analyze an advertising campaign (could be a series of ads, or just a single ad; could be either print or television, or both) aand discuss the persuasion tools and methods the advertising
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attitudes_functions_and_consequences_ii.pptxAttitudes: Functions and Consequences II
Chapter 5, Part II
MCM 380, Spring 2016
Attitudes and Behavior
Kelly has strong values, but you wouldn’t guess this by observing her in everyday situations. She is charming, likeable, and adept at getting along with different kinds of people. Her friends sometime call her a chameleon. Yet Kelly has strong views on certain issues, notably the environment and protecting endangered species. At a party, conversation turns to politics and several people advocate drilling for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. Will Kelly take issue with their position?
Attitudes and Behavior
Susan is an agnostic, a skeptic who has doubts about the existence of God, and believes religion is of little use in today’s society. She is a strong believer in Darwinian evolution, a forceful critic of creationist philosophy. At the same time, Susan has a soft spot for religion because it means a lot to her dad. An old friend of her dad calls one day. He’s been teaching Sunday school, but he will be out of town next week when the class is scheduled to discuss the beauty of God’s creation of the universe. He asks whether Susan would mind filling in for him just once. Will Susan agree?
Attitudes and Behavior
Attitudes influence action; they predispose people toward certain behavioral choices, but not all the time.
Under some conditions, attitudes can predict behavior; in other circumstances, they do not.
Relationship between attitude and behavior is complex.
Factors that affect the attitude-behavior relationship:
Aspects of the situation
Characteristics of the person
Qualities of the attitude
Attitudes and Behavior
Situational Factors: the context and situation we are in exerts a powerful impact on our behavior
Norms and Roles
A norm is an individual’s belief about the appropriate behavior in a situation. Roles are parts we perform in everyday life, socially prescribed functions like professor, student, parent, child, friend, etc.
Individuals may hold an attitude, but choose not to express the attitude because it would violate a social norm (for e.g., avoiding disclosing personal attitudes in a social, professional setting).
Roles also influence the attitude-behavior relationship. When people take on professional roles, they have to act the part, putting aside their biases (for e.g., political reporters and journalists).
Scripts
Response not determined by attitude, but rather invoking a “script” to deal with the situation (responding to tele-marketers, irrespective of what they might be promoting)
Attitudes and Behavior
Characteristics of the Person: individuals differ in the extent to which they display consistency between attitudes and behavior. While some are consistent, others are more variable in their behavior and response.
Self-monitoring
People can be divided into two categories:
(1) High Self-Monitors: Individuals who are concerned with displaying appropriate behavior in social situations. Adept at reading situational cues, they adjust their behavior to fit the situation. Consequently, they display less attitude-behavior consistency – looking to the situation to decide how to act. If a situation requires, they temporarily put aside their personal attitudes.
(2) Low Self-Monitors: Individuals less concerned with fitting into a situation or displaying socially correct behavior. Rather than looking to the situation to figure out how to behave, they consult their inner feelings and attitudes. They place value on practicing what they preach and maintaining consistency between attitude and behavior.
Case study: Kelly?
Attitudes and Behavior
Characteristics of the Person (contd.)
Direct experience
Some of our attitudes are based on direct experience with an issue; we have encountered the problem in real life, it has evoked strong feelings or led us to think about the implications of our actions/behavior
Other attitudes are formed indirectly – from listening to parents or peers, reading books, watching television, or participating in online discussion
Attitudes formed through direct experience are more clearly defined, more stable, and resistant to change and counter influence
Attitudes produced by direct experience also come to mind more quickly than attitudes acquired through indirect experiences
Attitudes and Behavior
Characteristics of the Attitude
General versus specific attitudes
A general attitude (also called “attitude toward the object”) is a global evaluation that cuts across different situations
A specific attitude (also called “attitude toward a behavior”) is evaluation of a single act, or specific behavior that takes place in a particular context, at a particular time
“The compatibility principle” (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1977)
A strong relationship between attitude and behavior is possible only if the attitudinal and behavioral entities are at the same level of specificity
Thus, specific attitudes toward a behavior predict highly specific acts. General attitudes predict broad classes of behavior that cut across different situations.
Attitudes and Behavior
Characteristics of the Attitude (contd.)
Attitude Strength
Strength of the individual’s attitude – strong attitudes more likely to predict behavior than weak attitudes
But what about those situations where we feel torn, ambivalent, undecided? Or when we have strong feelings on both sides of an issue?
Then we are less apt to translate attitude into behavior
Different feelings push people in different behavioral directions. Alternatively, the affective aspect of an attitude (feelings) can propel people toward one choice, while the cognitive dimension (beliefs) can push them in a different direction. Faced with these cross-pressures, individuals may behave in accord with their attitude in one situation, but not so much in another.
Case study: Susan?
