Attitudes and Behavior

By Saul McLeod updated 2018

An attitude is "a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and

behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or
symbols" (Hogg & Vaughan 2005, p. 150)

"..a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity

with some degree of favor or disfavor" (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 1)

Structure of Attitudes
Attitudes structure can be described in terms of three components.

.‫ويمكن وصف هيكل المواقف من حيث ثالثة عناصر‬

o Affective component: this involves a person’s feelings / emotions about

the attitude object. For example: “I am scared of spiders”.
o ‫ "أنا خائف‬:‫ على سبيل المثال‬.‫ العواطف حول كائن الموقف‬/ ‫ وهذا ينطوي على مشاعر الشخص‬:‫العنصر العاطفي‬
‫"من العناكب‬.

o Behavioral (or conative) component: the way the attitude we have

influences on how we act or behave. For example: “I will avoid spiders and
scream if I see one”.

o ‫ على سبيل‬.‫ الطريقة التي يؤثر بها الموقف الذي نُؤثر عليه في كيفية تصرفنا أو تصرّفنا‬:)‫مكون سلوكي (أو ُم َكنّي‬
‫ "سأتجنب العناكب وأصرخ إذا رأيت واحدة‬:‫"المثال‬.

o Cognitive component: this involves a person’s belief / knowledge about an

attitude object. For example: “I believe spiders are dangerous”.
 ‫ "أعتقد أن‬:‫ على سبيل المثال‬.‫ المعرفة حول كائن الموقف‬/ ‫ وهذا ينطوي على اعتقاد الشخص‬:‫العنصر المعرفي‬ o
."‫العناكب خطيرة‬

This model is known as the ABC model of attitudes.

One of the underlying assumptions about the link between attitudes and behavior
is that of consistency. This means that we often or usually expect the behavior of a
person to be consistent with the attitudes that they hold. This is called the principle
of consistency.

The principle of consistency reflects the idea that people are rational and attempt
to behave rationally at all times and that a person’s behavior should be consistent
with their attitude(s).

Whilst this principle may be a sound one, it is clear that people do not always
follow it, sometimes behaving in seemingly quite illogical ways; for example,
smoking cigarettes and knowing that smoking causes lung cancer and heart
disease.

There is evidence that the cognitive and affective components of behavior do not
always match with behavior. This is shown in a study by LaPiere (1934).

Attitude Strength
The strength with which an attitude is held is often a good predictor of behavior.
The stronger the attitude the more likely it should affect behavior. Attitude
strength involves:
‫ كلما كان الموقف أقوى كلما كان من المرجح أن يؤثر على‬.‫القوة التي يتم عقد موقف غالبا ما يكون مؤشرا جيدا للسلوك‬
‫ قوة الموقف ينطوي على‬.‫السلوك‬:

Importance / personal relevance refers to how significant the attitude is for the

person and relates to self-interest, social identification and value.
‫ وتحديد الهوية االجتماعية‬،‫ األهمية الشخصية إلى مدى أهمية الموقف بالنسبة للشخص ويرتبط بالمصلحة الذاتية‬/ ‫تشير األهمية‬
‫والقيمة‬.

If an attitude has a high self-interest for a person (i.e. it is held by a group the
person is a member of or would like to be a member of, and is related to a
person's values), it is going to be extremely important.
As a consequence, the attitude will have a very strong influence upon a person's
behavior. By contrast, an attitude will not be important to a person if it does not
relate in any way to their life.

The knowledge aspect of attitude strength covers how much a person knows

about the attitude object. People are generally more knowledgeable about topics
that interest them and are likely to hold strong attitudes (positive or negative) as a
consequence.

Attitudes based on direct experience are more strongly held and influence
behavior more than attitudes formed indirectly (for example, through hear-say,
reading or watching television).

The Function of Attitudes

Attitudes can serve functions for the individual.  Daniel Katz (1960) outlines four
functional areas:

Knowledge
Attitudes provide meaning (knowledge) for life.  The knowledge function refers to
our need for a world which is consistent and relatively stable. 

This allows us to predict what is likely to happen, and so gives us a sense of

control. Attitudes can help us organize and structure our experience. 

Knowing a person’s attitude helps us predict their behavior. For example, knowing
that a person is religious we can predict they will go to Church.

Self / Ego-expressive
The attitudes we express (1) help communicate who we are and (2) may make us
feel good because we have asserted our identity.  Self-expression of attitudes can
be non-verbal too: think bumper sticker, cap, or T-shirt slogan. 

Therefore, our attitudes are part of our identify, and help us to be aware through
the expression of our feelings, beliefs and values.36.

Adaptive
If a person holds and/or expresses socially acceptable attitudes, other people will
reward them with approval and social acceptance. 
For example, when people flatter their bosses or instructors (and believe it) or
keep silent if they think an attitude is unpopular.  Again, expression can be
nonverbal [think politician kissing baby]. 

Attitudes then, are to do with being apart of a social group and the adaptive
functions helps us fit in with a social group. People seek out others who share their
attitudes, and develop similar attitudes to those they like.

Ego-defensive
The ego-defensive function refers to holding attitudes that protect our self-
esteem or that justify actions that make us feel guilty.  For example, one way
children might defend themselves against the feelings of humiliation they have
experienced in P.E. lessons is to adopt a strongly negative attitude to all sports.

People whose pride has suffered following a defeat in sport might similarly adopt
a defensive attitude: “I’m not bothered, I’m sick of rugby anyway…”.  This function
has psychiatric overtones.  Positive attitudes towards ourselves, for example, have
a protective function (i.e. an ego-defensive role) in helping us reserve our self-
image.

The basic idea behind the functional approach is that attitudes help a person to
mediate between their own inner needs (expression, defense) and the outside
world (adaptive and knowledge).

The basic idea behind the functional approach is that attitudes help a person to
mediate between their own inner needs (expression, defense) and the outside
world (adaptive and knowledge).

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How to reference this article:

McLeod, S. A. (2018, May 21). Attitudes and behavior. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/attitudes.html

APA Style References

Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich College Publishers.

Hogg, M., & Vaughan, G. (2005). Social Psychology (4th edition). London: Prentice-
Hall.

Katz, D. (1960).  Public opinion quarterly, 24, 163 - 204.

LaPiere, R. T. (1934). Attitudes vs. Actions. Social Forces, 13, 230-237.

Further Information

Attitude Measurement Attitudes: Structure and Functions Attitudes and

Behavior 

Unconscious Attitudes<

Attitudes 

  Download this article as a PDF

How to reference this article:

McLeod, S. A. (2018, May 21). Attitudes and behavior. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/attitudes.html