4.2 Attitude Formation and Attitude Change

Explain how stereotypes and implicit attitudes contribute to the behaviors and mental processes of prejudice and discrimination.

• A stereotype is a generalized concept about a group. Stereotypes can help reduce cognitive load when making decisions or judgments. Stereotypes can be the cause and/or result of biased perceptions and experiences and are frequently the basis of prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory behaviors.
• Implicit attitudes are those that individuals hold but may be unaware of or may not acknowledge. Research has focused on how implicit attitudes reflect negative evaluations of others, as demonstrated by the just-world phenomenon, out-group homogeneity bias, ingroup bias, or ethnocentrism.

Explain how belief perseverance and cognitive dissonance apply to attitude formation and change.

• Belief perseverance occurs when a belief persists even if evidence suggests it is not accurate. People experiencing belief perseverance may engage in confirmation bias, thereby clinging to an attitude or belief regardless of the evidence for or against it.
• Cognitive dissonance refers to the mental discomfort that occurs when actions or attitudes are in conflict. People are motivated to reduce the discomfort by changing either actions or attitudes to be more in line with each other.