Persuasion and attitude change

An attitude is a psychological tendency that expresses like or dislike for an entity. Attitudes develop on the basis of evaluative responding. Attitudes develop on the ABC model (Affect, behavioral change and Cognition). For an attitude to form an individual goes through the steps of responding to an entity on an affective, behavioral change and cognitive level. The affective response is a physiological response that expresses an individuals preference for an entity. The behavioral intention is a verbal indication of the intention of an individual. The cognitive response is a cognitive evaluation of the entity to form an attitude. Most attitudes in individuals are a result of social learning from the environment.

The link between attitude and behavior exists but depends on attitude specificity, attitude relevance, personality factors, social constraints and timing of measurement. Several factors play a role for an attitude to cause a behavior. For example, A person may have a positive attitude towards blood donation but may not necessarily go to a blood bank to donate his blood.

Attitudes can be changed through persuasion. Persuasion is the process of a source attempting to change the attitude of a target. There are several factors that effect this process.

• Target Characteristics: People with higher self esteem are less easily persuaded than people with lower self esteem. The mind frame and mood of the target also plays a role in this process

• Source Characteristics: The major source characteristics are expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness.

• Message Characteristics: The nature of the message plays a role in the persuasion process. Sometimes presenting both sides of a story is useful to help change attitudes.

• Cognitive Routes: A message can appeal to an individuals cognitive evaluation to help change an attitude. In the central route to persuasion the individual is presented with the data and motivated to evaluate the data and arrive at an attitude changing conclusion. In the peripheral route to attitude change, the individual is encouraged to not look at the message content, but at the source characteristics. This is why advertisements use star power to peddle their wares. In some cases, doctors and experts are used. In other cases film stars are used exclusively for their attractiveness.