Which term refers to attitudes that individuals often hold but are not consciously aware of?

Implicit attitudes refer to the evaluations and feelings people have about certain topics, individuals, or groups that operate outside of conscious awareness. These attitudes can influence behavior and decision-making even when individuals do not recognize or acknowledge them. The concept is vital in psychology because it highlights how subconscious beliefs and feelings can affect interactions and perceptions, often in ways that differ from conscious attitudes.

For example, a person might consciously believe in equality and fairness but still hold implicit biases based on cultural stereotypes, which can manifest in their behavior without them realizing it. This distinction between implicit and explicit attitudes is crucial for understanding how attitudes can shape human behavior subtly, highlighting the complexity of human psychology.

The other terms, while relevant to psychology, do not describe attitudes that individuals are unconsciously aware of. Explicit attitudes are those that individuals can deliberately express and are conscious of. Self-serving bias is a cognitive bias that involves attributing positive events to oneself and negative events to external factors. Social identification pertains to how individuals identify themselves with particular groups, which involves a conscious aspect of group belonging rather than unconscious attitudes.