3 Components Of An Attitude

Attitudes and Behavior

By Dr. Saul McLeod updated 2018

An mental attitude is "a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols" (Hogg & Vaughan 2005, p. 150)

"..a psychological trend that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some caste of favor or disfavor" (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 1)

Structure of Attitudes

Attitudes construction can be described in terms of 3 components.

Affective component: this involves a person's feelings / emotions virtually the mental attitude object. For example: "I am scared of spiders".
Behavioral (or conative) component: the way the mental attitude we take influences on how nosotros human activity or comport. For example: "I will avoid spiders and scream if I see 1".
Cognitive component: this involves a person's belief / cognition about an attitude object. For instance: "I believe spiders are dangerous".

This model is known every bit the ABC model of attitudes.

Ane of the underlying assumptions about the link betwixt attitudes and behavior is that of consistency. This means that we oft or usually wait the beliefs of a person to be consistent with the attitudes that they hold. This is called the principle of consistency.

The principle of consistency reflects the idea that people are rational and endeavour to behave rationally at all times and that a person's behavior should exist consequent with their mental attitude(s).

Whilst this principle may be a sound ane, it is clear that people practice not always follow it, sometimes behaving in seemingly quite illogical ways; for example, smoking cigarettes and knowing that smoking causes lung cancer and centre illness.

There is evidence that the cognitive and melancholia components of behavior do non always match with behavior. This is shown in a study by LaPiere (1934).

Attitude Strength

The force with which an attitude is held is frequently a skilful predictor of behavior. The stronger the attitude the more than likely it should affect behavior. Mental attitude forcefulness involves:

Importance / personal relevance refers to how significant the attitude is for the person and relates to self-interest, social identification and value.

If an attitude has a high self-interest for a person (i.eastward. it is held past a group the person is a member of or would like to exist a member of, and is related to a person'due south values), information technology is going to be extremely important.

As a upshot, the attitude will have a very potent influence upon a person's behavior. By dissimilarity, an mental attitude volition not be important to a person if it does not relate in any way to their life.

The knowledge aspect of mental attitude forcefulness covers how much a person knows about the attitude object. People are generally more knowledgeable about topics that interest them and are likely to hold potent attitudes (positive or negative) as a consequence.

Attitudes based on directly experience are more strongly held and influence behavior more than attitudes formed indirectly (for example, through hear-say, reading or watching television).

Function of Attitudes

Attitudes can serve functions for the individual. Daniel Katz (1960) outlines iv functional areas:

Cognition

Attitudes provide meaning (noesis) for life. The knowledge function refers to our need for a world which is consequent and relatively stable.

This allows us to predict what is likely to happen, and and so gives us a sense of command. Attitudes can assist u.s.a. organize and structure our experience.

Knowing a person's attitude helps us predict their beliefs. For instance, knowing that a person is religious we can predict they will go to Church.

Self / Ego-expressive

The attitudes nosotros express (one) help communicate who we are and (2) may make us experience good because we have asserted our identity. Self-expression of attitudes tin can be non-exact likewise: think bumper sticker, cap, or T-shirt slogan.

Therefore, our attitudes are part of our place, and help us to exist aware through the expression of our feelings, beliefs and values.

Adaptive

If a person holds and/or expresses socially acceptable attitudes, other people will advantage them with approval and social acceptance.

For instance, when people flatter their bosses or instructors (and believe information technology) or proceed silent if they think an attitude is unpopular. Again, expression can be nonverbal [think political leader kissing baby].

Attitudes and then, are to do with being apart of a social group and the adaptive functions helps us fit in with a social group. People seek out others who share their attitudes, and develop similar attitudes to those they similar.

Ego-defensive

The ego-defensive function refers to holding attitudes that protect our self-esteem or that justify actions that brand usa experience guilty. For case, 1 fashion children might defend themselves confronting the feelings of humiliation they accept experienced in P.East. lessons is to adopt a strongly negative attitude to all sports.

People whose pride has suffered following a defeat in sport might similarly adopt a defensive attitude: "I'm not bothered, I'1000 sick of rugby anyhow…". This function has psychiatric overtones. Positive attitudes towards ourselves, for example, have a protective role (i.e. an ego-defensive role) in helping u.s.a. reserve our self-image.

The basic thought behind the functional arroyo is that attitudes help a person to mediate between their own inner needs (expression, defence) and the outside world (adaptive and noesis).

The basic thought behind the functional approach is that attitudes assist a person to mediate between their own inner needs (expression, defence force) and the outside world (adaptive and knowledge).

How to reference this article:

How to reference this commodity:

McLeod, S. A. (2018, May 21). Attitudes and beliefs. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/attitudes.html

APA Style References

Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, South. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.

Hogg, M., & Vaughan, Grand. (2005). Social Psychology (4th edition). London: Prentice-Hall.

Katz, D. (1960). Public opinion quarterly, 24, 163 - 204.

LaPiere, R. T. (1934). Attitudes vs. Deportment. Social Forces, 13, 230-237.

How to reference this commodity:

How to reference this article:

McLeod, South. A. (2018, May 21). Attitudes and behavior. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/attitudes.html

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