CHAPTER 6: ATTITUDE AND SOCIAL COGNITION

Definition of attitude:
An attitude is a state of the mind, a set of views or thoughts regarding
some topic (called the ‘attitude object’) which have an evaluative feature
(positive, negative or neutral quality).

If your views are not merely thoughts, but also have emotional and action
components, then these views are more than ‘opinions’; they are examples of
attitudes.

Components of attitudes:

• Affective component (emotional aspect)

• Behavioural component (conative aspect)
• Cognitive component (thought component)

Attitudes Beliefs Values

Opinions which have Beliefs refer to the Values are attitudes or

an emotional and cognitive component of beliefs that contain a
action component are attitudes, and form the ‘should’ or ‘ought’
called attitudes. ground on which aspect, such as moral or
attitudes stand ethical values.

E.g. – E.g. – belief in God, belief E.g. – value of hard

attitude/opinion in democracy, etc work, honesty is the
towards dowry, child best policy, etc
marriage, etc
Features of attitudes:

Four significant features of attitudes are:

1. Valence (positivity or negativity): The valence of an attitude tells

us whether an attitude is positive or negative towards the attitude
object.

Suppose an attitude (say, towards nuclear research) has to be

expressed on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (Very bad), 2 (Bad), 3
(Neutral — neither good nor bad), and 4 (Good), to 5 (Ver good). If an
individual rates her/his view towards nuclear research as 4 or 5, this
is clearly a positive attitude (likes the idea of nuclear research. On the
other hand, if the rating is 1 or 2, the attitude is negative (dislikes the
idea of nuclear research). A neutral attitude towards nuclear research
would be shown by a rating of 3 on the same scale. A neutral attitude
would have neither positive nor negative valence.

2. Extremeness: The extremeness of an attitude indicates how

positive or negative an attitude is.

Taking the nuclear research example given above, a rating of 1 is as

extreme as a rating of 5 : they are only in the opposite directions
(valence). Ratings of 2 and 4 are less extreme. A neutral attitude, of
course, is lowest on extremeness.

3. Simplicity or Complexity (multiplexity): This feature refers to how

many attitudes there are within a broader attitude.

Think of an attitude as a family containing several ‘member’ attitudes.

In case of various topics, such as health and world peace, people hold
many attitudes instead of single attitude. Consider the example of
attitude towards health and well-being. This attitude system is likely to
consist of several ‘member’ attitudes, such as one’s concept of physical
and mental health, views about happiness and well-being, and beliefs
about how one should achieve health and happiness.

By contrast, the attitude towards a particular person is likely to consist

of mainly one attitude.

An attitude system is said to be ‘simple’ if it contains only one or a few

attitudes, and ‘complex’ if it is made up of many attitudes.
.
4. Centrality: This refers to the role of a particular attitude in the
attitude system.

An attitude with greater centrality would influence the other attitudes

in the system much more than non-central (or peripheral) attitudes
would.

For example, in the attitude towards world peace, a negative attitude

towards high military expenditure may be present as a core or central
attitude that influences all other attitudes in the multiple attitude
system.

❖ ATTITUDE FORMATION AND CHANGE

In general, attitudes are learned through one’s own experiences, and

through interaction with others.

Process of attitude formation

The processes and conditions of learning may be different, resulting in

varying attitudes among people.

a) Learning attitudes by association: Students often develop a liking

for a particular subject because of the teacher. This is because they see
many positive qualities in that teacher; these positive qualities get
linked to the subject that s/he teaches. In other words, a positive
attitude towards the subject is learned through the positive association
between a teacher and a student.

b) Learning attitudes by being rewarded or punished: If an individual

is praised for showing a particular attitude, chances are high that s/he
will develop that attitude further. For example, if a teenager does
yogasanas regularly, and gets the honour of being ‘Miss Good Health’
in her school, she may develop a positive attitude towards yoga and
health in general. Similarly, if a child constantly falls ill because s/he
eats junk food then the child is likely to develop a negative attitude
towards junk food.

c) Learning attitudes through modelling (observing others): We learn

attitudes by observing others being rewarded or punished for
expressing thoughts, or showing behaviour of a particular kind towards
the attitude object.
 For example, children may form a respectful attitude towards elders, by
observing that their parents show respect for elders, and are
appreciated for it.

d) Learning attitudes through group or cultural norms: Very often, we

learn attitudes through the norms of our group or culture. Norms are
unwritten rules about behaviour that everyone is supposed to show
under specific circumstances. Learning attitudes through group or
cultural norms may actually be an example of all three forms of
learning— learning through association, reward or punishment, and
modelling.

