Whether we know it or not, we already have an attitude toward our lives in gener

Question

Whether we know it or not, we already have an attitude toward our lives in general. We have an attitude toward our family, friends, co-workers, the stranger down the street, etc. Our attitude was developed at very early stages through messages we received from people we interacted with and others throughout our lives. Our attitude is a reflection of who we are. It represents our personality, beliefs, values, behaviors, motivations, etc. Understanding our attitude will help us explain how we see and behave toward situations we face on a daily basis. Please answer the following questions:

1. Define cognitive dissonance.

2. What are common methods to measure a person’s attitude?

3. List and describe ways attitudes can be changed.

4. What are the three components of the Tri-component Model of Attitudes? Briefly, explain each one of them.

5. Define and explain the halo effect and the horn effect.

Explanation / Answer

1. Define cognitive dissonance.

We all seek consistency in our beliefs and perceptions. But when one of our beliefs conflicts with another belief? Cognitive dissonance describes the feelings of discomfort of holding two conflicting beliefs or thoughts. E.g Liking a friend (first cognition) while knowing that he hates your brother (second cognition). There are many influential factors to the degree of cognitive dissonance like the Personal view, Strength of the dissonance etc.

2. What are common methods to measure a person’s attitude?

Attitude is a person's feeling of object or event. Attitudes can be positive/negative, for or against and strength of feeling. There are various methods

3. What are the three components of the Tri-component Model of Attitudes? Briefly, explain each one of them List .

4. Describe ways attitudes can be changed.

Attitude has 3 main functions ABC i.e Affective [feeling & emotional], behavioural[action] & Cognitive [knowledge cognitive component comprises the processes that lead to the formation of attitudes. Attitudes are formed on the basis of experiences as well as information received from personal as well as impersonal sources of information that are retained in one’s memory. The cognitive component leads to emotional component. The emotional states that are positive, neutral or negative, manifested to the feeling of happiness, sadness etc. which lead to certain actions and reactions. These reactions are stored in memory. Later their retrieval, recall impacts future decision. Therefore we can say, behavior component of attitude depicts the outcome of attitude. The 1st 2 components are not illustrative because they are psychological in nature, whereas only the 3rd component on which attitude is inferred. Therefore, how we manipulate the degree of each of them can help in attitude change.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse W
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.