Attitude is a preparation or readiness to response. It is also defined as learned response to a person or an object in either a favorable or an unfavorable way. According to Gordon All-port, “an attitude is a mental or neural state of readiness, developed through experience, exerting a direct influence upon the individuals response to different objects.
Main Components of Attitude :
Effective component: It is the feeling or emotion associated with the evaluation process of a particular object, person and situation. It refers to the emotions associated with said stimulus. They may be pleasant or unpleasant and act as the triggering factor behind the intensity of the resulting behavior.
Cognitive component : In individuals the thought and beliefs “that led to the development of attitude toward an object, person or situation. Positive belief about the attitude object give rise to positive feeling and attitude while unfavorable belief about any object leads to negative attitude towards it.
Behavioral component : It is the way of expression or behavior that result from the attitude. The individual acts favorable i.e shows inclination towards positively seen attitude object. The person may also act unfavorably or show avoidance towards negatively seen attitude object.
