behaviour under investi-gation is clearly visible and can be recorded. This approach to measuring attitudes is referred to as an indirect measure because it involves observing what someone does (or has done), then inferring, or assuming, the underlying attitude(s) which may be associated with the observed behaviour.

In most studies of attitudes involving the observ-ation method, people are unaware that they are being observed. For example, in a study of graffiti in male and female toilets, the researchers found that females produce more graffiti and that their graffiti has more romantic content than does male graffiti (Wales & Brewer, 1976). The researchers may not have been able to obtain these kinds of data on atti-tudes towards graffiti through other methods where research participants are aware that they were being studied. This is because the participants may not be completely honest about their use of graffiti. Con-sequently, observational studies of attitudes can be very useful in some situations.

Observation of behaviour is an indirect and usually unobtrusive technique for measuring atti-tudes. Being unobtrusive helps ensure that partici-pants do not realise their attitudes (as assumed to be reflected by certain behaviour) are being meas-ured. This means that participants’ responses are not influenced by their knowledge of being in a study.

Another advantage of observation is that it can provide data about attitudes which researchers might not be able to obtain through other meas-ures. For example, a person may state that they have a certain attitude but their observed behav-iour may indicate otherwise. Observation of behav-iour, however, does not always give an accurate indication of a person’s attitude because observed behaviour and attitudes have often been shown to be inconsistent.

Another problem with using an indirect measure such as observation of behaviour is the difficulty with measuring the strength of the attitude. Psy-chologists can only draw conclusions using the available evidence, and the evidence is limited by the fact that the people being observed are often not interviewed by the researcher. However, observation of behaviour is often the only method of data collection that can be used, especially for very sensitive topics where a researcher suspects a person might not be completely honest about their attitudes and behaviour, or even know how they might behave in a situation until they are actually in the situation.

Figure 3.22 Observation of behaviour to understand

attitudes has been used in all kinds of situations, including

sporting events.

Figure 3.22 Observation of behaviour to understand

attitudes has been used in all kinds of situations, including

sporting events.

Social cognition 77

Self-report methodsSometimes researchers are interested in information about attitudes which is impossible to observe — for example, data on attitudes towards sexual activity or criminal acts. In these cases, researchers rely on self-reports. Self-reports are written or spoken answers to questions or statements presented by the researcher. In most cases, one person’s self-report is compared with those of others responding to the same ques-tions or statements.

Data which are based on self-reports given by par-ticipants are called subjective data. Assuming that the participants are honest, can accurately recall what they have been asked to describe and are able to give detailed accounts of their attitudes and related experiences, the data obtained from self-reports can provide valuable information about a person’s atti-tudes. Self-reports can be used to obtain both quali-tative and quantitative data.

When using self-report methods involving ques-tions, researchers usually choose between free-response and fixed-response questions. Free-response (or open-ended) questions require respondents to describe their attitudes freely in their own words (that is, qualitative data). For example, the researcher might ask a question such as, ‘What advantages does the Adelaide Entertainment Centre have as a venue for rock concerts?’ or ‘How can detention of refugees and asylum seekers be improved to better cater for the needs of the children of detainees?’ These kinds of open-ended questions enable research participants to provide detailed responses without being restricted to providing answers that fit into specified categories that are often used with other kinds of questions. Furthermore, free-response questions enable the researcher to ask questions of clarification or follow-up questions as participants give information about their attitudes. However, free-response questions can be limited in that answers can be difficult to summa-rise or score (that is, change into quantitative data), thus making it hard for researchers to statistically describe and interpret the data obtained.

To overcome this limitation, researchers often ask fixed-response questions which enable quan-titative data to be collected. Fixed-response (or closed) questions usually provide a respondent with a number of fixed alternative answers — for example, ‘Do you support the use of health warn-ings on cigarette packets: Yes, No, Undecided?’ and ‘How many hours per evening do you usually spend on homework: 0–1 hours, 2–3 hours, 4–5 hours, 6–7 hours, more than 7 hours?’ Fixed-response questions provide specific alternatives from which the respondent chooses, enabling the researcher to accurately and concisely summarise the data in the

form of numbers (quantitative data). Answers to fixed-response questions are usually easier to inter-pret than are answers to free-response questions.

