Social judgment theory

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In social psychology , Social judgment theory (SJT) is a self-persuasion theory proposing that an individual's perception and evaluation of an idea is by comparing it with current attitudes. According to this theory, an individual weighs every new idea, comparing it with the individual's present point of view to determine where it should be placed on the attitude scale in an individual's mind. SJT is the subconscious sorting out of ideas that occurs at the instant of perception. The theory of Social Judgement attempts to explain why and how people have different reactions and responded toward the same information or issue. Social Judgment Theory can be used to improve the way people communicate with one another. The theory is also widely considered in persuasions. The Social Judgement Theory depends on the individual's position on a certain issue occurring. Depending on three elements Social Judgement Theory has, they are followed by their anchor, alternatives and ego-involvement.

Contents

Overview

Social judgment theory is a framework that studies human judgment. It is how people's current attitude shape the development of sharing and communicating information. [1] The psychophysical principle involved for example, is when a stimulus is farther away from one's judgmental anchor, a contrast effect is highly possible; when the stimulus is close to the anchor, an assimilation effect can happen. Social judgment theory represents an attempt to generalize psychophysical judgmental principles and the findings to the social judgment. With the person's preferred position serving as the judgmental anchor, SJT is a theory that mainly focuses on the internal processes of a person's own judgment in regards to the relation within a communicated message. [2] The concept was intended to be an explanatory method designed to detail when persuasive messages are most likely to succeed.

Originally conceived as an explanatory method, SJT seeks to unravel the intricacies of persuasive communication, honing in on attitude change as its central objective. Within this theoretical framework, the conditions conducive to successful attitude change become focal points of investigation. SJT not only aims to predict the occurrence of attitude change but also endeavors to delineate the direction and magnitude of these shifts. This multifaceted approach involves an exploration of individuals' propensity to alter their opinions, the anticipated trajectory of such changes, their receptiveness to the opinions of others, and the depth of commitment to their existing positions.

Attitude change is the fundamental objective of persuasive communication. SJT seeks to specify the conditions under which this change takes place and predict the direction and extent of the attitude change, while attempting to explain how likely a person might be to change their opinion, the probable direction of that change, their tolerance toward the opinion of others, and their level of commitment to their position. [3] The SJT researchers claimed expectations regarding attitude change could be based on the message receiver's level of involvement, the structure of the stimulus (and how many alternatives it allows), and the value (credibility) of the source.

Founder of Social judgment theory

Muzafer Sherif

Muzafer Sherif, a Turkish native born into a Muslim family in 1906, studied at a Christian school. Sherif attributes his understanding and fascination of social movements in emerging African and Asian countries to the nationalistic movements in his youth in the former Ottoman Empire. [4] Sherif obtained his Master's Degree in psychology from Harvard University in February 1932. Sherif then acquired a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Sherif was fluent in German and French, but throughout the years, he relied on English more. [4] Sherif sympathized with the political left. [4]

Roger Nebergall

Roger Nebergall, from Iowa was a speech professor. He was a co-author of the book Attitude and Attitude Change: The Social Judgement- Involvement Approach alongside Muzafer Sherif. As they worked with each another they found that the Social Judgement Theory suggests an individual's position on certain issues, while depending on the three factors: anchor, alternatives, and ego-involvement.

Development

SJT arose from social psychology and was based on laboratory findings resulting from experiments. These experiments studied the mental assessment of physical objects, referred to at the time as psychophysical research. Subjects were asked to compare some aspect of an object, such as weight or color, to another, different object. The researchers discovered that, when a standard was provided for comparison, the participants categorized the objects relative to the aspects of the standard. SJT focuses the conceptual structure of the framework and traces its development from the roots in Brunswik's probabilistic functionalism to its present form. For example, if a very heavy object was used as the standard in assessing weight, then the other objects would be judged to be relatively lighter than if a very light object was used as the standard. The standard is referred to as an "anchor". This work involving physical objects was applied to psychosocial work, in which a participant's limits of acceptability on social issues are studied. [5] [6] Social issues include areas such as religion and politics.

