Final answer:
An organized and unchanging combination of personal knowledge and feelings that influences behavior is known as an attitude, comprising affective, behavioral, and cognitive components. Attitudes are shaped by both internal factors like cognitive dissonance and external forms of persuasion.
Step-by-step explanation:
An organized and relatively unchanging combination of personal knowledge and feelings about someone or something that influences an individual to behave in a certain way regarding that person or thing is known as an attitude. An attitude includes three components: an affective component (feelings), a behavioral component (the effect of the attitude on behavior), and a cognitive component (belief and knowledge).
Our attitudes and beliefs are shaped by both internal and external forces. Internal mechanisms, such as cognitive dissonance, can lead to a change in our behavior, attitudes, or thoughts in order to reduce the tension that arises from conflicting beliefs. Externally, factors such as persuasion play a role, whether through the central route that relies on facts and information, or the peripheral route that leans on positive associations and emotional cues.