ATTITUDE:Emotional, Informational, Behavioural,Positive and Negative Affectivity

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Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

LESSON 18

ATTITUDE

Attitude is a mental position relative to a way of thinking, behaving or leaning toward that which you

believe. It is the way a person thinks about somebody or something and the way she behaves toward

someone. It is her personal view or opinion of something. It also describes her general emotional approach

to any person or situation.

From a personal development standpoint, attitude is broader than this popular usage. A positive attitude

implies a way of thinking that is predominantly positive and optimistic. The opposite inclination, a negative

attitude is predominantly pessimistic.

Components of Attitude

Attitude has three components, namely:

1. Emotional

The emotional component represents a person's feelings towards an object. In other words, it is the

disposition towards something. For example, a sales representative behaves in a positive manner with

his clients. He feels that the client can do good to him by making a purchase, therefore he has a positive

emotional component.

2. Informational

The informational component consists of the information, idea or beliefs that a person has about the

object. For example, if someone feels that his partner can not play cricket very well, he would not let

him take charge if needed. Therefore, the belief plays the role of determining the informational

component.

3. Behavioural

The behavioural component represents how a person actually behaves. It consists of cognitive and

affective (values & beliefs) parts. Our beliefs and values are combined with our cognitive component;

thus, two components (affective and cognitive) give us our long range or persistent measurements for

dealing with the world.

While a person may have the competency to perform a task, that does not mean he or she will have the

desire (attitude) to do so correctly. In other words, competencies give us the ability to perform, while

attitudes give us the desire to perform. Attitudes change with various events in a person's life. These

emotional changes also vary in length of time.

Positive and Negative Affectivity

Positive Affectivity (PA)

It may be defined as a sense of well being, pleasantly involved in life and having positive attitudes. Positive

attitude, positive thinking, and optimism are now known to be a root cause of many positive life benefits--

the good life and well being. You'll live longer and be healthier and happier with a positive attitude toward

life. In addition, you're more likely to be successful if you learn to use the power of thinking positive,

adopting positive attitudes, and affirmations to gain important life benefits.

A positive attitude and optimistic thinking early in life predict health and well being in later years. Analysis

of 99 Harvard graduates found a strong correlation between their optimistic thinking as college students

and good health at age 40 and above.

In his ground-breaking book, A Primer in Positive Psychology, Christopher Petersen, PhD, says,

"...optimism has demonstrable benefits, and pessimism has drawbacks." He goes on to say,

"...optimism...has been linked to positive mood and good morale; to perseverance and effective problem

solving; to academic, athletic, military, occupational, and political success; to popularity; to good health; and

even to long life and freedom from trauma."

Even if a person has been a pessimistic, negative thinker for many years, it is never too late to change the

way of thinking and reap the benefits of a positive attitude. Optimists believe they are accountable for good

things and that good things will generally come their way. If something bad comes instead, optimists tend to

write it off as an isolated incident, an anomaly, or something out of their control; optimists believe things

will be better in the future.

Negative Affectivity (NA)

It is the state of being nervous, tense, worried, distressed and pessimistic. Negative affectivity (NA) has

been defined as reflecting individual differences in negative emotion and self concept (Watson & Clark,

Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

1984). It has been argued that NA may affect perceived levels of stress by influencing perceptions of the

self or environment. Accordingly, individuals found to be high in NA tend to report higher levels of

dissatisfaction and perceived stress, when compared with individuals who have lower levels of NA.

Although there is strong empirical evidence linking NA to psychological well-being outcomes some authors

have suggested that this relationship originates out of a tendency of those individuals high in NA to respond

to self report methodologies with an overall negative perception.

Moyle (1995), in a comprehensive analysis of the effects of NA on a number of outcome measures, found

that negative affectivity did not universally affect all outcomes in a similar manner. Instead she found that

NA functioned in a number of different ways to influence outcomes. Moyle noted that NA was not simply

a generic nuisance variable but rather it played a complex and substantive role within the stress process.

Functions of Attitude

Adjustment Function

Attitudes help employees in organizations to adjust to the organizational environment. For example, if an

employee finds his job satisfying and develops a positive attitude towards it, he or she is more likely to

adjust with the organizational environment as compared to the one who has developed a negative attitude

towards the job or the organization.

Ego Defence Function

Attitude defines and defends self image. A person may make a poor decision and stick to it despite warnings

and in the process, develop a negative attitude towards the one who had warned him, considering him

inexperienced and irreverent. Hence, later this attitude would protect the ego of the person when he shall

refuse to listen to the warnings.

Value Expressive Function

Attitudes towards certain things help in expressing the values possessed. A person, who has a strong

negative attitude towards a liar, has his values of not telling a lie represented by this attitude.

Knowledge function

Attitude helps to understand and explain the world. A person may have negative attitude towards a group

and therefore consider everything said or done by that group to be wrong or threatening. He has developed

a frame of reference to assay the group which is a function of his attitude.

