Attitudes are an important topic of study for social psychologists.

In this lesson, we define attitudes

Attitudes and the ABC Model

Do you believe that God exists? What's your opinion on politics? What are your favorite pizza
toppings? These questions may be seemingly unrelated, but it's likely you have strong opinions
about all three of these topics. Developing opinions and forming likes and dislikes about everything
around us are part of our daily lives. These attitudes affect the way we live and the choices we make.

Attitudes can be defined as evaluations of ideas, events, objects, or people. Attitudes are generally
positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain at times. For example, sometimes we have
mixed feelings about a particular issue or person. Regardless, attitudes are an important topic of
study for social psychologists because they help determine what we do - what we eat, how we vote,
what we do with our free time, and so on.

Every attitude has three components that are represented in what is called the ABC model of
attitudes: A for affective, B for behavioral, and C for cognitive. Although every attitude has these
three components, any particular attitude can be based on one component more than another.

In other words, each component can also be the answer to the question: where does an attitude
come from? There are affectively-based attitudes, behaviorally-based attitudes, and cognitively-
based attitudes. Let's take a closer look at some examples.

Affective Component

The snake is an attitude object eliciting fear in some individuals.

First, the affective component refers to the emotional reaction one has toward an attitude object.
Think of someone - we'll name her Alice - who has ophidiophobia (a phobia of snakes). A snake is an
attitude object. Whenever Alice is exposed to a snake - whether she sees one or thinks about one -
she feels extreme anxiety and fear. This is only one component of this specific attitude, though; we
will discuss the other two components a little later in this lesson.

Political attitudes are typically affectively-based.

Now, an attitude that is stemmed from or originally created by an emotion is called an affectively-
based attitude. Attitudes about hot-button issues - such as politics, sex, and religion - tend to be
affectively-based, as they usually come from a person's values. This type of attitude is used to
express and validate our moral belief or value systems.
Behavioral Component

The next component of an attitude is the behavioral component, and it refers to the way one
behaves when exposed to an attitude object. Think about Alice and her snake phobia again. We
already identified the affective component of her attitude towards snakes - fear and anxiety. How do
you think she behaves when it comes to snakes? Most likely, she avoids them whenever possible. If
she does see one, she probably screams or cries. This behavior is the second component of that
particular attitude.

As for attitudes that are rooted in behavior, think again about the question: where does an attitude
come from? Sometimes, we are unsure of our feelings about a particular topic. Imagine a friend asks
if you like hummus. Since you don't regularly eat hummus and can't immediately recall what it tastes
like, you think back about the times that you have eaten it. You remember that you normally eat all
of the hummus you are given, so conclude that you must like it (or at least, that you don't dislike it).
Because your attitude is determined by observing your own behavior, this is an example of a
behaviorally-based attitude.

Cognitive Component

The third and final component of an attitude is the cognitive component, and it refers to the
thoughts and beliefs one has about an attitude object. We've already determined that Alice avoids
snakes and is scared when she is exposed to them. But, what does she think about snakes? It's likely
she believes that all snakes are dangerous and gross. Beyond the physical and emotional reactions of
her phobia, there is also this cognitive component of her attitude.

Attitudes based on facts, such as computer speed, are cognitively-based.

An attitude that is constructed primarily through facts instead of emotions or observations of our
behavior is a cognitively-based attitude. For example, what is your attitude towards your computer?
It's likely based on facts and figures, such as how fast it is and what programs you have installed.
Although this may result in an emotion (such as frustration), your attitude isn't based on emotion -
it's based on your thoughts of the properties of the object.

Lesson Summary

In summary, attitudes can be defined as evaluations of ideas, events, objects, or people. They are an
important topic of study for social psychologists because they affect the way we live and the choices
we make. Every attitude has three components that are represented in what is called the ABC model
of attitudes: A for affective, B for behavioral, and C for cognitive.

The affective component refers to the emotional reaction one has toward an attitude object. For
example, 'I feel scared when I think about or see a snake.' The behavioral component refers to the
way one behaves when exposed to an attitude object. For example, 'I avoid snakes and scream if I
see one.' The cognitive component refers to the thoughts and beliefs one has about an attitude
object. For example, 'I think snakes are gross and dangerous.'

