Attitude as a thought has played a critical role in social psychology for many decades. Hogg and Cooper (2007) asserted that attitude formation entails three processes, namely: affect, cognition, and behavior. The paper will discuss the function of attitudes and the influence of attitude on behavior.
Affect attitude formation
The process that is entailed in the affective formation of attitude is simply the exposure, classical, and operant conditioning, modeling, as well as observational learning. One way of attitude formation through affective method is mere exposure that is a concept of absolute rate of experiencing an originally neutral or constructive impetus that boosts the assessment of it. For instance, passing numerous decorative lamps every evening near the residence and given a chance to select the lamps for review, it will be likely I demonstrate a preference for the same style of lamps founded on the phenomenon of “mere exposure”. Another way of creating an affective attitude is through operant conditioning that entails recognized emotional model of punishment, as well as rewards (Fiske, 2010).
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Cognitive Attitude Formation
The cognitive models of the formation of an attitude trend toward more informational reasoned strategies towards forming an attitude. For example, an individual gets information, assesses this information, and then makes the decisions on their stance on this information. More accurately, an assertiveness is fashioned based on the cognitions when an individual will consider either the outlook object has necessary or unwanted qualities, or that the assertiveness thing will come with unfavorite or desired consequences (Hogg & Cooper, 2007, pp. 125). For instance, my affirmative or negative assertiveness towards an individual or a place is founded on the total of the individual or place’s qualities.
Behavioral Attitude Formation
The use Bem’s Self-perception model of 1972 to attitude creation asserts that, in circumstances in which a person is indistinct, the individual will replicate on their behaviors for solutions. Thus, via the ascription of their conduct to their internal or external sources, a person can surmise their attitude to the object at hand. For instance, if asked about my favorite color, I will look closer and look at the predominant color in my clothes, which is an internal attribution or look around my environment and select a predominant color, which is external attribution.
Functions of Attitudes
Attitude serve a utilitarian role enhance individual’s fundamental existence in the most basic ways (Hogg & Cooper, 2007). For instance, a negative attitude to dark backstreet functions as a security instrument since it is feasible that anything wicked may occur in a dark backstreet. In the same way, a positive attitude towards job assists individuals to socialize with others and improve both social besides economic status.
Also, attitude function a knowledge role in the progress of attitudes assists people to make sense along with implication, ascertain cause and effect, and fundamentally comprehend daily happenings. In the sense, knowledge is related to the object assessment that makes the individual approach the object or not.
Attitudes functioning as an object evaluation serve in regard to the utilization of heuristics, as well as a cognitive saver method with an equal object. For example, heuristics are designed to hypothetically help in automaticity, secure cognitive time along with functional stress needed to make complex judgments in any circumstance (Fiske, 2012).
The two other functions that attitude serve are value-expressive, as well as ego-defensive. The ego-defensive attitudes function as security mechanisms when a person meets a probable danger to their optimistic nous of self. On the other hand, value-expressive outlooks are agents of a person’s significant belief; that these beliefs individual consider are illustrative of own self-identity (Hogg & Cooper, 2007).
Attitude Impact on Behavior
Attitudes have a noteworthy effect on an individual’s conduct since they fundamentally determine person’s most fundamental likes, as well as dislikes toward each probable thing, place, or person. The positive or negative attitude impacts each element of life that includes politics, religion, finances, career, and family among other elements. It has been found that attitude changes the behavior of an individual. For example, the attitude to the vagrant will dictate whether one will halt and assist the person on the street. In the same way, the task of a specific attitude may too change conduct. For example, provided a case where my outlook is anti-smoking and my manager appeals my attendance outside the office whilst he takes a cigar, the task being attended by my assertiveness will probably dictate conduct. Also, if the anti-smoking attitude is exceedingly value-expressive, it is improbable that I will see my boss. On the contrary, presuming an expectancy-value theory approach, it could be very promising to assess the positive and negatives of all the diverse attributes, elements, as well as entrenched attitudes besides arriving at a verdict for or against meeting a boss.
Conclusion
The all-encompassing drive of the assignment is to offer the reader with a demonstration of my investigation, as well as synthesis of information in line with attitude formation, function, as well as the impact on individual behavior. The paper also discussed attitude formation via cognitive, affect and behavior and lastly the impact of attitude on conduct.
References
Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (2010). Essential social psychology (2nd Ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Fiske, S. T. (2010). Social beings: Core motives in social psychology (2nd Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Hogg, M. A., & Cooper, J. M. (Eds.). (2007). The Sage handbook of social psychology (concise student Ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
