Annika Hohenthal, Department of English, University of Turku, Finland Some language-attitudes studies are strictly limited to attitudes toward the language itself. An attitude is individual, but it has origins in collective behaviour. Attitude is something an individual has which defines or promotes certain behaviours. Although an attitude is a hypothetical psychological construct, it touches the reality of language life. Baker stresses the importance of attitudes in the discussion of bilingualism.
Attitudes vary from favourability to unfavourability.
The major dimensions along which views about languages can vary are social status and group solidarity. Difficulties arising from this viewpoint include the question that from what data can attitudes be derived, and in what way are they quantifiable. According to behaviourism, attitudes are a dependent variable that can be statistically determined by observing actual behaviour in social situations. Many studies have demonstrated that judgements of the quality and prestige of language varieties depend on a knowledge of the social connotations which they possess. Thus, for instance, the use of dialects and accents would be expressions of social preference, which reflect an awareness of the status and prestige accorded to the speakers of these varieties.