Chapter 6, part 2

Behavioral Guides

Beliefs

Belief – we perceive some relationship between things that may not seem related

Much of our thinking about how/why we exist come from beliefs and superstitions and/or creation myths

Worldview

Assumptions and beliefs about the nature of reality, how the world started, why we are here, God, etc

This ideas / beliefs color the way we act and see other in the world (are they doing things like we are? Are we correct, are we?)

Attitudes

Groups of beliefs organized around a focal point that predisposes you to behave in a certain way; learned tendencies on how to act toward certain things

Emotional responses toward things / people; changes with learning and maturity

Attitude Formation

We are not born with attitudesWe form attitudes in the following ways:

1. Socialization – our parents/friends try to instill the “right” attitudes in us

2. Experience – we LEARN to like things that fill our needs and dislike those that do not

Attitude Formation

3. Personality – our overall personality colors our view of the world; if you are a pessimist, your attitudes will reflect that

Characteristics of Attitude

1. Direction – favorable or unfavorable feeling toward an issue, may also be non-feeling if it is not important

2. Degree – how strongly we feel toward an issues; again, can be non-feeling or apathy

Characteristics of Attitude

3. Endurance – how long we have held this idea; these can change as a result of shifting reference groups

Attitudes can change in response to altered reinforcement contingencies – attitudes can change because people intentionally convince them to change