How many attitudes are there

Behavior does not always reflect attitudes. However, attitudes do determine behavior in some situations:. Example: Wyatt has an attitude that eating junk food is unhealthy. When he is at home, he does not eat chips or candy. However, when he is at parties, he indulges in these foods. Example: Megan might have a general attitude of respect toward seniors, but that would not prevent her from being disrespectful to an elderly woman who cuts her off at a stop sign.

However, if Megan has an easygoing attitude about being cut off at stop signs, she is not likely to swear at someone who cuts her off. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Social Psychology Quiz Review Questions. Summary Attitudes. How does it develop? Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way.

This can include evaluations of people, issues, objects, or events. Such evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain at times.

For example, you might have mixed feelings about a particular person or issue. Researchers also suggest that there are several different components that make up attitudes. Attitudes can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and that clearly influence our behaviors and beliefs. Implicit attitudes are unconscious but still have an effect on our beliefs and behaviors.

There are a number of factors that can influence how and why attitudes form. Here is a closer look at how attitudes form. Attitudes form directly as a result of experience. They may emerge due to direct personal experience, or they may result from observation. Social roles and social norms can have a strong influence on attitudes. Social roles relate to how people are expected to behave in a particular role or context.

Social norms involve society's rules for what behaviors are considered appropriate. Attitudes can be learned in a variety of ways. Consider how advertisers use classical conditioning to influence your attitude toward a particular product. In a television commercial, you see young, beautiful people having fun on a tropical beach while enjoying a sports drink. This attractive and appealing imagery causes you to develop a positive association with this particular beverage.

Operant conditioning can also be used to influence how attitudes develop. Imagine a young man who has just started smoking. Whenever he lights up a cigarette, people complain, chastise him, and ask him to leave their vicinity.

This negative feedback from those around him eventually causes him to develop an unfavorable opinion of smoking and he decides to give up the habit. Finally, people also learn attitudes by observing people around them. When someone you admire greatly espouses a particular attitude, you are more likely to develop the same beliefs.

For example, children spend a great deal of time observing the attitudes of their parents and usually begin to demonstrate similar outlooks. We tend to assume that people behave according to their attitudes. However, social psychologists have found that attitudes and actual behavior are not always perfectly aligned. After all, plenty of people support a particular candidate or political party and yet fail to go out and vote.

People also are more likely to behave according to their attitudes under certain conditions. In some cases, people may actually alter their attitudes in order to better align them with their behavior. Cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon in which a person experiences psychological distress due to conflicting thoughts or beliefs.

Imagine the following situation: You've always placed a high value on financial security, but you start dating someone who is very financially unstable. In order to reduce the tension caused by the conflicting beliefs and behavior, you have two options. You can end the relationship and seek out a partner who is more financially secure, or you can de-emphasize fiscal stability importance.

In order to minimize the dissonance between your conflicting attitude and behavior, you either have to change the attitude or change your actions. They express how much we like or dislike something or someone. Researchers have identified different types of attitudes in psychology. Read on to find out what they are. Here are the four kinds of attitudes that influence the way people look at the world:.

Positive Attitude A positive attitude involves having a positive mindset and thinking about the greater good irrespective of what the situation is. It helps you to accept your strengths and weaknesses and stay resilient. A positive attitude is instrumental in academic and professional success. When someone has a positive attitude, they often display confidence, optimism, happiness, reliability and flexibility. If Anil has a positive mindset, he will thank his manager and work on the areas that need improvement.

Negative Attitude A negative attitude prevents people from looking at things with hope or happiness. Many times people face adverse circumstances that make them adopt a negative attitude towards life.

Identify negative attitudes by labeling your emotions and monitoring your feelings. Anger, frustration and self-doubt are a few common symptoms.

Neutral Attitude People with a neutral attitude often remain complacent and self-satisfied. You can gauge a neutral attitude by identifying its various symptoms—not showing emotions or reacting to situations, letting things work out on their own and being indifferent to challenges. One of the most unique types of attitudes, neutrality has its advantages and disadvantages. While it can help you maintain stability in the face of setbacks, it can also make you feel detached from other people and from your goals.