The Composition of Attitudes

Abstract

While not totally inflexible, attitudes are a remarkably stable part of the habitual pattern of life. The concept of habit, as developed by social psychologists seeking some compromise between a fully independent rational free will and an extreme psychological determinism, went beyond the everyday use of the word. Habits were acquired predispositions which guided behaviour, but did not completely control it. Habit was the line of least resistance, the preference for the familiar over the novel. In a sense habit was a concession to indolence, yet without reliance on habitual maxims that had worked in the past life would be too burdensome altogether.¹ This is an important consideration. It is easy to dwell on the inaccurate, the perverse, or the grotesque character of some habitual behaviour, especially in the performance of religious or political rituals long after the disappearance of their original meaning or justification. But this is a misplaced emphasis. We could not survive if our habitual pattern of attitudes did not provide a reasonably good guide to reality. We are able to depend on our habits because we have learned from experience that most of the time they serve us well. We can abandon habits when a change in either circumstances or in the external environment renders them unreliable.²