Although every attitude has these three components, any particular attitude can be based more on
one component than another. In other words, each can also be the answer to the question: where
does an attitude come from? An affectively-based attitude stems from one's emotions and values. A
behaviorally-based attitude stems from one's observations of one's own behavior. A cognitively-
based attitude stems from one's thoughts about the properties of an object.

Attitudes: Explicit vs. Implicit

Part of what makes each one of us unique is our combination of opinions and attitudes about the
world around us. Every day, our attitudes about ideas, events, objects or people help determine the
way we live and the choices we make. In another lesson, we discuss the fact that attitudes have
affective, behavioral and cognitive components. We also discuss the fact that attitudes can stem
from each of these components. Once an attitude is formed, though, how is it manifested? Unless
someone tells us, how do we know someone's attitude toward something?

Interestingly, an attitude can actually exist at two different levels. Explicit attitudes are attitudes
that are at the conscious level, are deliberately formed and are easy to self-report. On the other
hand, implicit attitudes are attitudes that are at the unconscious level, are involuntarily formed and
are typically unknown to us.

Imagine you're out with some friends and meet someone new. This new acquaintance is wearing a
Dallas Cowboys jersey, and they happen to be your favorite team. You decide you already like this
person and start a friendly conversation. From an attitude perspective, you consciously noticed the
jersey and determined that this was obviously someone with which you would get along. Your
attitude is at the conscious level, was deliberately formed and you are able to tell someone else
about your attitude.

Now, imagine the same scene. You are out with your friends. You vaguely notice some of the
strangers around you but don't meet anyone. You talk with your friends but feel extremely
uncomfortable. Maybe your friend even notices and asks what's wrong, but you have no idea. In this
scenario, it would be possible that one of the strangers near you reminds you of someone from your
past that you greatly disliked. Your attitude towards this person is what is making you feel
uncomfortable. However, the attitude is at the unconscious level, was involuntarily formed, and you
have no idea it's there, so you couldn't tell anyone about it.

It is possible and quite common for an explicit attitude and an implicit attitude to contradict each
other. Prejudice is a frequently used example. Imagine Greg, a middle-class white man who
genuinely believes that all races are equal and despises any kind of racial bias. This is Greg's explicit
attitude. He is aware of his strong opinion and can easily share this with others. Yet, he is unaware
that any time he is around Hispanics, he acts rather nervous. If Greg grew up in a small town with
strong negative stereotypes about Hispanic people, it's possible that some of these negative ideas
influenced him without his knowledge. He may subconsciously believe that Hispanics are dangerous.
This is Greg's contradicting implicit attitude. It was involuntarily created, and he is not aware of it.
Measuring Explicit Attitudes

So, again, how do we know someone's attitude toward a particular subject? In the real world, how
do we determine Greg's attitude about Hispanics? The answer to this question is a source of some
debate, but a variety of methods have been created to measure attitudes both explicit and implicit.

Because explicit attitudes are known to the subject and can be observed by an outsider, self-
reporting and observation are the two most common methods to determine explicit attitudes. The
biggest advantage for both methods is the ease of collecting the data. However, neither measure is
infallible. For example, although self-reporting seems to be mostly accurate, we must assume that
each subject is highly self-aware and honest, which may not always be the case.

Measuring Implicit Attitudes

Measuring implicit attitudes is much more difficult than measuring explicit attitudes. After all, the
implicit attitude is unknown to the subject. One popular method of determining implicit attitudes is
the Implicit Association Test (IAT), in which subjects quickly categorize words or pictures, and the
results are used to determine automatic associations between concepts and attributes.

Imagine Greg was taking an IAT. He would have to categorize a long list of words and/or pictures
very quickly. The amount of time for each word and/or picture would be so brief that he would not
have time to think; the categorization would be from his automatic reactions. If he categorized
Hispanic people or communities under negative attributes (bad, dangerous, etc.) before he had a
chance to think about it, this would suggest a negative implicit attitude towards Hispanics.

