Chapter – 6

Attitude and Social Cognition

In this post we have given the detailed notes of class 12 Psychology Chapter 6 (Attitude and Social Cognition) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

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Chapter 6: Attitude and Social Cognition

Introduction

• Social psychology is the study of how individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.  
• We all form attitudes, which are evaluations or judgments about people, objects, or ideas. These attitudes guide our Behaviour and how we interact with the world around us.  
• This chapter delves into the complexities of attitudes, exploring their formation, change, and relationship to behaviour.

Explaining Social Behaviour

• Social Behaviour is any Behaviour that occurs in the presence of others or is influenced by the presence of others.  
• Social psychologists aim to understand the underlying processes that drive social behaviour, including how people perceive and interpret social information, how they form attitudes, and how these attitudes influence their behaviour.  
• Social Behaviour is not always straightforward or predictable; it can be influenced by a variety of factors, including individual differences, social norms, and situational contexts.  

Nature and Components of Attitudes

• Attitudes are more than just opinions; they are enduring evaluations that have emotional and behavioural components.  
• An attitude consists of three components:
  • Cognitive component: The beliefs or thoughts about the attitude object.  
  • Affective component: The feelings or emotions associated with the attitude object.  
  • Behavioural component: The tendency to act in a certain way toward the attitude object.  
• These three components are often referred to as the A-B-C components of attitude.  
• Attitudes serve several important functions:
  • Knowledge function: Attitudes help us organize and understand information about the world.
  • Value-expressive function: Attitudes allow us to express our values and beliefs.  
  • Ego-defensive function: Attitudes can protect our self-esteem by justifying our actions or beliefs.  
  • Social-adjustive function: Attitudes can help us fit in with others and maintain social relationships.  

Attitude Formation and Change

• Attitude Formation

  • Attitudes are formed through a variety of learning processes, including:
    • Classical conditioning: Learning to associate an attitude object with a positive or negative stimulus.  
    • Operant conditioning: Learning to associate an attitude object with rewards or punishments.  
    • Observational learning: Learning by observing the attitudes and behaviours of others.  
  • Socialization plays a crucial role in attitude formation, with families, schools, and peer groups serving as important sources of influence.  
  • Personal experiences can also shape attitudes, particularly those that are emotionally significant or personally relevant.  
  • The media, including television, the internet, and social media, can influence attitudes through exposure to information and persuasive messages.  

• Attitude Change

  • Attitudes can change over time in response to new information, experiences, or social influences.  
  • The ease with which attitudes change depends on several factors, including:
    • Strength of the attitude: Strong attitudes are more resistant to change than weak attitudes.  
    • Accessibility of the attitude: Attitudes that are easily brought to mind are more likely to influence Behaviour and are more resistant to change.  
    • Importance of the attitude: Attitudes that are important to us are more resistant to change.  
  • Several theories attempt to explain how attitudes change:
    • Cognitive dissonance theory: When people hold two conflicting beliefs, they experience a state of cognitive dissonance, which motivates them to change one of their beliefs to reduce the dissonance.  
    • Elaboration likelihood model: This model proposes that there are two routes to persuasion: the central route, which involves careful consideration of the message, and the peripheral route, which involves relying on cues such as the attractiveness or credibility of the source.  
    • Social judgment theory: This theory suggests that people have a latitude of acceptance, a latitude of rejection, and a latitude of noncommitment for any given issue. Messages that fall within the latitude of acceptance are more likely to be accepted, while messages that fall within the latitude of rejection are more likely to be rejected.  

Attitude-Behaviour Relationship

• The relationship between attitudes and Behaviour is complex and not always straightforward.  
• Attitudes are more likely to predict Behaviour when:
  • The attitude is strong and specific.  
  • The attitude is accessible.  
  • The attitude is based on personal experience.  
  • There are few situational constraints on behaviour.  
• Sometimes, Behaviour can influence attitudes, as seen in the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance.  

