CBSE Class 12 Psychology Attitude And Social Cognition Assignment

CBSE Class 12 Psychology Chapter 6 Attitude And Social Cognition Very Short Answer Questions

Question. What is schema?
Answer. Schemas that function in the form of categories are called prototypes. They are the entire set of features or qualities that help us to define an object clearly.

Question. What is a prototype?
Answer. Schemas that function in the form of categories are called prototypes. They are the entire set of features or qualities that help us to define an object clearly.

Question. What is recency effect?
Answer. During formation of impression, information that comes at the end may have stronger influence. This is recency effect.

Question. Define attitude.
Answer. An attitude is a set of views or opinions which have an evaluative feature (positive, negative or neutral quality) and is accompanied by ABC components namely affective, behavioural and cognitive components. For example, a positive attitude of students towards teachers and parents.

Question. What is belief?
Answer. Beliefs refer to the cognitive component of attitudes such as belief in or belief in democracy.

Question. What is primacy effect?
Answer. During formation of impression, information presented first has a stronger effect than information presented at the end. This is primacy effect.

Question. What is social inhibition?
Answer. Decline in performance in the presence of others is called social inhibition. For example, if you recite a poem to an audience, your performance is inhibited than when you recite it to your teacher.

 

 

Question. What is attribution? Explain fundamental attribution error and actor-observer effect with the help of an example.
Answer. We assign causes to the behavior shown in specific social situations. This process is called attribution. For example, a person A hit another person B, we may explain the hitting behavior by saying that
(i) A hit B because A is short-tempered person or
(ii) A hit B because B behaved in a nasty way.
There is an overall tendency for people to give greater weightage to internal or dispositional factors than external or situational factors. This is called fundamental attribution error. It varies from culture to culture.
A distinction is made between the attribution that a person makes for his/her positive and negative experiences (actor-role) than the attribution made by another person’s positive and negative experiences (observer-role). This is called actor-observer effect. For example, if you get good marks in a test you attribute it to your ability and hard work while if you get bad marks you say that you were unlucky or that the test was difficult.
On the other hand, if your class-mate gets good marks you attribute his/her success to good luck or an easy test and if your class-mate gets bad marks you attribute his/her failure to low ability or lack of effort.

 

Question. Elaborate the ABC component of attitude. 
Answer. The emotional component of an attitude is the affective aspect, the behavioural component is the tendency to act while the cognitive component is the thought component of an attitude. For example, the cognitive component of prejudice, i.e., stereotype is accompanied by dislike or hatred, the affective component which may get translated into discrimination, the behavioural component.

 

 

Question. State the factors that influence attitude change.
Answer. The factors that influence attitude change are as follows:
(i) Characteristics of the existing attitude: All four properties of attitudes namely, valence (positivity or negativity), extremeness, simplicity or complexity (multiplexity) and centrality determine attitude change. Positive attitudes are easier to change than negative attitudes. Extreme attitudes and central attitudes are more difficult to change than the less extreme and peripheral (less significant) attitudes. Simple attitudes are easier to change than multiple attitudes.Attitude change may be congruent if it changes in the same direction as the existing attitude. For example, a positive attitude may become more positive or a negative attitude may become more negative. An attitude change may be incongruent if it changes in a direction opposite to the existing attitude. For example, a positive attitude may become less positive or negative or a negative attitude may become less negative or positive.
(ii) Source characteristics: Attitudes are more likely to change when the message comes from a highly credible source than from a low credible source. For example, adults who are planning to buy a laptop are more convinced by a computer engineer advertising the laptop while when the buyers are themselves school children they are more convinced by a school child advertising the laptop.
(iii) Message characteristics: The message for attitude change contains a rational appeal or an emotional appeal makes a difference. For example, an advertisement for cooking food in a pressure cooker may point out that this saves cooking gas (rational appeal) or preserves nutrition (emotional appeal). The motives activated by the message also determine attitude change. For example drinking milk makes a person healthy, good-looking, more energetic and more successful in one’s job.
The mode of spreading the message plays a significant role. Face-to-face transmission of the message is usually more effective than indirect transmission. As for instance, through letters and pamphlets or even through mass media.
(iv) Target characteristics: People with strong prejudices, people with low self-esteem and low intelligence change their attitudes easily. People with more open and flexible personalities change more easily. Advertisers benefit most from such people.

 

Question. Why do individuals show better performance in the presence of others?
Answer. Social facilitation is the process in which individuals show better performance in the presence of others. This is because:
(i) The individual experiences arousal in the presence of others which makes him react in a more intense manner.
(ii) The person feels that he would be evaluated. The idea of evaluation apprehension makes him to perform well and avoid mistakes.
(iii) The nature of task affects performance in the presence of others. In case of a simple or familiar task, the person is more sure of performing well than in case of a complex or new task, the person may be afraid of making mistakes.
(iv) If others are performing the same task, there is a situation of co-action where there is social comparison and competition and hence performance is better.
(v) If individuals are working together in a large group, a phenomenon of social loafing occurs based on the diffusion of responsibility in which there is a reduction of individual effort when working on a collective task.

