20 POINTS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT ATTITUDE.

Attitude refers to a settled way of thinking or feeling about something or someone, often reflected in a person's behavior. Here are 20 points to explain the concept of attitude:

1. **Definition**: It's a psychological construct, a mental and emotional entity that encapsulates our feelings towards a particular subject.

  

2. **Components**: Attitude comprises three main components: cognitive (thoughts), affective (feelings), and behavioral (actions).

3. **Formation**: Attitudes form as a result of personal experiences, social interactions, upbringing, cultural background, and education.

4. **Stability**: While some attitudes remain stable over time, others might change based on new experiences or insights.

5. **Positive & Negative**: Attitudes can be positive (favorable) or negative (unfavorable) towards a particular object or subject.

6. **Influence Behavior**: Attitudes often drive our behaviors. For instance, if one has a positive attitude towards exercise, they are more likely to work out.

7. **Measurement**: Attitudes can be measured using scales like the Likert scale, where individuals rate their agreement or disagreement with statements.

8. **Implicit & Explicit**: Attitudes can be explicit (conscious and expressed) or implicit (unconscious and not openly stated).

9. **Malleability**: Attitudes can be changed through persuasive communication, new experiences, or cognitive dissonance.

10. **Role in Social Interaction**: Attitudes play a pivotal role in social interactions and help us make sense of our environment.

11. **Formation Sources**: Attitudes can form through direct experiences, social learning, or information from various media.

12. **Attitude-Behavior Consistency**: This refers to the extent to which attitudes predict behaviors. However, this consistency isn't always perfect due to external factors.

13. **Confirmation Bias**: People with strong attitudes tend to seek information that confirms their existing beliefs, often ignoring contradictory data.

14. **Functionality**: Attitudes serve various functions: they help organize information, define group membership, and often protect self-esteem.

15. **Central & Peripheral Routes**: In persuasion, the central route involves deep thinking about an argument, while the peripheral route involves surface-level processing, often influenced by external cues.

16. **Social & Cultural Influence**: Society and culture play a substantial role in shaping our attitudes, especially concerning social norms.

17. **Attitude Strength**: Strong attitudes are more stable, influential, and resistant to change than weak attitudes.

18. **Cognitive Dissonance**: This theory suggests that people experience discomfort when holding contradictory attitudes or beliefs and are motivated to reduce this inconsistency.

19. **Change through Persuasion**: Effective persuasion techniques, like presenting balanced arguments or understanding the audience's needs, can change attitudes.

20. **Overall Impact**: Attitudes profoundly influence our choices, decisions, interactions, and overall perception of the world around us.

Understanding attitudes is fundamental in fields like psychology, marketing, politics, and more, as they influence individual and group behaviors.