FORMATION OF ATTITUDE
AND
ATTITUDE CHANGE
INTRODUCTION
An attitude is a hypothetical construct in that it can only be inferred
through the behaviour of the individual. Attitudes are acquired and
they develop out of influence of many factors. On the basis of
researches and studies conducted, the psychologists have identified
factors that determine development and formation of attitudes. This
unit is focussed on the issues of how attitudes are formed, what
factors constitute attitude formation and what are the methods by
which one can change the attitude.
FACTORS OF ATTITUDE FORMATION
Need Satisfaction: Research studies on “Need Satisfaction”, reveal
that we tend to develop favourable attitude toward things which
help us satisfy our needs. As is well known, whenever something
hinders our reaching a goal or stop us from doing something that we
want to or frustrate our attempts to satisfy our goals and needs, we
feel negatively for those things which stand in our way. For example,
in an experimental study it was found that students developed
favourable attitudes toward those things which they viewed were
instrumental in the attainment of goal. But they had negative
attitude toward things that were of no use in goal attainment or
which hindered goal achievement.
, Social learning: This is another factor that plays an important role in
the development of attitude. Process of learning affects the
development of attitude and the way an individual learns other
forms of behaviour.
Three processes of learning affect development of attitudes and
these are (i) Classical conditioning (ii) Instrumental conditioning and
(iii) Observational learning. These are being discussed below:
Classical Conditioning: According to classical learning a neutral
stimulus comes to elicit an unconditioned response when repeatedly
paired with an unconditioned stimulus. Social psychologists opine
that it applies to the development of attitudes as well.
In a classic experiment on the role of classical conditioning in
attitude formation, two nation words – Dutch and Swedish were
presented before a group of subjects. When the word Dutch was
presented, it was followed by recitation of positive adjectives like
happy, laborious and sacred etc. But the word Swedish was followed
by recitation of negative adjectives like dirty, ugly, bitter etc. At the
end of the experiment, it was found that subjects had developed
positive attitude toward the nation word Dutch as it was followed by
positive adjectives and a negative attitude among subjects was
evident for the nation word Swedish. It was presumed that repeated
pairing with positive words elicited a positive response for nation
word Dutch.
Instrumental Conditioning: According to this theory of learning
states, we learn those responses that are rewarded and show an
increased probability of repeating such responses. However, we tend
not to repeat responses that are punished. Studies reveal that
children develop attitudes maintained by their parents simply
because holding such attitudes is rewarding. Exhibition of attitudes
and behaviour similar to parents is often met with reward and praise
AND
ATTITUDE CHANGE
INTRODUCTION
An attitude is a hypothetical construct in that it can only be inferred
through the behaviour of the individual. Attitudes are acquired and
they develop out of influence of many factors. On the basis of
researches and studies conducted, the psychologists have identified
factors that determine development and formation of attitudes. This
unit is focussed on the issues of how attitudes are formed, what
factors constitute attitude formation and what are the methods by
which one can change the attitude.
FACTORS OF ATTITUDE FORMATION
Need Satisfaction: Research studies on “Need Satisfaction”, reveal
that we tend to develop favourable attitude toward things which
help us satisfy our needs. As is well known, whenever something
hinders our reaching a goal or stop us from doing something that we
want to or frustrate our attempts to satisfy our goals and needs, we
feel negatively for those things which stand in our way. For example,
in an experimental study it was found that students developed
favourable attitudes toward those things which they viewed were
instrumental in the attainment of goal. But they had negative
attitude toward things that were of no use in goal attainment or
which hindered goal achievement.
, Social learning: This is another factor that plays an important role in
the development of attitude. Process of learning affects the
development of attitude and the way an individual learns other
forms of behaviour.
Three processes of learning affect development of attitudes and
these are (i) Classical conditioning (ii) Instrumental conditioning and
(iii) Observational learning. These are being discussed below:
Classical Conditioning: According to classical learning a neutral
stimulus comes to elicit an unconditioned response when repeatedly
paired with an unconditioned stimulus. Social psychologists opine
that it applies to the development of attitudes as well.
In a classic experiment on the role of classical conditioning in
attitude formation, two nation words – Dutch and Swedish were
presented before a group of subjects. When the word Dutch was
presented, it was followed by recitation of positive adjectives like
happy, laborious and sacred etc. But the word Swedish was followed
by recitation of negative adjectives like dirty, ugly, bitter etc. At the
end of the experiment, it was found that subjects had developed
positive attitude toward the nation word Dutch as it was followed by
positive adjectives and a negative attitude among subjects was
evident for the nation word Swedish. It was presumed that repeated
pairing with positive words elicited a positive response for nation
word Dutch.
Instrumental Conditioning: According to this theory of learning
states, we learn those responses that are rewarded and show an
increased probability of repeating such responses. However, we tend
not to repeat responses that are punished. Studies reveal that
children develop attitudes maintained by their parents simply
because holding such attitudes is rewarding. Exhibition of attitudes
and behaviour similar to parents is often met with reward and praise