The use of the IAT is a subject of controversy, because many question its internal validity,
particularly when it comes to measuring racial prejudice. Skeptics say the test merely demonstrates
the tendency for all of us to prefer our in-group and have the most positive associations with people
who are similar to us. In other words, the IAT validates a part of human nature instead measuring
individual racial prejudice.

Lesson Summary

In summary, an attitude can exist at two different levels. Explicit attitudes are attitudes that are at
the conscious level, are deliberately formed and are easy to self-report. Because explicit attitudes
are known to the subject and can be observed by an outsider, self-reporting and observation are the
two most common methods to determine explicit behaviors. The biggest advantage for both
methods is the ease of collecting the data. However, we must assume that each subject is highly self-
aware and honest, which may not always be the case.

Implicit attitudes are attitudes that are at the unconscious level, are involuntarily formed and are
typically unknown to us. One popular method of determining implicit attitudes is the Implicit
Association Test (IAT), in which subjects quickly categorize words or pictures, and the results are
used to determine automatic associations between concepts and attributes. Use of the IAT is a
subject of controversy, and skeptics say the test merely demonstrates the tendency for humans to
prefer people who are similar to us rather than measuring individual racial prejudice.
Every day, other people try to persuade us into changing our attitudes and behavior. In this lesson,
we discuss a couple of ways to resist persuasion - using attitude inoculation, in particular. We define
attitude inoculation and explain how it can prevent attitude change in spite of persuasion efforts.

Resisting Persuasion

We have discussed several ways in which others can change our attitudes and even our behavior. As
it frequently occurs without our knowledge, it can be scary to think about how easy it can be to
manipulate us. The good news is that there are ways for us to resist persuasion. Several studies have
found that simply being aware of the possibility of an upcoming attempt at persuasion makes us less
susceptible to that attempt.

For example, one reason that product placement in a TV show or movie works is because people do
not realize that someone is trying to influence them. If we are aware of the use of product
placement as advertisement, we are likely to avoid attitude change as a result of this awareness. An
even more effective method of resisting persuasion that expands upon simple awareness of
persuasion techniques is attitude inoculation - the subject of this lesson.

What Is Attitude Inoculation?

Attitude inoculation is a technique used to make people immune to attempts to change their
attitude by first exposing them to small arguments against their position. It is so named because it
works just like medical inoculation, which exposes a person's body to a weak version of a virus. The
weakened virus triggers the production of antibodies in response, but it is not strong enough to
overwhelm the body's resistance. Later, when exposed to the full virus, the body knows what to
expect and is better able to resist than it would have been before the inoculation.

Attitude inoculation, then, exposes a person to a weak logical argument that is contrary to their pre-
existing attitude. This triggers the creation of counterarguments in response. Later, when exposed to
a strong persuasion technique that attempts to change their pre-existing attitude through logic, the
individual already has arguments to use in defence.

William McGuire's Experiment

For example, imagine you are the parent of a young boy and want to do everything you can to help
him resist the peer pressure to smoke that he may encounter one day. One thing you could do to
help is to facilitate attitude inoculation. By role-playing some actual scenarios your son may face,
you could help him devise strategies to resist the pressure to smoke. As a matter of fact, real
research conducted in junior high and high schools have shown that using attitude inoculation
dramatically reduces rates of teenage smoking.

Another example of attitude inoculation comes from an experiment conducted in the early 1960s.
William McGuire was the social psychologist who developed the theory of attitude inoculation. In his
classic study, he separated participants into two groups. One group received information that
argued that brushing one's teeth may do more harm than good. This was followed by a group
discussion and presentation of information that refuted the evidence in favor of the original belief
that brushing one's teeth is very beneficial. The second group did not receive any information, nor
did they have a discussion about the topic.

One week later, both groups were presented with a strong argument against frequent brushing. As
you likely suspect, members of the first group - the one that was inoculated - had a number of
counterarguments ready and were more able to resist the persuasion. Members of the second
group, who never had the opportunity to think about the subject beforehand, were much more
susceptible to the persuasive argument.

Although it may seem odd that people would be so easily convinced that a widely accepted fact is
untrue, McGuire explained that it is easy to change people's minds about things that they have
always taken for granted. This is because most people have very little - if any - practice defending an
attack on an attitude that no one ever questions.