ATTITUDE AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR

 ATTITUDE AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR

Attitude is a state of the mind, a set of views,or  thoughts,  regarding  some  topic  (called the  ‘attitude  object’),  which  have  an evaluative  feature  (positive,  negative  or neutral  quality).  It  is  accompanied  by  an emotional  component,  and  a  tendency  to act in a particular way with regard to the attitude object. 

The thought component is referred  to  as  the  cognitive  aspect, the emotional  component  is  known  as  the affective  

aspect,  and  the  tendency  to  act is  called  the  behavioural  (or  cognitive) aspect. Taken together, these three aspects have  been  referred  to  as  the  A-B-Ccomponents (Affective-Behavioural-Cognitive components) of attitude. Note that attitudes are themselves not behaviour, but they represent a tendency to behave or act in certain ways.  They are part of cognition, along  with  an  emotional  component,  and cannot be observed from outside. Attitudes have to be distinguished from two other closely related concepts, namely beliefs and  values.  Beliefs  refer  to  the cognitive component of attitudes, and from the ground on which attitudes stand, such as belief in God, or belief in democracy as apolitical  ideology.  Values  are  attitudes  or beliefs  that  contain  a  ‘should’  or  ‘ought' aspect, such as moral or ethical values.  One example  of  a  value  is  the  idea  that  one should  work  hard,  or  that  one  should always  be  honest,  because  honesty  is  the best  policy.  Values  are  formed  when  a particular  belief  or  attitude  becomes  an inseparable part of the person’s outlook on life.  Consequently,  values  are  difficult  to change.

In addition to the affective, cognitive and behavioural  components,  attitudes  also have  other  properties. 

Four  significant features of attitudes are : 

• Valence (positivity or negativity)

• Extremeness

• Simplicity or Complexity(multiplexity)

• Centrality

Valence  (positivity  or  negativity):-  The valence of an attitude tells us whether an attitude is positive or negative towards the attitude  object.  Suppose  an  attitude  (say, towards  nuclear  research)  has  to  be expressed on a 5-point scale, ranging from1 (Very bad), 2 (Bad), 3 (Neutral — neither good  nor  bad),  and  4  (Good),  to  5  (Verygood).  If  an  individual  rates  her/his  view towards nuclear research as 4 or 5, this is clearly a positive attitude. This means that the person likes the idea of nuclear research and  thinks  it  is  something  good.  On  the other  hand,  if  the  rating  is  1  or  2,  the attitude  is  negative.  This  means  that  the person dislikes the idea of nuclear research, and  thinks  it  is  something  bad.  We also allow for neutral attitudes. In this example, a neutral attitude towards nuclear research would be shown by a rating of 3 on the same scale. A neutral attitude would have neither positive nor negative valence.

Extremeness  :- The  extremeness  of  an attitude indicates how positive or negative an attitude  is.  Taking  the  nuclear research example given above, a rating of 1 is as extreme as a rating of 5 : they are only  in  the  opposite  directions  (valence). Ratings  of  2  and  4  are  less  extreme.  A neutral  attitude,  of  course,  is  lowest  on extremeness.

Simplicity or Complexity (multiplexity) :-This feature refers to how many attitudes there are within a broader attitude. Think Of an attitude as a family containing several' member' attitudes. In case of various topics, such as health and world peace, people hold many  attitudes  instead  of a single  attitude. An attitude system is said to be ‘simple’ if it contains  only  one  or  a  few  attitudes,  and 'complex’ if it is made up of many attitudes. Consider  the  example  of an attitude  towards health and well-being. This attitude system is  likely  to  consist  of  several  ‘member' attitudes, such as one’s concept of physical and mental health, views about happiness and well-being, and beliefs about how one should  achieve  health  and  happiness.  By Contrast, the attitude towards a particular person  is  likely  to  consist  mainly of  an attitude.  The  multiple  member-attitudes within  an  attitude  system  should  not  be confused  with  the  three  components described  earlier.  Each  member  attitude that belongs to an attitude system also hasA-B-C components. 

Centrality:-  This  refers  to  the  role  of  a particular attitude in the attitude system.An  attitude  with  greater  centrality  would influence the other attitudes in the system much more than non-central (or peripheral)attitudes  would.  For  example,  in  the attitude  towards  world  peace,  a  negative attitude towards high military expenditure may be present as a core or central attitude that  influences  all  other  attitudes  in  the multiple attitude system.

