Self Perception Theory (SPT)

One way in which attitude change occurs is via cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is an occurrence in which a person experiences psychological distress due to conflicting thoughts or beliefs. The tendency to be affected by cognitive dissonance is affected by culture. In order to lessen this rigidity, individuals could change their attitudes to imitate other opinions or real behaviors.

In this task I will compare two theories of self-esteem which contribute to our understanding of self-concept. The theories which I will be focused on are Bowlby’s and Harter’s.

Morris and Maisto (2005) define attitude as a firm formation of beliefs, feelings, and behavior toward an object. They believe that there are two observational tendencies that play a role in shaping behavior; high self-monitoring and low self-monitoring. Dorothy has demonstrated that she poses a high self-monitoring strategy. Although she is loud and extroverted, she is in complete control over her social behavior. She is able to adapt and act accordingly to specific

In America, our self-image is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of our daily lives. In an ever-changing world, we are constantly working in the lens of which we believe the world sees us. But is this true of all people? Disparities in self-perception between different groups of people can easily be detected through cultural psychology (Heine, Takemoto, Moskalenko, Lasaleta & Henrich, 2008). Perception, especially self-perception, can vary vastly from one culture to another. One perspective that drove home this idea was the thinking that East Asian’s attempt to place their concern with self-concept in the hands of the people around them, as opposed to some other cultures that can be found to focus more prominently on

As health professionals, it is important to constantly be self-aware and to discover new truths about oneself. Jourard (1971) stated that lack of personal awareness can lead to a feeling of vulnerability when approached by patients expressing feelings, due to the fear of not knowing how to respond in an appropriate way. By having self-awareness, the sources of limitations that have the tendency to cause anxiety can be identified, so forward planning can be prepared to reduce or eliminate the impact this may have on performing activities and approaches to patients. Certain individuals utilise different techniques to minimise anxiety such as deep-breathing exercises or thinking of the positive outcome that comes once the source of fear or anxiety is overcame. Meanwhile, others prefer being critiqued, since it allows areas within practise needing improvements to be highlighted and alternatives to be considered.

(2006). Associative and propositional processes in evaluation: An integrative review of implicit and explicit attitude change. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 692-731.

But explicit attitudes are not the only kind of attitudes there are. We also have implicit attitudes, and our implicit attitudes may also - or instead - be the source of

According to the examples and experiences of others the word conflict deems negativity. However, conflict also entails both negative and positive outcomes as well. On the negative side conflict can be disruptive, however, on the positive side it can also serve as a source of creativity and a constructive action (McGrath, 2009).

Consider the role of attitude in learning, and the impact of subject norms, self-efficacy, fear, and social influence in behavior. Provide a specific example of how a person’s attitude has influenced their behavior and learning.

Have you ever wonder why you act differently in any given time? People need to better understand why they do things the way they do. We sometimes act out our own behavior because of we think is the right attitude without even try to interpret the cause. Self-perception theory suggested that people draw their conclusion just by observing their own behavior and by developing their opinions and attitudes. What are the possibilities if knew our own mind and what will are action be.

The first element of SSM assumes that self-attributions operate as expectancy, causing more dissonance in those with higher self-esteem (Stone & Cooper, 2001). It is emphasised in the SSM that people use their own

Attitudes carry a huge weight in social psychology. In the past, the theory of attitudes was considered the most dominant study in social psychology (Allport, 1935). Throughout time, the term attitude has accumulated many definitions, a renowned definition being “a relatively enduring organisation of beliefs, feelings and behavioural tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols” (Hogg and Vaughan, 2014, p. 150). The focus on attitudes is so significant because the question of whether attitudes can predict behaviour has arisen time after time. If attitudes do predict behaviour, we can discover why people act in certain ways and, therefore, attempt to change negative behaviours. Over time, work has been carried out to determine to what extent attitudes predict behaviour.

The difference between condition one and three is that condition three allowed the participants to self-affirm after finding out their verdict was in disagreement with the other group members. Festinger argues that the lack of choice adds consonant cognitions which reduce the overall amount of dissonance that otherwise would be experienced (Festinger, 1957, 1958; as cited in Matz & Woods, 2005). Additionally, the opportunity to self-affirm strengthens self-worth and thereby reduces the dissonance created when people’s actions threaten their personal integrity (Simon, Greenberg, & Brehm, 1995; as cited in Matz & Woods, 2005). Thus, Matz and Woods hypothesize that dissonance will be reduced by the lack of choice and the opportunity to self-affirm. The results show low levels of discomfort in the lack of choice and self-affirmation conditions, providing an explanation of the kinds of strategies people use to reduce dissonance.

Do attitudes predict behaviour? It is not easy to find the correct answer to this question. The relationship between attitudes and behaviour is one of the most controversial topics in social psychology. This essay explores whether attitudes can predict behaviours using two of theories of behaviour change: Cognitive Dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957) and Self-Perception Theory (Bem, 1965, 1967).

Attitudes refer to one’s evaluations of the social world: others, objects and ideas. These overall evaluations can be positive, negative, or neutral, vary in their extremity and be based on a variety of information (Tesser and Martin, 1996; Petty, Wheeler, and Tormala, 2003 ). A popular conceptualization of the attitude construct, the tripartite theory, holds that there are three primary types of information in which attitudes can be based (Breckler, 1984; Rosenberg & Hovland, 1960; Zanna & Rempel, 1988) : cognitions or beliefs, affect or feelings and actions or behaviour. As defined by Richard Perloff, persuasion is the process which moulds and shapes attitudes. It is through persuasion that changes in attitudes can occur. The two methods