An attitude can be defined as a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a certain idea, person, object, or situation (Triandis, 1971). This tendency, developed through peoples’ experiences as they live and work with others, can affect the way they behave toward those ideas, people, objects, and situations and can include opinions, beliefs, and biases.

Attitudes are not something people have when they are born. They are learned
through experiences and contact with others and even through direct instruction from parents, teachers, and other important people in a person’s life. Because attitudes involve a positive or negative evaluation of things, it’s possible to go into a new situation, meet a new person, or be exposed to a new idea with one’s “mind already made up” to like or dislike, agree or disagree, and so on.

Attitude formation is the result of a number of different influences with only one thing in common: They are all forms of learning.

1) Direct Contact – One way in which attitudes are formed is by direct contact with the person, idea, situation, or object that is the focus of the attitude. For example, a child who tries and dislikes brussels sprouts will form a negative attitude about brussels sprouts.

2) Direct Instruction – Another way attitudes are formed is through direct instruction, either by parents or some other individual. Parents may tell their children that smoking cigarettes is dangerous and unhealthy, for example.

3) Interaction With Others – Sometimes attitudes are formed because the person is around other people with that attitude. If a person’s friends, for example, all hold the attitude that smoking is cool, that person is more likely to think that smoking is cool as
well.

4) Vicarious Conditioning (Observational Learning) – Many attitudes are learned through the observation of other people’s actions and reactions to various objects, people, or situations.