An attitude is a learned predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably towards certain people, ideas, objects, or events. It consists of cognitive (beliefs), affective (emotions), and behavioral (actions) components.
Related terms
Cognitive dissonance: This term refers to the discomfort experienced when our attitudes contradict our actions or when our beliefs clash with each other.
This theory suggests that people acquire their attitudes by observing their own behavior and inferring what their attitudes must be based on that behavior.