The development of sociology as a natural science has been hindered by: (1) emphasis upon its normative rather than upon its descriptive aspects; (2) too much attention to subjective factors, such as ideas, ideals, motives, sentiments wishes, and attitudes, and too little attention to objective, overt behavior; (3) the inaccuracy, indefiniteness, and anarchistic confusion of sociological concepts. A critical examination of the concept "attitude" reveals its scientific shortcomings from all three points of view. It is all things to all men; it is seldom used consistently by any one writer; it is normative, valuative, subjective; it refers to verbal responses, opinion, habits, vegetative processes, tendencies to act, impulses to act, inhibitive impulses, feelings, wishes, values, motor sets, and various combinations of these. The attempt to differentiate "attitudes" and "values" is shown to be impossible in practice. Most so called "attidues" research is really "opinion" research. The concept is lergely in ...