4 – Attitudes

Introduction

An individual’s perspective or view of things is called their “attitude.” In simple terms, an “attitude” is a person’s mental state that predisposes them to react or behave predictably—it simply represents an acquired sensation.

“a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favourable or unfavourable manner concerning a given object,” Katz and Scotland. Attitude combines individuals’ beliefs and feelings regarding specific concepts, situations, or other people. The importance of attitude stems from its role as the primary means by which most people convey their emotions.

“The word attitude describes a persistent tendency to feel and behave in a particular way towards some object.”

“Attitudes are evaluative statements either favourable or unfavourable concerning objects, people or events. They reflect how one feels about something.”

“Attitudes are learned predispositions towards aspects of our environment. They may be positively or negatively directed towards certain people, service or institutions”.

4.1 Nature of Attitudes

The following distinguishing characteristics contribute to the meaning of attitudes: i. Attitudes refer to the feelings and beliefs of individuals or groups of individuals.
ii. The feelings and beliefs are directed against other people, objects, or concepts.
iii. Attitudes often result in behaviour or action.
iv. Attitude can range from favourable to unfavourable along a continuum.
v. Attitudes endure.
vi. All people, regardless of status or intelligence, have attitudes.

4.2 Components of Attitude

Attitude has three components, which are as follows:

• Affective component
• Cognitive component
• Intentional Component

The affective component of an attitude reflects an individual’s ‘feelings and emotions’ towards a circumstance. The cognitive component of an attitude stems from an individual’s ‘knowledge’ of a circumstance. Finally, the intentional component of an attitude reflects how an individual ‘expects to behave’ about or in the situation. For example, the following are the various components of a negative attitude towards a company that provides subpar items on an irregular basis:

Affective component: “I don’t like that company.”

Cognitive component: “They are the worst supply firm I have ever dealt with.”

Intentional component: “I will never do business with them again.’

People try to keep the three components of their attitudes consistent. However, contradicting circumstances frequently occur. Cognitive dissonance is the term used to describe an individual’s conflict within their attitudes.

4.3 Formation of Attitude

Individuals learn attitudes from a variety of sources. However, it is essential to note that attitudes are acquired rather than inherited. The following are the major sources of acquiring attitudes:

i. Direct experience with the object
Attitudes might develop due to a personally rewarding or punitive experience with an object. Employees create attitudes about occupations based on their prior experiences. For example, suppose everyone who previously held a job has been promoted within six months. In that case, current employees are also likely to anticipate being promoted within six months. It’s tough to change an attitude acquired through experience.

ii. Classical conditioning and attitude
Learning concepts can be used to describe one of the fundamental processes underpinning attitude formation. People develop linkages between distinct object associations and the emotional reactions they elicit. During the war with Iraq, many soldiers who were stationed in the Persian Gulf said that they never wanted to sit on a sandy beach again. Because of this, the soldiers developed negative attitudes towards sand. Positive associations can similarly develop through classical conditioning. Advertisers utilise classical conditioning of attitudes principles by seeking to associate a product they want people to buy with a positive sensation or event.

iii. Operant conditioning and attitude acquisition
Another learning process, operant conditioning, also contributes to attitude formation. Attitudes that are reinforced, either verbally or nonverbally, are more likely to persist. In contrast, a person who expresses an attitude that generates ridicule from others may change or forsake the attitude. However, it is not simply direct reinforcement or punishment that can impact attitudes.

iv. Vicarious learning
The process by which a person learns something by seeing others can also account for attitude development, especially if the individual has no direct experience with the object about which the attitude is held. Children pick up their parents’ prejudices through vicariously learned learning mechanisms.
We also learn attitudes through television, movies, and other forms of media.

a.Family and Peer groups
A person can learn attitudes by imitating their parents. Suppose parents have a positive attitude towards an object, and the child admires his parents. In that case, he is likely to develop a similar attitude, even if he has never heard of the object or had direct experience with it. Attitudes towards the opposite sex, religion, tolerance or prejudice, education, occupations, and practically all other areas where attitudes can be expressed result from our embracing or rejecting the attitudes held by family members. Similarly, attitudes are acquired from peer groups in colleges and organisations.

b. Neighbourhood
Our neighbourhoods have a certain structure regarding cultural amenities, religious groups, and maybe ethnic variations. It also has folks who are neighbours. Neighbours — adults or children — tolerate, condone, or deny certain attitudes and behaviours, and as a result, we are either Northerners or Southerners. Furthermore, we either embrace and adhere to these movements or deny them and possibly rebel. In some ways, compliance or rebellion is proof of our attitudes.

c. Economic status and occupations
Our economic and occupational status also influence our attitudes. They influence our attitudes towards unions and management and our belief in specific legislation’s “good” or “bad” nature. Our socioeconomic history has an impact on our current and future attitudes.

d. Mass communication
Television, radio, newspapers, and magazines are just a few examples of the many varieties of mass communication that provide a wealth of information to their audience. The news or information presentation caters to the audience’s attitude. The audience, in turn, selects the specific form of mass communication that best expresses its perspectives on numerous themes. The content we choose either helps us substantiate or generate fresh opinions.

