Identity and Attitude: Eternal Conflict or Harmonious Coexistence

Abstract

Identity and attitude are traditionally viewed as belonging to two contradictory schools of thought where identity is viewed as a social construct while attitude is viewed as solely cognitive. Few researchers have tried to challenge this argument and these two notions are usually studied in isolation of one another. This article argues that these two concepts are not as contradictory to one another as generally thought and it is possible to create a connection between the two in a way that makes it possible to study both of them in relation, rather than isolation, to one another. To support its argument, this article reports on the findings of a research study that explores the relationship between identity and language attitudes among university students at the University of Aleppo in Syria and reveals that a relationship does exist between identity and attitude in the sense that participants performed their identities through their cultural attitudes and language choice.