Psychology 2070A/B Chapter 6: CHAPTER 6 NOTES
19 Jan 2016
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Attitude: an evaluation of a person, object or idea. Attitudes have 3 components: can be positive or negative reaction, or both (ambivalence, affective component: emotional reactions. Something makes us feel happy/angry, another person or social issues: cognitive component: thoughts and beliefs, behavioural component: actions and observable behaviour. The part that can be put into words. Based more on emotions and feelings than on objective appraisal of pluses and minuses. Doesn"t result from rational examination of issues. Not governed by logic: persuasive arguments don"t really have a big influence, they aren"t effective for changing how you feel about something, trying to change affective attitudes can challenge people"s values. Met with resistance from people when you try to do this. Focus on objective facts/merits/properties, pluses and minuses etc. We can feel positively about something or someone (positive affective attitude) even if we have negative beliefs about the something or someone (negative cognitive attitude: ex: dating the bad boy" or bad girl".
