Download Attitude

Attitude Formation
“The Flat Earth Society”
 Attitude – predisposition to act, think, and
feel in particular ways toward a class of
people, objects or an idea
 Attitudes are formed through conditioning,
observational learning and cognitive
evaluation.

Where Attitudes Come From
Acquire attitudes through conditioning;
we receive praise, approval, acceptance
for expressing certain attitudes or we may
be punished for expressing other
attitudes.
 Attitudes shaped by thoughts on a subject
from both yourself and others.

Attitude Formation
Developed by watching and imitating
others (parents political views & dress like
your friends)
 Culture – influences everything from
tastes in food to human relationships
(grubs, cattle blood, curdled milk &
monkey meat)

Attitude Formation

Peers
– People tend to adopt the likes and dislikes of
groups whose approval and acceptance they
seek.

Parents
– Acquire many basic attitudes from our parents
– Parental influence lessens as children get
older.
Functions of Attitudes
Attitudes reflect our beliefs and values as
we define ourselves.
 Affect how we interpret objects & events
we encounter.
 Attitudes determine how we may act in a
given situation.
 Attitudes make up self-concept (how we
see or describe ourselves; our total
perception of ourselves)

Functions of Attitudes
Serve as guidelines for interpreting and
categorizing people, objects, and events.
 Guide us toward or away from people,
objects, and events.

Attitude Change

3 main processes involved in forming or
changing attitudes:
– Compliance – a change of behavior to avoid
discomfort or rejection and to gain approval
– Identification – seeing oneself as similar to another
person or group and accepting the attitudes of
another person or group as one’s own
– Internalization – incorporating the values, ideas, and
standards of others as a part on oneself (believe
something because it is right: long lasting)
Attitudes & Actions
Your attitudes affect your actions.
 Counterattitudinal behavior – the process of
taking a public position that contradicts one’s
private attitude (pleading guilty when innocent)
 Self-justification – the need to rationalize one’s
attitude and behavior
 Self-fulfilling prophecy – a belief, prediction, or
expectation that operates to bring about its own
fulfillment

Prejudice
Prejudice – preconceived attitudes toward
a person or group that have been formed
without sufficient evidence and are not
easily changed
 Stereotypes are an example of prejudice.
 Stereotype – oversimplified, hard-tochange way of seeing people who belong
to some group or category
 Prejudice is not necessarily negative

Prejudice
Ex. : racial groups, scientists, rich people,
& women
 Many people work hard to eliminate or
reduce stereotypes.
 Prejudice based on social, economic, or
physical factors.
 Children who grow up exposed to
prejudice tend to follow a prejudicial
norm.

Discrimination
Discrimination – the unequal treatment of
individuals on the basis of their race,
ethnic group, gender or membership in
another category rather than on the basis
of individual characteristics
 Prejudice and discrimination are different.
 It is possible for a prejudiced person not
to discriminate.

Persuasion
Persuasion – the direct attempt to
influence attitudes
 Brainwashing – extreme form of attitude
change; uses peer pressure, physical
suffering, threats, rewards, guilt and
intensive indoctrination
