Attitudes definition
In psychology, an attitude refers to a set of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors toward a particular object,
person, thing, or event. especially
in the mind
An attitude is a positive, negative, or mixed evaluation of an object especially
in the mind
They can have a powerful influence over behavior and affect how people act in various situations.
Overview of Attitude
To understand the meaning of attitudes, it can be helpful to look at a few different examples.
Attitude can refer to:
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Your opinion on the death penalty
Your opinion about which political party does a better job of running the country
Whether prayer be allowed in schools
Whether violence on television be regulated
Chances are that you probably have fairly strong opinions on these and similar questions.
You've developed attitudes about such issues, and these attitudes influence your beliefs as
well as your behavior. Attitudes are an important topic of study within the field of social
psychology. But what exactly is an attitude? How does it develop?
How Psychologists Define Attitudes
Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. This
can include evaluations of people, issues, objects, or events. Such evaluations are often
positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain at times.
For example, you might have mixed feelings about a particular person or issue. Researchers
also suggest that there are several different characteristics that make up attitudes.1
International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences. 3 D Model of Attitude.
The components of attitudes are sometimes referred to as the ABC's of attitude.
3 Components of Attitude
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A
ffective component: this involves a person’s
feelings/emotions about the attitude object. For example: “I am
scared of spiders.”
This component involves feelings or emotional responses like liking,
disliking, love, hate, fear, etc. It is essentially the emotional aspect of
an attitude that can influence an individual’s behavior.
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For instance, if someone feels positive about exercising, this is an
affective response that may make them more likely to engage in
physical activity.
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Suppose someone has a fear of spiders (the affective component). In
that case, they might avoid places where they believe spiders may be
present (the behavioral component) due to their belief that all spiders
are harmful (the cognitive component).
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Affective= Emotions
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B
ehavioral (or conative) component: the way the attitude we
have influenced how we act or behave. For example: “I will avoid
spiders and scream if I see one.”
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For example, suppose a person has a positive attitude toward healthy
eating (affective and cognitive components). In that case, the
behavioral component of their attitude may be demonstrated by them
frequently choosing to eat fruits and vegetables, avoiding fast food,
and cooking meals at home.
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Behavioral=Actions
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C
ognitive component involves a person’s belief/knowledge about
an attitude object. For example: “I believe spiders are dangerous.”
For example, suppose a person believes that recycling benefits the
environment and effectively conserves natural resources. In that case,
this represents the cognitive component of their positive attitude
towards recycling.
This cognitive component can influence their feelings about recycling
(affective component) and their likelihood of engaging in recycling
behaviors (behavioral component).
The knowledge function is intimately tied to the cognitive component
of attitudes as it directly influences how we interpret and make sense
of our beliefs and perceptions.
Cognitive=thoughts
These three components collectively form an individual’s attitude toward
an object, person, issue, or situation.