Social psychologists understand attitudes as our positive and negative opinions about other people, issues, and things, composed of a combination of our own thoughts and values. These attitudes are formed over time, partly through rational appraisal, but are mostly influenced by our peers, family, and culture. Our attitudes influence how we think of ourselves, and they can become so entrenched that they override our rational thinking and lead us to make prejudiced judgments.
Naturally, attitudes influence what we do, but attitudes in general aren’t very reliable predictors of behavior. We often act according to the norms of any situation without changing our attitudes, because attitudes are shaped by conformity to social norms. When we see people who belong to another group acting differently than us, we might feel prejudices toward them. Our attitudes towards them may change, but only slowly. Sometimes, the values and beliefs held by social groups change, and the attitudes held by individuals within those groups change along with them. In time, individual attitudes can be modified through various methods of persuasion, including education and exposure to new ideas.
