MCAT Psychological Social Foundations Flashcards: 8b Attitudes Beliefs Formation

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This deck focuses on 8b Attitudes Beliefs Formation, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for MCAT Psychological Social Foundations.

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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: Which condition most strongly increases cognitive dissonance after a counterattitudinal act?

Answer: Low external justification (insufficient reward or pressure). Without strong justification, people must resolve the inconsistency internally.

Flashcard 2: Which attitude change is predicted when dissonance is high and justification is low?

Answer: Greater attitude change to reduce dissonance. Without external justification, we change attitudes to reduce discomfort.

Flashcard 3: What is the door-in-the-face technique for attitude or behavior change?

Answer: Large request first, then a smaller request to increase compliance. Rejection of large request makes smaller request seem reasonable.

Flashcard 4: What is the peripheral route to persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)?

Answer: Attitude change via superficial cues (e.g., attractiveness, credibility, emotion). Uses shortcuts when motivation or ability to process is low.

Flashcard 5: What is the mere exposure effect on attitudes?

Answer: Repeated exposure increases liking, even without conscious awareness. Familiarity breeds preference through unconscious processing.

Flashcard 6: Identify when self-perception theory is most likely: strong attitudes or weak/ambiguous attitudes?

Answer: Weak or ambiguous attitudes. Works best when internal cues are unclear or absent.

Flashcard 7: What does the door-in-the-face technique attempt to increase?

Answer: Compliance by starting with a large request then retreating to a smaller one. Reciprocity norm makes smaller request seem reasonable after rejection.

Flashcard 8: What does the ABC model of attitudes stand for?

Answer: Affect, Behavior, Cognition. The three components that comprise any attitude.

Flashcard 9: What is the ABC model of attitudes?

Answer: Affect, Behavior, Cognition. Mnemonic for the three components of attitudes.

Flashcard 10: Which attitude change reduces dissonance after freely choosing to act against beliefs?

Answer: Attitude change to align beliefs with the chosen behavior. Reduces dissonance by justifying the chosen action.

Flashcard 11: What is the difference between classical and operant conditioning in attitude formation?

Answer: Classical: association with stimuli; operant: reinforcement or punishment shapes responses. Classical pairs stimuli; operant uses consequences to modify attitudes.

Flashcard 12: Which concept explains why attitudes often poorly predict behavior across situations?

Answer: Attitude-behavior inconsistency (role of situational factors). Situations often override attitudes in determining actual behavior.

Flashcard 13: Identify the persuasion factor: credibility, attractiveness, or similarity of the communicator.

Answer: Source characteristics. Who delivers the message affects persuasion effectiveness.

Flashcard 14: What is the definition of the peripheral route outcome regarding attitude durability?

Answer: Less stable, more susceptible to change, and weaker behavior prediction. Superficial processing yields attitudes vulnerable to change because they lack elaborated cognitive support.

Flashcard 15: What is the counterattitudinal behavior paradigm used to study cognitive dissonance?

Answer: Inducing a person to act against an attitude and observing attitude change. Forces behavior contrary to attitudes to study resulting changes.

Flashcard 16: What is the difference between explicit attitudes and implicit attitudes?

Answer: Explicit = conscious and reportable; implicit = automatic and unconscious. Explicit are deliberate; implicit operate outside awareness.

Flashcard 17: Identify the concept: a person changes beliefs to justify an initiated effort or unpleasant task.

Answer: Effort justification (a form of cognitive dissonance reduction). People value outcomes more when they work hard for them.

Flashcard 18: What is the peripheral route to persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)?

Answer: Attitude change via cues (e.g., attractiveness, authority) not content. Uses shortcuts like source credibility when motivation/ability is low.

Flashcard 19: Which option best predicts stronger attitude-behavior consistency: high or low self-monitoring?

Answer: Low self-monitoring. Low self-monitors act consistently with internal attitudes across situations.

Flashcard 20: What is the difference between an explicit attitude and an implicit attitude?

Answer: Explicit is conscious and reportable; implicit is automatic and unconscious. Explicit attitudes are deliberately formed and accessible, while implicit ones operate below awareness, affecting judgments automatically.

Flashcard 21: What is the central route to persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)?

Answer: Attitude change via careful, effortful processing of message arguments. Requires motivation and ability to analyze message content.

Flashcard 22: Which ELM route is most likely when the audience is distracted or uninterested in the topic?

Answer: Peripheral route. Low elaboration relies on superficial cues for persuasion.

Flashcard 23: What is the sleeper effect in persuasion?

Answer: A message becomes more persuasive over time as source discounting fades. We forget the source but remember the message content.

Flashcard 24: Which option best reduces cognitive dissonance: change attitude, change behavior, or add cognitions?

