Attitude

Definition

"the most distinctive and indispensable concept in contemporary social psychology." - Gordon Allport

"a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor." - Eagly and Chaiken

"readiness of thepsyche to act or react in a certain way" - Jung

Structure

Affective component

this involves a person’s feelings / emotions about the attitude object. For example: “I am scared of spiders”.

Behavioral (or conative) component

the way the attitude we have influences how we act or behave. For example: “I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one”.

Cognitive component

this involves a person’s belief / knowledge about an attitude object. For example: “I believe spiders are dangerous”.

Attitude VS Behaviour

Atitude is a way of thinking,feeling, belief, or opinion of approval or disapproval towards something. 

Behavior is an action or reaction that occurs in response to an event or internal stimuli (i.e., thought).