Influence and Relation with Thought and Behavior — Definition

Definition

Attitudes influence thought and behaviour by shaping how people evaluate information, feel about an issue and tend to respond. The influence is not a mechanical rule: circumstances, opportunities and competing commitments can alter action.

Thought and experience can also change an attitude, creating a two-way relationship. In administration, this matters because an officer's assumptions can affect what evidence is noticed and how an applicant is treated.

Reflection, fair procedures and review help keep those assumptions open to correction. Understanding the relationship does not permit an observer to infer someone's entire attitude from one action or to treat disagreement as a psychological defect.