Primacy Effect On Attitude Formation

SAQ 1. The primacy and recency effect relate to the order in which we learn things. Primacy effect in relation to attitude formation is an attitude shaped on primary information learned (such as on first impressions). Recency effect is the things we see/experience most recently and is thought to have less impact than the primacy effect (Luchins 1957). We are more likely as humans to remember what we saw first than what we saw last. It is thought that we form our first impressions of someone within the first eleven seconds of meeting them. The order in which we learn things about someone impacts our attitude formations. Luchins (1957) said that time can change the impact of these effects. He conducted a study known as 'Impressions of Jim.
However, Luchins did find that if a space of time was involved between the primary information and the recent information then the recency effect could over ride the primacy effect. He said that the recency effect was important but not as important as the primacy effect (Silka 1989). Central traits are also said to affect attitude formation. Kelley (1950) found that central traits are more important to us when building first impressions during the substitute teacher study. Kelley found that using words such as 'warm ' or 'cold ' to describe someone can affect the way that people behave towards the described person. Being a 'cold ' or 'warm ' person is known as a central trait. Grouping traits around the central traits is known as the halo effect. This is believing that people have other traits such as being 'friendly ' because they are considered a 'warm ' person. It is thought that we judge people who have even just one good central trait on being a good person despite their peripheral traits. This is the same for having a bad central trait. We judge them as bad as we assume they possess other bad traits that we associate with the bad central trait.
In this experiment Jane segregated children in the classroom based on their eye colour. She told them that one group was inferior to the other and watched how the in-group help prejudices against and discriminated the out-group. The next day she switched the groups and the inferior group got a taste of what is was like to be discriminated against. Jane Elliot 's experiments are well known around the world today for giving the minority groups a chance to experience feelings of power and voice their opinions. They also give the in-groups the chance to experience what in feels like to be the out-group. Often people don 't understand something until they have experienced it themselves. Once someone knows the outcomes of their actions their actions often change. Even just reading about Jane Elliot 's experiments changes peoples attitudes and it is thought that they have contributed to a decrease in prejudice and discrimination. (Marsh