Answer: Any of the three can reduce dissonance (change attitude, behavior, or cognitions). Dissonance reduction can occur through altering any component to achieve consonance, as per Festinger's theory.

Flashcard 25: What is the difference between an attitude and a value?

Answer: Attitude = specific evaluation; value = broad, enduring guiding principle. Values are abstract ideals; attitudes target specific objects.

Flashcard 26: What is the definition of the central route outcome regarding attitude durability?

Answer: More stable, resistant, and predictive of behavior. Attitudes formed via deep processing endure due to stronger cognitive integration and resistance to counterarguments.

Flashcard 27: In ELM, what characterizes the central route to persuasion?

Answer: High elaboration; attitude change based on strong arguments and evidence. Requires motivation and ability to process message content.

Flashcard 28: What is an attitude in social psychology (include its core evaluative property)?

Answer: An evaluation (positive or negative) of a person, object, or idea. Attitudes involve judging something as good/bad, favorable/unfavorable.

Flashcard 29: What is a belief, and how does it differ from an attitude?

Answer: Belief: cognitive statement held true; attitude: overall evaluation. Beliefs are specific cognitions; attitudes are broader evaluative judgments.

Flashcard 30: What does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measure most directly?

Answer: Strength of automatic associations underlying implicit attitudes. IAT measures reaction time differences to reveal unconscious biases.

Flashcard 31: Which option best describes the attitude-behavior link: when do attitudes best predict behavior?

Answer: When attitudes are strong, specific, accessible, and the situation has low pressure. These conditions minimize the attitude-behavior gap.

Flashcard 32: What is the foot-in-the-door technique in attitude and behavior change?

Answer: Small initial request increases compliance with a larger later request. Commitment to small request creates consistency pressure for larger ones.

Flashcard 33: What is the difference between an attitude and a belief?

Answer: Attitude is evaluative; belief is an accepted proposition about reality. Attitudes involve judgment; beliefs are factual assumptions.

Flashcard 34: What is the definition of a belief (as contrasted with an attitude)?

Answer: A cognitive acceptance that a statement about the world is true. Beliefs are cognitive only, while attitudes include emotional components.

Flashcard 35: What is a belief (as contrasted with an attitude)?

Answer: A cognitive proposition accepted as true about the world. Beliefs are thoughts we hold as true, while attitudes include emotions.

Flashcard 36: What is the key distinction between cognitive dissonance and self-perception theories?

Answer: Dissonance involves discomfort; self-perception involves inference without distress. Dissonance requires arousal; self-perception occurs without emotional tension.

Flashcard 37: What is cognitive dissonance, in one sentence?

Answer: Psychological discomfort from holding inconsistent cognitions or behaviors. Dissonance motivates people to restore consistency between thoughts/actions.

Flashcard 38: What is the foot-in-the-door technique in attitude change?

Answer: Small initial request increases compliance with a larger later request. Builds on consistency principle and commitment escalation.

Flashcard 39: What is the definition of an opinion in the context of attitudes and beliefs?

Answer: A judgment about a specific issue, often derived from attitudes. Opinions represent specific applications of broader attitudes, guiding judgments on particular matters based on underlying evaluations.

Flashcard 40: What is the self-perception theory explanation for attitude formation?

Answer: People infer attitudes by observing their own behavior and context. Bem's theory: we deduce our attitudes from our actions like outside observers.

Flashcard 41: What is an attitude in social psychology (MCAT definition)?

Answer: An evaluation of a person, object, or idea (positive, negative, or neutral). Encompasses emotional, behavioral, and cognitive responses to stimuli.

Flashcard 42: What is the door-in-the-face technique in persuasion and compliance?

Answer: Large request refused, then smaller request appears reasonable. Contrast effect makes second request seem more acceptable.

Flashcard 43: What is the foot-in-the-door technique in compliance?

Answer: Small initial request increases likelihood of agreeing to a larger request. This technique leverages self-consistency, where initial compliance builds a self-image that facilitates agreement to subsequent larger requests.

Flashcard 44: What does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) measure about attitudes?

Answer: Implicit associations inferred from reaction time differences. Faster pairing reveals stronger automatic associations.

Flashcard 45: Identify the term: changing behavior to match attitudes after feeling dissonance.

Answer: Cognitive dissonance reduction. We align behavior with attitudes to reduce psychological discomfort.

Flashcard 46: What is an attitude in social psychology (include its core components)?

Answer: An evaluation with affective, behavioral, and cognitive components. Attitudes encompass how we feel, act, and think about something.

Flashcard 47: What is the central route to persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)?

Answer: Attitude change via careful, effortful processing of message content. Requires motivation and ability to analyze argument quality.

Flashcard 48: What is classical conditioning in attitude formation, stated in one sentence?

