Advertisers often use film stars to popularize their products. Identify the theory of attitude change that works behind it :
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Two - step Theory
Option (1) Theory of Imbalance — Incorrect. This points to Fritz Heider’s concept of balance: an attitude changes when there is imbalance among the attitudes of a person (P), another person (O) and the attitude object (X), because imbalance is uncomfortable. It explains a change that starts inside the person’s own set of attitudes, not one brought about by admiration for a star.
Option (2) Theory of Cognitive Dissonance — Incorrect. Leon Festinger’s idea is that the cognitive components of an attitude must be consistent; when two cognitions are dissonant, one of them is changed in the direction of consonance. No clash between two of the buyer’s own thoughts is involved in a film star’s advertisement.
Option (3) Two - step Theory — Correct. The two-step concept was proposed by S.M. Mohsin. In the first step the target identifies with the source, that is, has liking and regard for her/him; in the second step the source shows an attitude change through her/his own behaviour, and the target, observing it, imitates the change. Fans admire and identify with film stars, so when a star is seen using a product, fans take up the same positive attitude towards it, as Preeti does with the soft drink advertised by her favourite sportsperson.
Option (4) LaPiere Theory — Incorrect. Richard LaPiere did not give a theory of attitude change; his study with a Chinese couple travelling across the United States showed that what hotel managers said in a questionnaire (attitude) did not match how they had actually treated the couple (behaviour).
NCERT (2025-26): “Process of Attitude Change … The basic idea is that an attitude changes if there is a state of imbalance between the P-O attitude, O-X attitude, and P-X attitude. This is because imbalance is logically uncomfortable. Therefore, the attitude changes in the direction of balance.…” “(b) The concept of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger. It emphasises the cognitive component. Here the basic idea is that the cognitive components of an attitude must be ‘consonant’ (opposite of ‘dissonant’), i.e., they should be logically in line with each other. If an individual finds that two cognitions in an attitude are dissonant, then one of them will be changed in the direction of consonance.…” “(c) The two-step concept was proposed by S.M. Mohsin, an Indian psychologist. According to him, attitude change takes place in the form of two steps. In the first step, the target of change identifies with the source. The ‘target’ is the person whose attitude is to be changed. The ‘source’ is the person through whose influence the change is to take place. Identification means that the target has liking and regard for the source. S/he puts herself/ himself in the place of the target, and tries to feel like her/him. The source must also have a positive attitude towards the target, and the regard and attraction becomes mutual. In the second step, the source herself/himself shows an attitude change, by actually changing her/him behaviour towards the attitude object. Observing the source’s changed attitude and behaviour, the target also shows an attitude change through behaviour. This is a kind of imitation or observational learning.…” “…Consider the following example of two-step attitude change. Preeti reads in the newspapers that a particular soft drink that she enjoys is extremely harmful. But Preeti sees that her favourite sportsperson has been advertising the same soft drink. She has identified herself with the sportsperson, and would like to imitate her/him.…” |