ABSTRACT
The social psychologist Elliott Aronson has defined an attitude as ‘an enduring evaluation – positive or negative – of people, objects and ideas’ (Aronson et al, 1994: p 287). We can pick out two important features of attitudes from this definition. First, attitudes are longlasting. Once we have established a firm attitude to sport, we are likely to stick with it. Second, attitudes involve making judgements. Our attitudes to sport are likely to emerge as either distinctly positive or distinctly negative. Understanding attitudes is important to sport psychologists for a number of reasons. If parents and teachers, can understand how children acquire attitudes, they can use this understanding to try to ensure that as many young people as possible develop positive attitudes to sport. By understanding the link between attitudes and behaviour, we can try to help more people enjoy the medical and psychological benefits of both participation and spectatorship in sport. An understanding of the ways in which attitudes can be changed is valuable in helping us to increase sporting participation and motivate athletes.
