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Block 3 Unit 1 Introduction to Attitude and Stereotypes

1) Discuss the nature of attitudes. Give suitable examples.

Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond consistently in a favourable or unfavourable way to a given object. They are comprised of three components: cognitive, affective, and behavioural.

• The cognitive component refers to a person’s beliefs and opinions about the object or event. For instance, someone might believe that recycling is good for the environment.
• The affective component refers to the feelings associated with the object, which can be positive or negative. For example, a person might feel happy when they recycle or sad when they see litter.
• The behavioural component is how a person would act towards the object or event. For example, a person might regularly sort their waste for recycling, or avoid buying products with excessive packaging.

These components have characteristics such as valence, which is the degree of favourableness or unfavourableness towards the object, and multiplexity which is the number of elements a component has. Attitudes also have motivational properties that influence a person’s behavior. For example, a person with a positive attitude towards sports might be more likely to engage in physical activity.

2) List out the characteristics of attitudes.

• Valence: Attitudes can be positive or negative.
• Multiplexity: The complexity of an attitude depends on the number of elements in each of its components.
• Consistency: There is generally more consistency in the valence of an attitude.
• Motivational properties: Attitudes can motivate specific behaviours.

3) Differentiate between attitudes and beliefs. Give examples.

• A belief is an "enduring organisation of perceptions and cognitions about some aspect of the individual’s world”. Beliefs are thoughts about the characteristics of objects. For example, believing that exercise is healthy.
• An attitude is an organized system of cognitive, affective, and behavioural components. For instance, having a positive attitude towards exercise, including the belief that it's healthy, feeling good after a workout, and regularly going to the gym.
• Attitudes have motivational properties, while beliefs do not.
• Beliefs are based on real facts, while attitudes are based more on imagination and less on reality.
• Attitudes can change more rapidly than beliefs.
• Beliefs are part of attitudes; all attitudes toward an object include beliefs about that object.

4) What are the various theories of attitude organisation?

Theories of attitude organization include:

• Heider’s Balance Theory: This theory proposes that people strive for consistency among their attitudes, especially towards a person (P), another person (O) and an object of perception (X). These relationships can be balanced or imbalanced and imbalance creates tension which motivates people to restore balance.
• Katz’s Functional Theory: This theory suggests that attitudes serve several functions for individuals: utilitarian, ego-defensive, value-expressive, and knowledge.
• Kelman’s Three-Process Theory: This theory suggests that attitudes are organized through three social influence processes: compliance, identification and internalization.

5) Discuss Katz’ functional theory.

Katz’s functional theory proposes that attitudes serve four main functions:

• Utilitarian function: Attitudes help individuals to gain rewards and avoid punishment.
• Ego-defensive function: Attitudes protect people from acknowledging unpleasant realities about themselves or their environment. For example, holding prejudice against a minority to compensate for insecurity.
• Value-expressive function: Attitudes allow people to express their self-concept and values.
• Knowledge function: Attitudes help individuals to make sense of the world.

6) Discuss Kellman’s theory of attitude organisation.

Kelman’s theory states that attitude organization is influenced by three processes of social influence:

• Compliance: Accepting influence to gain a favorable reaction from others.
• Identification: Adopting attitudes to establish or maintain a relationship with another person or group.
• Internalisation: Accepting influence because the induced behaviour is consistent with an individual’s value system. The behaviour itself is internally rewarding and is congruent with an individual’s values.

7) Define stereotypes.

A stereotype is a generalised belief about a group of people, in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group.

8) Explain characteristics of stereotypes.

• Oversimplified: They present an oversimplified view of a group of people.
• Rigid: They are inflexible and resistant to change.
• Generalized: They attribute certain traits to all members of a group.
• Learned: Stereotypes are acquired through socialization.
• Widely shared: They are common within a culture and are transmitted socially.

9) How are stereotypes developed and maintained?

Stereotypes are developed and maintained through several factors:

• Socialization: Stereotypes are learned from parents, peers, the media, and other sources.
• Categorization: People tend to categorize others into groups, and this can lead to stereotypes.
• Limited information: People often rely on limited or biased information about a group, which can lead to stereotypes.
• Confirmation bias: People tend to notice and remember information that confirms their stereotypes.
• Social and cultural transmission: They are passed down through generations through cultural norms and language.
• Social control: Stereotypes help to direct behaviour in a specific direction, for example, being frank and friendly with Americans who are considered to be friendly.
• Prediction: Behaviours are predicted on the basis of stereotypes, whether right or wrong.

10) What are the functions of stereotypes in social life?

Stereotypes serve several functions in social life:

• Simplification: They simplify information about the social world, making it easier to process.
• Social control: They help to guide behaviours when interacting with members of that group.
• Prediction: They provide a basis for predicting the behaviour of individuals within a group.

11) Differentiate between stereotypes and prejudice.

• Stereotypes are beliefs about a group, which can be positive or negative.
• Prejudice is a negative attitude towards a group or its members. It includes all components of an attitude - affective, cognitive, and behavioral.
• Stereotypes can contribute to the development of prejudice by providing negative beliefs.
• Stereotypes are more stable than prejudices.

12) What do you understand by the term attitude? Discuss in detail how attitudes are formed and maintained.

