AP Psychology Flashcards: Attitude Formation And Attitude Change

What this deck covers

This deck focuses on Attitude Formation And Attitude Change, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for AP Psychology.

How to use these flashcards

Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

Flashcard 1: What is the elaboration likelihood model?

Answer: Theory on how attitudes are changed. Petty and Cacioppo's dual-process model explains persuasion mechanisms.

Flashcard 2: Define the peripheral route of persuasion.

Answer: Focus on superficial cues. Heuristic processing relies on simple cues rather than argument analysis.

Flashcard 3: Who proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance?

Answer: Leon Festinger. His 1957 theory remains fundamental to understanding attitude-behavior consistency.

Flashcard 4: Explain the concept of attitude strength.

Answer: How stable and resistant an attitude is to change. Strong attitudes are more accessible, stable, and predictive of behavior.

Flashcard 5: What is the overjustification effect in attitude change?

Answer: External rewards reduce intrinsic motivation. External incentives can undermine initial intrinsic interest and positive attitudes.

Flashcard 6: What characterizes the central route of persuasion?

Answer: Focus on argument quality. Systematic processing involves careful evaluation of message content and logic.

Flashcard 7: Identify the effect of source credibility on persuasion.

Answer: Increases persuasion likelihood. Expertise and trustworthiness enhance the source's persuasive impact significantly.

Flashcard 8: What constitutes the cognitive component of an attitude?

Answer: Beliefs and thoughts about an object. Mental representations including knowledge, opinions, and beliefs about the object.

Flashcard 9: What is the effect of repeated exposure on attitude formation?

Answer: Leads to more positive attitudes. Mere exposure effect demonstrates that familiarity increases positive attitude formation.

Flashcard 10: What does social judgment theory explain?

Answer: How people evaluate persuasive messages. The theory predicts attitude change based on message position relative to existing views.

Flashcard 11: What is the overjustification effect in attitude change?

Answer: External rewards reduce intrinsic motivation. External incentives can undermine initial intrinsic interest and positive attitudes.

Flashcard 12: What constitutes the cognitive component of an attitude?

Answer: Beliefs and thoughts about an object. Mental representations including knowledge, opinions, and beliefs about the object.

Flashcard 13: What is self-perception theory?

Answer: Inferring attitudes from behavior. Bem's theory suggests we observe our behavior to understand our attitudes.

Flashcard 14: Who proposed self-perception theory?

Answer: Daryl Bem. Alternative to cognitive dissonance theory for explaining attitude formation from behavior.

Flashcard 15: What is the inoculation theory of persuasion?

Answer: Exposure to weak arguments builds resistance. McGuire's theory shows how exposure to weakened attacks builds resistance.

Flashcard 16: What is an attitude change?

Answer: A shift in evaluation towards an object. Modification occurs through persuasion, experience, or cognitive dissonance reduction.

Flashcard 17: What does the term 'attitudinal ambivalence' mean?

Answer: Conflicting evaluations towards an object. Having both positive and negative feelings simultaneously toward the same object.

Flashcard 18: Describe the behavioral component of an attitude.

Answer: Actions or observable behavior towards an object. Refers to overt actions and behavioral intentions directed at the object.

Flashcard 19: Who developed the social judgment theory?

Answer: Muzafer Sherif. His theory focuses on latitude of acceptance and rejection in persuasion.

Flashcard 20: Explain the concept of attitude strength.

Answer: How stable and resistant an attitude is to change. Strong attitudes are more accessible, stable, and predictive of behavior.

Flashcard 21: Identify the two routes of persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model.

Answer: Central route and peripheral route. These represent systematic versus heuristic processing of persuasive information.

Flashcard 22: What is an attitude in psychology?

Answer: An evaluation of an object, person, or idea. The basic definition encompasses feelings, thoughts, and predispositions toward targets.

Flashcard 23: What is an attitude in psychology?

Answer: An evaluation of an object, person, or idea. The basic definition encompasses feelings, thoughts, and predispositions toward targets.

Flashcard 24: What is the role of social norms in attitude change?

Answer: Influence through group expectations. Social expectations and perceived norms pressure individuals toward attitude conformity.

Flashcard 25: How does attitude accessibility influence behavior?

