Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025
Definition
The beliefs, feelings, and opinions that an individual has towards a person, object, group, or idea. Individual attitudes can be influenced by various factors such as personal experiences, social interactions, and cultural values.
The psychological discomfort that arises when there is a conflict between an individual's attitude and behavior. It often leads to attempts to reduce the dissonance by changing one's attitude or justifying one's actions.
Self-perception Theory: The idea that individuals develop their attitudes based on observations of their own behaviors. People infer their attitudes by observing how they behave in certain situations.
Implicit Attitudes: Unconscious biases or preferences that influence an individual's thoughts and behavior without conscious awareness. Implicit attitudes can be measured using implicit association tests (IATs).