For example, offering money, sweets, fruit and flowers in a place of

worship is a normative behaviour in some religions. When individuals
see that such behaviour is shown by others, is expected and socially
approved, they may ultimately develop a positive attitude towards such
behaviour.

e) Learning through exposure to information: Many attitudes are

learned in a social context, but not necessarily in the physical presence
of others. With the huge amount of information that is being provided
through various media, both positive and negative attitudes are being
formed.

By reading the biographies of self-actualised persons, an individual

may develop a positive attitude towards hard work and other aspects
as the means of achieving success in life.

Factors that Influence Attitude Formation

The following factors provide the context for the learning of attitudes
through the processes described above:

1. Family and School Environment: Particularly in the early years of

life, parents and other family members play a significant role in
shaping attitude formation. Later, the school environment becomes
an important background for attitude formation.

Learning of attitudes within the family and school usually takes

place by association, through rewards and punishments, and
through modelling.
 2. Reference Groups: Reference groups indicate to an individual the
norms regarding acceptable behaviour and ways of thinking. Thus,
they reflect learning of attitudes through group or cultural norms.

Attitudes towards various topics, such as political, religious and

social groups, occupations, national and other issues are often
developed through reference groups.

Their influence is noticeable especially during the beginning of

adolescence, at which time it is important for the individual to feel
that s/he belongs to a group. Therefore, the role of reference groups
in attitude formation may also be a case of learning through reward
and punishment.

3. Personal Experiences: Many attitudes are formed, not in the family

environment or through reference groups, but through direct
personal experiences which bring about a drastic change in our
attitude towards people and our own life.

Here is a real-life example: A driver in the army went through a

personal experience that transformed his life. On one mission, he
narrowly escaped death although all his companions got killed.
Wondering about the purpose of his own life, he gave up his job in
the army, returned to his native village in Maharashtra, and worked
actively as a community leader.

Through a purely personal experience this individual evolved a

strong positive attitude towards community upliftment.
.
4. Media-related Influences: Technological advances in recent times
have made audio-visual media and the Internet very powerful
sources of information that lead to attitude formation and change.
In addition, school level textbooks also influence attitude formation.
These sources first strengthen the cognitive and affective
components of attitudes, and subsequently may also affect the
behavioural component.

The media can be used to create consumerist attitudes where none

existed, and can also be harnessed to create positive attitudes to
facilitate social harmony.

❖ ATTITUDE CHANGE
 During the process of attitude formation, and also after this process,
attitudes may be changed and modified through various influences.
From a practical point of view, bringing about a change in people’s
attitudes is of interest to community leaders, politicians, producers
of consumer goods, advertisers, and others.

Process of Attitude Change

Three major concepts that draw attention to some important

processes in attitude change are described below:

a) The concept of balance, proposed by Fritz Heider is sometimes

described in the form of the ‘P-O-X’ triangle, which represents the
relationships between three aspects or components of the attitude.

O X

P is the person whose attitude is being studied

O is another person
X is the topic towards which the attitude is being studied (attitude
object).

It is also possible that all three are persons.

The basic idea is that an attitude changes if there is a state of imbalance

between the P-O attitude, O-X attitude, and P-X attitude.

Imbalance is found when:

i. All three sides of the P-O-X triangle are negative, or

ii. Two sides are positive, and one side is negative.

This is because imbalance is logically uncomfortable. Therefore, the attitude

changes in the direction of balance.

Balance is found when:

 i. All three sides are positive
ii. Two sides are negative, and one side is positive.

Consider the example of dowry as an attitude topic (X).

Suppose a person (P) has a positive attitude towards dowry (P-X positive). P
is planning to get his son married to the daughter of some person (O) who has
a negative attitude towards dowry (O-X negative).

If O initially has a positive attitude towards P, the situation would be

unbalanced. P-X is positive, O-P is positive, but O-X is negative. That is,
there are two positives and one negative in the triangle. This is a situation of
imbalance.

