Why Attitudes are Important: Defining Attitude and Attitude Theory 20 Years Later

In all honesty we must confess that we do not think the time is ripe to be theoretically solemn about the definition of an attitude. Definitions are matters of convenience, and they attain high status only in the advanced stages of a science. In time, greater precision will come. (Smith, Bruner, & White, 1956, p. 34)