2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
Define the concept attitude
Explain the three important
characteristics/aspects of attitude
Discuss how attitudes are formed
Discuss how attitudes can be changed
through: persuasive communication,
changing behaviour, changing ideology
Discuss the different social influences on
attitude: group violence, crowds and violence
3. LEARNING OUTCOMES
Define the concepts of the prejudice
phenomena: prejudice, racial prejudice,
racism
Describe strategies to reduce racism
Discuss the following prejudices that are
sustained as deep-seated ideologies: gender
stereotyping, patriarchy and sexism,
feminism and ideological change
4. ATTITUDE DEFINED
The general feeling (ranging from positive to
negative) or evaluation (good or bad) a person has
towards self, other people, objects or events. The
following are examples of attitude statements:
- doctors and nurses should not be allowed to go on
strike
- pregnant women should be allowed to decide for
themselves whether to continue the pregnancy or
have an abortion
- in selecting persons for employment, there is an
urgent need for affirmative action
- sometimes men need to beat their wifes
5. CHARACTERISTICS OF ATTITUDE
(whatever your attitude to these issues, it will
have the following characteristics):
Relatively stable, enduring disposition, like a
personality trait
It will be evaluative. Regarded as good or
bad
It will guide behaviour
6. HOW IS ATTITUDE FORMED?
Attitudes form directly as a result of experience. They may
emerge due to direct personal experience
Or they may result from observation.
Social roles and social norms can have a strong influence on
attitudes.
Social roles relate to how people are expected to behave in a
particular role or context.
Social norms involve society's rules for what behaviors are
considered appropriate.
Attitudes can be learned in a variety of ways. Consider how
advertisers use classical conditioning to influence your attitude
toward a particular product. In a television commercial, you see
young, beautiful people having fun in on a tropical beach while
enjoying a sport drink. This attractive and appealing imagery
causes you to develop a positive association with this particular
beverage.
7. HOW IS ATTITUDE FORMED?
Operant conditioning can also be used to influence how
attitudes develop.
Imagine a young man who has just started smoking.
Whenever he lights up a cigarette, people complain, and
ask him to leave their vicinity. This negative feedback
from those around him eventually causes him to develop
an unfavorable opinion of smoking and he decides to give
up the habit.
Finally, people also learn attitudes by observing the
people around them. When someone you admire greatly
espouses a particular attitude, you are more likely to
develop the same beliefs. For example, children spend a
great deal of time observing the attitudes of their parents
and usually begin to demonstrate similar outlooks.
8. HOW IS ATTITUDE CHANGED?
CHANGING ATTITUDES BY PERSASIVE
COMMUNICATION
How do we change problems in society like
teenage pregnancy, reckless driving etc?
By communication
3 important factors:
1) depends on the communicator. Messages are
more persuasive if the communicator is
attractive, self confident and seen as an expert.
Think about the money spent on paying
celebrities to advertise products…..
9. HOW IS ATTITUDE CHANGED?
2) The content of the message. Is it affective
to appeal to reason or emotion? Eg smoking
3) The medium of communication. Posters
and spoken words can be ineffective.
Personal add campaigns.
10. HOW IS ATTITUDE CHANGED?
CHANGING ATTITUDES BY CHANGING
BEHAVIOR
Theory of cognitive consistency
People want heir behaviour to reflect their
beliefs
When people behave in a way which differs
from attitudes, they experience cognitive
dissonance. Seen as uncomfortable.
13. HOW IS ATTITUDE CHANGED?
CHANGING ATTITUDES
BY CHANGING
IDEOLOGY
Attitudes are formed within
the Ideological belief
system: ethnic, religious,
political groups
14. INFLUENCES ON ATTITUDE
GROUP INFLUENCES CROWDS AND VIOLENCE
Families
Friendships
Work groups
Committees
Sport groups
We get exposed to many
psychological processes
when interacting in these
groups
Group polarisation: intends to
change focus of group, to
undertake action eg petitions
Crime, etc
DE individuation: this
situation arouses strong
emotions. A crowd that met
due to anger shared in
order to protest.
15. PREJUDICE DEFINED
When people hold negative attitudes and
negative beliefs about others
Based on distorted or inaccurate information
Hostile
Discriminative
Directed at particular groups of people
Based on negative stereotypes
16. CONCEPTS
RACIAL PREJUDICE RACISM
Refers to prejudice
regarding a specific racial
group
Apartheid
A system of ideas and
practices which categorises
people on the basis of
bodily features or skin
colour
17. STRATEGIES TO REDUCE RACISM
Be supported by the social group or
institution to which people belong
Not be temporary or brief. Allow genuine
knowledge and friendship to develop
Invite people of equivalent status
Involve co operation
18. GENDER STEREOTYPING
Differences between men and woman.
Primary identity that we carry throughout life
Woman are emotional, men are rational
Men are strong, women are weak
Differences between genders are
exaggerated
While differences within genders are
underestimated
19. PATRIARCHY AND SEXISM
As with racial prejudice, gender prejudice is not just interpersonal
Deeply supported by the ideological system that gives men
greater power and privilege than women. This is called
patriarchy or sexism.
This power and status inequality exists in all areas of political,
economic and social life
In family life, many women have the stress of raising children
while also being employed
Women’s eating habits are controlled by male expectations that
women will be thin and attractive. The media plays a role here.
Sexual harassment- rape. Men will claim that the women asked
for it by provoking them by the way they act/dress.
20. FEMINISM AND IDEOLOGICAL CHANGE
Higher rates of depression and mental illness among
women than men.
Interpreted as women being overly emotional or
having ‘ weaker hormones’.
At the individual level, men and women need to
change their stereotyped attitudes and expectations.
At the intergroup level, women must continue their
collective efforts, to stand together and make
consistent demands.
At the ideological level, people have to change the
underlying assumptions and implicit rules which
support the view of women as second class citizens
