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The ABC Model of Attitudes: A ect, Behavior & Cognition

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Instructor: Erin Long-Crowell

Attitudes are an important topic of study for social psychologists. In this lesson, we dene attitudes and discuss their three components
as illustrated by the ABC Model: aective, behavioral and cognitive.

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 is part of our daily lives. These attitudes aect the way we live
and the choices we make.

The snake is an attitude object eliciting fear in some individuals

Attitudes can be dened 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 aective, 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
aectively-based attitudes, behaviorally-based attitudes, and cognitively-based attitudes. Let's take a closer look at some
examples.

Aective Component
First, the aective 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 specic attitude, though; we will discuss the other two components a little later in this lesson.
Now, an attitude that is stemmed from or originally created by an emotion is called an aectively-based attitude.
Attitudes about hot-button issues - such as politics, sex, and religion - tend to be aectively-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

Political attitudes are typically aectively-based

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 identied the aective component of her
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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 nal 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

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Psychology 104: Social Psychology

10 chapters | 100 lessons | 9 ashcard sets

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1 - Introduction to Social Psychology

2 - Research Methods and Ethics

3 - Social Cognition & Perception

4 - The Self in a Social Context

5 - Attitudes and Persuasion

The ABC Model of Attitudes: A ect, Behavior & Cognition

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