Definitions of Attitude

"..a psychological tendency that is expressed by

evaluating a particular entity with some degree of

favor or disfavor" (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993)
An attitude is "a relatively enduring organization

of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies

towards socially significant objects, groups, events
or symbols" (Hogg & Vaughan, 2005)

An attitude is an expression of favor or

disfavor toward a person, place, thing, or
event

Structure of Attitudes
Attitudes structure can be described in terms
of three components.
Affective
Behavioral
Cognitive

Affective component
This involves a persons feelings / emotions

about the attitude object. For example: I am

scared of spiders.

Behavioral component
The way the attitude we have, influences how

we act or behave. For example: I will avoid

spiders and scream if I see one.

Cognitive component
This involves a persons belief / knowledge

about an attitude object. For example: I

believe spiders are dangerous.

The Function of Attitudes

Daniel Katz (1960) outlines four functional
areas:

1.

Knowledge.
Attitudes
provide
meaning
(knowledge) for life. The knowledge function refers
to our need for a world which is consistent and
relatively stable. This allows us to predict what is
likely to happen, and so gives us a sense of control.
Attitudes can help us organize and structure our
experience.
Knowing a persons attitude helps us predict their
behavior. For example, knowing that a person is
religious we can predict he will go to Mosque.

2. Self expressive. The attitudes we express

(1) Helps in communicating who we are and
(2) may make us feel good because we have
asserted our identity.
Self-expression of attitudes can be non-verbal too:
cap, or T-shirt slogan. Therefore, our attitudes are
part of our identity, and help us to be aware
through expression of our feelings, beliefs and
values.

3. Adaptive. If a person holds and/or expresses

socially acceptable attitudes, other people will
reward
them
with
approval
and
social
acceptance.
the adaptive functions helps us fit in with a social

group.

4.The ego-defensive function refers to holding

attitudes that protect our self-esteem or that
justify actions that make us feel guilty.
Individuals whose pride has suffered following a
defeat in sport might similarly adopt a defensive
attitude: Im not bothered, Im sick of football
anyway.

The basic idea behind the functional approach is

that attitudes help a person to mediate between

their own inner needs (expression, defense) and
the outside world (adaptive and knowledge).

In the broader sense there is

a positive attitude
a negative attitude
a neutral attitude.

List of Attitudes
Acceptance
Confidence
Seriousness
Optimism
Pessimism
Interest
Independent
Jealous
Courteous
Cooperative
Considerate
Gratitude
Inferiority
arrogant
Happiness
Frankness
Respectful
Authority
Sincerity
determined
Honest
Sincere
caring
Cheerful

Responsible
Realistic
Faithful
Flexible
influential
Trusting
Thoughtful
firm
Loving
Satisfaction
Hostile
Generous
Reliable
Tolerant
Kind
Humble
Cautious
Suspicious
insincere
Helping
Hardworking
stubbornness

Personality traits are more rigid and permanent

whereas attitudes may change with different

situations and experiences in life.
Personality traits are what humans are gifted with

whereas attitudes are learned and acquired.

It is possible for a human being to change or

unlearn their attitudes as attitudes are learned.
One needs to change the way he or she thinks,
behaves, and feels in order to change the
attitude.

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big

difference".
Winston Churchill

Social roles
and social
norms

Personal
Experience

Attitude

How Do Attitudes Form?

Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Observing the people around yourself

How Do Attitudes Influence

Behavior?

Attitude Change

Attitudes can have a powerful effect on behavior,

they are not set in stone. The same influences
that lead to attitude formation can also create
attitude change.

Learning Theory of Attitude Change

Classical conditioning, operant conditioning and

observational learning can be used to bring about
attitude change. Classical conditioning can be
used to create positive emotional reactions to an
object, person or event by associating positive
feelings with the target object. Operant
conditioning can be used to strengthen desirable
attitudes and weaken undesirable ones. People
can also change their attitudes after observing the
behavior of others.

Elaboration Likelihood Theory of Attitude Change

This theory of persuasion suggests that people can alter

their attitudes in two ways.
First, they can be motivated to listen and think about the

message, thus leading to an attitude shift.

Secondly they might be influenced by characteristics of the
speaker, leading to a temporary or surface shift in attitude.
Messages that are thought-provoking and that appeal to logic
are more likely to lead to permanent changes in attitudes.

Dissonance Theory of Attitude Change

As mentioned earlier, people can also change

their attitudes when they have conflicting beliefs
about a topic. In order to reduce the tension
created by these incompatible beliefs, people
often shift their attitudes.

The only disability in life is a bad attitude

Scott Hamilton