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. A prestige standard form of a language has no inherent aesthetic or linguistic advantage over nonstandard varieties. When relations change, status relationships, and therefore perceptions, attitudes and uses, change.
Speakers select their code from a variety of socially marked models.
When studying language attitudes, the concept of motives is important. Two basic motives are called instrumental and integrative motives.