Attitude and Social Cognition

An attitude is a state of mind, or a set of views or thoughts about some topic, person, or object (the attitude object) that has an evaluative quality — positive, negative, or neutral. It is also linked with an emotional reaction and a tendency to act in a particular way.

The components of attitude are:

1. Cognitive component: the thought or belief part. It is what a person knows or thinks about the object.
2. Affective component: the emotional part. It is how a person feels about the object.
3. Behavioural component: the action tendency. It is the way a person is inclined to behave toward the object.

These three together are called the A-B-C components of attitude: Affective, Behavioural, and Cognitive.

For example, in an attitude towards a green environment, a person may believe trees are important (cognitive), feel happy seeing greenery (affective), and take part in tree plantation (behavioural).

Yes, attitudes are learnt. The chapter says that attitudes are generally formed through one's own experiences and through interaction with others.

Attitudes are learnt in several ways:

- Learning by association: a positive feeling about one person or thing gets linked to another. For example, liking a subject because of a liked teacher.
- Learning through reward and punishment: attitudes get strengthened when they are rewarded and weakened when punished.
- Learning through modelling: people observe others being rewarded or punished for certain attitudes or behaviour and imitate them.
- Learning through group or cultural norms: people learn what their group or culture approves of and begin to value it.
- Learning through exposure to information: books, newspapers, television, and the Internet also shape attitudes.

The chapter also mentions that genetic factors may influence attitudes only indirectly, but the main emphasis is on learning.

The chapter gives the following factors that influence attitude formation:

1. Family and School Environment: In early life, parents and other family members shape attitudes. Later, the school also becomes important. Attitudes are learned here through association, reward and punishment, and modelling.
2. Reference Groups: These groups tell a person what is acceptable in terms of behaviour and thinking. Their norms strongly influence attitudes, especially in adolescence.
3. Personal Experiences: Direct experiences can bring major changes in attitude. A powerful personal event may create a strong positive or negative attitude.
4. Media-related Influences: Audio-visual media, the Internet, and textbooks are powerful sources of information. They can strengthen the cognitive and affective components of attitudes and later affect behaviour.

So, attitude formation depends on the social environment, group influence, direct experience, and information received through media and education.

No, behaviour is not always a reflection of attitude. A person may have one attitude but behave differently because of social pressure, other influences, or the situation.

The chapter gives the example of Richard LaPiere's study. He took a Chinese couple across the United States and they were refused service only once. But later, when hotel managers were asked by questionnaire whether they would accommodate Chinese guests, many said no. Here, the attitude shown in the questionnaire was negative, but the actual behaviour was positive. So attitude did not match behaviour.

The chapter also says that sometimes behaviour can shape attitude. In the Festinger and Carlsmith experiment, students who said the boring experiment was interesting for only $1 later began to feel that it was actually interesting. So behaviour and attitude may influence each other, but they are not always the same.

A stereotype is a cluster of ideas or beliefs about the characteristics of a particular group. It is mainly the cognitive component and assumes that all members of that group have those characteristics.

Prejudice is an attitude towards a group, usually a negative one. It includes not only beliefs but also dislike or hatred, so it has both cognitive and affective components.

### Difference
- Stereotype: a fixed idea or general belief about a group.
- Prejudice: a negative attitude towards a group based on stereotypes and accompanied by feelings.

### Example
If someone believes that all members of a group are lazy, that is a stereotype. If the person then dislikes that group because of this belief, that is prejudice.