introduction results discussion method

INTRODUCTION

Attitude certainty as a function of mere thought and group identification

The more certainty individuals have about their attitudes, the more extreme those attitudes tend to be (Tormala & Rucker, 2007). In-Group vs. Out-Group Identification Individuals derive their social identity from in-groups rather than out-groups (Dovidio & Gaertner 2010). Individuals show favoritism toward in-groups and - sometimes - hostility toward out-groups (Dovidio & Gaertner 2010). Hypotheses Increased thought about groups should produce stronger attitudes about those groups. With thought, individuals should have stronger favorable attitudes about in-groups and stronger unfavorable attitudes about out-groups.

160 total. 29 males and 130 females. 60% Caucasian. 68% 18-22 years of age.

Initial attitude ratings

Attitude Certainty: 7-point Likert-type scale. Consists of 5 questions.

120 second thought condition

240 second thought condition

Iraqi defense soldiers (out-group)

American soldiers (in-group)

Post-thought measures

Iraqi defense soldiers (out-group)

“Overall, how much confidence do you have in your beliefs about this group?” “Overall, how certain are you about your beliefs about this group?” Attitude Valence: Attitudes assessed using a 15-point Likert-type scale. (-7) “Extremely unfavorable” (-4) “Moderately unfavorable” (0) “Neutral/no opinion” (4) “Moderately favorable” (7) “Extremely favorable”

50

50

45

In-group. Out-group

40

35

30

Initially unfavorable attitudes

45

In-group. Out-group

40

35

30

240 seconds 120 seconds Thought condition

240 seconds 120 seconds Thought condition

Attitude valence as a function of mere thought and group identification 0.9

Initially favorable attitudes

0.9

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2

In-group. Out-group

0.1 -0 -0.1 -0.2 -0.3 -0.4

-0.7

Initially unfavorable attitudes

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3

In-group Out-group

0.2 0.1 -0 -0.1 -0.2 -0.3 -0.4

-0.5 -0.6

Participants:

METHOD

Initially favorable attitudes

Attitude valence

Attitude certainty is one of several indices of attitude strength (Tormala & Rucker, 2007).

Attitude certainty

Attitude Certainty

Attitude valence

Initially favorable attitudes and initially unfavorable attitudes become stronger with thought (Tesser, Martin, & Mendolia, 1995).

RESULTS

55

Attitude certainty

Self-Generated Attitude Change

American soldiers (in-group)

Matthew Valente and Christopher Leone

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

METHOD

INTRODUCTION

Self-Generated Attitude Change and Intergroup Relations: Some Effects of Thought and Cross-Categorization

-0.5 -0.6

240 seconds 120 seconds Thought condition

-0.7

120 seconds 240 seconds Thought condition

DISCUSSION Cross-Categorization Actual groups tend to differ from one another on more than one dimension. Although some dimensions such as nationality are naturally easier to detect than others, there are other dimensions that may be equally if not more important (e.g., values concerning democracy). In cross-categorization, a group is evaluated on more than one dichotomous dimension as either an ingroup or an out-group on each dimension. Cross-categorization can sometimes reduce intergroup bias (Dovidio & Gaertner 2010). Self-Generated Attitude Change When attitude strength is measured in more than one way (i.e., valence vs. certainty), we observe different patterns of thought on polarization. For certainty, thought had a bigger impact on attitudes about out-groups than attitudes about in-groups. For valence, thought had an equal impact on attitudes about both in-groups and out-groups.