Behavioral Theories of Attitude Change

Both positive and negative attitudes may be changed through reward or punishment.

Social psychologists define attitude as your reaction to a person, object or idea. However, attitudes are not fixed, and most people undergo a degree of attitude change throughout their lives. Behavioral theory studies how rewards and punishment influence behavior, including attitude changes.

Private and Public Attitudes

Classic studies by social psychology researchers Muzafer Sherif and Solomon Asch, published respectively in the books "The Psychology of Social Norms" and "Groups, Leadership, and Men," demonstrated that what people say and what they believe often differ. Later studies by social psychologists Festinger and Carlsmith published in "The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology" showed that incentives like money tended not to change private attitudes, even though it influenced public behavior.

Cognitive Dissonance

More often, unpleasant emotions or experiences motivate attitude change. A theory called cognitive dissonance predicts that when a person's behavior conflicts with their belief or attitude, they will experience unpleasant emotional arousal and change their attitudes to fit their behavior. In this theory, the dissonance between behavior and belief exerts a punishing effect that motivates attitude change.

Significance

Attempts at persuasion are all around you. People, politicians and products are constantly vying to improve your attitudes toward their messages. Understanding the link between a behavior and subsequent attitude change and the role of rewards becomes important to those who wish to change the attitudes of others.

References

• "Social Psychology," Fifth Edition; Sharon S. Brehm, Saul M. Kassin and Steven Fein; 2002
• Theory into Practice: Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)
• Association for Educational Communications and Technology: Theories of Attitude Change