The traditional view of attitude neglects an individual's emotional and motivational influences as well as the social context in which the attitude(s) are formed. Meaning an individual is more likely to assume a speaker with authority will be informative, truthful, relevant, and clear. [7] Wyer and Gruenfeld (1995) noted that "much of our theoretical and empirical knowledge about social information processing has been obtained under laboratory conditions that only faintly resemble the social situations in which information is usually acquired in everyday life". [8]

Judgment process and attitudes

Rooted in judgment theory, which is concerned with the discrimination and categorization of stimuli, it attempts to explain how attitudes are expressed, judged, and modified. [9] A judgment occurs when a person compares at least two stimuli and makes a choice about them. With regard to social stimuli specifically, judgment processes incorporate both past experiences and present circumstances. [10] Sherif et al. (1965) defined attitudes as "the stands the individual upholds and cherishes about objects, issues, persons, groups, or institutions" (p. 4). [6] Researchers must infer attitudes from behavior. The behavior can be in response to arranged or naturally occurring stimuli. [5] [11] True attitudes are fundamental to self-identity and are complex, and thus can be difficult to change.

One of the ways in which the SJT developers observed attitudes was through the "Own Categories Questionnaire". This method requires research participants to place statements into piles of most acceptable, most offensive, neutral, and so on, in order for researchers to infer their attitudes. This categorization, an observable judgment process, was seen by Sherif and Hovland (1961) as a major component of attitude formation. [5] As a judgment process, categorization and attitude formation are a product of recurring instances, so that past experiences influence decisions regarding aspects of the current situation. Therefore, attitudes are acquired. [6]

The theory has three strict factors that create different positions an individual can have on the specific issue. Social Judgement Theory is the way opinions and thoughts are formed on specific issues or beliefs. It is used to explain the reasoning behind why and how people have different reactions and responses towards information or any specific issue. Social Judgement Theory are influenced by the values of individuals and the environments they are in or around.

The following are some ways that SJT can be used in the context of social norms campaigns that target risky behaviors like drinking, smoking, and engaging in hazardous activities: [7]

According to SJT, people should evaluate incoming messages in light of their preexisting attitudes and convictions. Perceptual contrast is a useful tool for campaigns that draw attention to the discrepancy between perceived and actual norms. For instance, the campaign can highlight this contrast to dispel misconceptions if people think that "everyone smokes at parties," [12] but in reality, the majority of guests rarely smoke. The significance of anchor points, or reference points, in people's decision-making processes is emphasized by SJT. Campaigns can offer relatable and unambiguous reference points to help people form their own opinions about social norms. For example, presenting anecdotes or data regarding abstainers of alcohol or tobacco use can act as anchor points to solidify this idea. [13]

Social judgment theory suggests that individuals assess incoming information based on their preexisting attitudes and beliefs, ultimately shaping their judgments and decisions.

Latitudes of rejection, acceptance, and noncommitment

Social judgment theory also illustrates how people contrast their personal positions on issues to others' positions around them. Aside from having their personal opinion, individuals hold latitudes of what they think is acceptable or unacceptable in general for other people's view. [3] Social attitudes are not cumulative, especially regarding issues where the attitude is extreme. [6] This means that a person may not agree with less extreme stands relative to his or her position, even though they may be in the same direction. Furthermore, even though two people may seem to hold identical attitudes, their "most preferred" and "least preferred" alternatives may differ. Thus, a person's full attitude can only be understood in terms of what other positions he or she finds acceptable or unacceptable, in addition to his or her own stand. [11] The three factors’ people have towards an issue is broken up into three different latitudes: rejection, acceptance and non-commitment. The latitude of acceptance refers to the range of ideas that an individual finds acceptable or favorable. This could vary between ideas, messages or positions. Usually, the messages that fall within this range are more likely to be accepted and incorporated into an individual's existing beliefs.

The latitude of rejection is quite the opposite. Latitude of rejection represents the range of ideas that an individual finds unacceptable or unfavorable. The messages that end up falling within this range are most likely to be rejected.

The latitude of non-commitment lies between the middle of the latitudes of acceptance and the latitude of rejection. This is where the individual is indifferent or noncommittal. The messages in the range of non-commitment are neither accepted or rejected by an individual. The three factors show how the attitude of an individual is imagined as a spectrum of different opinions. Showing that one accepts, ranging from rejection on one end and acceptance on the other end.

These degrees or latitudes together create the full spectrum of an individual's attitude. Sherif and Hovland (1961) define the latitude of acceptance as "the range of positions on an issue ... an individual considers acceptable to him (including the one 'most acceptable' to him)" (p. 129). On the opposite end of the continuum lies the latitude of rejection. This is defined as including the "positions he finds objectionable (including the one 'most objectionable" to him)". [5] This latitude of rejection was deemed essential by the SJT developers in determining an individual's level of involvement and, thus, his or her propensity to an attitude change. The greater the rejection latitude, the more involved the individual is in the issue and, thus, harder to persuade.

