Answer Chapter 6

Gina, I'm sorry for picking on you again.
Please note that I am not your stalker.

Answer to Gina Kim's Question #1

I think that beliefs in this context are very different from general religious beliefs that may be more concrete. Beliefs in psychology are “informational statements that link specific attributions to an object (133). Although beliefs and attitudes are influenced by values, attitudes and beliefs are relatively easy to ascertain (137).
I think that the religious beliefs in your question are more like strong values from religion. The author claims that values are culturally learned in early childhood (136) that they rarely change, although the importance of these values may change at some point of your life (136). Therefore, “blind faith” may be closer to values than beliefs in this context as the author argues that,” Values are the least likely candidates for change through persuasion” (137).
Knowledge can be the one but not the only factor that may change one’s beliefs. In chapter six, the author states, “Many of our beliefs and values are the result of “unexamined inheritances” We may have adopted a number of attitudes without sufficient information or reflection” (137). Moreover, because many beliefs coexist in people’s minds, I think people can change their beliefs by choosing which beliefs and values they want to put the most weight on. Although the text does not talk a lot about beliefs, there are many theories to change the attitude which underlies our beliefs. I think one factor can be social influence. Like the example in class, although you have a belief that smoking is bad for health, your attitude towards smoking can change by having many smoking friends, and it may eventually influence your beliefs because “attitudes are a combination of beliefs and the weight we assign on them” (134).
Also, the consistency theory argues that “individuals can be made to feel uncomfortable with inconsistency and will work to reduce any discrepancies between new information and their attitudes or behaviors” (143). As we talked in class, there are many kinds of dissonance such as loss of group prestige and economic loss. To reduce the discomfort, people solve the conflict by “altering one or both of the two original attitudes.” I think that simply new information and other factors can change beliefs over time.