Definitions of Attitudes Essay

Classical conditioning is the unconscious process of learning by association, which involves the pairing of stimuli when bingle (1) stimulus regularly precedes another, the one that occurs first is a signal for the other to occur. If an individual eats piquant cuisine, which constantly gives them heartburn, they associate the gritty food with heartburn. The individual recognizes that once blistering food is ingested, heartburn will follow next. Hence the military capability towards spicy foods may not be exacting.Instrumental conditioning is the process by which the individual learns the difference between rewards and punishments and actions with these consequences as the end result. If a sister knows that his/her upgrade(s) will spank them for breaking a glass, then the billet towards such(prenominal) an action will be negative, in magnitude to deter punishment, moreover if he/she recognizes that doing well at school reaps rewards, then the billet towards study and exc elling will be positive.Observational conditioning is simply developing an attitude from example learning. An attitude is observed and influences and individuals own attitude towards the subject in question. In a parent-child relationship, children observer their parents attitude and often times adopt them. If a child hears their parent making negative comments about an issue, they may possibly develop a negative attitude towards the same issue. Comparing our views to those of others, to see if our social populace is or is not correct, can form attitudes.We often change our attitudes to curb in with everyone elses so that we do not feel left(a) out. Political views are an example of this. An individual may wee a particular view on the current political administration, however, musical composition in a group discussion, the general consensus may not be the same as that of the individual, who may then sway his/her attitude, towards that of the groups in order to be a part of the discussion and use their views to second label his/her views. Genetics play a small role in attitude formation.Studies conducted with identical twins suggest that attitudes may be influenced by communicable factors. Daniel Katz proposed a functional theory of attitudes. He thought that attitudes are find out by the functions they serve as they dish up the individual to achieve their goals. The quaternary (4) functions are the instrumental, knowledge, value- put forwardive and ego-defensive. Katzs theory also says that our attitudes change, once they no eternal serve its functions and the individual feels frustrated.The instrumental function helps individuals to form negative and positive attitudes by adopting favorable attitudes to maximize rewards and shunning unsavory ones to minimize punishments and help us to realise specific goals. The knowledge function helps us to evaluate surroundings and seeks to give clarity about ideas, objects and persons. The value-expressive fun ction serves to publicly express ourselves. From the way we dress to our religious convictions, this function helps to adopt attitudes consistent with our views.