A quick revision summary of Chapter 6: Attitude and Social Cognition. Read the full notes separately for detailed explanations and worked examples.
The CBSE 2026-27 curriculum lists only these Unit VI topics: Introduction, Explaining Social Behaviour, Nature and Components of Attitudes, Attitude Formation and Change, Prejudice and Discrimination, Strategies for Handling Prejudice. The 2026-27 reprint prints no separate sections on social cognition, schemas, impression formation, attribution or pro-social behaviour. The idea of a stereotype still appears inside Prejudice and Discrimination, which is in the syllabus.
1 Attitude: Nature and Components
| A-B-C component | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Affective | Emotional reaction |
| Behavioural (conative) | Tendency to act |
| Cognitive | Thought/belief |
| Property | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Valence | Positive / negative / neutral |
| Extremeness | Distance from neutral |
| Simplicity/Complexity | Few vs. many member attitudes |
| Centrality | Influence on other attitudes in the system |
2 Attitude Formation and Change
| 5 ways attitudes are learned |
|---|
| Association |
| Reward / punishment |
| Modelling (observing others) |
| Group/cultural norms |
| Exposure to information |
| 4 factors that provide the context |
|---|
| Family & school environment |
| Reference groups |
| Personal experiences (army driver → Maharashtra) |
| Media-related influences |
| Concept | Proposed by | Core idea |
|---|---|---|
| Balance | Fritz Heider | P-O-X triangle changes to resolve imbalance (dowry example) |
| Cognitive dissonance | Leon Festinger | Dissonant cognitions force a change (Box 6.2, $1 vs $20) |
| Two-step concept | S.M. Mohsin | Target identifies with source, then imitates source’s behaviour change |
| 4 factors deciding whether an attitude changes |
|---|
| Characteristics of existing attitude (valence, extremeness, complexity, centrality); change may be congruent (same direction as the existing attitude) or incongruent (opposite direction) |
| Source characteristics (credibility, attractiveness; Fig 6.1 laptop ad; popular public figures for cars) |
| Message characteristics (just enough information; rational/emotional appeal; motives aroused; too much fear turns off the receiver; face-to-face usually more effective than media) |
| Target characteristics (persuasibility = how easily a person is talked into changing, prejudice, self-esteem, intelligence) |
Cognitive consistency: the components or elements of an attitude system must be in the same direction; balance and cognitive dissonance are both examples of it.
3 Attitude-Behaviour Relationship
- Attitude is strong and central
- Person is aware of their own attitude
- Little/no external pressure to behave otherwise
- Behaviour not watched/evaluated by others
- Person expects a positive consequence
LaPiere’s study: a Chinese couple sent by LaPiere to travel across the US were refused hotel service only once, but a very large percentage of managers of hotels and tourist homes in the same areas said “no” when later asked by questionnaire, so attitudes may not always predict behaviour.
Behaviour can also decide attitude: in Box 6.2, the one-dollar group concluded from their own lie that they liked the experiment.
4 Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice can exist without discrimination, and discrimination without prejudice; but the two very often go together, and then conflict between groups is very likely.
| 5 sources of prejudice |
|---|
| Learning (association, reward/punishment, modelling, norms) → may lead to a “prejudiced personality” |
| Strong social identity / ingroup bias |
| Scapegoating: the majority blames a weak minority outgroup for its own problems |
| Kernel of truth: “there must be some truth in what everyone says”; even a few examples seem sufficient |
| Self-fulfilling prophecy: the target group may behave in ways that confirm the negative expectations |
5 Strategies for Handling Prejudice
- Minimise opportunities to learn prejudices
- Change existing prejudiced attitudes
- De-emphasise narrow ingroup-based social identity
- Discourage self-fulfilling prophecy among victims
Methods: education & information dissemination; increasing intergroup contact (successful only if cooperative, close, and not different in power or status); highlighting individual identity over group identity.
- Attitude = attitude object + evaluation + emotion + tendency to act
- A-B-C: Affective, Behavioural, Cognitive; 4 properties: Valence, Extremeness, Complexity, Centrality
- Formed by 5 mechanisms, shaped by 4 contextual factors
- Changed via balance (Heider), dissonance (Festinger), two-step (Mohsin); depends on 4 factors
- Attitude ≠ behaviour always: LaPiere’s study; sometimes behaviour decides attitude
- Prejudice (attitude) + stereotype (cognitive) + discrimination (behaviour); 5 sources
- Handling prejudice: education, cooperative equal-status contact, individual identity