PsychologyAttitudes and Social Cognition

The thought component of attitude is referred to as?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → Cognitive

Option (1) Affective — Incorrect. The affective aspect is the emotional component of an attitude, the feelings it carries.

Option (2) Evaluative — Incorrect. The evaluative feature is the positive, negative or neutral quality of the views that make up an attitude.

Option (3) Conative — Incorrect. Conative is another name for the behavioural aspect, the tendency to act in a certain way. It is about action.

Option (4) Cognitive — Correct. The thought component of an attitude is called the cognitive aspect. It covers the views or beliefs a person holds about the attitude object.

NCERT (2026-27): “NATURE AND COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES …
All definitions of attitudes agree that an attitude is a state of the mind, a set of views, or thoughts, regarding some topic (called the ‘attitude object’), which have an evaluative feature (positive, negative or neutral quality). It is accompanied by an emotional component, and a tendency to act in a particular way with regard to the attitude object. The thought component is referred to as the cognitive aspect, the emotional component is known as the affective aspect, and the tendency to act is called the behavioural (or conative) aspect. Taken together, these three aspects have been referred to as the A-B-C components (Affective-Behavioural-Cognitive components) of attitude. …”