Questionnaires, surveys and interviewsQuestionnaires, surveys and interviews are all examples of attitude measurement devices which are classified as self-reports. Questionnaires are written sets of questions. They are used in research as part of the survey method of gathering data. (See page 000 in chapter 2 for more detail). An example of a sample survey is the ‘gallup poll’, such as the one shown on page 000, which shows data on polit-ical preferences and voting intentions. Conclusions about nationwide opinions or attitudes are based on a sample of about 1500 people.

An interview is a face-to-face discussion between a researcher and an individual for the purpose of obtaining detailed information. Instead of being completely standardised, as is a questionnaire, an interview is interactive. An interviewer may vary the questioning to follow up on something the respon-dent has said. Good interviewers are sensitive to the process of social interaction, as well as to the infor-mation provided. They are trained to establish posi-tive social relationships with their respondents that encourage trust and the sharing of information. An interview can provide qualitative or quantitative data on attitudes.

Rating scalesRating scales are another self-report method. Rating scales are a series of fixed-response questions or statements about different aspects of an attitude to which the respondents indicate the extent of their agreement or disagreement. This enables the researcher to explore an attitude more thoroughly than by using other measures. For instance, rating scales can be used to accurately measure the direc-tion (whether people are in favour or against), or the strength (how strongly people react) of an atti-tude. Consequently, rating scales can provide very specific quantitative data on attitudes. Probably the most frequently used rating scales in the measure-ment of attitudes are the Likert-type scales.

A Likert scale focuses on measuring the direc-tion of an attitude. It generally consists of about 20 questions or statements about an attitude to which respondents indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement on a five-point scale. For example, an attitude statement used in a Likert scale could be: ‘War is sometimes necessary to maintain justice’. Respondents are required to rate their answers by selecting one response from a range of responses such as strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disa-gree, disagree or strongly disagree.


Researchers have several choices in selecting how answers should be indicated on the five-point scale — for example, ticking or crossing a blank space, circling a number or underlining a response. Each of the responses has a numerical value (for example, from 1–5) and the respondent’s attitude is defined as the sum (total) of these values.

A Likert scale for measuring attitudes towards illegal drugs could include statements such as those shown in the example below.

When developing a Likert scale, half the attitude statements are worded in a positive way and half are worded negatively. For statements 1, 3 and 5, the answers would be scored as follows:

Herald poll — Federal voting intention

Election Nov 01

26–28 Mar 04

23–25 Apr 04

21–23 May 04

18–19 Jun 04

Labor

Coalition

Democrats

Greens

Independent

One Nation

Other

37.8

43.7

5.4

5

include in ‘Other’

4.3

4.8

43

41

2

8

3

1

2

42

42

2

8

3

2

1

43

39

2

10

2

1

2

42

43

2

8

2

1

1

Two-party preferred vote

Labor

Coaltion

Prime Minister Howard’s performance

Approve

Disapprove

Uncommitted

Opposition Leader Latham’s performance

Approve

Disapprove

Uncommitted

Preferred Prime Minister

Howard

Latham

Uncommitted

Maximum margin of error to apply to this sample is 2.6 per cent. Figures may not add to 100 per cent due to rounding. Polling was

conducted 18–19 June, 2004, with 1419 respondents. HdjgXZ: SMH/ACNIELSEN

Likert scale to measure attitudes towards illegal drugs

SA = Strongly agree D = DisagreeA = Agree SD = Strongly disagreeN = Neither agree nor disagree

1. The use of illegal drugs is a major social problem in Australia today. SA A N D SD2. There should be no restrictions on using illegal drugs as long as the individual using them does not harm anyone else. SA A N D SD3. Laws should be strictly enforced regarding the use of illegal drugs. SA A N D SD4. It is an invasion of privacy when law enforcement authorities search people suspected of carrying illegal drugs. SA A N D SD5. Individuals using illegal drugs should be punished severely. SA A N D SD6. In the privacy of their own homes, individuals should be allowed to use any illegal drug they desire. SA A N D SD

TO BE UPDATED

Social cognition 79

SA = 1, A = 2, N = 3, D = 4 and SD = 5. For questions 2, 4 and 6, the answers would be scored in reverse: SA = 5, A = 4, N = 3, D = 2 and SD = 1.

