Deck 6: Attitudes: Functions and Consequences

Question 1

Philip has no strong opinions about sports, but many people he knows love to play sports - football, basketball, volleyball, baseball. His friends frequently invite him to sporting events, and he starts attending. Over time, Philip reshapes his attitude about sports to be more positive, because he thinks having a positive attitude about sports will help him to fit in better with his peers. Which of the six functions of attitudes does Philip's change most reflect?

A) Ego-defensive
B) Social adjustive
C) Social identity
D) Value-expressive

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Monica generally doesn't think about the environment that much in her day to day life. In fact, she doesn't recycle anything and produces quite a bit of trash. She doesn't use energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs because they cost too much. She blasts the A/C all summer long and keeps the heat set very high all winter. When Monica hears for the first time on the news that wastefulness and high personal energy consumption levels are contributing to global warming, she dismisses it as wrong. She says, "All of that global warming stuff is just hogwash." Given what you know about Monica's way of living, what is the most likely function of her skeptical attitude about global warming?

A) Ego-defensive
B) Social adjustive
C) Social identity
D) Value-expressive

Answer 2

A

Question 3

From the components of Reasoned Action Theory, which of the below would best account for a person's actions if they choose not to do something because they believe that there would be negative personal consequences for engaging in the behavior?

A) Attitude toward the behavior
B) Perceived behavioral control
C) Behavioral intention
D) Behavior itself

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The key principle of Accessibility Theory is that ______.

A) People are rational and deliberate in how they go about deciding whether to perform a particular behavior
B) Attitudes produced by direct experience come more quickly to mind than attitudes acquired through indirect experiences
C) Attitudes will predict behavior if they can be activated from memory at the time of a decision
D) A persuasive message is most likely to change an individual's attitude when the message is directed at the underlying function the attitude serves

Question 5

Which of the following is likely to be true about a person who is a low self-monitor?

A) They will be highly cognizant of how they come across on social media
B) They will be more concerned with fitting into a situation or displaying socially correct behavior
C) They will exhibit more attitude-behavior consistency than high-self monitors do
D) They will be more concerned with maintaining consistency between value expressive-based attitudes and social media than with self-branding

Question 6

Imagine you are a car salesperson. What strategies might you use to persuade a buyer whose attitude about cars or buying cars is social adjustive? Value-expressive? Utilitarian?

Question 7

The passion for soccer (football) worldwide is unmatched by the devotion of any other fan base. What function(s) might an attitude toward soccer (football) serve? In what ways might a strong attitude about soccer (football) be dysfunctional?

Question 8

How might the reasoned action model be used effectively in persuasion? Consider possibilities for its application in situations that encompass eating junk food, gender role occupational choices, safer sex, or exercise behavior.

Question 9

In the discussion of ethics at the end of the chapter, Perloff suggests, "Not every attitude-behavior inconsistency counts as hypocrisy." Defend or challenge this position.