Question. Examine four ways through which people bring consistency in their attitudes.
OR
Write a note on the Attitude-Behaviour Relationship. Describe the relationship between attitude and behaviour with the help of suitable examples.
Answer. There is consistency between Attitudes and Behaviour when
(i) The attitude is strong, and occupies a central place in the attitude system.
(ii) The person is aware of his attitude, there is no external pressure for the person to behave in a particular way. For example, there is no group pressure to follow the norm.
(iii) The person’s behaviour is not being watched or evaluated by others.
(iv) The person thinks that the behaviour would have a positive consequence.

Question. What are the properties/features of attitude?
Answer. The properties/features of attitude are described below:

(i) Valence: Valence of an attitude tells us whether an attitude is positive or negative towards the attitude object. For example, an attitude towards a nuclear research is expressed on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (Very Bad), 2 (Bad), 3 (Neutral), 4 (Good) and 5 (Very Good). A rating of 4 or 5 indicates a positive attitude towards nuclear research while a rating of 1 or 2 indicates a negative attitude and a rating of 3 indicates a neutral attitude.

(ii) Extremeness: The extremeness of an attitude indicates how positive or negative an attitude is. A rating of 1 or 5 indicate extreme attitudes. Ratings of 2 and 4 are less extreme. A neutral attitude, of course, is lowest on extremeness.

(iii) Simplicity or Complexity (Multiplexity): An attitude system is said to be ‘simple’ if it contains one or a few attitudes and complex if it is made of many attitudes. For example, an attitude towards a person is a simple attitude while an attitude towards health and well-being is a complex attitude consisting of attitude towards physical and mental health, views about happiness and well-being etc.

(iv) Centrality: A central attitude would influence the other attitudes in an attitude system. For example, in an attitude towards world peace, a negative attitude towards high military expenditure is present as the central attitude and influences all other attitudes in the multiple attitude system.

Question. Describe the concept of balance in the process of attitude change?
Answer. The concept of balance proposed by Fritz Heider is described in the form of P-O-X triangle. Attitude changes if there is a state of imbalance between P-O attitude and O-X attitude and P-X attitude.
For example, in the study of attitude towards dowry(X), a person (P) has a positive attitude towards dowry (P-X positive). P is planning to get his son married to the daughter of some person (O) who has a negative attitude towards dowry (O-X negative). Here P-X is positive, O-P is positive but O-X is negative. That is, there are 2 positives and 1 negative in the triangle. This is a situation of imbalance. Imbalance on POX triangle is found when
(i) All three sides of the POX triangle are negative or
(ii) Two sides are positive and one side negative.
Balance is found when
(i) All three sides are positive or
(ii) Two sides are negative and one side is positive.

Question. Discuss the cognitive dissonance component in attitude change process.
Answer. The concept of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger. If an individual finds that two cognitions in an attitude are dissonant, then one of them will be changed in the direction of consonance. For example, consider the case of the following two ideas or cognitions:
Cognition 1: Pan masala causes mouth cancer which is fatal.
Cognition 2: I eat pan masala.
Here the two ideas are dissonant in the attitude towards pan masala. Therefore, one of these ideas will have to be changed so that consonance can be attained. Thus, to remove or reduce the dissonance, change Cognition 2. Thus Cognition 2 will become:
I will stop eating pan masala.
Both balance and cognitive dissonance are examples of cognitive consistency. Cognitive consistency means that two components, aspects or elements of the attitude or attitude system must be in the same direction.

