People are not neutral observers of the world. They evaluate what they encounter and form attitudes – the positive and negative evaluations of people, objects, events, and ideas. | Attitude formation & Change Chapter 6 attitudes People are not neutral observers of the world. They evaluate what they encounter and form attitudes – the positive and negative evaluations of people, objects, events, and ideas. Attitudes are formed through information we receive from the social environment. Children often develop their initial attitudes from their parents and other role models. The power of negative information has a stronger influence than positive information – negativity bias. Classical conditioning Attitudes can be formed by association between an object or person and a pleasant or unpleasant event. Classical conditioning refers to the learning in which a neutral stimulus leads to a given reaction after it is repeatedly paired with another stimulus that naturally leads to a reaction. Examples: Pavlov’s dogs who salivate in response to a ringing bell, just prior to the presentation of receiving food. Forming a positive attitude toward a stranger who is wearing the same perfume as your girlfriend. Classical conditioning Mere exposure is another classical form of conditioning where the more exposure we are given to a stimulus the more we will like it. Example: Music you have a disliked at first, but the more you listen to it the more you grow to like it. Subliminal persuasion occurs when stimuli are presented on an unconscious level. Influencing attitudes through images. Operant conditioning The phenomenon whereby behaviors that people freely choose to perform increase or decrease in frequency, depending on whether they are followed by positive reinforcement or punishment. For example: A four-year-old white girl goes to the playground and begins to play with a black girl. Her father expresses strong disapproval, telling her, “We don’t play with that kind of child.” It won’t take long before the child associates interacting with black people with disapproval, thereby adopting her father’s racist attitudes. 6 Observational learning/modeling People . | Attitude formation & Change Chapter 6 attitudes People are not neutral observers of the world. They evaluate what they encounter and form attitudes – the positive and negative evaluations of people, objects, events, and ideas. Attitudes are formed through information we receive from the social environment. Children often develop their initial attitudes from their parents and other role models. The power of negative information has a stronger influence than positive information – negativity bias. Classical conditioning Attitudes can be formed by association between an object or person and a pleasant or unpleasant event. Classical conditioning refers to the learning in which a neutral stimulus leads to a given reaction after it is repeatedly paired with another stimulus that naturally leads to a reaction. Examples: Pavlov’s dogs who salivate in response to a ringing bell, just prior to the presentation of receiving food. Forming a positive attitude toward a stranger who is wearing the .