ATTITUDE FORMATION AND CHANGE

Attitude  Formation One important question that psychologists are  interested  in  answering  is  :  how  are attitudes formed? Like many other thoughts and concepts that develop and become part of our cognitive system, attitudes towards different topics, things and people also are formed as we interact with others. However,there are specific conditions that lead to the formation of specific attitudes.In  general,  attitudes  are  learned through  one’s  own  experiences,  and through interaction with others. There are few research studies that show some sort of  inborn  aspect  of  attitudes,  but  such genetic  factors  influence  attitudes  only indirectly,  along  with  learning.  Therefore, most social psychologists have focused on the  conditions  which  lead  to  the  learning of attitudes.  

Process of Attitude FormationThe  processes  and  conditions  of  learning may  be  different,  resulting  in  varying attitudes among people.

•Learning attitudes by association :- You might  have  seen  that  students  often develop a liking for a particular subject because of the teacher. This is because they see many positive qualities in that teacher;  these  positive  qualities  get linked to the subject that s/he teaches,and ultimately get expressed in the form of liking for the subject.  In other words,a positive attitude towards the subject is  learned  through  the  positive association  between  a  teacher and a student.

Learning attitudes by being rewarded or punished : If an individual is praised for showing a particular attitude, chances are  high  that  s/he  will  develop  the attitude  further.  For  example,  if  ateenager does yogasanas regularly, and gets  the  honour  of  being  ‘Miss  GoodHealth’ in her school, she may develop a positive  attitude  towards  yoga  and health  in  general.  Similarly,  if  a  child constantly  falls  ill  because  s/he  eats junk food instead of proper meals, then the child is likely to develop a negative attitude towards junk food, and also a positive attitude towards eating healthy food.

•Learning  attitudes  through  modeling(observing  others)  :-  Often  it  is  not through  association, or through reward and  punishment,  that  we  learn attitudes.  Instead,  we  learn  them  by observing  others  being  rewarded  or punished  for  expressing  thoughts,  showing behaviour of a particular kind towards  the  attitude  object.  For Example, children may form a respectful attitude  towards  elders,  by  observing that  their  parents  show  respect  for elders, and are appreciated for it.

•Learning  attitudes  through  group  or cultural  norms  :-  Very  often,  we  learn attitudes  through  the  norms  of  our group or culture. Norms are unwritten rules about behaviour that everyone is supposed  to  show  under  specific circumstances. Over time, these norms may become part of our social cognition,in  the  form  of  attitudes.  Learning Attitudes  through  group  or  cultural norms  may  actually  be  an  example  of all  three  forms  of  learning  described above — learning through association,reward or punishment, and modelling. For  example,  offering  money,  sweets,fruit and flowers in a place of worship isa normative behaviour in some religions. l Cognition 111 When  individuals  see  that  such behaviour  is  shown  by  others,  is expected  and  socially  approved,  they may  ultimately  develop  a  positive attitude towards such behaviour and the associated feelings of devotion.

•Learning    through    exposure    to information:- Many attitudes are learned in social context, but not necessarily in  the  physical  presence  of  others.Today,  with  the  huge  amount  of information  that  is  being  provided through  various  media,  both  positive and negative attitudes are being formed. By  reading  the  biographies  of  self-actualised  persons,  an  individual  may develop a positive attitude towards hard work and other aspects as the means of achieving success in life. Factors that Influence Attitude FormationThe following factors provide the context for the  learning  of  attitudes  through  the processes described above.

1.Family  and  School  Environment:- Particularly  in  the  early  years  of  life,parents and other family members play a  significant  role  in  shaping  attitude formation.     Later,     the     school environment  becomes  an  important background  for  attitude  formation. Learning of attitudes within the family and  school  usually  takes  place  by association,  through  rewards  and punishments, and through modelling. 

2.Reference  Groups  :-  Reference  groups indicate  to  an  individual  the  norms regarding  acceptable  behaviour  and ways  of  thinking.  Thus,  they  reflect learning of attitudes through group or cultural  norms.  Attitudes  towards various  topics,  such  as  political,religious     and     social     groups,occupations, national and other issues are  often  developed  through reference group  Their  influence  is  noticeable especially  during  the  beginning  of adolescence,  at  which  time  it  is important for the individual to feel that s/he belongs to a group. Therefore, the role  of  reference  groups  in  attitude formation may also be a case of learning through reward and punishment.