4.4 Types of Attitudes

Individuals have hundreds of different attitudes. However, in organisational behaviour, we are primarily concerned with three work-related attitudes:

i. Job Satisfaction
employment satisfaction relates to how one feels about one’s employment. A satisfied person has a favourable attitude towards their employment. On the other hand, a disgruntled employee will have a negative attitude towards his or her employment. When individuals talk about employee attitudes, they almost always refer to job satisfaction. The two names are interchangeable. However, there are slight differences between them.

ii. Job Involvement
Job participation is the degree to which an individual psychologically identifies with his or her job and considers his or her perceived performance level vital to self-worth. A high level of job involvement leads to fewer absences and a lower likelihood of resignation.

iii. Organisational Commitment
The final job attitude is about organisational commitment. It is defined as a person’s identification with their organisation and pride in participating in it. Job engagement denotes attachment to a job, whereas organisational commitment denotes identification with a particular organisation and its goals. Individuals may be devoted to their employment yet disinterested in the organisation and its goals. When employees are committed to the organisation, turnover and absenteeism are low.

4.5 Functions of Attitude

Why do we maintain certain attitudes towards individuals or objects? These attitudes enable us to respond to individuals or objects in meaningful ways. Attitudes perform four critical functions:

i. Utilitarian
An attitude may develop because either the attitude or the object of the attitude is instrumental in helping one receive rewards or avoid penalties. In some circumstances, attitude is merely a means to an end. When a worker expresses a negative attitude towards his boss, his coworkers notice and sympathise with him, but when he expresses a favourable attitude, he is ignored or chastened.

A negative attitude is instrumental in receiving rewards (approval) and escaping punishment. In another scenario, the object serves as a means to a goal, and the attitude emerges due to the association between the object and its conclusion.

For example, a car salesman may develop good attitudes toward blue-collar workers, whom he finds it easy to sell, and a lousy attitude toward doctors, to whom he finds it difficult to sell. He links success and profit with blue-collar workers and failure and difficulty with doctors, and through association, he learns suitable attitudes towards those objects.

ii. Ego-defence
People frequently adopt and retain particular attitudes to safeguard their self-images. Workers may, for example, feel intimidated by the hiring or progress of minority or female employees in their organisation. Threatened workers may develop prejudices against new workers.

They may develop the attitude that such immigrants are less qualified, and they may abuse these workers. An ego-defensive attitude like this is established and used to deal with feelings of guilt or threat. This kind of attitude will persist unless this feeling is eradicated.

iii. Value Expressive
Our attitudes reflect our value systems, and our values and expressive attitudes are intimately tied to our self-concept. Individuals whose fundamental value is freedom may display positive attitudes towards decentralised power in the organisation, flexible work schedules, and relaxed clothing requirements.

iv. Knowledge
Knowledge is frequently replaced with attitude. Without knowledge, we organise and make sense of the viewed object or person using our attitude. For example, people unfamiliar with nuclear energy may believe it is unsafe and should not be employed as an energy source. Another example is stereotyping. We may use a stereotypical attitude while judging a person without knowledge about them.

Why should executives be aware of these attitude functions? Such knowledge can have two functions. It helps us understand and forecast how a specific person will behave. For example, if a person is “prejudiced” against another person, he is less likely to be fair in judging that person. Furthermore, this knowledge enables the management to understand why the person has developed such an attitude.

Second, it can assist the management in changing another person’s attitude. He can accomplish this by altering the conditions that support the attitude. He can influence people with low self-esteem by helping them improve their problem-solving abilities or positively commenting on their accomplishments.

4.6 Changing Attitude

The organisation should endeavour to change employee attitudes. But change is challenging because of roadblocks.

1. Barriers to Change

The attitude hypothesis of balance and consistency hinders attitude change. Humans desire their attitudes towards people and things to be consistent (i.e., balanced) with their behaviours towards each other and objects. People try to reduce inconsistency by rewarding inwardly when attitudes or behaviours are inconsistent. Leon Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory supports attitude consistency. Festinger says dissonance makes an individual feel bad. An individual tries to reduce dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person acts in a way that is consistent with their attitudes. For instance, a person may be aware that smoking and overeating are harmful but continue to engage in both. Because attitudes and behaviour are inconsistent, the person may sense tension and discomfort and seek dissonance reduction. Rationalising may solve smoking dissonance. People change their attitudes, behaviour, or perceptions to reduce stress and pain. When an employee wants to quit, cognitive dissonance occurs in the organisation since working hard seems pointless. The individual may say, “Organization is not bad after all” or “What is the alternative?”

