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Attitudes and

Attitude Changes

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Introduction

Attitudes , which arealso a part of humanpersonality resultingfrom the continuous

interaction of theindividual with the socialenvironment , will beanalyzed further in thisunit as they, too, make

him/her a very uniqueperson and thusdifferent from any otherindividual.

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Meaning and Nature of Attitudes

Most psychologists define attitude asa tendency to react positively ornegatively toward an object. There

are three concepts involved in thisdefinition:

Object of the attitude which maybe a policy, a group, an event or an

abstract entity such as religion ordemocracy

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Tendency of positiveness or

negativeness in relation to the object ,varying degree from extremely favorable toextremely unfavorable , neutral or ambivalent

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Tendency to react in a certain way -a readiness or disposition to have certain

positive or negative reactions aroused inrelation to the object.

Three categories of covert response

compose the aroused attitude:

Affective reactions (emotions) Cognitions ( thoughts, perceptual

reactions, judgments) Action tendencies (motivations to do

particular things

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Attitudes are defined as a mental predisposition toact that is expressed by evaluating a particularentity with some degree of favor or disfavor.

Individuals generally have attitudes that focus onobjects , people or institutions . Attitudes are

compromised of four components:

A. Cognitions. Cognitions are our beliefs,theories, expectancies, cause and effect beliefsand perception relative to the focal object.

B. Affect . the affect component refers to our

feeling with respect to the focal object such asfear, liking or anger

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C. Behavioral Intentions. Behavioralintentions are our goals, aspirations and

our expected responses to the attitudeobject.

D. Evaluation. Evaluations are oftenconsidered the central component ofattitudes. Evaluations consist of theimputation of some degree of goodness or

badness to an attitude object.

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Attitudes are generally thought of as

beliefs or cognitions about reality orsome aspects of reality. Values maybe categorized as something that is

more ethical in nature. It is a qualityor object that is desirable as a

means or as end in itself.

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Importance of Attitudes

We have learned in our unit on perception thatour attitudes influence what we perceive .Attitudes determine what we notice , and what

our responses would be. 1. Our attitudes are determinants of our

behavior 2. Our attitudes influence our social perceptions

and vice-versa

3. Our behavior can be predicted form ourattitudes 4. Attitudes can have a strong and lasting impact

on individuals 5. Attitudes help us walk with the world around

us.

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Attitudes are generally learned through threebasic ways :

Classical conditioningEx: observing another person hurt in a traffic

accident serves to make us more careful

Instrumental conditioningOccurs when desired behavior is reinforced and/or some undesired behavior is punished.

ImitationCan learned by mere observation.

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Major Influences in Attitudeformation

Morgan describe the main agents thatinfluence the formation of attitudes at

different periods of development:

1. Attitude Influences form Birth to

Puberty 2. Attitudes Influences from Twelve to

Thirty ( the critical period In attitudeformation)

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During adolescence, when boys and girlsspend less time in their home and with

their parents, more time with friends andclassmates, peers ( people of the samegeneral age and educational level withwhom one associates) become more

powerful influences since they are readilyaccepted as authorities, people that are

liked and easy to talk to.

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1. Specific Experiences. We must learn todiscriminate between those circumstances inwhich favorable or unfavorable eventshappen with dependable frequency and thoseconditions under which they do not.

2. Communication from others.

3. Models. Identification with the model andrespect for his judgment tend towardacceptance of the models way of perceivingand feeling about certain situations.

4. Institutional Factors.

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Development of Interpersonal

Attraction

Promoting interpersonal attraction orattitudes toward other people is of utmost

importance for many people most of the time.Generally, it matters much to us that we like thepeople we meet and that they like us,too.

1. Proximity. Show that a very good predictor ofwhether two people are friends is how far apartthey live. This implies that people are attractedto one another if they see each other most often.

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2. Familiarity. Also revealed that just as

proximity or nearness creates liking,familiarity or sheer exposure increasesit.

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3. Similarity. People who are initiallysimilar in any aspects generally like each

other and end up as better friends thanthose dissimilar in various ways.

4. Physical Attractiveness.

What is beautiful is good and what good isbeautiful.

Hildegard , et.al , term the tendency for

relationships to move from liking togreater intimacy as love pr the process ofsocial penetration. This is markedlycharacterized by reciprocal self-disclosure.

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Attitude Changes

Formation and change of attitude arevery much interwoven. Peoplealways embrace, modify and

renounce attitudes to fit their ever-changing needs and interests. Three

theories explain attitude change:

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Reinforcement Theory- maintains thatattitudes may change through the use of

reinforcement.

The Balance Theory of Attitude Change.According to this theory , people try tomaintain consistency , congruity, or balancein their attitudes toward some things.

The Cognitive Dissonance theory . Thistheory involves a kind of cognitive conflict or

the occurrence of the contradictory beliefs orideas.

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Two Contraindicatorycognitions:1. I smoke

2. Smoking leads to cancer

DISSONANCE

Modifying oneor both

cognitions ( Ireally dont

smoke toomuch)

Changing

percievedimportance ofone cognition (The evidence is

weak thatsmoking causes

cancer

Additional

cognitions ( Iexercise somuch that it

doesnt matterthat I smoke.

)

Denying thatcognitions arerelated (Thereis no evidence

linkingsmoking andcancer)

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Group pressure can act to change ourattitudes or to maintain them. Greater

group pressure can be put as we manifesta great desire to belong to the group. Ifthe group wants us a members, it will

exert greater influence to have us agreewith its norms. The less information we

have about the group situation, the morewe can be greatly swayed by the group

pressure. Unanimous group agreement isdifficult to resist.

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Finally, discrepancies between our ownattitudes and the groups norms may be

resolved by rejecting the group normsbecause of outside pressure though privatelydisagreeing with them, superficial conformitywith the group norms without any deepchanges in our own attitudes, and exercising

flexibility and discrimination in reacting to thegroup norms- accepting and rejecting others.However, not all attitude changes can beattributed to group factors.

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3 parts in the act ofcommunication

Source of

Communication( Who say it)

Characteristicsof audience

(Who hears it)

Nature ofCommunication

(what is saidand how it is

said)

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Trandis said, In analyzing the attitude

change process, we must consider theeffect of who says what, how to whom,with what effect

Attitude will be changed based on how aperson sees the communication and thecommunicator.

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Meaning and Nature of Prejudice

Prejudice is a fixed attitude toward aperson or group. It is an irrational

judgment based in the emotion ratherthan on facts. The word prejudice iscommonly used to indicate negative

judgment suggesting hostility toward

another person, group or object. In itsmore destructive form, prejudice isdebilitating in that is used as a vehicle forthe expression of hatred of individualstowards one group simply because theybelong to another group.

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Group Prejudice is marked by unfavorableattitudes held by the members of a group

toward another group and its members.

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Intergroup Relations andPrejudices

Sartain describes how prejudices exist inthe context of four intergroup relations

which are outline below: 1. Competition. When goals are scarce ,

individuals or groups rival or competewith each other to obtain them through

any means. 2. Conflict. The agreed upon rules are

violated by the rival groups or individualsas they try to obtain their goals.

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3. Segregation and Discrimination. Thedominant group impose a boundary line

between the two groups and allocatespower, privilege and burdens in its ownfavor.

4. Cooperation. Here the individuals orgroups either work for a common goal orthey mutually facilitate each others goalattainment.