3.Personal  Experiences  :-  Many  attitudes are   formed,   not   in   the   family environment  or  through  reference groups,  but  through  direct  personal experiences which bring about a drastic change  in  our  attitude  towards  people and  our  own  life.  Here  is  a  real-life example.  A  driver  in  the  army  went through  a  personal  experience  that transformed his life. On one mission, henarrowly escaped death although all his companions got killed. Wondering about the purpose of his own life, he gave up his  job  in  the  army,  returned  to  hisnative  village  in  Maharashtra,  and worked actively as a community leader.Through  a  purely  personal  experience this individual evolved a strong positive attitude towards community upliftment. His efforts completely changed the face of his village.

4.Media-related Influences :- 

Technological Advances  in  recent  times  have  made audio-visual media and the Internet very powerful  sources  of  information  that lead to attitude formation and change. In addition, school level textbooks also influence  attitude  formation.  These Sources  first  strengthen  the  cognitive and  affective  components  of  attitudes,and  subsequently  may  also  affect  the behavioural component. The 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. On The other hand, there may be no check on  the  nature  of  information being gathered and therefore no control over the attitudes that are being formed, or the  direction  of  change  in  the  existing attitudes.  The  media  can  be  used  to create  consumerist  attitudes  where none existed, and can also be harnessed to create positive attitudes to facilitate social harmony. 

Attitude Change

 During  the  process  of  attitude  formation,and also after this process, attitudes may be changed and modified through various influences.    Some  attitudes  change  more than  others  do.  Attitudes  that  are  still  in the  formative  stage,  and  are  more  like opinions, are much more likely to change compared  to  attitudes  that  have  become firmly established, and have become a part of the individual’s values. From a practical point  of  view,  bringing  about  a  change  in people's  attitudes  is  of  interest  to community leaders, politicians, producers of consumer goods, advertisers, and others. Unless we find out how attitudes change,and  what  conditions  account  for  such change,  it  would  not  be  possible  to  take steps to bring about attitude change.

The  concept  of  cognitive 

 Dissonance was  proposed  by  Leon  Festinger.  It emphasizes the cognitive component. Here The  basic  idea  is  that  the  cognitive components  of  an  attitude  must  be ‘consonant’  (opposite  of  ‘dissonant’),  i.e.,they  should  be  logically  in  line  with  each other.  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, think about    the    following    ideas(‘cognitions’) :-

Cognition I :  Pan masala causes mouth cancer which is fatal.

Cognition II :  I eat pan masala. Holding  these  two  ideas  or  cognitions will make any individual feel that something is ‘out of tune’, or dissonant, in their attitude towards pan masala. Therefore, one of these ideas  will  have  to  be  changed,  so  that consonance can be attained.  In the example given above, in order to remove or reduce the  dissonance,  I  will  stop  eating  pan masala  (change  Cognition  II).  This  would be the healthy, logical and sensible way of reducing dissonance. Festinger  and  Carlsmith,  two  social psychologists,  conducted  an  experiment that  showed  how  cognitive  dissonance works .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.  Each  element  should logically fall in line with other elements.  Ifthis  does  not  happen,  then  the  person experiences a kind of mental discomfort, i.e.the sense that ‘something is not quite right ’in the attitude system. In such a state, some aspect  in  the  attitude  system  changes  in the  direction  of  consistency,  because  our cognitive   system   requires   logical consistency.

The two-step concept was

proposed byS.M.  Mohsin,  an  Indian  psychologist.

According  to  him,  attitude  change  takes place in the form of two steps.  In the first step, the target of change identifies with thesource.  The  ‘target’  is  the  person  whose attitude  is  to  be  changed.  The  ‘source’  is the  person  through  whose  influence  the change  is  to  take  place.  Identification means that the target has liking and regard for  the  source.  S/he  puts  herself/himself in the place ofthe target, and tries to feel like her/him. The source must also have a positive attitude towards the target, and the regard and attraction becomes mutual.  

