Recent Research with Regard to the Relationship Between Behaviours and Attitudes - Essay Example

Discuss recent research with regard to the relationship between behaviours and attitudes, explaining how and why the two concepts are not always in-line. Name Class Professor Institution City State Date Discuss recent research with regard to the relationship between behaviours and attitudes, explaining how and why the two concepts are not always in-line. Social psychologists have established that attitudes and behaviour are not always consistent (Callaghan & Lazzard, 2011). For instance, in an election many people support a candidate because they believe their ideas are good. These same people fail to get out and vote in favour of their preferred candidates. The connection between attitudes and behaviour is a popular area of research in psychology. This paper first discusses four theoretical frameworks on which the said research is based, namely the theories of planned behaviour and reasoned action, the model of health belief and the motivation and opportunity as determinants (MODE) model. Thereafter, I present several circumstances under which attitudes may fail to determine behaviour such that the reverse happens: behaviour shapes attitude. The reader is instructed to note that these circumstances also represent those cases when attitudes and behaviour are not in line. The Health Belief Model is based on the motivation of the individual and the way they perceive the world around them. It assumes that the individual acts because they desire to maintain good health and believes that chances of success are good (Julinawati, Cawley, Domegan, Brenner, & Rowan, 2013). The model describes the process of making a decision under conditions of uncertainty. Discussions of the health belief model are common in secondary sources. However, while it is easy to find summary descriptions of the model, it is quite hard to come across the actual research papers on which the majority of the summaries are based. Theory of Reasoned Action(TRA) is a model for predicting the intentions behind actions(Hini, Gendall, &Kearns, 1995). The model distinguishes between behaviours and the motives behind them, thereby making it possible to explain the disparity between behaviour and actions. Martin Fishbein developed the theory together with Icek Ajzen in 1975 out of the frustrating realization among social psychologists that there was only a weak link between attitudes and behaviour, contrary to the popular belief that attitudes inform behaviour (Hini, Gendall &Kearns, 1995). Under given circumstances, there exists a correlation between behaviour and the motive behind it. However, empirical studies have revealed that the alleged correlation is very weak, averaging 0.45 for eleven studies. Icek Ajzen developed the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in 1985, building on their theory of reasoned action (Holst &Iversen, 2011). If a person perceives a behaviour as positive and believes that their significant other expects them to perform the behaviour, then, they are more likely to perform it(Holst & Iversen, 2011). A major shortcoming of TPB is that it is causal, due to the alleged cause-effect relationship between the constructs of intention and attitude. However, in empirical studies, the direction of causality is unclear. Fazio first proposed the Motivation and Opportunity as Determinants (MODE) modelling 1990 (Fazio & Olson, 2011). It aims to describe the multiple processes via which attitudes can influence judgments and behaviour(Fazio & Olson, 2011). The model identifies and focuses on two of these processes: spontaneous and deliberative processes. Motivation and opportunity are the main determinants of the process that applies. In the spontaneous process, attitudes determine behaviour without a conscious thought process. By contrast, in the deliberative process, the individual contemplates on the costs and benefits of pursuing a given action. Several circumstances under which attitudes fail to influence behaviour and instead, behaviours define attitude are evident. Cognitive dissonance refers to the state of psychological discomfort that a person experiences immediately after making a decision out of several other alternative decisions(Monteoliva, García-Martínez, Calvo-Salgeuro, & Aguilar-Luzón, 2012). The making of the decision constitutes an action or a behaviour. The discomfort is greater where the person deems their decision imperfect, based on their sets of values and attitudes. . In a bid to end the discomfort, the person searches for justifications for their imperfect decision. Usually, the justification entails the modification of the person’s attitudes. Consider a Christian motorist who believes that giving or receiving a bribe is a sin and must be avoided. One day, the motorist is stopped by a traffic policeman. The police officer solicits a bribe of $200 and indicates that if the motorist declines to pay the bribe, the officer will see to it that they pay a fine of $2,000. Should the motorist decide to bribe the officer, they will have to look for excuses to justify their acting against the attitude toward bribes. We observe how a person acts in a given situation then we make conclusions whether their behaviour is attributable to their traits and attitudes or to environmental factors. The theory of dissonance has attracted much research attention. However, an even simpler theoretical framework explains when and how attitudes and behaviour may not be in line. We make inferences about the attitudes of other people all the time(Gardner, 2006). For example, a politician who gets involved in a scandal may resign from office at their volition, or they may be forced by the public to do so. The theory of self-perception, proposed in 1972 by Daryl Bem, we make similar inferences about ourselves (Gadner, 2006). We also discern our attitudes. Our actions, and sometimes listening to ourselves talk, reveal our attitudes. This is especially true when we cannot associate our behaviour with external forces. Most of us are greatly concerned about what other people think of us(Simo, Enache, Sallan, & Fernandez, 2014). This is partly the reason people spend a significant proportion of their income on clothes and cosmetics. It also