PSYC 2120 Lecture : PSYC 2120 Chapter 6.docx
15 Apr 2013
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Most psychologists define an attitude as an evaluation of a person, object, or idea. They are evaluative in that they consist of a positive or negative reaction to something. Attitudes very in terms of whether they are more likely to be based on affect, cognition, or behaviour. An attitude based more on emotions and feelings than on an objective appraisal of pluses and minuses is called an affectively based attitude. These attitudes could come from people"s values, such as their religious and moral beliefs. Cognitively based attitudes to the extent that a person"s evaluation is based primarily on beliefs about the properties of an attitude object. The purpose of this attitude is to classify the pluses and minuses of an object so we can quickly tell whether it is worth our while to have anything to do with it. A behaviourally based attitude stems from people"s observations of how they behave toward an attitude object.
