Behavior

and
Attitudes
Faye Jessa D. Egargo, RPsy, RPm
 Learning Objective(s)
At the end of the discussion, you are expected to:

● Understand how well does our attitude predict our behavior?

● Determine when does our behavior affect our attitude
● Know why our behavior affect our attitudes
Attitude
Beliefs and feelings related to
a person or an event (often
rooted in one’s beliefs, and
exhibited in one’s feelings and
intended behavior).
ABCs of
Attitude
Our attitudes are made up of cognitive,
affective, and behavioral components.
Consider my own attitude toward pistachio ice cream,

In terms of affect:
I LOVE it!

In terms of behavior:
I frequently eat pistachio ice cream.

In terms of cognitions:
Pistachio ice cream has a smooth texture and a rich, strong taste.
 When Attitude Predicts Behavior

WHEN SOCIAL INFLUENCES WHEN ATTITUDES ARE WHEN ATTITUDES ARE

ON WHAT WE SAY ARE SPECIFIC TO THE BEHAVIOR POTENT
MINIMAL
• we measure expressed attitudes Theory of Planned Behavior • Bringing Attitudes to Mind
• Implicit Association Test (IAT) ( Ajzen and Fishbein’s ) • Forging Strong Attitudes
Take the test:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatest.html
through Experience
Principle of aggregation:
The effects of an attitude become more
apparent when we look at a person’s
aggregate or average behavior
Role
A set of norms that defines
how people in a given
social position ought to
behave.
• We enact a role that shapes our
attitudes.
Watch: Stanford Prison Experiment

https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=oAX9b7agT9o
Why does our Behavior
Affect our Attitudes

Who among us does not care what people

think?

Self-presentation theory
-assumes that for strategic
reasons we express
attitudes that make us
appear consistent.
 Why does our
Behavior Affect our
Attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
(Leon Festinger)
-assumes that we feel
tension, or “dissonance”,
when two of our thoughts
or beliefs (“cognitions”) are
inconsistent.
 Why does our
Behavior Affect our
Attitudes
Way to minimize dissonance:
selective exposure
The tendency to seek information
and media that agree with one’s
views and to avoid dissonant
information.
Why does our Behavior
Affect our Attitudes

Self-perception theory
-The theory that when we are
unsure of our attitudes, we infer
them much as would someone
observing us—by looking at our
behavior and the circumstances
under which it occurs.
Thank You!
FAYE JESSA D. EGARGO, RPsy, RPm
fayejessa.egargo@umak.edu.ph
University of Makati

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