In the middle of these opposites lies the latitude of noncommitment, a range of viewpoints where one feels primarily indifferent. Sherif claimed that the greater the discrepancy, the more listeners will adjust their attitudes. Thus, the message that persuades the most is the one that is most discrepant from the listener's position, yet falls within his or her latitude of acceptance or latitude of noncommitment. [14]

Social judgment theory (SJT) is applied in "Kinky Boots," as seen in a number of story points. Firstly, the concepts of SJT's latitude of acceptance, rejection, and noncommitment are reflected in the characters' attitudes and responses to outlandish concepts, such as the creation of durable yet stylish boots for drag queens. Charlie, the main character, first finds it difficult to embrace this new course for his family's failing shoe factory, illustrating the difficulties in broadening one's acceptance range. [15] The interactions between the characters also emphasize how SJT shapes people's attitudes and actions. In the narrative, Lola, the drag queen who works with Charlie, experiences differing degrees of acceptance and rejection from various people, demonstrating how people's opinions are shaped by their preconceived notions. [16] Furthermore, as characters like Charlie and Lola go through personal journeys of overcoming societal expectations and embracing their authentic selves, the theme of self-acceptance is central to the plot. This examination of self-acceptance aligns with SJT's focus on how people internalize social norms and how that affects how they behave. [17]

All things considered, "Kinky Boots" offers a wealth of illustrations that show how social judgment theory functions within the framework of social norms, personal identity, and interpersonal relationships. The musical provides insights into the intricacies of human judgment and the transformational potential of acceptance through its gripping story.

Assimilation and contrast

Sometimes people perceive a message that falls within their latitude of rejection as farther from their anchor than it really is; a phenomenon known as contrast. The opposite of contrast is assimilation, a perceptual error whereby people judge messages that fall within their latitude of acceptance as less discrepant from their anchor than they really are. [14]

These latitudes dictate the likelihood of assimilation and contrast. When a discrepant viewpoint is expressed in a communication message within the person's latitude of acceptance, the message is more likely to be assimilated or viewed as being closer to person's anchor, or his or her own viewpoint, than it actually is. When the message is perceived as being very different from one's anchor and, thus, falling within the latitude of rejection, persuasion is unlikely, due to a contrast effect. The contrast effect is what happens when the message is viewed as being further away than it actually is from the anchor.

Messages falling within the latitude of noncommitment, however, are the ones most likely to achieve the desired attitude change. Therefore, the more extreme an individual's stand, the greater his or her latitude of rejection and, thus, the harder he or she is to persuade.[ citation needed ]

Ego involvement

The SJT researchers speculated that extreme stands, and thus wide latitudes of rejection, were a result of high ego involvement. [18] Ego involvement is the importance or centrality of an issue to a person's life, often demonstrated by membership in a group with a known stand. According to the 1961 Sherif and Hovland work, the level of ego involvement depends upon whether the issue "arouses an intense attitude or, rather, whether the individual can regard the issue with some detachment as primarily a 'factual' matter" (p. 191). Religion, politics, and family are examples of issues that typically result in highly involved attitudes. They contribute to one's self-identity. [6]

The concept of involvement is the crux of SJT. In short, Sherif et al. (1965) speculated that individuals who are highly involved in an issue are more likely to evaluate all possible positions, therefore resulting in an extremely limited or nonexistent latitude of noncommitment. People who have a deep concern or have extreme opinions on either side of the argument always care deeply and have a large latitude of rejection because they already have their strong opinion formed and usually are not willing to change that. High involvement also means that individuals will have a more restricted latitude of acceptance. According to SJT, messages falling within the latitude of rejection are unlikely to successfully persuade. Therefore, highly involved individuals will be harder to persuade, according to SJT.

In opposition, individuals who have less care in the issue, or have a smaller ego involvement, are likely to have a large latitude of acceptance. Because they are less educated and do not care as much about the issue, they are more likely to easily accept more ideas or opinions about an issue. This individual will also have a large latitude of noncommitment because, again, if they do not care as much about the topic, they are not going to commit to certain ideas, whether they are on the latitude of rejection or acceptance. An individual who does not have much ego involvement in an issue will have a small latitude of rejection because they are very open to this new issue and do not have previously formed opinions about it. [5] [6]

Attitude change

To change an attitude, first we must understand the audience's attitudes. Positive attitude change increases as the discrepancy goes up. Then we will see how it relates to the listeners' judgments of the persuasive messages. [19] It is also essential to judge how close or far away one's position is. The next step is to shift one's position in response to the argument made. An individual adjusts an attitude once he or she has judged a new position to be in his or her latitude of acceptance. If someone judges that message to be in his or her latitude of rejection, they will also adjust their attitude, but in the opposite direction from what they think the speaker is advocating. [20]

