How do attitudes form and change, and how do we explain the causes of behaviour?
Explain how attitudes are structured and changed, and describe attribution processes and common attribution errors.
How attitudes are structured and change, cognitive dissonance, and how attribution theory explains the causes we assign to behaviour, including the fundamental attribution error.
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What this dot point is asking
You need to explain how attitudes are structured and how they change, and to describe attribution processes and the common biases that affect them.
What attitudes are
An attitude is a relatively stable, learned evaluation that disposes a person to respond favourably or unfavourably to something. The tri-component (ABC) model describes three parts:
- Affective - feelings and emotions ("I feel uneasy about heights").
- Behavioural - the way we act or intend to act ("I avoid tall buildings").
- Cognitive - beliefs and thoughts ("heights are dangerous").
Attitudes do not always predict behaviour: situational pressures, habits and the strength and specificity of the attitude all influence whether it shows up in action.
How attitudes change
- Persuasion. The likelihood of attitude change depends on the source (credibility, attractiveness), the message (clear, balanced, emotional appeal), and the audience.
- Cognitive dissonance. Leon Festinger argued that holding two inconsistent thoughts, or acting against an attitude, produces uncomfortable tension (dissonance). People reduce it by changing the attitude, changing the behaviour, or adding new justifications.
Attribution: explaining behaviour
Attribution is the process of assigning a cause to behaviour. We typically choose between:
- Internal (dispositional) attributions - the cause is something about the person (ability, personality, effort).
- External (situational) attributions - the cause is something about the situation (luck, task difficulty, social pressure).
Harold Kelley's covariation model says we judge the cause using consistency, distinctiveness and consensus information.
Common attribution errors
- Fundamental attribution error. We tend to over-explain other people's behaviour with internal causes and under-weight the situation.
- Self-serving bias. We attribute our own successes to internal causes (ability) and our failures to external causes (bad luck), protecting self-esteem.
- Actor-observer bias. We explain our own behaviour situationally but others' behaviour dispositionally.
Why this matters
Attitudes and attributions underpin prejudice, persuasion and conflict. Understanding them helps explain why people resist evidence, misjudge others' motives, and can be persuaded or manipulated.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SACE Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
2019 SACE Stage 22 marksDescribe the bidirectional relationship between attitudes and behaviour.Show worked answer →
Two marks: award one mark for each direction of the relationship, ideally with a brief illustration.
Attitudes influence behaviour. A person's evaluation of an object, person or issue (the affective, behavioural and cognitive components of the attitude) predisposes them to act in a consistent way, for example a positive attitude towards recycling leads someone to sort their waste.
Behaviour influences attitudes. Engaging in a behaviour can shape or shift the attitude, often to reduce cognitive dissonance, for example a person who starts recycling because of a workplace rule may come to hold a more positive attitude towards it.
The relationship is "bidirectional" because each can act as both cause and effect. A strong answer names both directions of influence rather than just stating that attitudes and behaviour are linked.
2019 SACE Stage 24 marksExplain two functions of having a positive attitude towards a particular social group.Show worked answer →
Four marks: two functions, each named and explained (roughly 2 marks each).
Social-adjustive (social identity) function. Holding a positive attitude towards a group helps a person gain acceptance and approval from that group and signals belonging, strengthening their social identity and relationships.
Value-expressive (or ego-defensive) function. A positive attitude lets a person express their core values and sense of who they are, or can protect self-esteem, for example expressing pride in a cultural or community group affirms one's identity.
Other creditworthy functions include the knowledge function (the attitude organises information and helps make sense of the group) and the utilitarian function (the attitude maximises rewards from associating with the group). Markers want the function named and then linked specifically to a positive attitude towards a social group.
2018 SACE Stage 24 marksUse one model to describe the structure of a person's attitude towards using social media.Show worked answer →
Four marks: name a model and describe each of its components, applied to social media.
The standard answer uses the tri-component (ABC) model, which holds that an attitude has three structural parts.
Affective: the feelings or emotions towards the object, for example enjoying the connection and fun of using social media.
Behavioural: the tendency to act in a particular way, for example regularly posting, scrolling and checking notifications.
Cognitive: the beliefs and thoughts about the object, for example believing that social media keeps you informed and in touch with friends.
A full-mark response names the model, defines all three components and ties each one to a concrete social-media example.