Attitude: Meaning and Scope under Ethics and Integrity

An attitude is a learned tendency to evaluate people, issues, objects or events in certain way. Such evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain / mixed at times.

Our attitude can vary in strength along both positive affect, and with negative affect, with ambivalence or with apathy and indifference. It usually implies feelings that are either positive or negative.

Defining Attitude

Social psychologists use the term attitude differently. Gordon Allport formulated this definition of Attitude: “An attitude is a mental and neural state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to ill objects and situations with which it is related.”

In simple words, Attitude is a way of looking at any situation and deciding either consciously or unconsciously – how we relate it to ourselves and others.  It can be something to do with our own personality and experience. The major positive attitudes include being frank, confident, jealous, respectful, sincere, honest, hard working, faithful, loving, flexible, humble, helping, independent, sympathetic, hard working etc.

Attitude pertains to our feelings, beliefs and behaviour predispositions directed towards people, groups, ideas or objects. Attitudes will always have a positive and negative element and have a tendency to behave in a certain way toward that person or object. Attitudes are formed primarily based on underlying values and beliefs.

Beliefs are acquired through real experiences but the original experience related to a particular belief is mostly forgotten. It affects the quality of our work and relationships because we experience what we believe and it is not based on reality. Beliefs govern our experiences. They are an important part of our identity. They may be religious, cultural or moral. Beliefs reflect who we are and how we live our lives.

Why it is important to cultivate the Right Attitude in our lives?

Attitude defines life and life defines attitude. Dalai Lama has said: If you can cultivate the right attitude, your enemies are your best spiritual teachers because their presence provides you with the opportunity to enhance and develop tolerance, patience and understanding.

Attitude makes a big difference in our lives. One may have high IQ and a sharp logical mind but without the right attitude, both are rendered useless. Without a right attitude, one will be like a misdirected rocket reaching the wrong destination. Our right attitude can empower us.

Structure of Attitude

An attitude is made up of three interconnected components: cognitions, emotions and behaviours.

Cognitive Component

• Our thoughts and beliefs about the subject.

Emotional Component

• How the object, person, issue or event makes us feel.

Behavioural Component

• How the attitude influences our behaviours. There is a sub-component viz. behavioural predisposition.

An attitude involves a predisposition respond or a behavioural tendency toward the object. “It’s boring” implies a tendency to avoid the class. “I like my job” suggests an intention to go to work. People having specific attitude are inclined to behave in certain ways that are consistent with that attitude.

A change in one component of an attitude structure might very well lead to changes in the others because an attitude structure is dynamic, with each component influ­encing the others.

Attitudes and Beliefs

Attitude refers to feelings, beliefs and behaviour predispositions directed towards people, groups, ideas or objects. Attitudes will always have a positive and negative element and have a tendency to behave in a certain way toward that person or object. Attitudes are formed primarily based on underlying values and beliefs.

Beliefs are acquired through real experiences but the original experience related to a particular belief is mostly forgotten. It affects the quality of our work and relationships because we experience what we believe and it is not based on reality. Beliefs govern our experiences. They are an important part of our identity. They may be religious, cultural or moral. Beliefs reflect who we are and how we live our lives.

Implicit and explicit attitude

Attitudes can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and that clearly influence our behaviours and beliefs. Implicit attitudes are unconscious, but still have an effect on our beliefs and behaviours.

Functions of Attitudes

Altitudes serve several important functions.

• Our attitude defines us. It gives an up-front statement about which we really are or would like others to think who we are.
• Attitudes direct our future feelings and thoughts about the objects of those feelings and thoughts. Attitudes are cognitive structures that guide perception and help us fill the gaps when information is lacking.
• Attitudes summarize our feelings, thoughts, intentions, and behaviour and it helps us to respond.
• Attitudes lead us to value objects that help us reach our goals.
• Altitudes serve a helps us to make sense out of the world by categorizing objects and people is knowledge function.
• Stereotypes are often associated with intense emotions which can sometimes lead to intergroup conflict.
• As a value-expressive function, it helps in expressing our values.
• Attitudes serve an ego-defensive function when they protect us against our fears and anxieties.
• Heuristic Function: We develop favourable attitude towards an attitude that aids or rewards us and unfavourable attitude towards that punishes or thwarts us. It provides a simple and efficient way of evaluating objects.
• Attitude maintains self-worth and defines the self and they express individual’s basic values and reinforce his/her self- image.
• Finally some attitudes protect the person from recognising certain thoughts and feelings that threaten his self-image or adjustment.

