Social judgement theory explains how messages (do not) change attitudes. It offers a concrete framework
from which to evaluate how messages impact attitudes–leading to no change, change in the intended
direction, or change in the opposite direction.
For this discussion, I would like you to report on a recent interaction you had in which you tried to change
someone’s attitude OR someone tried to change your attitude (i.e., you should only report one one). Please
(a) describe the situation (e.g., who were you interacting with? what was the topic? is there any backstory
necessary?) and then (b) use social judgement theory to explain what happened. For part b, please be
sure to identify the specific elements of the theory and walk through how/why they led to the outcome that
occurred. Concepts such as latitude of acceptance, latitude of rejection, latitude of noncommitment, anchor,
contrast error, and/or assimilation error will be useful in developing your explanation. Your goal is to
describe what happened through the lens of social judgement theory.
Finally, (c) discuss what could have been changed to produce a different result for the interaction. If the
interaction did not lead to persuasion, what could have been done differently to effectively change
attitudes? If it led to (intended) attitude change, what error could have been made that would have
prevented this outcome from occurring?