PSYCHOLOGY

CLASS 12th

Chapter 6
( Attitude & social cognition )
Topics :
Attribution is assigning a cause to
behaviour.
Social cognition activated by schemas.

Attitudes is a state of mind, a set of views

regarding some topic which have an
Evaluative feature.
It has 3 components i.e A- B- C component.
A affective component
B behavioral component
C cognitive component
What is the purpose served by an
attitude?

Well, answer to this question is very

simple.
It makes a ‘blueprint’ for the way we
should behave.
They influence & effect our behavior
and thoughts.
Provides background to make it
easier to response in New situations
Features of attitude :
Valency ( positive or negative)
Extremeness ( degree)
Simplicity or complexity (one or
more attitudes)
Centrality
Attitude formation :
Learned through interaction with others & our
experiences. It can be learned by many ways
known as process of attitude formation. Learning
attitudes by:
Association
Being rewarded or punished (reinforcement)
Through modelling (observing others)
Through group or cultural norms
Learning through exposure to information
Factors influence attitude formation :

Family and school environment

Reference groups (groups &
cultural norms)
Personal experience
Media related influences ( create
consumerist attitude)
 Attitude change :
Attitudes at formative stage are easy to change
whereas firmly established are difficult to change.
Process of attitude change
1). Concept of balance given by Fritz Heider. He
gave P-O-X triangle. As per him attitude changes
when there is imbalance between these 3 i.e P-O,
O-X, P-X attitudes.
2). Concept of cognitive dissonance proposed
by Leon Festinger. His emphasised on cognitive
component with a basic idea that attitude must
be ‘consonant’.
Both balance & cognitive dissonance are
examples of cognitive consistency. Absence of
consistency can create mental discomfort.
3). The two step concept was given by Indian
psychologist S.M Mohsin. As per him attitude
changes
in two steps.
-In the 1st step, the target of change identifies
with source.
-In 2nd step, the source herself/himself shows
Factors that influence attitude change :
• Characteristics of existing attitudes :
- Valence, extremeness, simplicity or complexity,
Centrality. Direction & extent of attitude change
also matters (congruent or incongruent)
• Source characteristics • Target characteristics :
- Credibility
- Attractiveness - Persuasibility
( manipulative or not)
• Message characteristics
- Strong prejudice
- Rational appeal - Self esteem
- Emotional appeal - Intelligence
- Motives (relevant or not)
- Mode
Attitude behavior relationship :
Behaviour can be contrary to one’s attitude
towards something. As per psychologists
consistency between both can be found
when :
Attitude is strong
Awareness of attitude
No external pressure
Unmonitored behavior
Behavior with positive consequence
Social cognition
Social cognition : It includes all the
processes that help in understanding,
explaining and interpreting social behavior.
In the case of social cognition, the basic units
are social schemas.
Schemas that function in the form of
categories are called prototypes.
In social cognition,category-based schemas
that are related togroups of people are called
stereotypes.
Prejudice and discrimination :
Stereotypes (cognitive component)
Often leads to
Prejudice (affective + cognitive component)
Often leads to
Discrimination ( A + C + behavioral
component)
• Prejudice & discrimination can exist without
each other yet they go together.
• Discriminatory behavior can be changed by
law but cognitive & emotional component of
prejudice are hard to change.
Sources of prejudice
Learning
• A strong social identity and ingroup bias.
• Scapegoating
• Kernel of truth concept
• Self – fulfilling prophecy
There are some strategies to handle
prejudice like changing such attitude which
create prejudice etc.
Strategies can be accomplished through:
• Education & information dissemination
• Increasing intergroup contact
Impression formation & attributions :
The process of coming to know a person can
be broadly divided into two parts i.e
Impression formation & Attribution.
It includes two kind of people:
The person who forms the impression is called
the perceiver.
The individual about whom the impression is
formed is called the target.
Impression formation & attribution are
influenced by some factors like nature of
information available to perceiver, situational
factors etc.
Impression formation
Three sub processes under this are :
- Selection
- Organization
- Inference
Specific qualities influence more than traits
do.
Order of presention of information affects it.
There are 3 types of effects :
-Primacy effect,
-Recency effect
- and Halo effect.
Attribution of causality
After forming an impression, we assign causes
to person’s behavior. There are some aspects of
attribution:
It can be classified the cause as being internal
& external or it can be stable & unstable too.
Bernard Wiener suggested a Classification
shown in figure.
There is another phenomena called
fundamental attribution error.
There is a difference between attribution made
to success & failure.
There is also distinction between attribution
makes one’s own and others experiences. (+ve,
Bernard Wiener's Classification
Behaviour in the presence of others

Social facilitation means effect of others

presence.
Norman Triplett observed that we show
better performance in presence of others.
With time more details came to be known
about this phenomenon.
• Arousal
• Evaluation apprehension
• Nature of the task
• Co-action
In short, task performance can be facilitated,
improved or inhibited and worsened by the
Pro – social behavior
It is very similar to ‘altruism’. It has some
characteristics like:
• Doing something without expectations.
• Willingly doing anything with involving a
‘cost’ to the person giving help.
Factors influencing pro- social behavior
Inborn tendency
Learning
Cultural factors
Social norms
- Social responsibility
- Reciprocity
- Equity
• Expected reactions (of person who is being
helped)
• Empathy
It can be reduced by factors such as bad mood,
being busy, number of bystanders also known as
 Topics Covered :
Attitudes
 The A-B-C Components
Attitude Formation
Change Attitude
Attitude-Behaviour
Prejudice and Discrimination
Strategies for Handling Prejudice
Social Cognition
Impression Formation
AttributionsImpression
Behaviour in the Presence of OthersPro-social
BehaviourFactors Affecting Pro-social