Social judgment theory
In social psychology, social judgment theory 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 responses 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.
Overview
Social judgment theory is a framework that studies human judgment. It is how people's current attitudes shape the development of sharing and communicating information. 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. 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. 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 the value of the source.
Founder of Social judgment theory
Muzafer Sherif
, a Turkish native born into a Muslim family in 1906, studied at a Christian school. Sherif attributes his understanding and fascination with social movements in emerging African and Asian countries to the nationalistic movements in his youth in the former Ottoman Empire. 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. Sherif sympathized with the political left.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 other they found that the Social Judgement Theory suggests an individual's position on certain issues 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 on 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. 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 are formed, meaning an individual is more likely to assume a speaker with authority will be informative, truthful, relevant, and clear. Wyer and Gruenfeld 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".
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. 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. Sherif et al. defined attitudes as "the stands the individual upholds and cherishes about objects, issues, persons, groups, or institutions". Researchers must infer attitudes from behavior. The behavior can be in response to arranged or naturally occurring stimuli. 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 as a major component of attitude formation. 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.
The theory has three strict factors that create different positions an individual can have on a 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 is 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:
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," but in reality, the majority of guests rarely smoke. SJT emphasizes the significance of anchor points, or reference points, in people's decision-making processes.
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.
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. Social attitudes are not cumulative, especially regarding issues where the attitude is extreme. 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. The three factors people have towards an issue are 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 nor 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 define the latitude of acceptance as "the range of positions on an issue... an individual considers acceptable to him ". On the opposite end of the continuum lies the latitude of rejection. This is defined as including the "positions he finds objectionable ". 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.
Social judgment theory 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. 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. 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.
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.