Attitudes
are defined as a mental predisposition to act that is
expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some
degree of favour or disfavour.
Attitudes are comprised of four components :
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Cognitions
: Cognitions are our beliefs, theories,
expectancies, cause and effect beliefs, and perceptions
relative to the focal object. |
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Affect : The
affective component refers to our feeling with respect
to the focal object such as fear, liking, or anger.
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Behavioral Intentions
: Behavioral intentions are our goals,
aspirations, and our expected responses to the attitude
object. |
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Evaluation :
Evaluations are often considered the central component
of attitudes. Evaluations consist of the imputation
of some degree of goodness or badness to an attitude
object. When we speak of a positive or negative
attitude toward an object, we are referring to the
evaluative component. Evaluations are function of
cognitive, affect and behavioral intentions of the
object. It is most often the evaluation that is
stored in memory, often without the corresponding
cognitions and affect that were responsible for
its formation. |
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