Sometimes, an attitude change may be incidental. In the boomerang effect, an attitude changes in the opposite direction from what the message advocates—the listener is driven away from, rather than drawn to, an idea. This explains why oftentimes fear appeals used in advertising do not work on the audience. As the threat perceived by the audience increases and the capacity to produce the desired effect is low, people will tend to do the opposite of what is advocated. [21] Attitude change can also be influenced by immediate social environment. In the interpersonal domain, people tend to shift their attitudes to align with those of their significant others. The general picture of social influence thus remains one of conformity and alignment attitudes. [22] A major implication of social judgment theory is that persuasion is difficult to accomplish. Successful persuasive messages are those that are targeted to the receiver's latitude of acceptance and discrepant from the anchor position, so that the incoming information cannot be assimilated or contrasted. This suggests that even successful attempts at persuasion will yield only small changes in attitude. [9] SJT also suggests persuasion can occur over time with multiple messages.

Central to this process is the concept of the "latitude of acceptance." Individuals are inclined to modify their attitudes when they perceive a novel position falling within this latitude. Conversely, if a message is deemed to be within the "latitude of rejection," the audience may still undergo an attitude adjustment, but in the opposite direction of the advocated stance.

A significant implication emerges from the social judgment theory: the arduous nature of persuasion. Successful persuasive messages must be finely tuned to the receiver's latitude of acceptance and strategically discrepant from the anchor position. Even in cases of successful persuasion, the anticipated changes in attitude may be modest. Furthermore, the theory suggests that persuasion is not a one-time event but a cumulative process, with attitudes potentially evolving over time through exposure to multiple messages.

Simulations

SJT has mainly been tested in small experimental settings, only rarely in more extended ways that include an investigation of opinion changes on a collective level in modeling studies. Stefanelli and Seidel [23] conducted a large-scale simulation of SJT, based on real-life data. They collected survey data from 1302 Swiss citizens, regarding their attitudes towards building a deep-ground-repository for nuclear waste. Attitudes were ranked on three scales: risk, benefit, and process. The data was fed into an agent-based social simulation. In each time-period, two random agents were selected to interact. Their opinions on these three topics (risk, benefit and process) were compared. If they were in the latitude of rejection, the opinions were pushed away from each other; otherwise, the opinions were pulled towards each other. The results showed a four-opinion cluster solution, representing four types of opinions: opposing, supporting, ambivalent, and indifferent.

Their study unfolded as a substantial simulation rooted in the attitudes of 1302 Swiss citizens toward the construction of a deep-ground repository for nuclear waste. The participants' attitudes were gauged across three dimensions: risk, benefit, and process. This rich dataset was then utilized in an agent-based social simulation, introducing a dynamic element to the study.

The outcome of this intricate simulation revealed a fascinating four-opinion cluster solution. This cluster represented distinct types of opinions held by the participants: opposing, supporting, ambivalent, and indifferent. This nuanced categorization underscores the complexity of collective opinions and how they evolve within the framework of SJT. The study by Stefanelli and Seidel not only expanded the application of SJT beyond controlled settings but also provided insights into the diverse manifestations of opinions within a real-world context.

Studies utilizing SJT

A recent study by Melike Acar [24] uses SJT to evaluate Turkish teachers’ social judgments on students with special needs being excluded and included in primary schools. This study's main purpose was to research teachers' decisions and justifications related to students with autism and how some teachers struggle to include students with special needs. [24] This study discusses the difficulties in having relations with children in both mainstream and special needs schools. One can see the perspectives of teachers regarding the exclusion of students with different needs. The study goes into depth about how social judgment theory affects both exclusive and inclusive special needs schools. The results concluded that teachers with more training on inclusion had a more positive acceptance than teachers who had not had the training when it came to games. [24] However, when it came to school projects, those who had not had the inclusion training were more excepting than those who had the training. [24] Fifty-four teachers participated in the study.