2. The second barrier 

Prior commitments are the second barrier to attitude change. This occurs when people are unwilling to change their minds.

3. The Third Barrier

Insufficient information leads to the third barrier. People don’t always perceive a need to change their attitudes. The boss may dislike a subordinate’s bad attitude, yet the subordinate may prefer his behaviour. Unless the boss can convince the individual why a bad attitude damages career advancement, wage raises, or some other goal, the subordinate may continue to have a negative attitude.

4.7 Ways of Changing

Here are some critical approaches to changing attitudes:

i. Providing new information

New knowledge alters opinions. Lack of information causes most negative sentiments. Workers become pro-union since they don’t know management’s good intentions. Once people see how management cares for workers, they may become pro-management.

ii. Use of Fear

Fear affects outlook. The change depends on the fear level. People dismiss low-level fear arousals. Warnings lack urgency. People become aware of the circumstances and adjust their views with modest fear arousals. However, strong fear arousal makes the message too menacing and unbelievable, so people reject it. However, excessive fear may backfire. People may become stubborn and refuse to change when threatened too much.

iii. The influence of friends or peers

Friends and peers can change attitudes. Credibility, especially peer credibility, is the key to transformation. High-credibility peers will influence change. Not so with low-credit peers.

iv. Co-opting approach

Co-opting changes attitudes, too. Take unsatisfied people and get them interested in fixing things.

v. Others

According to research, a privately held opinion is more likely to alter than a publicly declared one. Thus, the individual must not reveal his attitude before changing. Individuals from a culturally disadvantaged milieu with unfriendly attitudes may change with education. A privileged subculture member who has always been democratic may become antagonistic towards a group after one lousy encounter. Again, constant connection with like-minded people can influence one positively or negatively. Reference groups and social climate attitudes matter here.

4.8 Types of Change

Congruent and incongruent change are two types of attitude change.

Congruent attitude change involves moving in the same direction but with reduced emotional intensity. A boss’s negative or positive attitude towards his subordinate, for example, will endure, but the degree of like or dislike will be reduced.

-Incongruent change involves a change in direction from a positive (or negative) attitude towards a person to a negative (or positive) attitude towards the same person. This change is seen in behavioural terms, such as changes in retail store purchases and quitting or joining an organisation.

4.9 Attitude and Organizational Behaviour

Employee attitudes are essential to management because they influence behaviour, attitudinal influences or perceptions, job satisfaction, job involvement, and organisational commitment.

1. Attitudinal Influences on Behaviour

Attitudes influence employee behaviour. However, some object to a direct relationship between attitudes and actions because attitudes do not lead to any specific action. A manager, for example, may detest specific members of minority groups but treat them decently and warmly in his office. This discrepancy happens because the manager does not let his attitude influence his professional decisions.

These attitudes, however, may manifest themselves in various behaviours. For example, the manager may treat minority employees properly while refusing to invite them to his son’s or daughter’s wedding.

Although the influence of attitudes on behaviour is challenging, two theories, cognitive dissonance and self-fulfilling prophecy, can help us comprehend the direction of attitudinal influences.

When any of the following situations exist, cognitive dissonance becomes more intense:

i. The decision is psychologically or monetarily important.
ii. There are several foregone alternatives.
iii. The foregone options offer numerous positive characteristics. Typically, an individual will try to reduce dissonance by employing one of the four methods. The methods are as follows:
i. The individual seeks information that validates the decision’s wisdom.
ii. The individual selectively perceives (distorts) facts in favour of the decision.
iii. The person develops a negative attitude towards the foregone alternatives.
iv. The person downplays the significance of any negative aspects of the choice while emphasising the positive features.

The process by which we try to turn our attitudes, beliefs, and expectations into reality is known as self-fulfilment. If we predict something, we will try hard to make it happen. For example, we will take on challenging activities if we believe we are competent.

As a result, we gain experience and talents that make us more competent, allowing us to accomplish even more. However, if we adopt a negative attitude towards ourselves, we will deny ourselves the opportunity to grow.

2. Attitudinal Influence on Perception

Prior experiences and perceptions impact perceived outcomes and how we interpret stimuli. Sayings like “Beauty is entirely in the eye of the beholder” and “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure” highlight the importance of attitudes in how we perceive the world around us. Things will appear brighter if our attitudes are positive rather than negative.