Attitude: Formation, Components & Change — Board-Ready Notes

Attitude is one of the most important topics in Class 12 NCERT Psychology (Chapter 6).

What is an Attitude? A learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favourable or unfavourable manner to a given object (Allport, 1935).

• **A – Affective component**: How you *feel* about something ("I feel anxious about exams")
• **B – Behavioural component**: How you *act* ("I study every day")
• **C – Cognitive component**: What you *believe* ("Exams are important")

How are attitudes formed? 1. Classical conditioning (positive feelings → associated with product/person) 2. Operant conditioning (attitudes reinforced by rewards) 3. Observational learning (modelling parents/peers) 4. Direct experience

Attitude Change — Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger): When our beliefs and behaviours don't match, we feel discomfort (dissonance) and are motivated to resolve it — usually by changing our attitude.

Persuasion (source, message, audience, channel): Attitude change through a credible source + strong arguments + receptive audience.

Board Tip: Define attitude, explain all 3 ABC components with examples, mention cognitive dissonance — that's a perfect 6-mark answer.