In the second step, the source herself/himself shows  an  attitude  change,  by  actually changing  her/him  behaviour  towards  the attitude  object.  Observing  the  source changed attitude and behaviour, the target also  shows  an  attitude  change  through behaviour.  This  is  a  kind  of  imitation  or observational learning.Consider the following example of two-step  attitude  change.  Preeti  reads  in  the newspapers that a particular soft drink that she enjoys is extremely harmful.  But Preeti sees  that  her  favourite  sports person  has been advertising the same soft drink. Shehas identified herself with the sportsperson,and  would  like  to  imitate  her/him.  Now,suppose the sportsperson wishes to change people’s  attitude  towards  this  soft  drink from positive to negative.  The sports person must  first  show  positive  feelings  for  her/his fans, and then actually change her/his own  habit  of  consuming  that  soft  drink(Step I) — perhaps by substituting it with a health  drink.  If  the  sports person  actually changes her/his behaviour, it is very likely that now Preeti will also change her attitude and  behaviour,  and  stop  consuming  the harmful soft drink (Step II). 

Factors that Influence Attitude Change 

Whether attitudes will change, and if so, to what extent, is a question that puzzles many psychologists. However, most of them agree upon  the  following  major  factors  that influence attitude change :-

•Characteristics of the existing attitude :

• All  four  properties  of  attitudes  mentioned earlier,  namely,  valence(positivity  or negativity),  extremeness,  simplicity  (multiplexity), and centrality or  significance  of  the  attitude,  determine attitude  change.  

• In  general,  positive attitudes are easier to change than negative attitudes  are  Extreme  attitudes,  and central attitudes are more difficult to change than the less extreme, and peripheral (less significant) attitudes areSimple attitudes are  easier  to  change  than  multiple attitudes are.In addition, one must also consider the direction and extent of attitude change. 

• Attitude change may be congruent —it may change 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). 

•  For Instance, suppose a person has a somewhat positive attitude towards empowerment of women. Reading about a successful womanmay make this attitude more positive. This Would be a congruent change. On the other hand,  an  attitude  change  may  be incongruent — it may change in a direction opposite to the existing attitude (for example,a positive attitude becomes less positive, o'negative, or a negative attitude becomes less negative,  or  positive).   

•  In  the  example  just given, after reading about successful women,a person may think that women might soon become  too  powerful,  and  neglect  their family responsibilities. This may make the person's existing positive attitude towards empowerment  of  women,  less  positive,  or even negative.  If this happens, then it would be a case of incongruent change. It has been found that, in general, congruent changes are  easier  to  bring  about  than  are  the incongruent changes in attitudes.

• Moreover, an attitude may change in the direction  of  the  information  that  is presented, or in a direction opposite to that of  the  information  presented.  Posters Describing the importance of brushing one's teeth would strengthen a positive attitude towards dental care. But if people are shown frightening pictures of dental cavities,  they may  not  believe  the  pictures,  and  may become  less  positive  about  dental  care.

• Research  has  found  that  fear  sometimes works  well  in  convincing  people  but  if  a message generates too much fear, it turns off   the  receiver  and  has  little  persuasive effect.

•Source    characteristics    :    Source Credibility  and  attractiveness  are  two features  that  affect  attitude  change. Attitudes  are  more  likely  to  change  when the message comes from a highly credible source  rather  than  from  a  low-credible source.  For  example,  adults  who  are planning to buy a laptop are more convinced by a computer engineer who points out the special  features  of  a  particular  brand  of laptop, than they would be by a school child who might give the same information. But,if the buyers are themselves schoolchildren,they  may  be  convinced  more  by  another school child advertising a laptop than they would be by a professional giving the same information . In the case of some  products  such  as  cars,  sales  may increase  if  they  are  publicized,  not necessarily  by  experts,  but  by  popular public figures.

•Message  characteristics  :  The  message is the information that is presented in order to bring about an attitude change. Attitudes will change when the amount of information that is given about the topic is just enough,neither too much nor too little. Whether the message  contains  a  rational  or  an emotional appeal, also makes a difference.For example, an advertisement for cooking food  in  a  pressure  cooker  may  point  out that  this  saves  fuel  such  as  cooking  gas(LPG) and is economical (rational appeal).Alternatively,  the  advertisement  may  say that pressure-cooking preserves nutrition,and that if one cares for the family, nutrition would  be  a  major  concern  (emotional appeal).The motives activated by the message also  determine  attitude  change. 

