The Advantages of an Inclusive Definition of Attitude

TLDR

Attitude is defined as a psychological tendency to evaluate an entity favorably or unfavorably, encompassing tendency, object, and evaluation, and distinguishing the inner tendency from its expressive responses. The authors propose that psychologists develop theories using metaphors to specify the structural qualities of the inner tendency constituting attitudes.

Abstract

In The Psychology of Attitudes, we provided an abstract—or umbrella—definition of attitude as "a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor" (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 1). This definition encompasses the key features of attitudes—namely, tendency, entity (or attitude object), and evaluation. This conception of attitude distinguishes between the inner tendency that is attitude and the evaluative responses that express attitudes. Our definition invites psychologists to specify the nature of attitudes by proposing theories that provide metaphors for the constituents of the inner tendency that is attitude. We advocate theoretical metaphors that endow attitudes with structural qualities.