Notes on the Introduction to Attitudes:

An attitude is an organization of concepts, beliefs, motives, habits, and acts associated with a
particular object. The concepts and beliefs associated with an attitude are referred to as the
cognitive component; the habits, as the action component; and the motives, as the affective
component. We say that an attitude is formed when the above components are so interrelated
that specific feelings, emotions and reaction tendencies become consistently associated with a
particular way of thinking about certain persons or events.
In the early stages of attitude formation, its components are not well systematized so that they
can be modified by new experiences. However, gradually when they are well organized over a
period of time, they tend to become rigid and stereotyped.
ADVERTISEMENTS:

For the most part of our lives we are not fully conscious of the extensive influence they have on
our social behaviour. But on close self-analysis we find that attitudes function within ourselves
and we become sensitive to the attitudes of others. Actually, we try to infer the attitudes of
others accordingly to regulate our behaviour.
In a social group, from limited samples of another’s behaviour we conclude, that he is liberal,
understanding, or prejudiced, and then react to him in what we consider to be an appropriate
manner.
The study of attitudes has become a major problem for social psychologists because it is a
complex psychological phenomenon that has great social significance on individual’s behaviour.

Notes on the Components of an Attitude:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

i. The Cognitive Component:

Attitudes vary from one another in a number of ways other than their specific content. In the
cognitive component, we find the specificity of the concept of the object and also the degree of
differentiation of an attitude as to how many beliefs and concepts are associated with the object.
For example, a person may have an attitude towards Jawaharlal Nehru as a statesman, towards
statesmen in general or towards celebrities.
Similarly a politician’s attitude towards Nehru is more differentiated than that of a person who
has little experience in politics. In the former case specificity, and in the latter the degree of
differentiation can be noticed.
ii. The Action Component:
Attitudes have been observed to differ in their relation to overt behaviour. Some attitudes may
have many habits associated with them, others have few. Sometimes the action which goes with
an attitude is merely a verbal expression and this is called an opinion.
But, the action component of an attitude may include a number of action tendencies. For
example, people develop favourable attitudes towards one political party. These may be
expressed either by voting on Election Day, or by long heated discussions with others or by
actively participating in political campaign.
iii. The Affective Component:
Two of the dimensions, which belong to this component are position and intensity. The former
refers to the degree of expectancy of pleasantness or unpleasantness associated with the object
whereas; the latter refers to the strength of the affective expectancy.
For example, a person’s attitude towards a surgeon about to operate on him may include a very
strong expectancy about the amount of pain. Here the position of the object is rather negative
but the attitude is very intense.
The Function of Attitudes. Attitudes play an important part in determining our behaviour. They
influence our perceptions and judgement of others, they determine the speed and efficiency of
learning, they help in the choice of groups we associate with, the professions we decide upon,
and even the ideologies we cherish.
To illustrate how attitudes affect various forms of behaviour, how they give form and structure
to personality, we may take the simple example of workers who tend to display an organised
pattern of attitudes towards their work, colleagues, superiors, and friends outside their work
place. That attitudes are basic features of personality influencing behaviour has been shown in
the study of attitudes of minority group members.
In our country the attitudes of the majority community may not be very tolerant towards the
minority groups. This is clear from the complaints made and concessions sought by the minority
groups from the central government.

Notes on the Formation of Attitudes:

We already know, an attitude as an organization of concepts, beliefs, habits, and motives
associated with an object. The formation of attitudes then consists of learning various concepts,
beliefs, habits, and motives. The formation of attitudes follows the basic principles of learning.
There are three interrelated principles, which help to explain how attitudes are learned; the
principles are of association, transfer, and need satisfaction.
Broadly speaking, we acquire feelings and reaction tendencies, the two essential components of
attitudes, through association and need satisfaction. In other words, we learn to fear and avoid
people, things or events associated with unpleasant happenings, and to like and approach those
people, things and events associated with pleasant happenings.
In the first case by avoiding and in the second case by approaching we seem to satisfy the basic
need for pleasure or comfort. For example, our most basic attitudes are acquired in infancy
through interaction with our parents and other members of our family.
An infant develops favourable attitudes towards parents and other members of the family simply
because they care for his needs. Their presence becomes associated with his comfort and general
wellbeing. In course of time, as parents become associated with punishments as well as
pleasures, the child’s attitudes towards them become complex and ambivalent.
Although feelings and reaction tendencies towards others are learned through association and
need satisfaction, we acquire our thoughts and beliefs, which is the third component of attitudes
in a different way. Actually speaking, we learn attitudes through transfer in the same way as we
learn meanings of concepts through instructions; for example, a child develops a meaning say
for “tiger” when told it is a “catlike” animal having the same features.
In this way, social agents like parents and teachers can transfer attitudes by suggesting how best
we should reorganize and integrate certain of our basic ideas. Thus for instance, parent or a
teacher can transfer completely favourable attitudes towards Schedule castes of tribes by
describing them as ill-treated, suppressed and yet hard working, friendly and lively; or by
transferring a negative attitude by describing them as lazy, undependable and untrustworthy.
We also develop attitudes by adopting the attitudes of other important people outside the family
circle. As we grow older, we tend to incorporate attitudes that seem appropriate for belonging to
groups we consider important. Sometimes we even change attitudes as a means of leaving one
group and becoming part of another.
The affective component of an attitude is considered by many psychologists to be at the core of
the attitude. It may be associated with several of the human motives. Some psychologists have
suggested that the formation and change of attitudes is probably different for attitudes with
different motivations.
Katz suggests four different motivational basis for attitudes:
(1) Utilitarian,
(2) Value-expressive,
(3) Ego- defensive, and
(4) Knowledge.
An attitude with a utilitarian basis is associated with the survival, safety, and some of the social
motives of the, individual. Katz suggests that a person acquires utilitarian attitudes through
experience with the object.
A value-expressive attitude is based on a person’s motive for self-esteem and self-actualization;
for example, a person who values world law will find satisfaction in expressing favourable
attitudes towards the United Nations. The formation of value-expressive attitudes seem to
depend on a person’s perception of the relation between the object, the attitude, and his ideal of
himself.
Ego-Defensive:
These attitudes like the value-expressive attitudes are also related to the motive for self-esteem
but in a negative way. These attitudes are formed to defend the ego from his anxieties and hence
they can be called defence mechanisms. Thus for instance, many psychologists are of the
opinion that prejudice towards minority groups may in some people represent projection or
displacement of feelings of hostility and inferiority onto the minority groups.
Some studies have shown that people who were dissatisfied with their economic conditions
tended to express hostile attitudes towards the minority than those who were satisfied.
Attitudes with a Knowledge:
These attitudes are acquired in relation to competence motives, specially the motives to have a
clear and consistent view of the world. Such attitudes are formed in one of the three ways- (1) by
actively seeking more information, or (2) by adopting towards the object the attitudes of other
people, or (3) by adopting attitudes towards the object that are consistent with the rest of his
thinking. The best example one could think of the second way of formation of attitudes
(adopting the attitudes of others) is that of stereotypes regarding other groups or nationalities.
Some attitudes have very little effect on an individual’s thinking and behaviour; others have a
great effect on thinking and behaviour in different situations. The greater the effect of an
attitude on thinking a behavior the more central it is. Some psychologists suggest that the
centrality of an attitude is partly due to the strength of the motives associated with the object
and partly due to persistent presence of the object in the individual’s environment.
Some attitudes are closely related to one another; that is, they share common or similar
concepts, beliefs, motive and habits. Such a cluster of attitudes is called the attitude system.