What traumatic event does Zitkala-Sa describe at the school?

The forcible cutting of her long hair

Why was the cutting of her hair so humiliating to Zitkala-Sa?

Among her people, shingled hair was worn by cowards and mourners

Define attitude and state its three components.

An attitude is an evaluative state of mind about an attitude object, with affective (emotional), behavioural and cognitive components, called the A-B-C components.

Distinguish attitudes, beliefs and values.

Beliefs are the cognitive ground of attitudes; values are attitudes or beliefs containing a should or ought aspect, and are hard to change.

Name the four properties of attitudes.

Valence (positivity or negativity), extremeness, simplicity or complexity (multiplexity) and centrality.

Explain cognitive dissonance with an example.

When two cognitions clash (e.g. "pan masala causes cancer" and "I eat pan masala"), the discomfort drives a change, such as giving up pan masala, to restore consonance.

What is Heider's balance theory?

The P-O-X triangle shows that attitudes change to restore balance among the person (P), another person (O) and the attitude object (X) when the relations are imbalanced.

What factors influence attitude change?

Characteristics of the existing attitude and of the source (credibility, attractiveness), the message (rational vs emotional appeal, amount of fear) and the target.

When are attitudes consistent with behaviour?

When the attitude is strong and central, the person is aware of it, there is little external pressure, behaviour is not being watched and positive consequences are expected.

How can prejudice be reduced?

By education and correcting stereotypes, increasing cooperative intergroup contact between equal-status groups, and highlighting individual rather than group identity.

CBSE · Senior secondary

CBSE Class 12 — Notes, Chapters & Practice Quizzes

Q: How are attitudes learned?

Through association, reward and punishment, modelling, group or cultural norms and exposure to information.

Q: Differentiate prejudice from stereotype.

A stereotype is a cognitive cluster of ideas about a group, while prejudice is a usually negative attitude towards the group that may include dislike and lead to discrimination.

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Chapter 6: Attitude and Social Cognition — Class 12 Psychology

Psychology · 7 chapters

Summary, key terms, important questions and a practice quiz with AI diagnosis for each.

Chapter 6: Attitude and Social Cognition

Try one from this chapter

The three components of an attitude (A-B-C) are:

Summary

This chapter, from social psychology, explains how individuals are influenced by others and how they make sense of social situations. An attitude is a state of mind or set of evaluative thoughts about an attitude object, with three A-B-C components: affective (emotional), behavioural (conative) and cognitive (thought). Attitudes differ from beliefs and values, and have features of valence, extremeness, simplicity or complexity (multiplexity) and centrality. Attitudes are learned through association, reward and punishment, modelling, group or cultural norms and exposure to information, shaped by family, school, reference groups, personal experience and media. Attitude change is explained by Heider's balance theory (the P-O-X triangle), Festinger's cognitive dissonance (the drive for cognitive consistency) and Mohsin's two-step concept of identification and imitation. Change depends on the existing attitude, and on source, message and target characteristics. Attitudes do not always predict behaviour; consistency is greater when the attitude is strong, central and the person is aware of it. Prejudice is a usually negative attitude towards a group, often based on stereotypes (cognitive) with dislike (affective) and discrimination (behavioural). Sources of prejudice include learning, strong social identity and ingroup bias, scapegoating, the kernel-of-truth idea and self-fulfilling prophecy. Prejudice can be reduced through education, increased cooperative intergroup contact and emphasising individual identity.

Explaining social behaviourNature and components of attitudesA-B-C componentsAttitude formationAttitude changeBalance and cognitive dissonanceAttitude-behaviour relationshipPrejudice and discriminationSources of prejudiceStrategies for handling prejudice

Key terms

Attitude

A learned, evaluative state of mind about an attitude object, with affective, behavioural and cognitive (A-B-C) components.

A-B-C components

The affective (emotional), behavioural (conative) and cognitive (thought) components that together make up an attitude.

Cognitive dissonance

Festinger's idea that inconsistent cognitions create discomfort, motivating a change towards consistency.

Balance (P-O-X)

Heider's theory that attitudes change to restore balance among the person, another person and the attitude object.

Prejudice

A usually negative attitude towards a group, often based on stereotypes and expressed as discrimination.

Stereotype

A cluster of ideas about the characteristics of a group, assumed to apply to all its members.

Discrimination

The behavioural component of prejudice, behaving less favourably towards members of a target group.

Important questions

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A learned, evaluative state of mind about an attitude object, with affective, behavioural and cognitive (A-B-C) components.

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