Attitude Change and Persuasive Communication

Attitude change is a common phenomenon that refers to modifying an individual's feelings, beliefs, and evaluations towards a particular object, person, or event. Attitude change can occur due to a variety of factors, including persuasive communication.

Persuasive communication refers to messages that are designed to influence an individual's attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. Persuasion can take many forms, including advertising, political campaigns, and interpersonal communication. One of the key factors that contribute to the effectiveness of persuasive messages is the source of the message. Individuals are more likely to be influenced by messages from credible, trustworthy, and likable sources.

Another important factor that contributes to attitude change is the type of message. Messages that are argumentative and provide strong evidence and reasoning tend to be more effective at influencing attitudes than messages that simply express personal opinions or emotional appeals. Additionally, messages tailored to the target audience's specific beliefs and attitudes are also more likely to be effective at changing attitudes.

However, attitude change is not always easy to achieve, as individuals often have well-established attitudes and beliefs that are resistant to change. One approach to overcoming this resistance is to use social influence, by exposing individuals to messages from others who hold similar attitudes or beliefs. This can increase the perceived normative pressure to adopt a particular attitude, leading to attitude change.

References

1. Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 123-205.
2. Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.
3. Cialdini, R. B. (2001). Influence: Science and practice (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Attitudes: Components and Measurement by Thurstone, Likert and Semantic Differential Scales

Introduction

Attitudes are complex psychological constructs that reflect an individual's positive or negative feelings, beliefs, and evaluations about a particular object, person, or event. Attitudes are crucial in shaping behaviour and influencing information processing and decision-making. To better understand attitudes, researchers have developed various frameworks and measurement tools to assess them.

Components and Measurement by Thurstone

One of the earliest frameworks for understanding attitudes was developed by Louis Thurstone, who identified seven primary attitudes that individuals hold: pleasure, displeasure, approval, disapproval, favourable, unfavourable, and neutral attitude. According to Thurstone, attitudes can be measured by determining the strength of an individual's feelings towards an object or event, with stronger attitudes indicating more intense feelings and evaluations.

Likert Scale

Another framework for understanding attitudes was developed by Rensis Likert, who introduced the Likert scale. The Likert scale is a type of rating scale that measures attitudes by asking individuals to rate their agreement or disagreement with a series of statements about an object or event. This type of scale is widely used in attitude research and is considered to be a reliable and valid measure of attitudes.

Semantic Differential Scale

Finally, the semantic differential scale is another measurement tool that is used to assess attitudes. The semantic differential scale measures attitudes by asking individuals to rate an object or event along a series of bipolar adjective pairs, such as good-bad, pleasant-unpleasant, and positive-negative. This type of scale is designed to capture the nuanced and complex nature of attitudes, as it takes into account the various dimensions and evaluations that individuals hold.

References

1. Thurstone, L. L. (1928). Attitudes can be measured. American Journal of Sociology, 33(6), 529-554.
2. Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 140, 1-55.
3. Osgood, C. E., Suci, G. J., & Tannenbaum, P. H. (1957). The measurement of meaning. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Optimal Conditions for Observational Learning

Observational learning, also known as social learning or modelling, refers to the process of acquiring new information or behaviours through observing others. The following conditions have been identified as optimal for observational learning:

1. Attention: The observer must observe and learn from the modelled behaviour by paying attention. (Bandura, 1977)
2. Retention: The observer must be able to retain the information observed to use it in the future. (Bandura, 1977)
3. Reproduction: The observer must have the physical and cognitive abilities necessary to reproduce the observed behaviour. (Bandura, 1977)
4. Motivation: The observer must be motivated to perform the observed behaviour. This can include intrinsic motivation (e.g., personal interest in the behaviour) and extrinsic motivation (e.g., rewards or punishments associated with the behaviour). (Bandura, 1977)
5. Relevance: The observer must perceive the behaviour as relevant to their own life to be motivated to learn from it. (Bandura, 1977)

References:

1. Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Leeds Dependence Questionnaire

Raistrick, Bradshaw, Tober, Weiner, Allison, Healey | 1994 

A self-report instrument called the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (LDQ) assesses the level of dependence in people with substance use disorders. The questionnaire was created by a research team at the University of Leeds in the UK and released for the first time in 1994.

The LDQ has 20 questions that look at many aspects of drug dependence, such as how much a person's drug use gets in the way of their daily lives, how strong their need is, how important the drug is to them, and how much they can control how much they use.

Usually given as a self-report questionnaire, the LDQ takes between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. The responses are evaluated from "not at all" to "always." The overall score, which reflects the intensity of the reliance, is created by adding the scores from each item.

The LDQ has been used in numerous research to evaluate the degree of dependence in people with substance use disorders and has been shown to have strong reliability and validity. The questionnaire has also been utilised in international studies and translated into several languages.

To sum up, the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire can help people with substance use disorders figure out how much they depend on a substance. It is a reliable and valid tool that gives useful information about the type and severity of addiction and can help with treatment planning and making decisions.

Reference

Raistrick, D.S., Bradshaw, J., Tober, G., Weiner, J., Allison, J. & Healey, C. (1994) Development of the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire, Addiction, 89, pp 563-572. 

Hypofrontality in Schizophrenia

Hypofrontality, or reduced activity in the brain's frontal lobes, is a well-established feature of schizophrenia. The frontal lobes are responsible for various executive functions, such as planning, decision-making, working memory, and inhibitory control, which are often impaired in individuals with schizophrenia.

Proposed mechanisms

Several studies using neuroimaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have shown reduced activation or metabolism in the frontal lobes of individuals with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. This hypofrontality has been linked to the negative symptoms and cognitive impairments commonly observed in schizophrenia.

• reduced blood flow
• reduced dopaminergic activation
• reduced metabolism

However, it is important to note that hypofrontality's exact nature and causes in schizophrenia are not yet fully understood and require further research. Additionally, hypofrontality is not specific to schizophrenia and may also be present in other psychiatric conditions.

References

1. Lawrie, S. M., & Abukmeil, S. S. (1998). Brain abnormality in schizophrenia: a systematic and quantitative review of volumetric magnetic resonance imaging studies. British Journal of Psychiatry, 172(05), 110-120.
2. Peltier, S., & Casanova, M. F. (2015). The anatomy of schizophrenia: A review of structural brain imaging studies. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 21(4), 235-255.