Attitudes

Attitudes

Positive or negative feelings towards objects (people, things or situations)

A mental state of readiness organised through experience, to behave in a characteristic way towards the object of the attitude

Can be thought of as a combined effect of a belief and a value which gives a feeling about a particular attitude object

Components Of Attitude

Components of Attitudes Evaluative component: the emotional or feeling aspect of

the attitude – refers to our liking or disliking the object of the attitude

Cognitive component: the knowledge or belief aspect of the attitude – refers to what you believe to be the case about the attitude object

Behavioural component: the behavioural predisposition aspect of the attitude – refers to a predisposition to act in a certain way

Functions of Attitudes Adjustment function: instrumental or utilitarian function – helps the

individual to adjust to the world and to obtain rewards and avoid punishment from the environment

Ego-defensive function: help people defend against information that threatens their concept of self – to protect our self-image by legitimising behaviour which may contradict our values

Value-expressive function: allows individuals to derive satisfaction from expressing attitudes reflecting their central values and concept of self

Knowledge function: help in understanding events which impinge upon them by mentally organising and structuring the world so that it is more understandable

Formation of Attitudes

Direct Personal Experience Association Family and Peer groups Neighbourhood Economic status and Occupations Mass Communications

Types of Job-related Attitudes

Job Satisfaction: refers to the general attitude or feeling of an individual towards his job.

Job Involvement: refers to the degree to which employees immerse themselves in their jobs, invest time and energy in them, and view work as a central part of their overall lives.

Types(cont…)

Organisational Commitment: refers to employee’s identification with a particular organisation and its goals and feel proud of being its employees.

Changing Attitudes: Barriers to Change Prior commitments: People’s commitment to

a particular course of action and are unwilling to change. This is same like the tendency of the decision makers to persist with failing actions.

Insufficient information: Sometimes people donot see any reason as to why they should change their attitude.

Principles of Attitude Change

Consistency principle: people strive to maintain consistency between the affective, behavioural and cognitive components of an attitude

If one component changes, the person has two alternatives:Reverse the change to a single componentChange the other components to fall in line

Ways of Changing Attitudes

Providing new information Use of Fear Resolving Discrepancies Influence of friends and peers The Co-opting Approach

Types of change

Congruent change: change in the attitude in the same direction but the intensity of feeling is reduced

Incongruent change: Change in the attitude direction itself from negative to positive or vice-versa.