#AP Psychology Study Guide: Attitude Formation and Attitude Change

Exam Tip

Social psychology is heavily tested on the AP exam, representing 8-10% of the curriculum! 🤯
Be ready to analyze scenarios, apply concepts, and demonstrate your understanding of how individuals interact and influence each other. 🤔

Key Concept

Attitudes are evaluations of people, objects, and ideas. They're essential to understanding how we think, feel, and behave.

Definition: Attitudes are our evaluations of things. They can be positive, negative, or neutral, and they often guide our behaviors.
Components of Attitudes: Think of the ABCs!
- Affect (feelings): Emotional reactions towards the object, person, or idea. 💖😠💔
  - Example: Feeling happy when you see your dog. 🐶
- Behavior (actions): How we act towards the object, person, or idea. 🏃‍♀️🚶‍♂️💬
  - Example: Petting your dog when you see them.
- Cognition (thoughts): Beliefs or knowledge about the object, person, or idea. 🤔🧠💡
  - Example: Believing dogs are loyal companions.

Memory Aid

ABC's of Attitudes: Affect, Behavior, Cognition!

Direct Experience: Our personal interactions with people, objects, or ideas shape our attitudes.
- Example: If you were bitten by a dog, you might develop a negative attitude towards dogs.
Social Learning (Observational Learning): We pick up attitudes by watching those around us – parents, friends, media.
- Example: If your parents are environmentally conscious, you might develop pro-environmental attitudes. 🌳
Conditioning: Both classical and operant conditioning can influence our attitudes.
- Classical Conditioning: We associate a neutral stimulus with another stimulus that evokes a certain attitude.
  - Example: A song playing during a happy childhood memory might make you feel positive towards that song.
- Operant Conditioning: Our attitudes are strengthened or weakened based on rewards and punishments.
  - Example: Receiving praise for expressing a certain opinion can strengthen that attitude.
Genetics: Research suggests a genetic predisposition to certain attitudes, like temperament and personality traits, which can influence broader attitudes. 🧬

Common Mistake

Don't assume attitudes always predict behavior! Sometimes situational factors are more powerful.

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM): This model explains how likely we are to be persuaded by focusing on two routes:
- Central Route: When we're motivated and able to think critically about a message (high elaboration), we're more likely to be persuaded by strong arguments and evidence. 💡
  - Example: Carefully evaluating the pros and cons of different phone brands before making a purchase. 📱
- Peripheral Route: When we're not paying close attention or lack the energy to think deeply (low elaboration), we're more susceptible to persuasion by superficial cues like attractiveness, credibility of the source, or emotional appeals. ✨
  - Example: Being swayed by a celebrity endorsement for a product, even if you don't know much about it. 🤩
Cognitive Dissonance Theory: We strive for consistency in our thoughts and actions. When we hold conflicting beliefs or our actions don't align with our attitudes, we experience discomfort (dissonance). To reduce this dissonance, we might:
- Change our behavior: Quit smoking if we believe it's unhealthy. 🚭
- Change our attitude: Convince ourselves smoking isn't that bad.
- Add new cognitions: Focus on the "relaxing