Attitudes and the Psychology of Persuasion

What are attitudes?

The importance of attitudes

The ABC model of attitudes

Affective component: Feelings and emotions

Cognitive component: Beliefs and thoughts

Behavioral component: Intentions and actions

Attitudes and behavior: The attitude-behavior link

Factors influencing attitudes

Personal experience

Social influence

Media influence

Attitude formation and change

Factors that shape attitude formation

Cognitive dissonance and attitude change

Persuasion techniques

Appeal to emotion

Use of authority

Reciprocation

Scarcity principle

Social proof

Consistency and commitment

Liking and similarity

The Elaboration Likelihood Model

Central route to persuasion

Peripheral route to persuasion

Factors affecting persuasion

Message characteristics

Source characteristics

Receiver characteristics

Attitude strength and persistence

Weak vs. strong attitudes

Attitude accessibility

Attitude certainty

Attitude extremity

Attitude function

Utilitarian function

Value-expressive function

Ego-defensive function

Knowledge function

Attitudes and decision making

Attitudes and information processing

Attitudes and behavior in the real world

Applications of attitude research

Advertising and marketing

Promoting health behaviors

Changing prejudiced attitudes

Conclusion: The power of attitudes in shaping our lives