Answer: Easily recalled attitudes guide actions. More accessible attitudes come to mind quickly and strongly predict behavior.

Flashcard 26: What is the affective component of an attitude?

Answer: Emotional response towards an object. Includes feelings, emotions, and mood reactions associated with the attitude object.

Flashcard 27: What is cognitive dissonance?

Answer: Mental discomfort from conflicting beliefs. Festinger's theory explains the discomfort motivating attitude or behavior change.

Flashcard 28: What is priming in the context of attitude change?

Answer: Exposure influences response to a later stimulus. Prior exposure to concepts makes related attitudes more accessible and influential.

Flashcard 29: Who proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance?

Answer: Leon Festinger. His 1957 theory remains fundamental to understanding attitude-behavior consistency.

Flashcard 30: What is the effect of repeated exposure on attitude formation?

Answer: Leads to more positive attitudes. Mere exposure effect demonstrates that familiarity increases positive attitude formation.

Flashcard 31: Who proposed self-perception theory?

Answer: Daryl Bem. Alternative to cognitive dissonance theory for explaining attitude formation from behavior.

Flashcard 32: What is an implicit attitude?

Answer: Unconscious evaluation of an object. Measured through indirect methods like the Implicit Association Test (IAT).

Flashcard 33: What characterizes the central route of persuasion?

Answer: Focus on argument quality. Systematic processing involves careful evaluation of message content and logic.

Flashcard 34: Who developed the social judgment theory?

Answer: Muzafer Sherif. His theory focuses on latitude of acceptance and rejection in persuasion.

Flashcard 35: Define the low-ball technique in persuasion.

Answer: Initial agreement followed by hidden costs. Commitment secured before revealing additional costs or requirements.

Flashcard 36: Define the peripheral route of persuasion.

Answer: Focus on superficial cues. Heuristic processing relies on simple cues rather than argument analysis.

Flashcard 37: What is the role of persuasive communication?

Answer: To change attitudes through messages. Strategic messaging designed to influence attitudes and subsequent behavior.

Flashcard 38: What is a heuristic in the context of attitude change?

Answer: Mental shortcut influencing attitudes. Cognitive shortcuts that enable quick attitude formation without extensive processing.

Flashcard 39: What is the role of message framing in persuasion?

Answer: Presentation affects attitude change. Positive or negative framing can significantly influence attitude formation and change.

Flashcard 40: What is the role of social norms in attitude change?

Answer: Influence through group expectations. Social expectations and perceived norms pressure individuals toward attitude conformity.

Flashcard 41: What is an attitude change?

Answer: A shift in evaluation towards an object. Modification occurs through persuasion, experience, or cognitive dissonance reduction.

Flashcard 42: Define explicit attitude.

Answer: Conscious evaluation of an object. These are deliberately reported attitudes that people are aware of having.

Flashcard 43: What is the role of fear appeals in attitude change?

Answer: Use of fear to motivate change. Moderate fear levels are most effective for motivating attitude and behavior change.

Flashcard 44: What is the mere exposure effect?

Answer: Increased liking due to repeated exposure. Zajonc's phenomenon shows familiarity breeds preference, not contempt.

Flashcard 45: Identify the three components of an attitude.

Answer: Affective, behavioral, cognitive. These form the tripartite model of attitudes in social psychology.

Flashcard 46: Identify the effect of source credibility on persuasion.

Answer: Increases persuasion likelihood. Expertise and trustworthiness enhance the source's persuasive impact significantly.

Flashcard 47: What is a heuristic in the context of attitude change?

Answer: Mental shortcut influencing attitudes. Cognitive shortcuts that enable quick attitude formation without extensive processing.

Flashcard 48: Define the low-ball technique in persuasion.

Answer: Initial agreement followed by hidden costs. Commitment secured before revealing additional costs or requirements.

Flashcard 49: Identify a factor that affects susceptibility to persuasion.

Answer: Need for cognition. Individual differences in motivation to think carefully affect persuasion outcomes.

Flashcard 50: What is the role of attitude specificity in predicting behavior?

Answer: Specific attitudes predict specific behaviors. Correspondence between attitude and behavior specificity improves behavioral prediction.

Flashcard 51: What is the sleeper effect in persuasion?

Answer: Delayed impact of a persuasive message. Low-credibility sources can become more persuasive over time as source forgotten.