When a respondent has completed the Likert scale, all of the responses are scored and totalled.

The result becomes the attitude score. Generally, the higher the score of a respondent, the more favourable the attitude. The lower the score, the less favourable the attitude.

BOX 3.13

=dl�id�XdchigjXi�V�A^`Zgi�hXVaZ

The following steps enable you to construct a Likert

scale to collect quantitative data for your own research

on an attitude. Although your scale is likely to be a

useful measure of an attitude, it will not be valid or

reliable. This means that you will have to be careful

with the conclusions you make from the results

obtained.

Step 1

Identify an attitude towards an object group, issue or

event of interest or importance to you.

Step 2

Write a list of different aspects of the attitude topic.

For example, the Likert scale on illegal drugs above

is based on aspects such as crime, punishment,

civil liberties, privacy laws and impact on Australian

society. If you have difficulties in generating a list,

you may find it helpful to discuss your topic with

others.

Step 3

Use your list to develop a group of attitude items

(questions or statements) on the topic. Although

Likert scales usually contain about 20 items, you

should consider a scale based on about six or eight

items. Generally, the list should consist of items

which deal with different points of view on the topic.

Consider the following guidelines for writing Likert

scale items.

v� �Write items that are unlikely to be agreed with

by everyone or no-one. About half of your items

should be favourable towards the topic and the

other half unfavourable. The more effective items

will be those that tend to push respondents

towards the strongly agree or strongly disagree

ends of the scale. Try to avoid including items

which are neutral and likely to cluster responses

in the uncertain category (that is, ‘neither agree

nor disagree’).

v� �Use simple, clear language that is suited to the

experience, age, and cultural and educational

background of the group whose attitudes you are

measuring.

v� �Word your items in such a way that they are

unambiguous and only one interpretation is

possible.

v� �Word each item so it contains only one complete

idea.

v� �Avoid using words such as ‘all’, ‘always’, ‘none’ and

‘never’.

Step 4

v� �When you have written your items, trial them with

people who will not be a part of your sample but

who have personal characteristics in common

with those likely to be in your sample. This will

assist you to pick up problems which you may not

have noticed.

From your items into a list, with columns for

respondents to indicate whether, and to what extent,

they agree or disagree with each item. Randomly dis-

tribute positive and negative items to avoid a pattern

of responses.

Present the items in a questionnaire format. The

questionnaire should have a short introduction that

includes instructions for respondents. For example:

Here is a list of statements about . . . Please read

each statement quickly but carefully, then indicate

whether you agree or disagree with each one by

putting a circle around:

SA = Strongly agree D = Disagree

A = Agree SD = Strongly disagree.

N = Neither agree nor disagree

Make several copies of your questionnaire and test

your questions by asking two or three people with

similar backgrounds to those in your sample to rate

each response.

Determine their scores for each response and

then calculate their score for the entire scale. Score

responses by allocating 1 for the most negative

response, through to 5 for the most positive response

for each item. Then, analyse the responses to deter-

mine which items you should include in the final scale.

The best items are those that have a very high or very

low relationship with the total score for all items. You

may wish to rewrite or even replace items that seem to

cluster responses in the neutral/unsure category.

(Adapted from Grivas, J. & Lawrie, P. A. (1991),

EhnX]dad\n: �:meZg^bZcih�VcY�VXi^k^i^Zh,

Sydney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.)


BOX 3.14

HZbVci^X�Y^[[ZgZci^Va�hXVaZA semantic differential scale can be used to measure

the strength of an attitude, the direction of an attitude,

the personal meaning of the attitude to the respon-

dent and feelings towards the topic being measured.

Semantic differential refers to the different ways in

which individuals interpret the same word.

The scale which is used for measuring such inter-

pretations is based on pairs of adjectives about a

key word or attitude topic. The pairs of adjectives

represent opposite dimensions, or aspects, of the

word or topic. Rating each dimension involves evalu-

ations such as good–bad, pleasant–unpleasant and

helpful–harmful.

