Module 2: Structure, Formation and Functions of Attitudes

This module examines how attitudes are structured, formed, maintained and changed. Participants study the cognitive, affective and behavioural components of attitudes and learn how thoughts, feelings and behavioural tendencies may work together or, in some situations, conflict with one another. The module explores major processes involved in attitude formation, including direct experience, social learning, classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, observational learning, social comparison and exposure to information from significant individuals or groups. Participants also examine different levels of commitment to an attitude, including compliance, identification and internalisation, and consider why some attitudes are relatively weak while others become deeply embedded in an individual’s identity or value system. Cognitive consistency and cognitive dissonance are introduced to explain how individuals respond when their beliefs, attitudes and behaviour become inconsistent. From a practitioner perspective, the module develops the ability to map the sources and structure of an attitude so that interventions can address the underlying drivers rather than merely attempting to change surface-level behaviour.