Attitude formation processes

Attitudes do not arise out of nowhere; are formed through a variety of learning and experience processes throughout our lives.

Understanding these formation mechanisms is essential to understanding why we maintain certain evaluations toward various social objects.

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning, an associative learning process, can influence the formation of attitudes, especially their affective component.

It occurs when an initially neutral stimulus is repeatedly associated with another stimulus that already evokes a positive or negative emotional response.

Over time, the neutral stimulus may come to evoke a similar response on its own.

For example, if a person repeatedly experiences pleasant sensations (such as warmth and security) in the presence of a certain scent (e.g., that of their grandmother's house), that scent may come to evoke positive feelings even in the absence of the original experience.

Operant (or Instrumental) Conditioning

Operant conditioning refers to learning to through the consequences of behavior.

Attitudes can be formed or strengthened if the expressions or behaviors associated with them are rewarded, and weakened if they are punished.

If a child expresses an opinion (an attitude) and receives praise or approval from their parents, they are more likely to hold and reinforce that attitude.

Conversely, if they are reprimanded, they are less likely to continue expressing it.

Observational Learning (Modeling)

Observational learning, proposed by Albert Bandura, involves the formation of attitudes through observing the behavior of others (models) and the consequences that that behavior has for them.

Children, in particular, learn many of their attitudes by observing their parents, teachers, friends, or media figures.

If they see others being rewarded for expressing certain attitudes or behaving in accordance with them, they are more likely to adopt similar attitudes.

Direct Experience

Direct experience with the attitude object is one of the most powerful forms of attitude formation.

Directly interacting with a person, product, or situation provides us with firsthand information that shapes our evaluation.

For example, trying a new type of food and finding it delicious will form a positive attitude toward it.

Attitudes formed through direct experience tend to be stronger, more accessible, and more predictive of behavior than those formed indirectly.