The respondent is required to indicate on each

scale (usually seven-point) the extent to which their

attitude to a word or topic is good–bad, likeable–

unlikeable, strong–weak and so on. For example,

the respondent may have to rate the topic ‘classical

music’ on dimensions such as good–bad, boring–fun,

beautiful–ugly, pleasant–unpleasant and so on. To

indicate an attitude, the respondent places a cross

or a mark on a line to describe their view or feelings

about the dimension. The researcher gives each ‘mark’

a score, and the totalled scores become the attitude

score. The scale is scored as indicated in figure 3.23,

with low scores for the negative dimension and high

scores for the positive.

On an actual semantic differential scale, the

numbers are omitted and only blank spaces are pre-

sented so that a response can be made. Although

useful, the semantic differential scale is limited in

that judgements are usually more difficult to make

than those required for other rating scales such as the

Likert scale.

GZhedchZh�id�i]Z�ldgY�»X]^aYgZc¼

Happy 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Sad

Bad 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Good

Wise 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Foolish

Ugly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Beautiful

Warm 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cold

Tense 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Relaxed

Likeable 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Unlikeable

Figure 3.23 Scoring a semantic differential scale


Happy 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Sad

Bad 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Good



Warm 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cold




angular rounded

Polite

weak strong

rough smooth

active passive

small large

cold hot

good bad

tense relaxed

wet dry

fresh stale

Figure 3.24 A completed semantic differential scale.

The plot lines show the ratings by a respondent on a

semantic differential scale for the word ‘polite’.

angular rounded

Polite

weak strong

rough smooth

active passive

small large

cold hot

good bad

tense relaxed

wet dry

fresh stale




BOX 3.14

HZbVci^X�Y^[[ZgZci^Va�hXVaZA semantic differential scale can be used to measure

the strength of an attitude, the direction of an attitude,

the personal meaning of the attitude to the respon-

dent and feelings towards the topic being measured.

Semantic differential refers to the different ways in

which individuals interpret the same word.

The scale which is used for measuring such inter-

pretations is based on pairs of adjectives about a

key word or attitude topic. The pairs of adjectives

represent opposite dimensions, or aspects, of the

word or topic. Rating each dimension involves evalu-

ations such as good–bad, pleasant–unpleasant and

helpful–harmful.

The respondent is required to indicate on each

scale (usually seven-point) the extent to which their

attitude to a word or topic is good–bad, likeable–

unlikeable, strong–weak and so on. For example,

the respondent may have to rate the topic ‘classical

music’ on dimensions such as good–bad, boring–fun,

beautiful–ugly, pleasant–unpleasant and so on. To

indicate an attitude, the respondent places a cross

or a mark on a line to describe their view or feelings

about the dimension. The researcher gives each ‘mark’

a score, and the totalled scores become the attitude

score. The scale is scored as indicated in figure 3.23,

with low scores for the negative dimension and high

scores for the positive.

On an actual semantic differential scale, the

numbers are omitted and only blank spaces are pre-

sented so that a response can be made. Although

useful, the semantic differential scale is limited in

that judgements are usually more difficult to make

than those required for other rating scales such as the

Likert scale.


Happy 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Sad

Bad 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Good



Warm 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cold





Happy 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Sad

Bad 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Good



Warm 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cold




angular rounded

Polite

weak strong

rough smooth

active passive

small large

cold hot

good bad

tense relaxed

wet dry

fresh stale




angular rounded

Polite

weak strong

rough smooth

active passive

small large

cold hot

good bad

tense relaxed

wet dry

fresh stale




BOX 3.15

Jh^c\�[dXjh�\gdjeh�id�bZVhjgZ�Vii^ijYZhSometimes, achieving a deep understanding of atti-

tudes or behaviour that may be related to an attitude

of interest is more valuable than precise numerical

data achieved through quantitative research. A quali-

tative research method that enables such an in-depth

understanding involves the use of a focus group.

The term focus group refers to a group interview

technique by which data are obtained through discus-

sion between research participants in a group setting.

