Attitude

Definitions: The concept ‘attitude’ is defined as follows:

‘An attitude is a negative or positive evaluation of an object which influences human behavior towards that object’. – Michael Hogg

‘An attitude is a learned predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manner towards people, an object, an idea or a situation’. – Martin Fishbein

Explanation: We come across different people, ideas, things and situations. We may form a negative or a positive view of them in our mind. For example, if I think that junk foods are unhealthy because it has high carbohydratesand fats, It means I have a negative attitude towards junk food consumption.

Attitude is an evaluation of a thing in terms of liking or disliking, favoring or disfavoring, positive or negative and pro or anti.

Different people can have different attitudes towards the same thing or idea.  For example, some people view the internet’s use for students as a positive thing as they think that it helps the students in their studies. But some people also view the internet’s use for students as a negative thing as they think it wastes a lot of their time in useless activities on the internet. This negative or positive evaluation of an object is known as attitude.

Similarly, the idea of legalizing abortion is viewed as a good thing by some people because they think that it is way to get rid of unintended birth. But the same idea of legalizing abortion is also viewed as bad a bad by some people because they think that the fetus baby has the right to life.

As attitude is a positive or negative evaluation of an object, it influences an individual’s behavior towards that object in a favorable or unfavorable manner. For example, if someone has a negative attitude towards junk foods consumption, he will avoid eating junk foods and will advise others not to eat junk foods. Similarly, if a student has a positive attitude towards the use of the internet for studies, he will use the internet to read and download study material.

   COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDE

Psychologists such as Rosenberg, Eagley and Hovland have given a three components model of Attitude. According to this model, an attitude has the following three components:

1. Cognitive Component
2. Affective Component
3. Behavioral Component

1. Cognitive Component: Cognitive component is the set of information, ideas, facts and knowledge about an object.
2. Affective Component: This component consists of emotions and feelings towards an object. It can be emotions of liking or disliking, favoring or disfavoring, positive or negative evaluation towards the object.
3. Behavioral Component: It is the tendency to behave towards the object – e.g. how the individual acts towards the object depending upon cognitive (facts about the object) and affective (emotions towards the object) components.

Examples to Understand Three Components of Attitude:

Anything we know about an object or the facts we have about an object is the cognitive component. Based on our knowledge about an object, we have emotions of liking or disliking towards the object – these emotions are the affective component. Based on our knowledge and emotions about the object, we act towards the object in a specific way – it is the behavioral component.

Example 1.

• Orange is rich in vitamins. It is good for the skin. It tastes good. (Cognitive Component)
• I like oranges. (Affective Component)
• I eat an orange daily. (Behavioral Component)

Example 2.

• LED bulbs consume less electricity than ordinary bulbs. It has brighter light. It is more durable. (Cognitive Component)
• I like LED bulbs. (Affective Component)
• I buy and use LED bulbs in my home. (Behavioral Component)

    CHARACTERISTICS OF ATTITUDE

The characteristics of Attitude are as follows:

1. Attitude has an object: An attitude has an object, which is liked or disliked, favored or disfavored; or evaluated as negative or positive. The object can be a thing, an idea, a person, or a situation.
2. Attitudes are learnt: Attitude is not an inborn phenomenon. Attitudes are learnt through social interactions and experiences. We interact with others, experience many things and acquire information about things, which leads to the formation our negative or positive attitude towards different things.
3. Attitudes are predispositions: An attitude is a  predisposition – a prior determined or learnt view of a thing or tendency to act in a specific way towards a thing. An individual has a view which is already formed in his mind.
4. Attitudes are relatively stable phenomena: An attitude is not a momentary feeling but a long-held view of something. Though attitudes can be changed from time to time but It is a relatively stable phenomenon that persists for a period of time.
5. Attitude has an emotional component: It has emotional aspect of liking or disliking in relation to an object.
6. Attitudes influence human behavior: A positive attitude towards a thing will influence human behavior towards the thing favorably. Similarly, a negative attitude influences human behavior towards a thing unfavorably. For instance, a vegetarian person would avoid eating beef due to his negative attitude towards beef consumption.