Changing Attitudes

Changing attitudes in organizations and in general is a difficult task; however, modification of existing

attitudes is much easier.

The first step in trying to change or modify attitudes is to identify the barriers in it and demolish them. The

common barriers are as follows:

Prior Commitment

Prior commitment of people prevents attitudinal change in them. It is actually disposition towards certain

beliefs. For example, a graduate from a foreign university would often be considered suitable for a number

of jobs irrespective of his interest and aptitude, based on the belief that he or she is a foreign qualified

person. This belief may be harmful for the organization. It is actually a prior commitment of the hiring

people.

Insufficient Information

Another barrier to bringing about attitudinal change is insufficiency of information. People do not find

sufficient reasons for changing their attitude which may become a hindrance in changing attitudes.

How to Change Attitudes

Find prior commitment, break it

Probably most overlooked is this strategy. Most often we forget that one of the reasons people don't change

their attitude is that they have made a conscious or subconscious prior commitment. Uncovering those

hidden agendas usually results in an opportunity to change one's attitude about previous commitments.

Even stability can be a prior commitment and until I understand that this new change, method or system is

going to produce stability--I am not willing to let go of what is stable.

Provide new/different information

Often, people don't see or feel the need to change. Providing information to support change or the need to

change can often open previously closed doors. Communicating change initiatives prior to implementation

is often scary but almost always better than not doing it until the implementation begins.

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Use fear/ punishment

Fear can be positive if we take the time to frame it correctly. Fear of some sort, often creates the urgency

needed for change to take place and for change gaps to be bridged, but the key to using fear is to show how

the present path is not the best one. You don't just threaten people by stating if they don't do it they will

suffer the consequences. You use a combination of tactics to show with information how the present

direction will lead to lower levels of benefits and more sacrifice than changing directions--personally or

organizationally.

Influence friends/family

One of the major reasons--in my view--for using 360 degree assessment is so that someone can get hit over

the head by people whose opinions often matter--saving leadership from doing it. While this may be the

crass side of 360, it does work because of the influence of friends and peers. 360s certainly have weaknesses

and used solely for the purpose of changing attitudes is probably more harmful than helpful in the "long

term." However, a structured ongoing program of development that includes regular 360 assessments and

training can be effective in changing attitudes.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is actually the treatment of mental and emotional disorders using psychological methods.

Psychotherapy, thus, does not include physiological interventions, such as drug therapy or electroconvulsive

therapy , although it may be used in combination with such methods. Behavior therapy aims to help the

patient eliminate undesirable habits or irrational fears through conditioning. Humanistic therapy tends to be

more optimistic, basing its treatment on the theory that individuals have a natural inclination to strive

toward self-fulfillment. Therapists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow used a highly interactive

client-therapist relationship, compelling clients to realize exactly what they are saying or how they are

behaving, in order to foster a sense of self-awareness. Cognitive therapies try to show the client that certain,

usually negative, thoughts are irrational, with the goal of restructuring such thoughts into positive,

constructive ideas. Such methods include Albert Ellis's rational-emotive therapy, where the therapist argues

with the client about his negative ideas.

Psychotherapy may be brief, lasting just a few sessions, or it may extend over many years. More than one

client may be involved, as in marriage or family counselling, or a number of individuals, as in group

psychotherapy.

Cooperate, involve in decision making

Giving people--whose attitude is deviant from the norm--leadership opportunity can often lead to positive

change for the person and the organization. Some say resistance is energy and this resistant energy occurs

often in the form of challenging attitudes and opposition--disagreeableness. Yet, often this energy can be

harnessed to propel the organization forward while leading to attitudinal change in the opposition.

Seek first to understand

An age old maxim made popular by Stephen Covey's 7 habits, empathy like compassion forces us to take

the view of the opposing force and to attempt to understand the reasons for the resistance. Much has been

written about this "soft" skill but by far, the caring sense that someone expresses authentically towards

another person removes barriers to changes in attitudes. Empathy creates openings for new information

and influence to reach through previously locked doors.

Resolve cognitive dissonance.

Most often, each of us has a dialectic taking place inside ourselves about our attitudes and about the results

of our behaviors. To resolve this dissonance or conflict can often lead to positive changes in attitudes for us

personally as well as in organizations. People are certain that their behavior always works, yet must often

protect that faulty behavior with an attitude. Helping them to understand the conflict between their attitude

and the behavior can lead to positive change.

REFERENCES

· Jung, C.G. (1966). Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, Collected Works, Volume 7, Princeton,

NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01782-4.

· Jung, C.G. [1921] (1971). Psychological Types, Collected Works, Volume 6, Princeton, NJ:

Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01813-8.

· Myers, I. B. & Myers, P. B. (1980), Gifts Differing", Palo Alto, CA: Consulting

Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

Attitude and change: Encyclopaedia Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attitude_(psychology)

FURTHER READING

What is an Attitude? http://www.lessons4living.com/what_is_an_attitude.htm

Ostrom, M. Thomas; Ohio State University. Theory and Measurement:

http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=57161271

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