Flashcard 52: What is the role of attitude specificity in predicting behavior?

Answer: Specific attitudes predict specific behaviors. Correspondence between attitude and behavior specificity improves behavioral prediction.

Flashcard 53: What is the elaboration likelihood model?

Answer: Theory on how attitudes are changed. Petty and Cacioppo's dual-process model explains persuasion mechanisms.

Flashcard 54: What is the door-in-the-face technique?

Answer: Large request followed by a smaller one. Rejection of large request increases compliance with subsequent smaller request.

Flashcard 55: Identify a factor that affects susceptibility to persuasion.

Answer: Need for cognition. Individual differences in motivation to think carefully affect persuasion outcomes.

Flashcard 56: What is an implicit attitude?

Answer: Unconscious evaluation of an object. Measured through indirect methods like the Implicit Association Test (IAT).

Flashcard 57: What is the door-in-the-face technique?

Answer: Large request followed by a smaller one. Rejection of large request increases compliance with subsequent smaller request.

Flashcard 58: Define explicit attitude.

Answer: Conscious evaluation of an object. These are deliberately reported attitudes that people are aware of having.

Flashcard 59: What is the role of fear appeals in attitude change?

Answer: Use of fear to motivate change. Moderate fear levels are most effective for motivating attitude and behavior change.

Flashcard 60: How does attitude accessibility influence behavior?

Answer: Easily recalled attitudes guide actions. More accessible attitudes come to mind quickly and strongly predict behavior.

Flashcard 61: What is the foot-in-the-door technique?

Answer: Small request followed by a larger one. Compliance with small requests increases likelihood of agreeing to larger requests.

Flashcard 62: What is the role of message framing in persuasion?

Answer: Presentation affects attitude change. Positive or negative framing can significantly influence attitude formation and change.

Flashcard 63: What is the foot-in-the-door technique?

Answer: Small request followed by a larger one. Compliance with small requests increases likelihood of agreeing to larger requests.

Flashcard 64: Identify the three components of an attitude.

Answer: Affective, behavioral, cognitive. These form the tripartite model of attitudes in social psychology.

Flashcard 65: What is the affective component of an attitude?

Answer: Emotional response towards an object. Includes feelings, emotions, and mood reactions associated with the attitude object.

Flashcard 66: Describe the behavioral component of an attitude.

Answer: Actions or observable behavior towards an object. Refers to overt actions and behavioral intentions directed at the object.

Flashcard 67: What is the role of persuasive communication?

Answer: To change attitudes through messages. Strategic messaging designed to influence attitudes and subsequent behavior.

Flashcard 68: What is the boomerang effect in persuasion?

Answer: Persuasive attempt causes opposite effect. Strong persuasive pressure can backfire and strengthen original attitudes instead.

Flashcard 69: Identify the two routes of persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model.

Answer: Central route and peripheral route. These represent systematic versus heuristic processing of persuasive information.

Flashcard 70: What does the term 'attitudinal ambivalence' mean?

Answer: Conflicting evaluations towards an object. Having both positive and negative feelings simultaneously toward the same object.

Flashcard 71: What is the boomerang effect in persuasion?

Answer: Persuasive attempt causes opposite effect. Strong persuasive pressure can backfire and strengthen original attitudes instead.

Flashcard 72: What is the sleeper effect in persuasion?

Answer: Delayed impact of a persuasive message. Low-credibility sources can become more persuasive over time as source forgotten.

Flashcard 73: What is priming in the context of attitude change?

Answer: Exposure influences response to a later stimulus. Prior exposure to concepts makes related attitudes more accessible and influential.

Flashcard 74: What is the inoculation theory of persuasion?

Answer: Exposure to weak arguments builds resistance. McGuire's theory shows how exposure to weakened attacks builds resistance.

Flashcard 75: What does social judgment theory explain?

Answer: How people evaluate persuasive messages. The theory predicts attitude change based on message position relative to existing views.

Flashcard 76: What is self-perception theory?

Answer: Inferring attitudes from behavior. Bem's theory suggests we observe our behavior to understand our attitudes.

Flashcard 77: What is cognitive dissonance?

Answer: Mental discomfort from conflicting beliefs. Festinger's theory explains the discomfort motivating attitude or behavior change.