Another study from 2021 by Yao Song, Ameersing Luximon, and Yan Luximon [25] studied the effects of different human-robot faces and whether or not people trust them. Experiments showed that big eyes, medium vertical and horizontal eye position, and medium horizontal mouth position all helped to increase trustworthiness. [25] To be able to receive a latitude of acceptance from the social judgment theory of people, they experimented with people’s reactions to different facial features on robots. [25]

Another study conducted by Agbolagh and Zamani [26] examined SJT in simulations and its connections to balance theory. Results indicate that in a given group of people, opinions will tend to either cluster or form consensus or bipartite consensus when beliefs begin to form into two groups in a community. [26] Interactions among those within a group remain largely positive, while those between groups are negative. [26] Findings suggest once the bounded confidence model was adapted to include negative responses, those with like-minded opinions had a higher likelihood of persuading. [26] Findings of this study indicate that opinions changed to align with the average view of trusted individuals among participants. [26]

An Ohio State University tested the study participants' moral judgment of characters in media through the lens of SJT. [27] The study findings indicate that during interactions between heroes and villains, people morally disengage from the violence committed by the hero because they know the villain to be morally worse. [27] Because of their past experiences in observing heroes in media, people are inclined to believe that the hero is acting in a way that is less immoral because of their preconceived notions of who a hero is. [27] A reason for this may indicate that the hero committed violence to stop the villain. This moral disengagement occurs between the boundaries of their latitudes of rejection and acceptance. [27]

Conservatism of COVID-19

The concept of conservatism and the political spectrum have a strong connection to the anti-vaccine sentiments observed in social judgment theory. In order to lessen anti-vaccination sentiments, people's perceptions of attitude change from acceptance to rejection and intellectual humility can either narrow or widen their latitudes of rejection and acceptance. [28] Anti-vaccination sentiments included disapproval of vaccines for a number of different causes. The four most common reasons are doubts about the effectiveness of vaccines, worries about possible adverse effects, and references to or beliefs about the superiority of natural immunity over vaccinations from pharmaceutical corporations, [29] which earn huge profits from vaccinations. These four categories of anti-vaccine sentiments, which are not all-inclusive, sum up the main causes of anti-vaccine sentiment in the general public.  In terms of vaccine and mask mandates these violations of one’s freedom, particularly over a topic that has a high degree of ego involvement, would likely lead to the anchoring of one’s attitude about vaccinations within the latitude of rejection. It's hardly surprising that social judgment—especially with regard to vaccination attitudes—plays a big part in the COVID-19 pandemic. Tweets and other social media content can give important information about how the general public feels, thinks, and behaves in relation to vaccination campaigns. In order to gauge public opinion, spot new trends, and evaluate the effectiveness of communication tactics, researchers and public health specialists frequently examine social media data, including tweets. Researchers can learn about a variety of factors influencing people's opinions, including misinformation, personal experiences, cultural beliefs, and political ideologies, by looking at tweets about vaccines. But it's crucial to proceed cautiously when analyzing social media data and to be aware of the presumptions that underlie this kind of study. [30]

Conclusion

An evaluation of the social judgment theory in light of several standards that define a sound scientific theory is presented in the final part. A good theory should first and foremost be consistent with the available data. It should, in theory, summarize and explain a certain collection of information and events. This veracity criteria are where social judgment theory performs rather well. It has been based on empirical data from the beginning and has been successful in absorbing a significant number of known facts. Not everyone has the same upbeat opinion. While the discrepancy debate suggests that social judgment theory is somewhat broad, there are at least some situations at which it is unmistakably false. For example, the theory would not be able to handle an anomaly when contrast happened at a tiny discrepancy and assimilation at a huge discrepancy. Similarly, the theory would not be able to elegantly include such a set of facts if there were a U-shaped function between disagreement and opinion change in response to a communication. However, this theory has a number of valuable concepts and ideas, as well as a number of areas that may be studied further within the framework of this theory. When the growing body of information is examined, the hypothesis is expanded upon, and any necessary revisions are made.

Alternative models

Related Research Articles

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Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours.

Appeal to emotion or argumentum ad passiones is an informal fallacy characterized by the manipulation of the recipient's emotions in order to win an argument, especially in the absence of factual evidence. This kind of appeal to emotion is irrelevant to or distracting from the facts of the argument and encompasses several logical fallacies, including appeal to consequences, appeal to fear, appeal to flattery, appeal to pity, appeal to ridicule, appeal to spite, and wishful thinking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attitude (psychology)</span> Concept in psychology and communication studies

An attitude "is a summary evaluation of an object of thought. An attitude object can be anything a person discriminates or holds in mind." Attitudes include beliefs (cognition), emotional responses (affect) and behavioral tendencies. In the classical definition an attitude is persistent, while in more contemporary conceptualizations, attitudes may vary depending upon situations, context, or moods.