An important feature of the focus group method is the

use of group interaction. Participants are encouraged

to talk to one another, ask questions, exchange per-

sonal experiences and points of view and comment

on each other’s experiences and opinions (Kitzinger,

2000). This is different from a conventional group

interview in which the researcher asks each person to

respond to a question in turn.

Focus groups can be used to obtain information on

all types of attitudes, behaviours and experiences. For

example, people’s attitudes towards racism, sexism and

ageism, the attitudes and needs of staff in an organisa-

tion, the impact of legislation or advertising campaigns,

bullying in schools or the workplace, dating, the expe-

rience of being a victim of a violent crime, the experi-

ence of having a brain injury, experiences of services

provided by psychologists, and so on.

Social cognition 81

Advantages and limitations of measurement devicesRating scales are simple to complete and a useful device for the measurement of attitudes. Although they depend on self-reporting and are best used with people who have well-developed verbal abilities, rating scales typically provide valuable quantitative data on attitudes that are diffi cult to collect using other measurement devices. An indirect measure-ment device such as observation of behaviour has the advantage of being unobtrusive and can also provide valuable information about attitudes. The observ-ation of behaviour technique helps ensure that participants’ responses are not infl uenced by their knowledge of being in a research study. However, the results of observation studies are limited by the fact that those being observed are often not inter-viewed by the researcher. Furthermore, it is diffi cult to accurately measure aspects of an attitude, such as strength and direction, through observation of behaviour assumed to refl ect the attitude.

There are also limitations to the usefulness of self-report methods involving written responses, whether they use free-response or fi xed-response questions. For instance, self-reports cannot be used with young children, illiterate adults, people from non-English speaking backgrounds who have yet to learn English well (unless translated) and some intellectually disa-bled or mentally ill people. Even when verbal reports can be used, they may not be accurate. Participants may not remember clearly what they actually experi-enced or they may misunderstand the questions.

Another limitation of self-reports is what some psychologists refer to as social desirability, where people may give false or misleading answers to create a favourable impression of themselves. For example, with socially sensitive issues such as attitudes to minority groups, cruelty to animals and recycling, people sometimes make socially desirable responses instead of reporting their true attitudes. They want to appear likeable or look good, so they present attitudes which encourage others to see them in a positive way. Alternatively, the participants may be embarrassed to report their true attitudes or feelings. Furthermore, in self-reports based on interviews, the interview situation may allow personal biases and prejudices to affect how the interviewer asks ques-tions and how the respondent answers them.

To try to overcome some of the issues of relia-bility of subjective data, Jones and Signal devised what they called a ‘bogus pipeline’. A bogus pipe-line makes participants think that they are attached to a machine that can measure muscular/objective measures to assess when a person is lying. It has been shown to be an effective way of gaining more reliable

information about attitudes, particularly attitudes that people believe will present them in a negative light. Jones and Signal devised the pipeline when asking students about their attitudes to African-Americans. The students were asked to guess what the meter revealed because in fact it was fake and had actually given the researchers no information. Those who responded while attached to the bogus pipeline admitted more negative beliefs than those who responded in a typical questionnaire. Jones and Signal concluded that it was important to the partici-pants that the researchers saw them as honest.

When psychologists collect any kind of data, they need to do so carefully and to describe it accurately. It is extremely important to collect the numbers or facts as they exist, and not as one would expect or personally hope they would be. Like all people, however, psychologists have personal biases, preju-dices and motivations or expectations to obtain par-ticular data or results. These can ‘creep into’ the research or the report on the research, distorting the data and their meaning. Consequently, psychologists strive to be objective and to prevent or minimise sub-jective infl uences such as personal biases and preju-dices in order to protect the quality of the research (Zimbardo, 1992). Being objective involves taking steps to keep personal factors from infl uencing any aspect of the research. It requires that observations and other data collection techniques are made and recorded in as unbiased a way as possible, without the usual prejudices and emotional distortions.

Figure 3.25 Self-report methods of data

collection provide useful

information about attitudes.

However, they rely on participants

having well-developed language

skills and being able to accurately

recall and state the information

required of them.


