ATTITUDES

Attitude is the “psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor” (Eagly & Chainken, 1993, p. 1). It is difficult for humans to remain indifferent to relevant issues, people, behaviors, events, and other components of social life. We can make evaluative judgments for almost everything. An abstract concept (e.g., justice), a concrete object (e.g., a painting), a behavior (e.g., playing football) or a class of behaviors (e.g., playing sports), specific entities or people (e.g., the prime minister of my country), or general entities (e.g., politicians). These evaluative judgments, which humans use to make sense of the world, are referred to as attitudes.  

Attitudes are pervasive and can be defined as feelings towards an object, an association between an object and its summary evaluation in the memory, or a psychological tendency entailing an enduring evaluative judgment of an object. This evaluation can be positive or negative, favorable or unfavorable (like or dislike), more or less conscious, and it is relatively stable over time. Nevertheless, attitudes are learned through direct experience and social interaction (e.g., classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social or observational learning); thus, they can be altered, for example, through persuasion. Attitudes vary in direction (favorable or unfavorable), intensity (extreme or mild positions), and accessibility (degree of automaticity with which they are activated). 

Given that attitudes are psychological entities, they are inferred from the observation of behaviors (verbal or non-verbal), the justifications given for a certain behavior, and expressed emotions. They can assume the form of cognitions (thoughts, opinions, and beliefs), emotions and feelings (e.g., fear, love), and behaviors or behavioral intentions (e.g., intention to vote in the next election). An attitude can be expressed through only one of these forms or by two or more forms. The relationship between these forms of expression of attitudes is synergetic; that is, when present, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors tend to be congruent regarding their direction on the spectrum of favorable/unfavorable.  

Attitudes influence and are influenced by our behavior. Positive attitudes predispose behaviour that supports or reinforces the object of the attitude, while negative attitudes predispose behaviour that is unfavourable towards the object of the attitude. Moreover, the expression of attitudes can be shaped by values, beliefs, personality dispositions, self-awareness, social context, individuals’ perceptions of the attitudes held by others in their social networks, and identification with social groups.  

Attitudes in which the object has political implications (e.g., attitudes regarding taxes) or is a social group (e.g., migrants) are designated political and social attitudes; for example, prejudice is a social attitude. 

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