One of the three attitudes will therefore have to change. This change could
take place in the P-X relationship (P starts disliking dowry as a custom), or
in the O-X relationship (O starts liking dowry as a custom), or in the O-P
relationship (O starts disliking P).

In short, an attitude change will have to take place so that there will be three
positive relationships, or two negative and one positive relationship, in the
triangle.

b) The concept of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon

Festinger. The basic idea is that the cognitive components of an
attitude must be ‘consonant’ (opposite of ‘dissonant’), i.e., they should
be logically in line with each other.

If an individual finds that two cognitions in an attitude are dissonant,

then one of them will be changed in the direction of consonance.

For example, think about the following ideas (‘cognitions’):

Cognition I: Pan masala causes mouth cancer which is fatal.

Cognition II: I eat pan masala.

Holding these two ideas or cognitions will make any individual feel that
something is ‘out of tune’, or dissonant, in the attitude towards pan
masala. Therefore, one of these ideas will have to be changed, so that
consonance can be attained.

In this example, in order to remove or reduce the dissonance, I will stop

eating pan masala (change Cognition II). This would be the healthy,
logical and sensible way of reducing dissonance.
 Both balance and cognitive dissonance are examples of cognitive
consistency.
Cognitive consistency means that two components, aspects or
elements of the attitude, or attitude system, must be in the same
direction.

Each element should logically fall in line with other elements. If this
does not happen, then the person experiences a kind of mental
discomfort, i.e. the sense that ‘something is not quite right’ in the
attitude system. In such a state, some aspect in the attitude system
changes in the direction of consistency, because our cognitive system
requires logical consistency.

Festinger and Carlsmith, two social psychologists, conducted an

experiment that showed how cognitive dissonance works.

c) The two-step concept was proposed by S.M. Mohsin, an Indian

psychologist. According to him, attitude change takes place in the form
of two steps.
 In the first step, the target of change identifies with the source. The
‘target’ is the person whose attitude is to be changed. The ‘source’ is the
person through whose influence the change is to take place.
Identification means that the target has liking and regard for the
source. S/he puts herself/himself in the place of the target, and tries
to feel like her/him. The source must also have a positive attitude
towards the target, and the regard and attraction becomes mutual.

In the second step, the source herself/himself shows an attitude

change, by actually changing her/him behaviour towards the attitude
object. Observing the source’s changed attitude and behaviour, the
target also shows an attitude change through behaviour. This is a kind
of imitation or observational learning.

Consider the following example of two-step attitude change:

Preeti reads in the newspapers that a particular soft drink that she
enjoys is extremely harmful. But Preeti sees that her favourite
sportsperson has been advertising the same soft drink. She has
identified herself with the sportsperson, and would like to imitate
her/him. Now, suppose the sportsperson wishes to change people’s
attitude towards this soft drink from positive to negative. The
sportsperson must first show positive feelings for her/ his fans, and
then actually change her/his own habit of consuming that soft drink
(Step I) — perhaps by substituting it with a health drink. If the
sportsperson actually changes her/his behaviour, it is very likely that
now Preeti will also change her attitude and behaviour, and stop
consuming the harmful soft drink (Step II).

Factors that Influence Attitude Change

Major factors that influence attitude change:

1. Characteristics of the existing attitude: All the four properties of

attitudes namely valence (positivity or negativity), extremeness,
simplicity or complexity (multiplexity), and centrality or significance
of the attitude, determine attitude change.

In general, positive attitudes are easier to change than negative

attitudes are. Extreme attitudes, and central attitudes are more difficult
to change than the less extreme, and peripheral (less significant)
attitudes are. Simple attitudes are easier to change than multiple
attitudes are.
 In addition, one must also consider the direction and extent of attitude
change. An attitude change may be congruent — it may change in the
same direction as the existing attitude (for example, a positive attitude
may become more positive, or a negative attitude may become more
negative). For instance, suppose a person has a somewhat positive
attitude towards empowerment of women. Reading about a successful
woman may make this attitude more positive. This would be a
congruent change.

On the other hand, an attitude change may be incongruent — it may

change in a direction opposite to the existing attitude (for example, a
positive attitude becomes less positive, or negative, or a negative
attitude becomes less negative, or positive). In the example given, after
reading about successful women, a person may think that women
might soon become too powerful, and neglect their family
responsibilities. This may make the person’s existing positive attitude
towards empowerment of women, less positive, or even negative. If this
happens, then it would be a case of incongruent change.