Target characteristics : Qualities of the target,  such  as  persuasibility,  strong prejudices, self-esteem,and intelligence influence  the  likelihood  and  extent  of attitude change. People, who have a more open and flexible personality, change more easily. Advertisers benefit most from such people.  People  with  strong  prejudices  are less prone to any attitude change than those who do not hold strong prejudices.  Persons who have low self-esteem, and do not have sufficient confidence in themselves, change their attitudes more easily than those who are  high  on  self-esteem.  More  intelligent people may change their attitudes less easily than those with lower intelligence. However,sometimes more intelligent persons change their  attitudes  more  willingly  than  less intelligent  ones,  because  they  base  their attitude on more information and thinking.

Attitude-Behaviour  Relationship

We  usually  expect  behaviour  to  follow logically  from  attitudes.  However,  anindividual’s  attitudes  may  not  always  be exhibited  through  behaviour.  Likewise,one’s actual behaviour may be contrary to one's attitude towards a particular topic. Psychologists  have  found  that  there would be consistency between attitudes and behaviour when :

• Ahe  attitude  is  strong,  and  occupies  a central place in the attitude system, the person is  aware of her/his attitude,

• There is very little or no external pressure for the person to behave in a particular way.  For  example,  when  there  is  no group  pressure  to  follow  a  particular norm.

• The person’s  behaviour  is  not  being watched or evaluated by others, and the  person  thinks  that  the  behaviour would have a positive consequence, and therefore,  intends  to  engage  in that behaviour.

PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION

• Prejudices  are  examples  of  attitudes towards  a  particular  group.  They  are usually negative, and in many cases, may be  based  on  stereotypes  (the  cognitive component) about the specific group. As will be discussed below in the section on social cognition, a stereotype is a cluster of ideas regarding  the  characteristics  of  a  specific group.  

• All  members  belonging  to  this group  are  assumed  to  possess  these characteristics.  Often,  stereotypes  consist of  undesirable  characteristics  about  the target  group,  and  they  lead  to  negative attitudes  or  prejudices  towards  members of specific groups.

•  The cognitive component of prejudice is frequently accompanied by dislike or hatred, the affective component. Prejudice  may  also  get  translated  into discrimination, the behavioural component, whereby  people  behave  in  a  less  positive way  towards  a  particular  target  group compared  to  another  group  which  they favour.  

• History  contains  numerous examples  of  discrimination  based  on  raceand  social  class  or  caste.  The  genocidecommitted by the Nazis in Germany against Jewish people is an extreme example of how prejudice can lead to hatred, discriminationand mass killing of innocent people.

Social  psychologists  have  shown  that prejudice has one or more of the following sources :-

•Learning:   Like   other   attitudes, prejudices can also be learned through association,  reward  and  punishment, observing  others,  group  or  cultural norms and exposure to information that encourages  prejudice.  The  family, reference groups, personal experiences and  the  media  may  play  a  role  in  the learning  of  prejudices  (see  section  on ‘Attitude'  Formation  and  Change’). People  who  learn  prejudiced  attitudes may develop a ‘prejudiced personality’,and  show  low  adjusting  capacity,anxiety, and feelings of hostility against the out group.

Individuals who have a strong sense of social identity and have a very positive attitude towards their own group boost this  attitude  by  holding  negative attitudes  towards  other  groups.  These Are shown as prejudices.

•Scapegoating :- This is a phenomenon by which  the  majority  group  places  the blame on a minority outgroup for its own social,  economic  or  political  problems. The minority is too weak or too small in number to defend  itself  against  such accusations.  Scapegoating  is  a  group-based way of expressing frustration, and it often results in negative attitudes or prejudice against the weaker group.

•Kernel  of  truth  concept  :-  Sometimes people may continue to hold stereotypes because they think that, after all, there must be some truth, or ‘kernel of truth' in what everyone says about the other group.  Even  a  few  examples  are sufficient to support the ‘kernel of truth' idea.

•Self-fulfilling prophecy :-  In some cases,the group that is the target of prejudice is  itself  responsible  for  continuing  the prejudice.  The target group may behave in ways that justify the prejudice, thatis,  confirm  the  negative  expectations. For  example,  if  the  target  group  is described as ‘dependent’ and therefore unable to make progress, the members of this target group may actually behave in a way that proves this description tobe  true.    In  this  way,  they  strengthen the existing prejudice.

