The CAB Model of Attitude
Every attitude is composed of three interconnected parts: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral (CAB).
| Cognitive Component (The Thought) | - Definition: beliefs, knowledge, and information one holds about an object or idea |
| Cognitive Example | - Example: knowing that single-use plastic pollution damages marine ecosystems |
| Affective Component (The Feeling) | - Definition: emotional or evaluative feeling of liking or disliking an object |
| Affective Example | - Example: feeling anger or sadness upon seeing sea turtles injured by plastic waste |
| Behavioral Component (The Action) | - Definition: overt tendency or intention to act in a specific manner toward an object |
| Behavioral Example | - Example: stopping personal use of plastic bags and participating in ocean cleanups |
| CAB Consistency | - Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral components usually exist in psychological harmony |
| Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger 1957) | - Mismatch between thoughts and actions creates painful psychological tension forcing a change in either belief or behavior |
| Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Persuasion | - Shifted open defecation attitude across 6 Lakh villages using emotional markers (*Darwaza Band* campaign) |
| GiveItUp Campaign | - Over 1 Crore affluent households voluntarily surrendered LPG subsidies via altruistic persuasion |
| Nudge Theory (Thaler & Sunstein) | - Gentle choices and visual cues guide 80%+ of citizens toward positive behavior without bans |
| RTI Act 2005 Impact | - Transformed bureaucratic attitude from secrecy to a statutory duty of proactive disclosure |
| Sevottam Model (IS 15700:2005) | - Installs service quality benchmarks, transforming officers from 'rulers' to 'service facilitators' |
| Mains Keywords | - CAB Triad, Cognitive Dissonance, Action Predisposition, Pressure of Mismatch |
| Conclusion | - Components are the **"Biology of Attitude"** — moving from fragmented thoughts to consistency-saturated and CAB-verified behavioral saturation |