Question. State the factors that lead to the formation of attitudes. Explain the process of attitude
change giving examples from everyday life.
OR
State the factors that influence attitude formation. 
Answer. The factors influencing attitude formation are as follows:
(i) Family and School Environment: Learning of attitudes within the family and school usually takes place by association, through reward and punishment and through modeling.
(ii) Reference Groups: Attitudes towards various topics such as political, religious and social groups, occupations, national and other issues is developed through reference groups. This is learning by reward and punishment.
(iii) Personal Experiences: Personal experience can bring a drastic change in our attitude. Here is a real-life example. A driver in the army went through a personal experience that transformed his life. On one mission, he narrowly escaped death although all his companions got killed. He gave up his job in the army and worked actively as a community leader. Through a purely personal experience the individual evolved a strong positive attitude towards community upliftment.(iv) Media-related Influences: Media can exert both good and bad influences on attitudes.
On one hand, the media and internet make people better informed than other modes of communication while on the other hand it can create negative attitudes in people.
Attitude Change (Write any one out of the following three):
In the process of attitude change, the concept of balance proposed by Fritz Heider is described in the form of P-O-X triangle. Attitude changes if there is a state of imbalance between P-O attitude and O-X attitude and P-X attitude.
For example, in the study of attitude towards dowry(X), a person (P) has a positive atsome person (O) who has a negative attitude towards dowry (O-X negative). Here P-X is positive, O-P is positive but O-X is negative. That is, there are 2 positives and 1 negatititude towards dowry (P-X positive). P is planning to get his son married to the daughter of ve in the triangle. This is a situation of imbalance. Imbalance on POX triangle is found when(i) All the 3 sides of the POX triangle are negative or
(ii) 2 sides are positive and 1 side negative.
Balance is found when
(i) All the 3 sides are positive or
(ii) 2 sides are negative and 1 side is positive.
In the process of attitude change the concept of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger. If an individual finds that two cognitions in an attitude are dissonant, then one of them will be changed in the direction of consonance. For example, consider the case of the following two ideas or cognitions:
- Cognition 1: Pan masala causes mouth cancer which is fatal.
- Cognition 2: I eat pan masala.
Here the two ideas are dissonant in the attitude towards pan masala. Therefore, one of these ideas will have to be changed so that consonance can be attained. Thus, to remove
or reduce the dissonance, change Cognition 2. Thus Cognition 2 will become:
I will stop eating pan masala.
Both balance and cognitive dissonance are examples of cognitive consistency. Cognitive consistency means that two components, aspects or elements of the attitude or attitude system must be in the same direction.
The 2-step concept of attitude change was proposed by an Indian psychologist, S. M. Mohsin.
- Step 1: The target changes his attitude by identifying with the source.
- Step 2: The source shows an attitude change towards the attitude object. The target also shows an attitude change. This is a kind of imitation or observational learning.
For example,
- Step 1: Preeti reads in newspaper that a particular soft drink she enjoys is harmful.But she imitates the sports person with whom she identifies.
-Step 2: The sports person having positive feelings towards his fans may change his habit of consuming the soft drink by substituting it with a health drink. Now, Preeti will also change her attitude and stop consuming the harmful soft drink.

Question. What is social facilitation? Explain.
Answer.
(i) Social facilitation can be defined as ‘an improvement in performance produced by the mere presence of others’. There are two types of social facilitation: (a) coaction effects (b) audience effect. Studies and research on social facilitation concern the extent to which a given piece of an individual’s behavior is affected by the real, imagined or implied presence of others.
(ii) Perhaps the first social psychology laboratory experiment was undertaken in this area by Norman Triplett in 1898.In his research on the speed records of cyclists, he noticed that racing against each other rather than against the clock alone increased the cyclists’ speeds. He attempted to duplicate this under laboratory conditions using children and fishing reels.
(iii) There were two conditions: the child alone and children in pairs but working alone.Their task was to wind in a given amount of fishing line and Triplett reports that many children worked faster in the presence of a partner doing the same task.
(iv) Triplett’s experiments exhibit the co-action effect, a phenomenon whereby increased task performance comes about by the mere presence of others doing the same task.The co-action effect may come into operation if you find that you work well in a library in preference to working at home where it is equally quiet.
(v) Social facilitation occurs not only in the presence of a co-actor but also in the presence of a passive spectator/audience. This is known as the audience effect, surprisingly.
(vi) We can say that the extent of social facilitation or inhibition depends upon the nature of the interaction between the task and the performer. According to Cottrell (1968), it’s not the presence of other people that is important for social facilitation to occur but the apprehension about being evaluated by them.

Important Notes for Class 12 Psychology Chapter 6 Attitude and Social Cognition

Chapter At A Glance

‘Attitude’ is a word, frequently used by us in our day to day lives. It refers to an individual’s specific state of mind through which he expresses his opinions and feelings towards some conditions, things, event and persons in his social environment. Attitude has three dimensions i.e., affective, cognitive and behavioural, the ABC components of attitude. A person having favourable attitude towards widow remarriage, may organize meetings, give lectures in favour of widow remarriage or even go to the extent of marrying a widow. A number of factors like need satisfaction, social learning, group affiliations, personality factors and cultural factors contribute to development of attitudes. Group reference, changing group affiliations, persuasive communication and personality factor play an important role in attitudinal change. Prejudice is an attitude that predisposes a person to think, perceive, feel and act in favourable and unfavourable ways towards a group or its individual members. Prejudice is generally a negative attitude towards the members of some social, ethnic or religious group.

 

 

1. Define the fol lowing terms: 

(i ) Attitudes

(ii ) Attribution

(iii ) Impression formation

(iv) Social cognition

(v) Schemas

(vi ) Social facilitation

(vii ) Pro-social behaviour

(viii ) Social inhibition

2. Discuss the components of attitude wi th the help of relevant examples. 

3. How are attitudes different from values and beliefs? 

4. What is the purpose served by an attitude? 

5. Explain the features of attitudes along with relevant examples.

6. Are attitudes acquired or innate? 

7. How are attitudes formed? Discuss the process of attitude formation. 

OR

Are attitudes learnt? Explain how. 

8. Enumerate and explain the factors that influence attitude formation. 

9. Discuss the fol lowing theories with respect to the process of attitude change: 

(i ) Balance theory

(ii ) Cognitive dissonance theory

(iii ) Two-step concept theory