STRATEGIES FOR HANDLING PREJUDICE

Knowing about the causes or sources would be the first step in handling prejudice. Thus,the strategies for handling prejudice would be effective if they aim at :-

(a)minimising  opportunities  for  learning prejudices,

(b)changing such attitudes,

(c)de-emphasising a narrow social identity based on the ingroup, and

(d)discouraging the tendency towards self-fulfilling prophecy among the victims of     prejudice.

These  goals  can  be  accomplished through :-

•Education        and        information dissemination, for correcting stereotypes related  to  specific  target  groups, and tackling the problem of a strong ingroup bias.

•Increasing intergroup contact allows for direct  communication,  removal  of mistrust between the groups, and even discovery  of  positive  qualities  in  the outgroup. However, these strategies are successful only if :-the two groups meet in a cooperative rather than competitive context,-close  interactions  between  the groups  helps  them  to  know  eachother better, and-the  two  groups  are  not  different  in power or status.

•Highlighting  individual  identity  rather than group identity, thus weakening the importance of group (both ingroup and outgroup)  as  a  basis  of  evaluating  the other person.  More details about social identity  and  intergroup  conflict  have been presented in the next chapter onSocial Influence and Group Processes.

SOCIAL COGNITION

‘Cognition’  refers  to  all  those  mental processes  that  deal  with  obtaining  and processing  of  information.  Extending  this idea  to  the  social  world,  the  term  ‘social cognition’ refers to all those psychological processes that deal with the gathering and processing of information related to social objects. These include all the processes that help  in  understanding,  explaining  and interpreting social behaviour.The processing of information related to social  objects  (particularly  individuals,groups, people, relationships, social issues,and the like) differs from the processing of information  related  to  physical  objects. People  as  social  objects  may  themselves change as the cognitive process takes place. For  instance,  a  teacher  who  observes  a student  in  school  may  draw  conclusions about her/him that are quite different from the  conclusions  drawn  by  the  student's.

SOCIAL COGNITION

‘Cognition’  refers  to  all  those  mental processes  that  deal  with  obtaining  and processing  of  information.  Extending  this idea  to  the  social  world,  the  term  ‘social cognition’ refers to all those psychological processes that deal with the gathering and processing of information related to social objects. These include all the processes that help  in  understanding,  explaining  and interpreting social behaviour.

SCHEMAS AND STEREOTYPE 

schema is defined as a mental structure that provides a framework, set of rules or guidelines for processing information about any object.  Schemas (or ‘schemata’) are the basic  units  stored  in  our  memory,  and function as shorthand ways of processing information,  thus  reducing  the  time  and mental effort required in cognition. In the case of social cognition, the basic units are social  schemas.  Some  attitudes  may  also function like social schemas.  We use many different schemas, and come to know about them through analysis and examples. Most of the schemas are in the form of categories  or  classes.  Schemas  that function in the form of categories are called prototypes,  which  are  the  entire  set  of features or qualities that help us to define an  object  completely.  In  social  cognition, category-based schemas that are related to groups  of  people  are  called  stereotypes.These are category-based schemas that are overgeneralized,  are  not  directly  verified,and  do  not  allow  for  exceptions.  For Example,  suppose  you  have  to  define  a group G. If you have never directly known or interacted with a member of this group,you  will  most  likely  use  your  ‘general knowledge’  about  the  typical  member  of group G.  To that information you will add your likes and dislikes.  If you have heard more positive things about group G, then your social schema about the whole group will be more positive than negative. On the other hand, if you have heard more negative things about group G, your social schema will be in the form of a negative stereotype.The inferences you have drawn are not the result  of  your  logical  thinking  or  direct experience, but are based on preconceived ideas  about  a  particular  group.  The  next time  you  actually  meet  a  member  of group  G,  your  impression  of  this  person,and  your  behaviour  towards  her/him  will be  influenced  by  your  stereotype.  It  was mentioned earlier that stereotypes provide fertile ground for the growth of prejudices and  biases  against  specific  groups.  But Prejudices  can  also  develop  without stereotypes.