Ethics in conducting research using a questionnaireAll researchers are required to follow ethical guide-lines whenever they conduct a research study, whatever the research method or data collection technique that will be used. The guidelines are primarily intended to help ensure that the welfare and rights of participants are protected during their involvement in the research and following the research. These guidelines are described in detail in chapter 2 and they should be read carefully and considered thoughtfully whenever you are plan-ning to conduct your own research. In this section, we specifically consider key guidelines that apply to research using a questionnaire, some of the conse-quences of not paying enough attention to ethical issues and some of the ways of reducing the likeli-hood of ethical problems.

Respecting rightsEach individual has the right to choose whether or not to participate in research and to make that decision from an informed basis. They also have a right to their privacy. The researcher must respect these rights. Psychologists undertaking research must ensure that the people from whom they are collecting information understand the purposes of research and how the information will be used. They must also ensure participants are voluntarily providing the information. Essentially, this means that participants are willing and happy to provide information. If they are not, then the researcher will fail to meet an important ethical standard. Further-more, if participants are not participating voluntarily there is a strong likelihood that they will not provide accurate information, thereby potentially risking the validity and reliability of the research.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.20Summarising methods of measuring attitudes

Construct a table that summarises in point form:(a) three different ways of measuring attitudes(b) their relative advantages and limitations(c) the type of data collected.Your table should use the following subheadings: name of measurement device, type, quantitative or qualitative data, description, advantages, disadvantages.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3.20Summarising methods of measuring attitudes

Construct a table that summarises in point form:(a) three different ways of measuring attitudes(b) their relative advantages and limitations(c) the type of data collected.Your table should use the following subheadings: name of measurement device, type, quantitative or qualitative data, description, advantages, disadvantages.

Participants also have rights in relation to the information they provide to the researcher. Some-times, researchers using questionnaires uninten-tionally view their participants as ‘objects’ to get information from, rather than seeing them as partners in the research. If a participant is viewed simply as an object, then it is likely that they will be considered as mere providers of information. When the information is obtained, the participants may be forgotten. This means that their rights may be overlooked when analysing, describing or reporting the information they provided. For example, you may forget the participant’s right to have their information interpreted in a way that does not misrepresent the meaning they intended. To interpret information in a way that a participant did not intend would not only show a lack of respect for their rights, but would also provide results that are inaccurate.

Obtaining informed consentIt is essential that the researcher obtain the informed consent of each participant, or the participant’s legal guardian where appropriate (such as when using children as participants). The SACE Psychology study design prescribes that when conducting research using a questionnaire to study attitudes, you must use a briefing statement and written consent form to ensure that each participant is able to give their informed consent. This procedure is consistent with the ethical guidelines all researchers are expected to follow. Figure 3.26 shows an example of a briefing statement and consent form. A briefing statement and consent form are interrelated and provide the basis for informed consent. Generally, the briefing statement and consent form ensure that, before the researcher begins to collect data, they explain to each participant:• the reasons for the study• the method used to collect data• how the data will be analysed, described and

presented• whether the participant will have a chance to see

and comment on the final report• what will happen to the final report• who will read the report and have access to it.

ConfidentialityParticipants responding to items in a questionnaire provide information in the belief that it will be treated in confidence. This means at least two things. First, the researchers should not ‘gossip’ or talk about the information or where they received it. Confidenti-ality means keeping the information private and pre-venting access to it by anyone outside the research

Social cognition 83

team, except when presenting the research report to others. Second, even when the information is finally written in a report, it should be impossible for an individual participant’s information to be identi-fied. Their particular information should be a part of the total information presented. You can achieve this fairly easily with questionnaire data where you report a total number or a percentage of responses; for example, ‘All participants older than 60 years of age reported that females are more likely than males to face discrimination in the workplace when seeking promotion to a leadership role’.

There are a number of other ways available to the researcher to ensure that the identity of partici-pants is kept confidential. For example, the names

of the participants and the name(s) of the specific location(s) where the questionnaire was completed can be changed. Furthermore, information should not be reported in a way that is easily linked to a particular person. For example, if you were admin-istering the questionnaire at your local shopping centre and there was only one pharmacy, then you wouldn’t report data such as, ‘. . . the pharmacist said . . .’ or ‘. . . the pharmacist’s assistant said . . .’ because it would easily identify the individual who provided the information.