An attitude is a learned predisposition to respond to an object or event in a consistently favourable or unfavourable way. Attitudes are formed and maintained through a variety of factors:

• Need Satisfaction: Developing a favorable attitude towards things that help satisfy needs, while developing negative attitudes towards things that hinder goal attainment.
• Social Learning: Attitudes are acquired through classical conditioning (pairing a neutral stimulus with a conditioned stimulus) instrumental conditioning (reinforcement and punishment) and observational learning (imitating attitudes of others).
• Group Affiliations: Individuals tend to adopt attitudes that are prevalent within their groups.
• Cultural Factors: Cultural norms and values shape attitudes.
• Personality Factors: Personality traits influence the attitudes that are acquired.
• Information: Attitudes are affected by information received although not all information has an equal impact on them.

13) Write an essay on stereotypes and their utility in social life.

Stereotypes are generalized beliefs about a group of people, attributing identical characteristics to all members. They simplify the social world by categorizing people into groups, making it easier to process information. Stereotypes can serve useful functions:

• Simplification: Stereotypes simplify information about the social world.
• Social control: Stereotypes guide behaviour in social interactions.
• Prediction: They help to predict the behaviours of those who are members of the stereotyped group.

However, they can be harmful when they are inaccurate, lead to prejudice, or justify discrimination. Stereotypes are often based on limited and biased information, are resistant to change, and can be self-fulfilling. The utility of stereotypes is limited by their potential to reinforce prejudice and discrimination.

14) Discuss Katz’s functional theory of attitude organisation.

Katz’s functional theory proposes that attitudes serve four functions for individuals:

• Utilitarian function: Attitudes help us to achieve our goals, gain rewards, and avoid punishment.
• Ego-defensive function: Attitudes protect our self-esteem by compensating for feelings of inadequacy.
• Value-expressive function: Attitudes allow us to express our core values and self-concept.
• Knowledge function: Attitudes help us to make sense of and organize our experiences.

15) How do stereotypes contribute to prejudice?

Stereotypes contribute to prejudice by providing negative beliefs about a group, which form the cognitive component of a negative attitude. These beliefs can trigger negative emotions (the affective component) and discriminatory behaviour (the behavioural component). Stereotypes simplify the world, and when they contain negative attributes, they can easily fuel prejudice.

16) Discuss the various theories of attitude organisation.

• Heider's Balance Theory: This theory proposes that individuals strive for consistency in their relationships, including attitudes towards people and objects. Imbalance creates psychological discomfort.
• Katz’s Functional Theory: This theory states that attitudes serve various functions for individuals, including utilitarian, ego-defensive, value-expressive, and knowledge functions.
• Kelman’s Three-Process Theory: This theory explains attitude organization via three social influence processes: compliance, identification, and internalization.

17) List the various cognitive consistence theories and elucidate one of them.

The cognitive consistency theories aim to explain how people strive for coherence and balance in their attitudes and beliefs. These theories suggest that individuals feel discomfort when their attitudes or beliefs clash, motivating them to restore consistency.

The cognitive consistency theories include:

• Heider's Balance Theory: This theory proposes that people seek balance in their relationships and attitudes towards people and objects. It involves three elements: the perceiver (P), another person (O), and an object (X). Relationships can be either unit relations (based on similarity or ownership) or affective relations (based on liking or disliking). When these relations are unbalanced it creates tension.
• Newcomb’s A-B-X theory: This theory is similar to Heider's balance theory, focusing on the relationships between a person (A), another person (B), and an attitude object (X).
• Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Theory: This theory states that individuals experience discomfort (dissonance) when they hold conflicting cognitions (beliefs or attitudes). This motivates them to reduce the discomfort by changing their beliefs or behaviours.
• Rosenberg’s Affective-Cognitive Consistency Theory: This theory emphasizes the consistency between affective (emotional) and cognitive (belief) components of attitudes.
• Congruity Theory: This theory focuses on how attitudes change when new information is received and how individuals adjust their attitudes to maintain congruity or consistency.

Elucidation of Heider's Balance Theory:

Heider's Balance Theory, also known as the P-O-X model, suggests that people seek consistency in their relationships, as well as in their attitudes towards people and objects. It focuses on the relationships between three elements:

1. The perceiver (P): This is the individual who is forming the attitudes.
2. Another person (O): This is another individual in relation to whom the perceiver is forming an attitude.
3. An object of perception (X): This can be an object, idea, or any other entity the perceiver is forming an attitude about.

These elements can have two types of relationships:

• Unit relations: These relationships are based on similarity, ownership, or belonging.
• Affective relations: These relationships are based on positive (liking) or negative (disliking) feelings.

Heider stated that these relationships can exist in a state of balance or imbalance.

• Balance exists when all the relationships are positive, or when two are negative and one is positive. In balanced states, the individual experiences a sense of harmony and is free of tension.
• Imbalance exists when the relationships are not consistent (e.g., when two are positive and one is negative, or when all are negative). This imbalance creates tension that motivates the individual to restore balance. For example, if a person (P) likes another person (O), and they both like the same thing (X), this creates balance. If, however, person P likes person O but dislikes X, and person O likes X, this creates imbalance, leading to discomfort. The individual might then try to restore balance by changing their attitude about X, or about O.