postawie

Postawa, in Polish, refers to a disposition or stance toward something. It can denote both a mental attitude and a bodily posture, with the figurative sense being the more common in social science and everyday language. In psychology and sociology, postawa (plural postawy) describes a predisposition to respond in a consistent way to people, objects, or situations, encompassing beliefs, evaluations, and readiness to act. In everyday language it is often used to talk about someone’s stance on issues, moral values, or social norms.

The concept is central to studies of attitudes and behavior. Postawy shape judgments, choices, and actions, and they can be influenced by personal experiences, education, culture, and social environment. Attitudes are not immutable; they may change through information, persuasion, or experience, though such changes can be gradual and context-dependent. Researchers frequently measure postawy using surveys and rating scales to understand patterns in areas such as politics, consumer behavior, education, and workplace culture. Distinct but related terms include nastawienie, przekonanie, and wartości, which describe connected aspects of how people think and feel.

Linguistically, postawie is the locative singular form of postawa, used after prepositions to discuss attitudes or stances, such as in the phrase o postawie (about the attitude). The base form postawa denotes the general concept, while postawy (plural) refers to multiple attitudes or stances.

See also: attitude (psychology), values, beliefs, social norms, behavior.