Page 2 - LN 2_Attitude and Social Cognition

✓ Learning attitudes through group or cultural norms :

Very often, we learn attitudes through the norms of our group or culture.
Norms are unwritten rules about behaviour that everyone is supposed to show
under specific circumstances. Over time, these norms may become part of our
social cognition, in the form of attitudes.

✓ Learning through exposure to information :

Many attitudes are learned in a social context, but not necessarily in the
physical presence of others. With the huge amount of information that is being
provided through various media, both positive and negative attitudes are
being formed.

• Factors that Influence Attitude Formation

The following factors provide the context for the learning of attitudes.

✓ Family and School Environment :
In the early years of life, parents and other family members play a significant
role in shaping attitude formation. Later, the school environment becomes an
important background for attitude formation.

✓ Reference Groups :
Reference groups indicate to an individual the norms regarding acceptable
behaviour and ways of thinking. Thus, they reflect learning of attitudes
through group or cultural norms.

✓ Personal Experiences :
Many attitudes are formed through direct personal experiences which bring
about a drastic change in our attitude towards people and our own life.

✓ Media-related Influences :
Technological advances in recent times have made audio-visual media and the
Internet very powerful sources of information that lead to attitude formation
and change. The media can exert both good and bad influences on attitudes.