Unless participants have agreed to being iden-tified or are identifiable in the final report, their privacy must always be respected, confidentiality maintained and anonymity preserved.

Figure 3.26 An example of a briefing statement and written consent form

SAMPLE ONLY — TO BE PRINTED ON SCHOOL LETTERHEAD

NB: Two forms should be used — one to be retained by the participant and one by the researcher (or teacher).

STATEMENT OF INFORMED CONSENT

TITLE OF STUDY: ..................................................................................................................................................................

DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: Insert a description of the study. Include:

• the reasons for the study

• the method used to collect data

• how the data will be analysed, described and presented

• steps taken to maintain confidentiality of the data

• whether the participant will have a chance to see and comment on the final report

• what will happen to the final report

• who will read the report and have access to it

• name(s) of researcher(s), supervisor/teacher, and school

• status of the researcher(s).

I, ..................................................................... , consent to taking part in the research study described above. I understand my

rights as a participant in this research. The objectives and procedures of the study have been explained to me and I unerstand

them. [Where deception is used the following clause should be included.] ‘I understand that it is sometimes essential, for

the validity of research results, not to reval the true purpose of the research to participants. If this occurs, I understand that

I will be debriefed as soon as is practicable after my participation and, at that time, given the opportunity to withdraw from

the research and have records of my participation erased.’] I have been advised the results of the research will be presented

in a formal written report but that my personal details will remain confidential. I voluntarily consent to participate but I

understand that I may withdraw from the study at any time.

If you have any questions, comments or complaints to make on this research study, please contact either [insert either the

researcher’s name and/or the Psychology teacher’s name] at [insert either the researcher’s name and/or the Psychology

teacher’s name and include full contact details, including a phone number(s)].

Name of Participant: ................................................................. Signature: ............................................................................

(to be printed)

Name of Researcher: ................................................................. Signature: ............................................................................

(to be printed)

Date: ..........................................................................................

8]VeiZg�GZk^Zl


Short answer questions

1. Sarah travels overseas each year because she enjoys experiencing different cultures. Using the example above, describe the ABC model of attitudes.

2. To come???

3. Explain what is meant by the phrase ‘the bi-directional relationship between attitudes and behaviour’.

4. In the following example, indicate the direction of the attitude–behaviour link.

James travels to work by public transport because he likes to minimise car emissions into the air.

5. Summarise the factors which increase the likelihood that an attitude will impact on behaviour.

6. Explain how cognitive dissonance cause a person’s behaviour to influence their attitude.

7. A government is introducing a new television campaign to persuade primary-school children to exercise more regularly. Discuss the factors that can make this campaign more successful.

8. What advice would you give schoolteachers about how to reduce levels of prejudice among teenagers?

9. When meeting a person for the first time, what factors affect the impression that you might form of them?

10. How can you manage the impression you present when going for a job interview?

11. Jana’s aim is to become a professional basketball player. She trains as hard as she can and watches many matches. Describe the type of social comparison that Jana is making.

12. a. Name two difference types of social comparison.

b. Describe an advantage and a disadvantage of each of these types of social comparison.

13. Explain how self-handicapping helps people to manage the impression that they present to other people.

Extended response questions

Attitudes and prejudiceComplete an extended response on how your know-ledge of attitudes can be used to analyse prejudice. Choose an example of prejudice in society. In your response describe:v the structure of the attitude that shows

prejudicev the function of the attitude that shows

prejudicev how you could reduce the amount of prejudice.

Oral presentation — individual or group task

Create a health campaign on a topic of current interest. Your aim is to persuade people to change their attitudes.

Once you have created an outline for the campaign, you must explain how you are incorporating any of the following into the aims of your campaign: v� central route of persuasion• peripheral route of persuasion• source• message• channel of communication • audience.

Multi-media task

Create a PowerPoint presentation to aid somebody’s personal growth using the principles of social cogni-tion. Explain to a person what they need to consider to improve their communication, so that they can manage their impression when meeting someone for the first time.

You must:a.� describe impression management and

impression formation and what they includeb.� provide instructions and examples for someone

to follow.

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