Theories of Attitude Formation and Change

Theories of Attitude Formation and Change
Learning theories of attitude change, no longer as popular as they once were, focus
on reinforced behavior as the primary factor responsible for attitude development.
Early research on attitude change drew on Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory,
which posits that, when a person is persuaded to act in a way that is not congruent
with a pre-existing attitude, he or she may change the attitude to reduce
dissonance (Smith & Ragan, 1999). To use dissonance to produce attitude change,
the persuader must first establish the dissonance, and then provide a method to
reduce it. Ideally, this will involve making the chosen alternative attractive, showing
a social group with the desired attitude, demonstrating the issue's importance,
providing free choice, and establishing a wide latitude of acceptance through
successive approximation (Martin & Briggs, 1986).
Similarly, consistency theories assume that individuals need to have consistency

between and among their attitudes and behaviors and will modify one or both to
achieve this balance (Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991). Affective-cognitive consistency
theory examines the relationship between attitudes and beliefs and posits that
individuals are in an unstable state when their attitudes towards an object, event or
person and their knowledge about that object, event, or person are inconsistent
(Simonson & Maushak, 2001). The theory suggests that the affective component of
the attitude system may be changed by providing new information (changing the
cognitive component) via a persuasive message. Once the individual has processed
the new information, he or she will undergo an attitude change to bring the
knowledge and affect into harmony. Processing the message requires that the
audience pay attention to and comprehend the message, then accept and retain it
(Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991). Affective-cognitive consistency theory suggests that the
affective component of the attitude system may be changed by first changing the
cognitive component through providing new information. It does not matter how the
new cognition is produced, only that it occurs. Thus, any of the learning theories
discussed in this e-book may be used in conjunction with this approach.
Although the fact that attitudes are stored separately from their related cognitions
means that a person may experience a feeling without remembering the
information or event that triggered it, attitudes will generally be stronger when the
link between their cognitive and affective components is consciously recalled
(Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991). For this to work, of course, the recipient must attend to
the message providing that information. A tendency toward passive viewing of
mediated messages may be reduced by instructing students to attend and alerting
them to the fact that the content will be tested (Wetzel et al., 1994). According to
Zimbardo and Leippe (1991), "a persuasive message is most likely to cause attitude
and behavior change if it can shape both beliefs about its topic and beliefs about
what important individuals and social groups think about the topic and how they
behave toward it" (p. 188). The most effective persuasive messages are those "that
get the audience to think about an issue or object in concrete, vivid images that
have definite implications for behavior" (Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991, p. 194).
Social judgment theories emphasize the role of prior attitudes in shaping attitude
formation and change. They describe attitude as a kind of spectrum with a "latitude
of acceptance" surrounding a current attitude; a new position is more likely to be
accepted if it falls within this latitude and less likely to be accepted if it does not
(Smith & Ragan, 1999). This theory suggests that change in attitude position might
be greater in response to the presentation of a moderate persuasive position than in
response to a more extreme message. As with dissonance theory, social judgment
theory presents attitude change as a response to the receipt of a message that is
not entirely congruent with the currently held attitude. Acceptance of the new
position is contingent upon its falling within the latitude of acceptance of the
receiver. "The use of successive approximations can expand the latitude of
acceptance and thereby permit greater attitude change than might otherwise be
possible" (Bednar & Levie, 1993, p. 295). The latitude of acceptance is analogous to
the zone of proximal development in social development theory as discussed in the
chapter on Vygotsky's Constructionism.
Social learning theory focuses on the development of cognitions related to the

expected outcome of behavior. This theory suggests that an individual learns
attitudes by observing the behaviors of others and modeling or imitating them
(McDonald & Kielsmeier, 1970). An observed behavior does not have to be
reinforced to be learned (Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991), and the model "can be
presented on film, by television, in a novel, or by other vicarious means" (Martin &
Briggs, 1986, p. 28). The model must be credible to the target audience (Bednar &
Levie, 1993). Credibility is largely a function of expertise and trustworthiness.
Observational learning is greater when models are perceived as powerful and/or
warm and supportive, and "imitative behavior is more likely when there are multiple
models doing the same thing" (Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991, p. 51). While "attitudes
formed through direct experience with the attitude object or issue are more
predictive of behavior than those formed more indirectly" (Zimbardo & Leippe,
1991, p. 193), "media can be substitutes for many live experiences" (Wetzel et al.,
1994, p. 26). Thus, observing a model via video is a viable method of learning a new
attitude. For passive learners, instruction delivered by media may facilitate the
rapid acquisition of complex affective behaviors more effectively than live
demonstrations (McDonald & Kielsmeier, 1970). However, receivers may attend
mediated messages less closely than those presented directly, thereby diminishing
their effectiveness (Bednar & Levie, 1993). Social learning theories of attitude
change are closely related to theories that emphasize the role of social learning in
cognitive development. See the chapters on Social Constructivism and Cognitive
Apprenticeship, for example, for discussions of the importance of the social context
for cognitive development. Social learning theory also shares cognitive
apprenticeship's emphasis on modeling as a way of sharing knowledge.
Finally, functional theories suggest that attitudes serve a variety of psychological

needs and that changing an attitude requires an understanding of its purpose in the
life of the individual who holds it. The utility of this theory is limited by the fact that
attitude research in this area has not produced a consistent set of categories
relating attitudes to psychological needs (Bednar & Levie, 1993). Research has
shown that attitudes related to self-concept frequently perform an ego-defensive
function and that ego-defensive attitudes are particularly difficult to change
(Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991).
There have been several attempts to classify types and levels of learning in the
affective domain. Perhaps the best-known classification was developed by
Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia in 1964 (Smith & Ragan, 1999). The Krathwohl
taxonomy, as it is known, has five major categories, each with several subcategories. These levels are:
Receiving / Attending - willingness to become aware

Responding - appreciating or internalizing
Valuing - accepting, preferring, becoming committed to
Conceptualizing / Organizing - incorporating into a value system
Characterizing by value - orientation toward / identification with.
Learning in a given level depends on prior learning in lower levels (Atherton, 2004).
The following table provides an overview of the basic premises and key instructional
implications of these theories.
Table 1. Overview of the theories of attitude formation and change
Source: Michael Orey. Theories of Attitude Formation and Change. Introduction to

Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology. Boundless, 10 Jun.
2015. Retrieved 17 Jun. 2015 from
https://www.boundless.com/users/233409/textbooks/introduction-to-emergingperspectives-on-learning-teaching-and-technology/learner-centered-theories-shorts2/teaching-and-learning-in-affective-domain-18/theories-of-attitude-formation-andchange-121-14516/

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Theories of Attitude Formation and Change

Similarly, consistency theories assume that individuals need to have consistency

Social learning theory focuses on the development of cognitions related to the

Finally, functional theories suggest that attitudes serve a variety of psychological

Receiving / Attending - willingness to become aware

Table 1. Overview of the theories of attitude formation and change

Source: Michael Orey. Theories of Attitude Formation and Change. Introduction to

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