It has been found that, in general, congruent changes are easier to

bring about than are the incongruent changes in attitudes.

Moreover, an attitude may change in the direction of the information

that is presented, or in a direction opposite to that of the information
presented. Posters describing the importance of brushing one’s teeth
would strengthen a positive attitude towards dental care. But if people
are shown frightening pictures of dental cavities, they may not believe
the pictures, and may become less positive about dental care.

Research has found that fear sometimes works well in convincing

people but if a message generates too much fear, it turns off the receiver
and has little persuasive effect.

2. Source characteristics: Source credibility and attractiveness are

two features that affect attitude change.

Attitudes are more likely to change when the message comes from a
highly credible source rather than from a low-credible source. For
example, adults who are planning to buy a laptop are more convinced
by a computer engineer who points out the special features of a
particular brand of laptop, than they would be by a school child who
might give the same information.
 But, if the buyers are themselves school children, they may be
convinced more by another school child advertising a laptop than they
would be by a professional giving the same information.

In the case of some products such as cars, sales may increase if they
are publicised, not necessarily by experts, but by popular public
figures.

3. Message characteristics: The message is the information that is

presented in order to bring about an attitude change. Attitudes will
change when the amount of information that is given about the topic is
just enough, neither too much nor too little.

Whether the message contains a rational or an emotional appeal, also

makes a difference. For example, an advertisement for cooking food in
a pressure cooker may point out that this saves fuel such as cooking
gas (LPG) and is economical (rational appeal). Alternatively, the
advertisement may say that pressure-cooking preserves nutrition, and
that if one cares for the family, nutrition would be a major concern
(emotional appeal).

The motives activated by the message also determine attitude change.

For example, drinking milk may be said to make a person healthy and
good-looking, or more energetic and more successful at one’s job.

Finally, the mode of spreading the message plays a significant role.

Face-to-face transmission of the message is usually more effective than
indirect transmission, as for instance, through letters and pamphlets,
or even through mass media. For example, a positive attitude towards
Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) for young children is more effectively
created if community social workers and doctors spread the message
by talking to people directly, than by only describing the benefits of ORS
on the radio.

4. Target characteristics: Qualities of the target, such as persuasibility,

strong prejudices, self esteem, and intelligence influence the
likelihood and extent of attitude change.

People, who have a more open and flexible personality, change more
easily. People with strong prejudices are less prone to any attitude
change than those who do not hold strong prejudices. Persons who
have a low self-esteem, and do not have sufficient confidence in
themselves, change their attitudes more easily than those who are high
on self-esteem. More intelligent people may change their attitudes less
 easily than those with lower intelligence. However, sometimes more
intelligent persons change their attitudes more willingly than less
intelligent ones, because they base their attitude on more information
and thinking.

❖ ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOUR RELATIONSHIP

We usually expect behaviour to follow logically from attitudes. However, an

individual’s attitudes may not always be exhibited through behaviour.

Likewise, one’s actual behaviour may be contrary to one’s attitude towards a

particular topic.

Psychologists have found that there would be consistency between attitudes

and behaviour when:

1. The attitude is strong, and occupies a central place in the attitude

system.
2. The person is aware of her/his attitude.
3. There is very little or no external pressure for the person to behave in a
particular way. For example, when there is no group pressure to follow
a particular norm.
4. The person’s behaviour is not being watched or evaluated by others.
5. The person thinks that the behaviour would have a positive
consequence, and therefore, intends to engage in that behaviour.

In the days when Americans were said to be prejudiced against the Chinese,
Richard LaPiere, an American social psychologist conducted a study. He
asked a Chinese couple to travel across the United States, and stay in
different hotels. Only once during these occasions they were refused service
by one of the hotels. Sometime later, LaPiere sent out questionnaires to
managers of hotels and tourist homes in the same areas where the Chinese
couple had travelled, asking them if they would give accommodation to
Chinese guests. A very large percentage said that they would not do so. This
response showed a negative attitude towards the Chinese, which was
inconsistent with the positive behaviour that was actually shown towards the
travelling Chinese couple.

Thus, attitudes may not always predict actual pattern of one’s behaviour.

