Give three sources where individuals acquire their attitudes

i. Direct experience with the object
Attitudes can develop from a personally rewarding or punishing experience with an object. Employees form attitudes about jobs on their previous experiences. For e.g.. if everyone who has held a job has been promoted within six months, current job holders are likely to believe that they will also be promoted within six months. Attitude formed on experience are difficult to change.
ii. Classical conditioning and attitude
One of the basic processes underlying attitude formation can be explained on the basis of learning principles. People develop associations between various objects and the emotional reactions that accompany them. For e.g., many soldiers who were stationed in the Persian Gulf during the war with Iraq reported that, they never wanted to sit on a sandy beach again. This is the soldiers formed negative attitudes towards sand. Similarly, positive associations can develop through classical conditioning. Advertisers make use of the principles of classical conditioning of attitudes by attempting to link a product they want consumers to buy with a positive feeling or event.
iii. Operant conditioning and Attitude acquisition
Another learning process, operant conditioning, also underlies attitude acquisition. Attitudes that are reinforced, either verbally or non-verbally, tend to be maintained. Conversely, a person who states an attitude that elicits ridicule from others may modify or abandon the attitude. But it is not only direct reinforcement or punishment that can influence attitudes.
iv. Vicarious learning
In which a person learns something through the observance of others, can also account for attitude development — particularly when the individual has no direct experience with the object about which the attitude is held. It is through vicariously learning processes that children pick up the prejudice of their parents.
We also learn attitudes vicariously through television, films and other media. a. Family and Peer groups
A person may learn attitudes through imitation of parents. If parents have positive attitude towards an object and the child admires his parents, he is likely to adopt a similar attitude, even without being told about the object and even without having direct experience. Attitudes towards the opposite sex, religion, tolerance or prejudice, education, occupations and almost all other areas where attitudes are capable of expression are the result of our accepting or rejecting the attitudes held by members of our family. Similarly, attitudes are acquired from peer groups in colleges and organizations.
b. Neighbourhood
The neighborhoods we live has a certain structure in terms of its having cultural facilities, religious groupings and possibly ethnic differences. Further, it has people who are neighbours. Neighbouring — adults or children- tolerate, condone, or deny certain attitudes and behaviour and as a result we are either Northerners or Southerners. Further, we accept these moves and conform, or we deny them and possibly rebel. The conformity or rebellion in some respects is the evidence of the attitudes we hold.
c. Economic status and occupations
Our economic and occupational positions also contribute to attitude formation. They determine, in part, our attitudes towards unions and management and our belief that certain laws are “good” or “bad”. Our socio-economic background influences our present and future attitudes.
d. Mass communication
All varieties of mass communications — televisions, radio, newspaper and magazines feed their audiences large quantities of information. The presentation of news or information is constructed so as to cater to the attitude of the audience. In turn, the audience selects the specific form of mass communication that best reflects
its attitudes on various subjects. The material we select helps us either to substantiate our opinions or to establish new ones.

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Titany answered the question on September 7, 2021 at 12:20