Vested interest is a communication theory that seeks to explain how an attitude of self-interest can affect behavior; or, in more technical terms, to question how certain hedonically relevant attitudinal dimensions can influence and consistently predict behavior based on the degree of subjective investment an individual has in a particular attitude object.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleeper effect</span> Psychological phenomenon

The sleeper effect is a psychological phenomenon that relates to persuasion. It is a delayed increase in the effect of a message that is accompanied by a discounting cue, typically being some negative connotation or lack of credibility in the message, while a positive message may evoke an immediate positive response which decays over time. The sleeper effect also refers to a delayed positive response that is maintained over time. The effect was first noticed among US Army soldiers exposed to army propaganda. It was hypothesized that over time the soldiers forgot that the message was propaganda. The effect has been widely studied but notoriously difficult to reproduce, leading to some doubt over its existence.

Attitudes are associated beliefs and behaviors towards some object. They are not stable, and because of the communication and behavior of other people, are subject to change by social influences, as well as by the individual's motivation to maintain cognitive consistency when cognitive dissonance occurs—when two attitudes or attitude and behavior conflict. Attitudes and attitude objects are functions of affective and cognitive components. It has been suggested that the inter-structural composition of an associative network can be altered by the activation of a single node. Thus, by activating an affective or emotional node, attitude change may be possible, though affective and cognitive components tend to be intertwined.

In media studies, mass communication, media psychology, communication theory, and sociology, media influence and themedia effect are topics relating to mass media and media culture's effects on individuals' or audiences' thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors. Through written, televised, or spoken channels, mass media reach large audiences. Mass media's role in shaping modern culture is a central issue for the study of culture.

Salience is the state or condition of being prominent. The Oxford English Dictionary defines salience as "most noticeable or important." The concept is discussed in communication, semiotics, linguistics, sociology, psychology, and political science. It has been studied with respect to interpersonal communication, persuasion, politics, and its influence on mass media.

The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion is a dual process theory describing the change of attitudes. The ELM was developed by Richard E. Petty and John Cacioppo in 1980. The model aims to explain different ways of processing stimuli, why they are used, and their outcomes on attitude change. The ELM proposes two major routes to persuasion: the central route and the peripheral route.

Carolyn Wood Sherif (1922–1982) was an American social psychologist who helped to develop social judgment theory and contributed pioneering research in the areas of the self-system, group conflict, cooperation, and gender identity. She also assumed a leading role in psychology both nationally as well as internationally. In addition to performing seminal social psychology research, Wood Sherif devoted herself to teaching her students and was recognized for her efforts with an American Psychological Association award named in her honor that is presented annually.

Symbolic convergence theory (SCT) is a communication theory developed by Ernest Bormann proposing that the holding of fantasies in common transforms collections of individuals into cohesive groups. SCT offers an explanation for the appearance of a group's cohesiveness, consisting of shared emotions, motives, and meanings. Through SCT, individuals can build a community or a group consciousness which grows stronger if they share a cluster of fantasy themes. Symbolic convergence theory provides a description of the dynamic tendencies within systems of social interaction that cause communicative practices and forms to evolve. This theory allows theorists and practitioners to anticipate or predict what will happen and explain what did happen. One thing SCT does not do is allow for control of human communication. It attempts to explain how communication can create and sustain group consciousness through the sharing of narratives or fantasies.

Inoculation theory is a social psychological/communication theory that explains how an attitude or belief can be made resistant to persuasion or influence, in analogy to how a body gains resistance to disease. The theory uses medical inoculation as its explanatory analogy but instead of applying it to disease, it is used to discuss attitudes. It has applicability to public campaigns targeting misinformation and fake news.

Reinforcement theory is a limited effects media model applicable within the realm of communication. The theory generally states that people seek out and remember information that provides cognitive support for their pre-existing attitudes and beliefs. The main assumption that guides this theory is that people do not like to be wrong and often feel uncomfortable when their beliefs are challenged.

The heuristic-systematic model of information processing (HSM) is a widely recognized model by Shelly Chaiken that attempts to explain how people receive and process persuasive messages. The model states that individuals can process messages in one of two ways: heuristically or systematically. Whereas systematic processing entails careful and deliberative processing of a message, heuristic processing entails the use of simplifying decision rules or 'heuristics' to quickly assess the message content. The guiding belief with this model is that individuals are more apt to minimize their use of cognitive resources, thus affecting the intake and processing of messages. HSM predicts that processing type will influence the extent to which a person is persuaded or exhibits lasting attitude change. HSM is quite similar to the elaboration likelihood model, or ELM. Both models were predominantly developed in the early to mid-1980s and share many of the same concepts and ideas.