partly explains why some people will spend a fortune to procure plastic surgery. People strive to create a good impression in order to win social and physical rewards, to improve how they feel about themselves, or even to enhance their social identities. Cumulatively, all these things tend to make people act contrary to their attitudes. For instance, a woman who would ordinarily dress conservatively because of their upbringing may otherwise go for the latest fashions in order to appear fashionable among their friends. At the same time, most people want to be seen to be consistent in their behaviour and actions. To attain that consistency, they may act in a manner that contradicts their attitudes. Society expects certain behaviour and actions of a person in a given social position(Wood, Conner, Sanberg, Godin, & Sheeran, 2014). Whenever we step into a new social role, society expects us to behave and act accordingly. Fortunately, the unease is usually short-lived. For instance, for their first week in campus, a freshman may be hypersensitive to their new environment and try very hard to behave in a manner to say they are no longer in high-school. They are unusually conscious of themselves. They pay a lot of unnecessary attention to their actions and speech because they are unnatural to them. The freshman discovers they no longer strive too hard in the simplest of things like conversing with a classmate. They begin to fit their new role. Social movements have a way of fashioning the attitudes of members of the public(Gardner, 2006). In Nazi Germany, many Germans attended Nazi rallies, wore Nazi uniforms, demonstrated and exclaimed “Heil Hitler” even though they did not support the ideologies of Nazism(Gardner, 2006). There was a great disparity between beliefs and behaviour. The practice is not limited to post-World War I dictatorships. Even today, the singing of the national anthem by schoolchildren creates in them a personal sense of patriotism. Many people believe that social indoctrination is achieved through rigorous brainwashing. On the contrary, it is realized through simple routine like the schoolchildren singing the national anthem. Most people will recall of at least one time when, upon deciding to volunteer for a cause, project or organization, they ended up more involved than they had intended in the first place. Experiments suggest that if you want a person to do you a big favour, first ask them to do you a small favor(Stedmon, Winslow, & Langley, 2013). In 1974, Patricia Pliner and their colleagues found that, when approached directly, 46% of suburban residents of Toronto were willing to donate to the Cancer Society (Stedmon, Winslow, & Langley, 2013). Others were asked day earlier to put on a lapel pin promoting the drive. All of them agreed. When approached the following day to donate, they were twice as likely to donate(Stedmon, Winslow, & Langley, 2013). Sometimes, the pressure exerted by society or peers can propel a person to act contrary to their body of attitudes. This is evident in children and teenagers whose attitudes have not developed to maturity(Bebetsos, Papaioannou, & Theodorakis, 2003). Peer pressure, on the other hand, is less of a problem for adults as they have fairly established attitudes with respect to several matters. One way through which societal pressure manifests itself is through the media, both electronic and print. A Christian teenager who has been trained to know that premarital sex is a sin may, nevertheless, engage in sexual activity if they come into sudden contact with sexual material in the media. Popular notion holds that people behave in a manner that is consistent with the attitudes they hold. But it is not always true that attitudes determine behaviour. The subject of the connection between attitudes and behaviour has continued to receive much research interest among social psychologists. Four major theories underpin the research: the model of health belief, the theories of reasoned action (TRA) and planned behaviour, and the motivation and opportunity as determinants (MODE) model. Based on these theories, several circumstances under which attitudes and behaviour have been identified. These include cognitive dissonance, social and peer pressure, social movements, the foot-in-the-door syndrome and self-presentation among others. References Bebetsos, E., Papaioannou, A., & Theodorakis, Y. (2003). University Students’ Attitudes and Behaviours Towards Smoking and Exercise. European Journal of Physical Education, 8(1) 29-51. Callaghan, J., & Lazzard, L. (2011). Social Psychology. London: Sage. Fazio, R., & Olson, M. (2011). The MODE Model: Attitude-Behavior Processes as a Function of Motivation and Opportunity. Columbus: Ohio State University. Gardner, P. (2006). Attitude Measurement a Critique of Some Recent Research. Educational Research, 17(2), 101-109. Hini, D., Gendall, P., & Kearns, Z. (1995). The Link between Environmental Attitudes and Behavior. Marketing Bulletin, 6(3),22-31. Holst, A., & Iversen, J. M. (2011). An Application of a Revised Theory of Planned Behavior: Predicting the Intention to Use Personal Care Products without Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School. Julinawati, S., Cawley, D., Domegan, C., Brenner, M., & Rowan, N. (2013). A Review of the Perceived Barriers within the Health Belief Model on Pap Smear Screening as a Cervical Cancer Prevention Measure. Journal of Asian Scientific Research, 3(6),677-692. Monteoliva, A., García-Martínez, M., Calvo-Salgeuro, A., & Aguilar-Luzón, M.-d.-C. (2012). Differences between men and women with a dismissing attachment style regarding their attitudes and behaviour in romantic relationships. International Journal of Psychology, 47(3), 335-345. Simo, P., Enache, M., Sallan, J., & Fernandez, V. (2014). Relations between organizational commitment and focal and discretionary behaviours. The Service Industries Journal, 34(5)422-438. Stedmon, A., Winslow, R., & Langley, A. (2013). Micro-generation schemes: user behaviours and attitudes towards energy consumption. Ergonomics, 56(3)289-303. Wood, C., Conner, M., Sanberg, T., Godin, G., & Sheeran, P. (2014). Why does asking questions change health behaviours? The mediating role of attitude accessibility. Psychology & Health, 29(4)390-404. Read More