Answer: Pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus creates a learned attitude. Attitudes form through association with emotional responses.

Flashcard 49: Which ELM route is more likely when motivation and ability to process are high?

Answer: Central route. High elaboration likelihood activates systematic processing.

Flashcard 50: What is the central route to persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)?

Answer: Attitude change via careful, effortful processing of argument quality. Requires motivation and ability to process message content.

Flashcard 51: Identify the term: a stable, internal tendency to act in a particular way across situations.

Answer: Trait. Personality traits are enduring behavioral patterns across contexts.

Flashcard 52: What are the three components of attitude in the ABC model?

Answer: Affect, Behavior, Cognition. ABC stands for the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive aspects.

Flashcard 53: Which theory states that people infer attitudes by observing their own behavior?

Answer: Self-perception theory. We look at our actions to understand our internal states.

Flashcard 54: What is the definition of the Yale attitude change approach (Hovland model)?

Answer: Persuasion depends on source, message, channel, and audience characteristics. Classic model identifying four key factors in persuasion.

Flashcard 55: What is the self-serving bias in explanations of outcomes?

Answer: Success to internal causes; failure to external causes. Protects self-esteem through biased attributions.

Flashcard 56: What are the two routes in the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)?

Answer: Central route and peripheral route. The ELM distinguishes between thoughtful processing of arguments and reliance on heuristics, depending on motivation and ability.

Flashcard 57: What is the theory of planned behavior (TPB) key predictor of behavior?

Answer: Behavioral intention (from attitudes, norms, perceived control). Intentions mediate between attitudes and actual behavior.

Flashcard 58: What is the peripheral route to persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)?

Answer: Attitude change via superficial cues (source, attractiveness, emotion). Uses heuristics when motivation or ability is low.

Flashcard 59: What is the lowball technique, and what is its key feature?

Answer: Agree to a deal, then costs increase; commitment promotes compliance. Initial commitment persists even when terms worsen.

Flashcard 60: What is the door-in-the-face technique?

Answer: Compliance increases after refusing a large request then receiving a smaller one. Reciprocity norm makes smaller request seem reasonable by comparison.

Flashcard 61: In ELM, what characterizes the peripheral route to persuasion?

Answer: Low elaboration; attitude change based on cues (e.g., attractiveness, status). Uses shortcuts when motivation or ability is low.

Flashcard 62: What is cognitive dissonance in the context of attitude change?

Answer: Psychological discomfort from holding inconsistent cognitions or actions. Occurs when beliefs/behaviors conflict, creating tension.

Flashcard 63: What is the self-perception theory explanation for attitude formation or change?

Answer: People infer attitudes by observing their own behavior and context. "If I did it, I must have liked it" - behavior shapes attitudes.

Flashcard 64: What is an attitude in social psychology, including its basic evaluative direction?

Answer: A learned evaluation of an object, person, or idea (positive or negative). Attitudes involve evaluative judgments that can be favorable or unfavorable.

Flashcard 65: What is the fundamental attribution error that can maintain negative attitudes?

Answer: Overattributing others' behavior to dispositions over situations. Blaming personality rather than context reinforces stereotypes.

Flashcard 66: What is the lowball technique in compliance?

Answer: Secure agreement, then raise the cost; commitment increases compliance. Exploits commitment consistency after initial agreement.

Flashcard 67: What is the definition of self-perception theory?

Answer: People infer attitudes by observing their own behavior and its context. We look at our actions to understand our own attitudes.

Flashcard 68: What is cognitive dissonance in the context of attitudes and behavior?

Answer: Psychological discomfort from inconsistent beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. Dissonance arises when cognitions clash, creating tension.

Flashcard 69: Which option best reduces dissonance after a counterattitudinal action: change attitude, change behavior, or add consonant cognition?

Answer: Any of the three can reduce dissonance. All three strategies effectively resolve inconsistency.

Flashcard 70: What is the definition of a value in the context of attitudes and beliefs?

Answer: A stable guiding principle that influences attitudes and behavior. Values are broader than attitudes and shape multiple attitudes.

Flashcard 71: What is the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) central route to persuasion?

Answer: Persuasion via careful, effortful processing of argument quality. Central route requires motivation and ability to analyze message content.

Flashcard 72: What is the Yale attitude change approach (Hovland model) focused on?

Answer: Source, message, and audience factors that influence persuasion. Classic model examining who says what to whom with what effect.

Flashcard 73: Identify the concept: automatic attitudes that can operate outside awareness.

Answer: Implicit attitudes. Measured indirectly through reaction times or associations.

Flashcard 74: What is a value in the context of attitudes and beliefs?

Answer: A stable, enduring principle that guides judgments and behavior. Values serve as fundamental standards for decision-making and actions.

Flashcard 75: What is the theory of planned behavior's key predictor of behavior beyond attitude?