Prejudice and Discrimination

• Prejudice is a negative attitude toward a group and its members.  
• Stereotypes are generalizations about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members.  
• Discrimination is unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because of his or her membership in that group.  
• Prejudice and discrimination can be based on a variety of factors, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and disability.  
• Several theories attempt to explain the origins of prejudice:
  • Social identity theory: People tend to favor their own group (ingroup) over other groups (outgroups).  
  • Realistic conflict theory: Prejudice arises from competition between groups for scarce resources.  
  • Scapegoat theory: Prejudice arises from a need to blame others for our own problems.  

Strategies for Handling Prejudice

• Reducing prejudice requires addressing the underlying cognitive, affective, and behavioural components.  
• Strategies for reducing prejudice include:
  • Education: Providing accurate information about different groups can help to dispel stereotypes and reduce prejudice.  
  • Intergroup contact: Increasing contact between members of different groups can help to reduce prejudice, especially when the contact is cooperative and involves equal status.  
  • Cognitive retraining: Challenging and changing prejudiced beliefs and attitudes.  
  • Empathy and perspective-taking: Encouraging empathy and understanding for others can help to reduce prejudice.  

More on Attitude Formation and Change

Attitude Formation

• Early Experiences: Our earliest interactions with family, caregivers, and teachers lay the foundation for our attitudes.  
• Learning by Doing: We also form attitudes through our own experiences. If you try something new and enjoy it, you’re likely to develop a positive attitude towards it.  
• People We Admire: We often adopt the attitudes of people we look up to, like role models or celebrities.  
• Media’s Impact: The media we consume, including television, social media, and the internet, can significantly shape our attitudes.  

Attitude Change

• Keeping Things Balanced: We like our attitudes to be consistent. If we like a celebrity and they endorse a product, we might start liking that product too, to maintain consistency in our views.  
• Avoiding Discomfort: When we have conflicting thoughts or beliefs, it creates an uncomfortable feeling called cognitive dissonance. To reduce this discomfort, we might change our attitude.  
• Two-Step Change: Sometimes, attitude change happens in two steps. First, we identify with someone we admire. Then, if that person changes their attitude, we might follow suit.  
• Factors Influencing Change: How easily our attitudes change depends on factors like how strong the attitude is, how important it is to us, and who is trying to persuade us.  

Attitude-Behaviour Relationship in Detail

• The Connection: We often expect people’s Behaviour to reflect their attitudes. If someone has a positive attitude towards environmental conservation, we expect them to recycle and reduce waste.  
• Not Always Matching: However, attitudes and Behaviour don’t always match. Someone might believe in healthy eating but still indulge in junk food.  
• When They Align: Attitudes are more likely to guide Behaviour when:
  • The attitude is strong and important to the person.  
  • The person is aware of their attitude.  
  • There is no external pressure to behave in a certain way.  
• Behaviour Shaping Attitudes: Interestingly, sometimes our Behaviour can shape our attitudes. If we act in a certain way, we might adjust our attitudes to match our actions.  

Prejudice and Discrimination: A Deeper Look

• Prejudice: Prejudice is a prejudgment or preconceived opinion about a person or group, usually negative and based on stereotypes.  
• Stereotypes: Stereotypes are oversimplified and often inaccurate beliefs about the characteristics of a particular group.  
• Discrimination: Discrimination is the unfair treatment of individuals or groups based on their membership in a particular social category.  
• Roots of Prejudice:
  • Social Learning: We learn prejudices from our families, peers, and the media.  
  • Group Identity: We tend to favor our own group and see other groups as less favorable.  
  • Scapegoating: When things go wrong, we might blame a less powerful group to vent our frustration.  
  • Kernel of Truth: Sometimes, even a few examples of negative Behaviour by members of a group can reinforce stereotypes.  
  • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: If we treat people based on negative stereotypes, they might start behaving in ways that confirm those stereotypes.  

Strategies for Handling Prejudice: More Examples

• Education is Key: Learning about different cultures, religions, and social groups can challenge stereotypes and reduce prejudice.  
• Positive Contact: Interacting with people from different groups in a positive and cooperative environment can break down prejudices.  
• Challenging Stereotypes: When we encounter stereotypes, we should question them and look for evidence that contradicts them.  
• Empathy and Understanding: Trying to understand the perspectives and experiences of others can help us overcome prejudices.

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