IMPRESSION FORMATION AND EXPLAINING BEHAVIOUR OF OTHERS THROUGH ATTRIBUTIONS

Every  social  interaction  begins  with  the formation  of  an  impression  about  the person(s)  we  meet.  Public  figures  and applicants appearing for job interviews are good  examples  that  show  it  is  very important to ‘make a good impression’ on others.  The  process  of  coming  to  know  a person  can  be  broadly  divided  into two  parts:-  

(a)  Impression  formation,  and

(b) Attribution.

The  person  who  forms  the  impression is  called  the  perceiver.    The  individual about  whom  the  impression  is  formed  is called  the  target.  The  perceiver  gathers information,  or  responds  to  a  given information,  about  the  qualities  of  the target,  organises  this  information,  and draws inferences about the target.In attribution, the perceiver goes further,and explains why the target behaved in a particular  way.  Attaching  or  assigning  a cause for the target’s behaviour is the main idea  in  attribution.  Often  perceivers  mayform only an impression about the target,but  if  the  situation  requires  it,  they  may also make attributions to the target.

 Impression formation and attribution are influenced by:-

The nature  of  information  available  to the perceiver,

• social  schemas  in  the  perceiver(including stereotypes),

• personality  characteristics  of  the perceiver, and

• situational factors.

Impression  FormationThe  following  aspects  have  been  found  in impression formation :-

•The  process  of  impression  formation consists  of  the  following  three  sub-processes :-

(a)Selection : we take into account only some  bits  of  information  about  the target person,

(b)Organisation:     The     selected information  is  combined  in  a systematic way, and

(c)Inference  :  we  draw  a  conclusion about  what  kind  of  person  the target is.

•Some  specific  qualities  influence impression formation more than other traits do.

•The  order  or  sequence  in  which information is presented affects the time of impression formed. Mostly, the information presented first  has  a stronger  effect  than  the  information presented at the end. This is called the primacy effect (first impressions are the lasting  impressions).  However,  if  the receiver may be asked to pay attention to  all  the  information,  and  not  merely to  the  first  information,  whatever information comes at the end may have a stronger influence.  This is known as the recency effect.

Attribution of CausalityAfter  forming  an  impression,  we  often  go through the process of assigning causes to a  person’s  behaviour.  This  is  also  a systematic  process,  as  indicated  by  the research  done  on  attribution.  

The Following aspects of attribution have been found.

•When  we  assign  a  cause  to  a  person's behaviour,  we  can  broadly  classify  the cause  as  being  internal  —  something within  the  person,  or  external—something  outside  the  person.  For Example,  if  we  see  a  person  A  hitting another person B, as observers we may explain the hitting behaviour by saying that

  (i)  A  hit  B  because  A  is  a  hot-tempered person, which is an internal(personality-related) cause, or that (ii) A hit B because B behaved in a nasty way. Which is an external, situational cause.

BEHAVIOUR IN THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS

One  of  the  first  observations  made  about social behaviour was that performance on specific  tasks  is  influenced  by  the  mere presence  of  others.  This  is  called  social facilitation. For example, Reena is about to participate in a music contest. She is very talented,  yet  she  is  feeling  very  nervous about  the  event.  If  you  were  in  Reena's Place, would you perform better in front of an  audience,  or  when  you  are  alone?  Asearly  as  1897,  Norman  Triplett  observed that  individuals  show  better  performance in the presence of others, than when they are  performing  the  same  task  alone.  For Instance,  cyclists  racing  with  each  other perform better than when they cycle alone. With time more details came to be known about this phenomenon.

•Better  performance  in  the  presence  of others is because the person experiences arousal, which makes the person reactin  a  more  intense  manner.  This explanation  was  given  by  Zajonc  (this name  is  pronounced  to  rhyme  with science').

•The arousal is because the person feels she  or  he  is  being  evaluated.  Cottrell Called     this     idea     evaluation apprehension.  The  person  will  be praised  if  the  performance  is  good(reward),  or  criticised  if  it  is  bad(punishment).  We wish to get praise and avoid  criticism,  therefore  we  try  to perform well and avoid mistakes.

•The nature of the task to be performed also  affects  the  performance  in  the presence of others. For example, in the case  of  a  simple  or  familiar  task,  the person is more sure of performing well,and the eagerness to get praise or reward is stronger. So the individual performs better  in  the  presence  of  others  than s/he does when alone. But in the case of  a  complex  or  new  task,  the  person may be afraid of making mistakes. The fear of  criticism  or  punishment  is stronger.  So  the  individual  performs worse  in  the  presence  of  others  than s/he does when alone.

