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Lanzalotta dissertation 9.20.21.pdf (745.89 KB)

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Perceiving Others with Difficult to Change Attitudes: Implications for Morality, Advocacy, and Hypocrisy

Lanzalotta, Jaroth
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1632317196303674

Abstract Details

2021, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Although decades of research have examined how the perceptions of one’s own attitude (i.e., as moral, certain, etc.) influence attitude-relevant thoughts and behavior, little is known about the consequences of perceiving these features in the attitudes of others. The present research investigates how perceptions of the strength of others’ attitudes impact interpersonal inferences. Specifically, the present research demonstrates that targets perceived to hold morally-based attitudes, as well as confident attitudes, are inferred to be less likely to change their attitudes. More importantly, two important consequences of this inference are highlighted. First, people are disinclined to engage in attitude-relevant advocacy with people who hold morally-based or attitudes held with certainty due to the inferred difficulty to change the attitude. Second, when individuals with morally-based or certain attitudes contradict themselves, they are more likely to be judged as hypocritical due to the greater surprise at such an attitudinal inconsistency. In an initial pilot study, we provide evidence that the perceived morality of another person’s attitudes is associated with perceptions that the attitude is difficult to change. In a second pilot study, we provide evidence that perceptions of another having certainty in an attitude is also associated with perceptions that the attitude is difficult to change. Then, we proceed to demonstrate some of the advances that these insights can provide. In Studies 1a and 1b, we show that this inference of difficulty in changing the minds of targets with a morally-based (vs. practically-based) attitude reduces perceivers’ willingness to engage the targets in attitude-relevant dialogue. In Studies 2a and 2b, we show that perceivers are also less willing to advocate to targets with certain (vs. uncertain) attitudes as well as morally-based attitudes. Next, in Study 3, we show that inferences about the difficulty of changing the mind of moral targets can account for increased hypocrisy judgments because this attitude contradiction produces greater surprise. In Study 4, we show that attitudes held with certainty, as with moral bases, similarly increase hypocrisy judgments if contradicted via the surprise mechanism. Finally, in Study 5, we explored how these effects might occur with subtle social cues suggesting certainty or moral bases in everyday life. Taken as a whole, these results indicate that people are sensitive to perceiving attitude strength in others and that these perceptions are consequential for social judgment (e.g., hypocrisy) and potential interaction (e.g., advocacy).
Richard Petty (Advisor)
Amanda Girth (Committee Member)
Russell Fazio (Committee Member)
Duane Wegener (Committee Member)
Social Psychology
advocacy; hypocrisy; attitude strength; certainty; morality; moral bases; person perception; attitude perception

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lanzalotta, J. (2021). Perceiving Others with Difficult to Change Attitudes: Implications for Morality, Advocacy, and Hypocrisy [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1632317196303674

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lanzalotta, Jaroth. Perceiving Others with Difficult to Change Attitudes: Implications for Morality, Advocacy, and Hypocrisy. 2021. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1632317196303674.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lanzalotta, Jaroth. "Perceiving Others with Difficult to Change Attitudes: Implications for Morality, Advocacy, and Hypocrisy." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1632317196303674

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1632317196303674
133
© 2021, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Perceiving Others with Difficult to Change Attitudes: Implications for Morality, Advocacy, and Hypocrisy by Jaroth Lanzalotta is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.