Psychology · Class 12 · Attitude and Social Cognition · Term 3

Attitude Formation and Change

Explore the processes through which our attitudes are formed and the factors that can lead to a change in our existing attitudes.

TL;DR:Explore the powerful forces that shape our likes and dislikes, from our favourite foods to our political beliefs. This topic uncovers the psychology behind how our attitudes are formed and the surprising ways they can be changed.

• CBSE Learning Outcomes
• NCERT: Class XII Psychology - Chapter 6

About This Topic

This topic, 'Attitude Formation and Change', is a cornerstone of social psychology within the Class 12 curriculum, aligning with the NCERT framework's focus on understanding social behaviour. It moves beyond a simple definition of attitude to explore its three core components: Affective, Behavioural, and Cognitive (the ABC model). The first part of the topic delves into how attitudes are formed, linking back to foundational learning theories like classical and operant conditioning, observational learning, and the influence of social and cultural norms prevalent in the Indian context. Teachers should emphasise how family, school, and media shape our initial attitudes towards various social issues, groups, and products.

The second part focuses on the dynamics of attitude change, which is crucial for understanding social influence. It introduces students to key theories like Fritz Heider's Balance Theory and Leon Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Theory, which explain our intrinsic need for cognitive consistency. The topic also explores persuasion, breaking down its effectiveness based on source, message, and target characteristics. Contextualising this with Indian examples, such as the persuasive strategies used in the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' or political advertising, will make these concepts highly relatable and demonstrate their real-world applicability in shaping public opinion and behaviour.

Key Questions

1. Analyse the process of persuasion and the factors that make it effective.
2. Explain the concept of cognitive dissonance and how it leads to attitude change.
3. Compare the balance theory with the cognitive dissonance theory.

Learning Objectives

• Define attitude and describe its affective, behavioural, and cognitive components.
• Explain the processes of attitude formation through conditioning, learning, and social influence.
• Analyse the process of persuasion, identifying the characteristics of the source, message, and target that affect its success.
• Compare and contrast the Balance Theory and Cognitive Dissonance Theory as explanations for attitude change.
• Apply theoretical concepts to evaluate real-world examples of attitude change from advertising, politics, and social campaigns.

Key Vocabulary

Attitude	A relatively enduring organisation of beliefs, feelings, and behavioural tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols.
Persuasion	The process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic means.
Cognitive Dissonance	The mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values, or whose beliefs are contradicted by their behaviour.
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)	A dual process theory of persuasion that describes how attitudes form and change, postulating two major routes: a central route and a peripheral route.
Balance Theory	A theory of attitude change that suggests individuals desire consistency among their thoughts, feelings, and social relationships, often represented in a P-O-X triad.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Attitudes are the same as opinions or beliefs.

What to Teach Instead

An opinion or belief is primarily a cognitive component, an idea you hold. An attitude is much broader and includes an emotional or feeling component (affect) and a predisposition to act (behaviour) along with the belief.

Common Misconception

If you persuade someone, their attitude has changed permanently.

What to Teach Instead

Attitude change can be temporary. Changes resulting from the peripheral route of persuasion (based on superficial cues) are often less stable and more susceptible to counter-arguments than changes achieved through the central route (based on deep, logical thinking).

Common Misconception

Cognitive dissonance is just being a hypocrite.

What to Teach Instead

While hypocrisy involves a contradiction between actions and stated beliefs, cognitive dissonance is the specific psychological discomfort or mental stress that this contradiction causes. The theory focuses on our motivation to resolve this discomfort, which can lead to genuine attitude change.

Active Learning Ideas

Carousel Brainstorm

Advertisement Deconstruction

Students bring in print or video advertisements and analyse them using the Elaboration Likelihood Model. They identify the source, message, and target audience, and determine if the ad uses a central or peripheral route to persuasion.

45 min·Small Groups

Carousel Brainstorm

Cognitive Dissonance Role-Play

Create scenarios where a character's actions conflict with their stated beliefs (e.g., an environmental activist buying a petrol-guzzling car). Students role-play how the character might rationalise their behaviour to reduce the resulting dissonance.

30 min·Pairs

Carousel Brainstorm

Balance Theory in Social Circles

Students draw a P-O-X triad representing a real or hypothetical social situation (e.g., You (P), your best friend (O), and their new partner (X) whom you dislike). They then brainstorm ways to restore balance to the relationship triad.

25 min·Individual

Real-World Connections

• Analysing how public health campaigns in India, like those for polio vaccination or COVID-19 safety protocols, use persuasion to change health-related attitudes and behaviours.
• Deconstructing political advertisements during election seasons to understand how candidates attempt to shape voter attitudes.
• Understanding the psychology behind brand loyalty and how companies foster positive attitudes in consumers to ensure repeat purchases.
• Explaining the phenomenon of 'post-purchase rationalisation', where a person justifies a large expense to reduce the cognitive dissonance of having spent a lot of money.
• Recognising how exposure to different cultures and people, through travel or media, can challenge existing stereotypes and lead to attitude change.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

An exit ticket where students have to write down one example of the central route and one example of the peripheral route of persuasion they encountered in the last 24 hours.

Peer Assessment

A case study analysis of a social movement (e.g., Chipko movement). Students must write a report explaining the attitude formation and change processes that contributed to its success.

Quick Check

Students complete a K-W-L (Know, Want to know, Learned) chart for the topic, reflecting on their understanding before and after the lessons.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the practical difference between the Balance Theory and Cognitive Dissonance Theory?

Balance Theory, proposed by Heider, specifically deals with attitudes within a social triad (P-O-X) and our desire for consistency in our social relationships. Cognitive Dissonance Theory, by Festinger, is a more general theory about the inconsistency between any two cognitions (attitudes, beliefs, or behaviours) and the internal drive to reduce that inconsistency.

Why are some people more easily persuaded than others?

Several factors are at play. People with lower self-esteem, those who are distracted, or those who have less prior knowledge on a topic may be more susceptible to persuasion. Additionally, personality traits like the 'need for cognition' (the tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful thinking) also play a significant role.

Can our behaviour change our attitude?

Yes, absolutely. This is a key insight from theories like cognitive dissonance. When we perform a behaviour that contradicts an existing attitude (e.g., arguing for a point we don't believe in for a debate), we may change our attitude to align with the behaviour and reduce the internal conflict.