Formation of Attitude

Attitude formation refers to a drift from no attitude towards an object to some positive or negative attitude towards that object.

Sources of Attitude Formation

A range of mechanisms for attitude formation are involved. Most important among them are mere exposure, direct experiences and social learning. Mere exposure means that simply being exposed to an object increases our feelings, usually positive, toward that object. Second way of formation of attitude is through direct personal experience. It has the power to create and change attitudes. This is stronger factor in forming the attitude and is likely to affect behaviours strongly.

Which source is stronger?

Direct experience continues to form and shape our attitudes throughout life. Attitudes formed from direct experience are stronger because they are readily available and called on quickly by our consciousness.

Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning & Observational learning

Attitudes can also be learned in a variety of ways such as Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning. The advertisers use classical conditioning to influence our attitude toward a particular product.  One example of classical conditioning in TV commercials is Axe: Men’s Hair, Deodorant, Body Spray, and Shower Gel Products. These advertisements prey on the human desire for passion, sex, and love. The advertisements represent ‘The Axe Effect’ showing a man being fawn over by one or multiple women. People learn attitudes by observing the people around them. When someone you admire greatly espouses a particular attitude, you are more likely to develop the same beliefs. For example, children spend a great deal of time observing the attitudes of their parents and usually begin to demonstrate similar outlooks.

Operant conditioning can also be used to influence how attitudes develop. For example, children completing homework to earn a reward from a parent or teacher; or employees finishing projects to receive praise or promotions. It can also be used to develop negative attitude.

Examples of Classical Conditioning

• Every time someone flushes a toilet in the apartment building, the shower becomes very hot and causes the person to jump back. Over time, the person begins to jump back automatically after hearing the flush, before the water temperature changes.
• You eat a new food and then get sick because of the flu. However, you develop a dislike for the food and feel nauseated whenever you smell it.
• An individual receives frequent injections of drugs, which are administered in a small examination room at a clinic. The drug itself causes increased heart rate but after several trips to the clinic, simply being in a small room causes an increased heart rate.

Examples of Operant Conditioning

• Your father gives you a credit card at the end of your first year in college because you did so well. As a result, your grades continue to get better in your second year.
• Your car has a red, flashing light that blinks annoyingly if you start the car without buckling the seat belt. You become less likely to start the car without buckling the seat belt.
• A lion in a circus learns to stand up on a chair and jump through a hoop to receive a food treat.

Influence of Attitude on Behaviour

People behave in accordance with their attitudes. Our attitudes develop over time and not only reflect where we have come from but also how we will proceed with our life in the future. Attitudes are therefore a powerful element in our life, are long enduring and hard to change easily.

However, attitudes and actual behaviours are not always perfectly aligned.  The degree of influence begins with the assumption that we behave in accordance with our conscious intentions. They are based, on our rational calculations about the potential effects of our attitude towards our behaviour and about how other people will feel about it.

People are more likely to behave according to their attitudes under certain conditions such as _

• When our attitudes are the result of personal experience.
• When we are an expert in the subject.
• When we expect a favourable outcome.
• When the attitudes are repeatedly expressed.
• When we stand to win or lose something due to the issue.

In some cases, people may actually alter their attitudes in order to better align them with their behaviours. Cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon in which a person experiences psychological distress due to conflicting thoughts or beliefs. In order to reduce this tension, people may change their attitudes to reflect their other beliefs or actual behaviours.

Process of Attitude Change

Attitudes are dynamic and influences which form the attitude can also change the attitude. Thus, there are three theories on change of attitude:

Learning Theory of Attitude Change

Classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning can be used to bring about attitude change. Classical conditioning can be used to create positive emotional reactions to an object, person or event by associating positive feelings with the target object. Operant conditioning can be used to strengthen desirable attitudes and weaken undesirable ones. People can also change their attitudes after observing the behaviours of others.

Elaboration Likelihood Theory of Attitude Change

This theory of persuasion suggests that people can alter their attitudes in two ways. First, they can be motivated to listen and think about the message, thus leading to an attitude shift. Or, they might be influenced by characteristics of the speaker, leading to a temporary or surface shift in attitude. Messages that are thought-provoking and that appeal to logic are more likely to lead to permanent changes in attitudes.

Dissonance Theory of Attitude Change

As mentioned earlier, people can also change their attitudes when they have conflicting beliefs about a topic. In order to reduce the tension created by these incompatible beliefs, people often shift their attitudes.