Behavioral approach
Here the social attitude is understood as an intermediate variable between some objective stimulus and the external environment. Its formation takes place practically without the participation of a person and can occur due to:
Positive reinforcement (when certain behavior is rewarded in one way or another, there is a social attitude).
Observations of the person behind behavior of other people and consequences of their actions.
Forming associative links between incentives or pre-existing attitudes (for example, lovers of conspiracy theory share similar views in many other areas).
Cognitive approach
In other words, the formation of social attitudes occurs as a result of a person's desire to resolve internal contradictions that have arisen because of the lack of coordination between social attitudes.
Motivational approach
Supporters of this approach deny behaviourism, believing that a person is not a passive, but an active participant in the process. He is able to create, change and modify his own social attitudes. And he does it by weighing all the pros and cons.
There are two theories describing the formation of social attitudes:
The theory of expected benefits: the formation of social attitudes occurs through the assessment of the person's maximum benefit from the acceptance or non-acceptance of a new installation.
Theory of cognitive response: formation occurs as a result of a positive or negative reaction of a person to a new installation.
Genetic approach
Supporters of this approach believe that the formation of a social setting is due to genetic characteristics:
Intellectual abilities
Congenital differences of temperament
Biochemical reactions
At the same time, the supporters of the method believe that in addition to the congenital, there are also acquired social attitudes. However, the former are much stronger.