In social psychology, the Yale attitude change approach is the study of the conditions under which people are most likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages. This approach to persuasive communications was first studied by Carl Hovland and his colleagues at Yale University during World War II. The basic model of this approach can be described as "who said what to whom": the source of the communication, the nature of the communication and the nature of the audience. According to this approach, many factors affect each component of a persuasive communication. The credibility and attractiveness of the communicator (source), the quality and sincerity of the message, and the attention, intelligence and age of the audience can influence an audience's attitude change with a persuasive communication. Independent variables include the source, message, medium and audience, with the dependent variable the effect of the persuasion.

In social psychology, the boomerang effect, also known as "reactance", refers to the unintended consequences of an attempt to persuade resulting in the adoption of an opposing position instead. It is sometimes also referred to as "the theory of psychological reactance", stating that attempts to restrict a person's freedom often produce an "anticonformity boomerang effect". In other words, the boomerang effect is a situation where people tend to pick the opposite of what something or someone is saying or doing because of how it is presented to them. Typically, the more aggressive something is presented, people would more than likely want to do the opposite. For example, if someone were to walk up to a yard with a sign saying "KEEP OFF LAWN" the person would be more likely to want to walk on the lawn because of the way they read the sign. If the sign read "please stay off my grass" people would be more likely to follow the directions.

Self-persuasion is used to explain one aspect of social influence. This theory postulates that the receiver takes an active role in persuading himself or herself to change his or her attitude. Unlike the direct technique of Persuasion, Self-persuasion is indirect and entails placing people in situations where they are motivated to persuade themselves to change. More specifically what characterizes a self-persuasion situation is that no direct attempt is made to convince anyone of anything. Thus, with self-persuasion, people are convinced that the motivation for change has come from within, so the persuasion factors of another person's influence is irrelevant. Therefore, Self-persuasion is almost always a more powerful form of persuasion than the more traditional persuasion techniques. Self-Persuasion, also has an important influence in Social judgment theory, Elaboration Likelihood Model, Cognitive Dissonance and Narrative paradigm.

Functional attitude theory (FAT) suggests that beliefs and attitudes are influential to various psychological functions. Attitudes can be influential on many processes such as being utilitarian (useful), social, relating to values, or a reduction of cognitive dissonance. They can be beneficial and help people interact with the world. In the late 1950s when psychoanalysis and behaviorism reigned supreme as the foci of psychological studies, Smith, Bruner, and White (1956) and Katz (1960) separately and independently developed typologies of human attitudes in relation to the functions to which they believed the attitudes served. This theory proposes that attitudes are held by individuals because they are important and integral to psychological functioning. The function of an attitude is more important than whether the attitude is accurate or correct.

Intergroup relations refers to interactions between individuals in different social groups, and to interactions taking place between the groups themselves collectively. It has long been a subject of research in social psychology, political psychology, and organizational behavior.

Muzafer Sherif was a Turkish-American social psychologist. He helped develop social judgment theory and realistic conflict theory.

