Attitude: A favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction to something or someone, exhibited in one’s beliefs, feelings, or intended behavior

• Can be positive, negative, or ambivalent
• Explicit Attitudes: Attitudes which we consciously endorse and can easily report.
• Implicit Attitudes: Attitudes which are involuntary, uncontrollable, nonconscious.

Tripartite Model (aka. ABC Model): Attitudes have 3 components

• Affective: Emotional reactions toward the attitude object (e.g. liking Drake songs)
• Behavioral: Actions or observable behavior toward the object (e.g. listen to Drake songs)
• Cognitive: Thoughts and beliefs about the object (e.g. don’t think Drake is a good rapper)
• Differences between 3 components create ambivalent attitude.

Measure Attitudes

Explicit: Questionnaire of how positively or negatively people feel about an attitude object.

Implicit Association Test (IAT): Measure association strength between objects by comparing reaction times. (Faster = More associated)

Where do Attitudes Come From

• Experience (classical & observational conditioning)
• Mere expousre
• Heuristics

How formed attitudes strengthen:

• Greater accessibility (repeated activation/use)
• False Consensus Effect: Surrounding oneself with others sharing the same attitudes
• Confirmation Bias: Gather evidence to confirm attitude