Attitudes

Attitudes are evaluations people make about objects, ideas, events, or other people. Attitudes can be positive or negative.  Explicit attitudes are conscious beliefs that can guide decisions and behavior.  Implicit attitudes are unconscious beliefs that can still influence decisions and behavior. Attitudes can include up to three components: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral.

Components Of Attitudes Let's think about attitudes, or long-held beliefs that guide our social interactions. Each attitude has three components: cognitive behavioral emotional Let's say that Amy thinks people who wear glasses are educated. This is the cognitive component, or actual belief, which can be expressed in words. Amy listens to people more closely because they wear glasses. This is an example of the behavioral component, where she acts on her belief. Amy trusts the things people say more if they wear glasses. This is the emotional component: how beliefs make us feel in social situations. While this might seem irrational from the outside, such beliefs are common and allow us to interact smoothly with the social world around us.

How Attitudes Are Formed Now, let's get to know more about Amy by examining how her attitudes are formed. There are three different ways that attitudes are learned: observational learning classical conditioning operant conditioning

observational learning watching our role models. Say Amy's favorite professor wears glasses. He's smart and received his MBA from Harvard. Therefore, unconsciously or consciously, Amy believes that people who wear glasses are well- educated.

Classical conditioning Happens when our reflexes are trained to respond to stimuli, in ways similar to how Pavlov's dogs were conditioned to drool when they heard the meal-time bell. When the fire alarm in Amy's building rings, her heart races and she feels a sense of urgency. She responds by getting up and filing out of the building with the rest of her coworkers.

Operant conditioning  Is when we modify our behavior based on consequences like punishment and reward. For example, Amy believes that red lights are merely a suggestion, but after paying an expensive ticket for running a stoplight, she now waits for the light to turn green.

How Attitude Affects Behavior The red traffic light example illustrates how social laws can affect Amy's behavior even if she has conflicting beliefs. However, research has shown that such behavioral modification lasts only as long as the negative feedback is in place. So, if it's a stop sign on a quiet street where no one is watching instead of a traffic light, Amy might decide not to stop. Attitudes that readily come to mind guide behavior when there are few outside influences. Her 'attitude' has not changed, but her behavior has been modified.