Attitude Formation

Tripartite model

what are attitudes?

A learned evaluation of an object, person, group, event, issue, or situation that can be positive, negative, or neutral.

What are the three components of attitude formation? What are the two names for it?

Affection:, behavioural, and cognitive. Its called the Tripartite model or the ABC model

What are the two types of attitudes? What are they

Explicit attitude: Attitudes at the conscious level, that are deliberately formed and easy to self-report.

Implicit attitude: Attitudes at the unconscious level, that are involuntarily formed and are typically unknown to us

Are attitudes innate? How are they learned

Attitudes are not innate as they are learned through direct experiences and interactions with others. Even when individuals are unaware of certain attitudes, these attitudes may have been learned implicitly through observation, cultural influences, and social experiences.

Describe the three components of attitude

Affection: feelings and emotions about the object.

Behaviour: actions; how our attitude influences how we act or behave. Refer to past behaviours or experiences regarding an attitude. Infer attitudes from previous actions.

Cognition: thoughts; our beliefs and knowledge about the attitude object. Person’s attitude might be based on the negative and positive attributes they associate with an object

simple application of the Tripartite model

A: I love cats

B: I pet cats and house them

C: Because i believe they are adorable

Principal of Consistency

Our behaviours will always be consistent with our attitude. We will always expect to behave in a certain way based on our attitudes due to rational thought; if not it would feel irrational.

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is a state of psychological discomfort caused by inconsistency between a person's beliefs, attitudes, or behaviours. Because this discomfort is unpleasant, people are motivated to reduce it, often by changing their attitude, behaviour, or justification.

Why do we learn about attitudes?

• -learning about attitudes allows us to predict what’s happening and control our world

• - It helps us organise and structure our experiences

• - if a person holds/expresses socially acceptable attitudes (such as smiling) other people with reward them with approval and social acceptance

• - individuals seek out others who have similar attitudes

Social acceptance

Social acceptance is the desire to be liked, approved of, and accepted by others.