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  7. 1 2 Schwartz, Norbert (March 2000). "Agenda 2000 — Social judgment and attitudes: warmer, more social, and less conscious" (PDF). European Journal of Social Psychology. 30 (2): 152–4. doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-0992(200003/04)30:2<149::aid-ejsp998>3.0.co;2-n. hdl: 2027.42/34566 .
  8. ↑ Wyer, RS; Grunfeld, DH (1995). "Information processing in social contexts: Implications for social memory and judgment". Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. 21: 49–91. doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60403-7. ISBN   978-0-12-015227-8.
  9. 1 2 Darity, William (2008). Social Judgment Theory. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 601–602.
  10. ↑ Sherif, CW (August 1963). "Social categorization as a function of latitude of acceptance and series range". Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 67 (2): 148–56. doi:10.1037/h0043022. PMID   13977155.
  11. 1 2 Nebergall, R.E (1966). "The social judgment-involvement approach to attitue and attitude change". Western Speech: 209–215.
  12. ↑ Borsari, Brian; Carey, Kate B (May 2003). "Descriptive and injunctive norms in college drinking: a meta-analytic integration". Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 64 (3): 331–341. doi:10.15288/jsa.2003.64.331. ISSN   0096-882X. PMC   2431131 . PMID   12817821.
  13. ↑ Smith, Sandi W.; Atkin, Charles K.; Martell, Dennis; Allen, Rebecca; Hembroff, Larry (2006). "A Social Judgment Theory Approach to Conducting Formative Research in a Social Norms Campaign". Communication Theory. 16: 141–152. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2006.00009.x . Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  14. 1 2 Griffin, Em (2011). A First Look at Communication Theory . New York, New York: McGraw Hill. pp.  194–204. ISBN   978-0-07-353430-5.
  15. ↑ Weikel, Courtney (June 2021). ""You Change the World When You Change Your Mind:" Social Judgment Theory in the Musical Kinky Boots" (PDF). Ohio Communication Journal. 59: 118–126.
  16. ↑ Block, Jennifer (2023-02-23). "Gender dysphoria in young people is rising—and so is professional disagreement". BMJ. 380: 382. doi:10.1136/bmj.p382. ISSN   1756-1833. PMID   36822640.
  17. ↑ Gaunt, Ruth (January 2013). "Breadwinning Moms, Caregiving Dads: Double Standard in Social Judgments of Gender Norm Violators". Journal of Family Issues. 34 (1): 3–24. doi:10.1177/0192513X12438686. ISSN   0192-513X.
  18. ↑ Sherif, Carolyn W.; Sherif, Muzafer (1976). "Attitude as the individuals' own categories: The social judgment-involvement approach to attitude and attitude change". Attitude, ego-involvement, and change (Reprint [der Ausg.] New York 1967. ed.). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN   0-8371-7894-0.
  19. ↑ "The Nature of Social Judgment/Involvement Theory". CIOS Persuasion.
  20. ↑ Griffin, Em (2009). A first look at communication theory (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. p. 187. ISBN   978-0-07-338502-0.
  21. ↑ Witte, Kim (December 1992). "Putting the Feat Back Into Fear Appeals: The Extended Parallel Process Model". Communication Monographs. 59 (4): 329–349. doi:10.1080/03637759209376276 . Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  22. ↑ Ledgerwood, Alison; Chaiken, Shelly (2007). "Priming Us and Them: Automatic Assimilation and Contrast in Group Attitudes". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 93 (6): 940–956. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.940. PMID   18072847. S2CID   30468863.
  23. ↑ Stefanelli, Annalisa and Seidl, Roman (2014). "Moderate and polarized opinions. Using empirical data for an agent-based simulation". Advances in Computational Social Science and Social Simulation. Retrieved 7 August 2016.{{cite conference}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. 1 2 3 4 Acar, Melike (December 2020). "Turkish teachers' social judgements on autism spectrum-based exclusion in primary schools". British Journal of Special Education. 47 (4): 452–466. doi:10.1111/1467-8578.12327. ISSN   0952-3383. S2CID   225429363.
  25. 1 2 3 Song, Yao; Luximon, Ameersing; Luximon, Yan (July 2021). "The effect of facial features on facial anthropomorphic trustworthiness in social robots". Applied Ergonomics. 94: 103420. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103420. hdl: 10397/94984 . PMID   33823378. S2CID   233172160.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 Dehghani Aghbolagh, Hassan; Zamani, Mohsen; Paolini, Stefania; Chen, Zhiyong (2020). "Balance seeking opinion dynamics model based on social judgment theory". Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena. 403: 132336. Bibcode:2020PhyD..40332336D. doi:10.1016/j.physd.2020.132336. S2CID   213604589.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Matthews, Nicholas L (2019-08-01). "Detecting the Boundaries of Disposition Bias on Moral Judgments of Media Characters' Behaviors using Social Judgment Theory". Journal of Communication. 69 (4): 418–441. doi:10.1093/joc/jqz021. ISSN   0021-9916.
  28. ↑ Huynh, Ho Phi; Dicke-Bohmann, Amy; Zsila, Ágnes (2024-04-01). "Conservatism, anti-vaccination attitudes, and intellectual humility: examining their associations through a social judgment theory framework". Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 47 (2): 184–196. doi:10.1007/s10865-023-00450-6. ISSN   1573-3521. PMID   37848749.
  29. ↑ Hatem, Georges; Ghamloush, Sara; Chami, Aya Al; Chaheen, Mohammad; Khachman, Dalia; Awada, Sanaa (January 2023). "Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pharmacy practice and on the provision of pharmaceutical care: A cross-sectional study among community pharmacists". The Journal of Medicine Access. 7: 275508342311611. doi:10.1177/27550834231161145. ISSN   2755-0834. PMC   10067468 . PMID   37025695.
  30. ↑ Winderman, Emily; Rowland, Allison L.; Malkowski, Jennifer, eds. (2023-09-01). COVID and...: How to Do Rhetoric in a Pandemic. Michigan State University Press. doi:10.14321/jj.7794620. ISBN   978-1-60917-735-5.
  31. ↑ Hall, Crystal C.; Oppenheimer, Daniel M. (September 2015). "Error Parsing: An alternative method of implementing social judgment theory". Judgment and Decision Making. 10 (5): 469–478. doi: 10.1017/S193029750000560X . ISSN   1930-2975. S2CID   44213008.
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