Sometimes it is behaviour that decides the attitude. In the experiment by

Festinger and Carlsmith, students who got only one dollar for telling others
that the experiment was interesting, discovered that they liked the
experiment. That is, on the basis of their behaviour (telling others that the
experiment was interesting, for only a small amount of money), they
concluded that their attitude towards the experiment was positive (“I would
not have told a lie for this small amount of money, which means that the
experiment was actually interesting”).
 ❖ PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION

Prejudice Stereotypes Discrimination

(Affective component) (Cognitive component) (Behavioural Component)

Prejudices are Stereotypes are a Prejudices may get

examples of negative cluster of ideas translated into
attitudes. regarding the discrimination.
characteristics of a
specific group.

They are usually They lead to negative People behave in a less

negative and based on attitudes or prejudices positive way towards a
stereotypes. towards members of particular target group
specific groups. compared to another
group which they favour.

Prejudices exist The cognitive Discrimination can be

without being shown component of prejudice shown without prejudice.
in the form of is frequently Wherever prejudice and
discrimination. accompanied by dislike discrimination exist,
or hatred (the affective conflicts are likely to arise
component). between groups.

E.g. – Racism, sexism, E.g.- Americans are E.g. – The genocide

etc materialistic and committed by the Nazis in
individualistic, Germany against Jewish
Muslims are people is an example of
conservative and how prejudices can lead
orthodox, etc to discrimination and
mass killing of innocent
people.

Prejudices (affective Stereotypes (cognitive Discrimination

component) are component are difficult (behavioural component)
difficult to changes. to change). can be curbed by law.
SOURCES OF PREJUDICE

Social psychologists have shown that prejudices has one or more of the
following sources:

1. Learning: Like other attitudes, prejudices can also be learned through

association, reward and punishment, observing others, group or
cultural norms and exposure to information that encourages prejudice.
The family, reference groups, personal experiences and the media may
play a role in the learning of prejudices.

People who learn prejudiced attitudes may develop a ‘prejudiced

personality’, and show low adjusting capacity, anxiety, and feelings of
hostility against the outgroup.

2. A strong social identity and ingroup bias: Individuals who have a

strong sense of social identity and have a very positive attitude towards
their own group boost this attitude by holding negative attitudes
towards other groups. These are shown as prejudices.

3. Scapegoating: This is a phenomenon by which the majority group

places the blame on a minority outgroup for its own social, economic or
political problems. The minority is too weak or too small in number to
defend itself against such accusations. Scapegoating is a group-based
way of expressing frustration, and it often results in negative attitudes
or prejudice against the weaker group.

4. Kernel of truth concept: Sometimes people may continue to hold

stereotypes because they think that, after all, there must be some truth,
or ‘kernel of truth’ in what everyone says about the other group. Even
a few examples are sufficient to support the ‘kernel of truth’ idea.

5. Self-fulfilling prophecy: In some cases, the group that is the target of

prejudice is itself responsible for continuing the prejudice. The target
group may behave in ways that justify the prejudice, that is, confirm
the negative expectations.

For example, if the target group is described as ‘dependent’ and

therefore unable to make progress, the members of this target group
may actually behave in a way that proves this description to be true. In
this way, they strengthen the existing prejudice.

STRATEGIES FOR HANDLING PREJUDICE

Knowing about the causes or sources would be the first step in handling
prejudice. Thus, the strategies for handling prejudice would be effective
if they aim at:

i. Minimising opportunities for learning prejudices

ii. Changing such attitudes,
iii. De-emphasising a narrow social identity based on the ingroup
iv. Discouraging the tendency towards self-fulfilling prophecy among the
victims of prejudice.

These goals can be accomplished through the following strategies for

handling prejudices:

1. Education and information dissemination, for correcting

stereotypes related to specific target groups, and tackling the problem
of a strong ingroup bias.

2. Increasing intergroup contact allows for direct communication,

removal of mistrust between the groups, and even discovery of positive
qualities in the outgroup. However, these strategies are successful only
if:

− The two groups meet in a cooperative rather than competitive

context
− Close interactions between the groups helps them to know each
other better
− The two groups are not different in power or status

3. Highlighting individual identity rather than group identity, thus

weakening the importance of group (both ingroup and outgroup) as a
basis of evaluating the other person.