Answer: Behavioral intention (shaped by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control). Integrates attitude with social pressure and perceived behavioral control.

Flashcard 76: Which route in ELM tends to produce more durable attitude change?

Answer: Central route. Deep processing creates stronger, lasting attitude change.

Flashcard 77: What is the definition of social learning (observational learning) in attitude formation?

Answer: Acquiring attitudes by observing others and the outcomes of their behavior. Vicarious learning shapes attitudes without direct experience.

Flashcard 78: What does the Implicit Association Test (IAT) primarily measure?

Answer: Relative strength of automatic associations between concepts and evaluations. Measures reaction time differences in pairing concepts with evaluations.

Flashcard 79: What does the affective component of an attitude specifically refer to?

Answer: Emotions or feelings toward the attitude object. Affect captures the emotional response to the object.

Flashcard 80: Identify the attitude change predicted when a person has low external justification for lying.

Answer: Attitude shifts to align with the lie (greater internalization). People reduce dissonance by changing attitudes to match behavior.

Flashcard 81: What is the door-in-the-face technique in attitude change?

Answer: Large request refused, then smaller request is accepted due to reciprocity. Creates obligation to reciprocate the concession.

Flashcard 82: What does the foot-in-the-door technique attempt to increase?

Answer: Compliance by starting with a small request before a larger one. Initial agreement creates consistency pressure for larger requests.

Flashcard 83: What is the definition of a belief in the context of attitudes?

Answer: A cognitive acceptance that a statement about the world is true. Beliefs form the cognitive foundation of attitudes by accepting propositions as factual, influencing how individuals perceive and interpret reality.

Flashcard 84: What is an attitude in social psychology (include its general object and evaluation)?

Answer: An evaluation (positive or negative) of a person, object, or idea. This definition captures the evaluative disposition in social psychology, encompassing affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses toward entities.

Flashcard 85: What is the theory of planned behavior (TPB) used to predict?

Answer: Behavioral intentions and behavior from attitudes, norms, and control. Integrates attitudes, social pressure, and perceived control.

Flashcard 86: What is the Yale attitude change model's main focus in persuasion?

Answer: Who says what to whom: source, message, audience factors. Examines how source, message, and audience interact in persuasion.

Flashcard 87: What is mere exposure effect?

Answer: Repeated exposure increases liking, even without conscious awareness. Familiarity breeds liking through unconscious processing.

Flashcard 88: What is the central route to persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)?

Answer: Attitude change via thoughtful processing of strong arguments. Requires motivation and ability to process message content carefully.

Flashcard 89: In ELM, which route relies on superficial cues such as attractiveness or authority?

Answer: Peripheral route. Low elaboration prompts use of peripheral cues for quick judgments, resulting in temporary attitude shifts.

Flashcard 90: What is an attitude in social psychology (include its core components)?

Answer: Evaluation of an object with affective, behavioral, and cognitive components. Attitudes integrate how we feel, act, and think about something.

Flashcard 91: What is the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) peripheral route to persuasion?

Answer: Persuasion via superficial cues (e.g., attractiveness, authority). Peripheral route relies on heuristics when motivation/ability is low.

Flashcard 92: Which ELM route is most likely when motivation and ability to process the message are high?

Answer: Central route. High elaboration leads to systematic processing of arguments.

Flashcard 93: Which option best describes the sleeper effect in persuasion?

Answer: A message becomes more persuasive over time as the source is forgotten. Message content persists while source credibility fades from memory.

Flashcard 94: Identify the theory: behavior changes first, then attitudes shift to match the behavior.

Answer: Cognitive dissonance theory. Festinger's theory explains post-behavior attitude adjustment.

Flashcard 95: What is the peripheral route to persuasion in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)?

Answer: Persuasion via cues like attractiveness or authority (low elaboration). Uses shortcuts when people can't or won't process deeply.

Flashcard 96: Identify the term: changing attitudes to match behavior to reduce dissonance.

Answer: Effortful dissonance reduction via attitude change. Alternative strategy when behavior change is difficult.

Flashcard 97: Which option best describes the theory of planned behavior?

Answer: Behavior is driven by intentions shaped by attitudes, norms, and control. Extends reasoned action by adding perceived behavioral control.

Flashcard 98: What is the mere exposure effect in attitude formation?

Answer: Repeated exposure increases liking, even without conscious awareness. Familiarity breeds liking through unconscious processing.

Flashcard 99: In ELM, which route relies on message content quality and careful thought?

Answer: Central route. High elaboration in this route involves scrutinizing argument strength, leading to durable attitude changes when persuaded.

Flashcard 100: Which route in ELM typically produces more durable and predictive attitudes?

Answer: Central route. Deep processing creates stronger, lasting attitude change.