•If the others present are also performing the same task, this is called a situation of co-action.  In this situation, there is social  comparison  and  competition.Once again, when the task is simple or a  familiar  one,  performance  is  better under co-action than when the person is alone.

In  short,  task  performance  can  be facilitated and improved, or inhibited and worsened by the presence of others. Many Other  kinds  of  social  influence  have  been noticed.  For  example,  if  we  are  working together  in  a  group,  the  larger  the  group,the  less  effort  each  member  puts  in. This phenomenon is called social loafing.

PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

Throughout the world, doing good to others and being helpful is described as a virtue. All religions teach us that we should help those  who  are  in  need.  This  behaviour  is called helping or pro-social behaviour. Pro-social behaviour is very similar to ‘altruism’,which  means  doing  something  for  or thinking about the welfare of others without any  self-interest  (in  Latin  ‘alter’  means ‘other’,  the  opposite  of  ‘ego’  which  means ‘self’). Some common examples of prosocial behaviour are sharing things, cooperating with  others,  helping  during  natural calamities,  showing  sympathy,  doing favours  to  others,  and  making    behaviour  has  the  following characteristics. It must :

•aim  to  benefit  or  do  good  to  another person or other persons,

•be done without expecting anything in return,

•be done willingly by the person, and not because of any kind of pressure, and

•involve  some  difficulty  or  ‘cost’  to  the person giving help.

FACTOR INFLUENCING PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

•Prosocial  behaviour  is  based  on  aninborn,  natural  tendency  in  human beings  to  help  other  members  of  their own  species.  This  inborn  tendency facilitates survival of the species.

•Pro-social  behaviour  is  influenced  by learning.  Individuals  who  are  brought up  in  a  family  environment  that  sets examples of helping others, emphasises helping  as  a  value,  and  praises helpfulness,  and  showing  more  pro-social  behaviour  than  individuals  who are brought up in a family environment devoid of these features.

•Cultural  factors  influence  pro-social behaviour.  Some  cultures  actively encourage people to help the needy and distressed.  In  cultures  that  encourage independence, individuals will show lesspro-social behaviour, because people are expected to take care of themselves, and not  to  depend  on  help  from  others. Individuals in cultures suffering from a shortage  of  resources  may  not  show  a high level of pro-social behaviour.

Pro-social behaviour is expressed when the  situation  activates  certain  social norms  that  require  helping  others.

Three  norms  have  been  mentioned  in the context of pro-social behaviour :-

(a)The norm of social responsibility :We  should  help  anyone  who  needs help, without considering any other factor.

(b)The norm of reciprocity : We should help those persons who have helped us in the past.

(c)The norm of equity : We should help others whenever we find that it is fair to do so.  For example, many of us may feel that it is more fair to help a person  who  has  lost  all  belongings in a flood, than to help a person who has   lost   everything   throughgambling.

•Pro-social  behaviour  is  affected  by  the expected reactions of the person who is being helped. For example, people might be  unwilling  to  give  money  to  a  needy person because they feel that the person might  feel  insulted,  or  may  become dependent.

•Pro-social behaviour is more likely to be shown by individuals who have a high level of empathy, that is, the capacity to feel the distress of the person who is to be helped, such as Baba Saheb Amteand Mother Teresa. Pro-social behaviour is  also  more  likely  in  situations  that arouse empathy, such as the picture of starving children in a famine.

•Pro-social behaviour may be reduced by factors such as a bad mood, being busy with one’s own problems, or feeling that the  person  to  be  helped  is  responsible for her/his own situation (that is, when an internal attribution is made for the need state of the other person).

•Pro-social  behaviour  may  also  be reduced when the number of bystanders is  more  than  one.  For  example,  the victim of a road accident sometimes does not get  help  because  there  are  many people standing around the scene of the accident.  Each person thinks that it isn't her/his responsibility alone to give help,  and  that  someone  else  may  take the responsibility. This phenomenon is called  diffusion  of  responsibility.  On The  other  hand,  if  there  is  only  one bystander, this person is more likely to take the responsibility and actually help the victim.

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