Formation And Evaluation Of Negative And Positive Attitude
The term ‘attitude’ comes from the late 17th century originally used by the French, ‘attitude’ former Italian ‘attitudine’ 'fitness, posture, promptitude,' stemming from late Latin ‘aptitudinem’. The modern translation of an individual’s attitude commonly indicates their (positive, negative or mixed) emotional evaluative reacting to a certain stimuli, then interpreted by those around. Lapiere's (1934) classic study ‘Attitudes vs Actions’, the covert experiment was unethical while contributing to possible bias factors, the scale of measurement would have not been accurate due to other factors influence on the results; a major concern of the study is that the individuals that served the group may not have been the individuals to fill out the questionnaire. Although, the experiment did open up a wide curiosity regarding attitude and behaviour.
Attitudes are influenced by an individual’s personality and personal perspective towards a stimuli or situation usually formed by experience and social environmental factors such as friends and family. Attitudes can be complex to grasp due to duel attitudinal reposes, the individual may have conflicted or mixed views on the stimuli. Attitudes can be fictional and help express likes and dislikes, although, attitudes have an influence how information is processed, reacting to a human evaluation (conscious or unconscious) can foster closed-minded views and possibly distort the cognitive perception. This can indicate behaviour that may influence societal living factor’s in a variety of ways, financial decision-making, day-to-day social interactions, engagement in health or risk-taking behaviours. Attitudes have differing functions, meaning some attitudes are easier to change or adjust. Micro-expressions can also be misconstrued as attitudes but can indicate conscious hidden behaviours.
“In some cases where a reaction was expected, no expression or emotion was presented by the individual.”
Individual’s automatic ‘evaluation’ or judgement of a stimuli often stems from memory. The phenomena can be established by the consistency of a certain response to a stimuli. The attitude is structurally formed by mental energy towards an ‘object’, anything within the individuals frame of mind; it can be reasonable, abstract, a behaviour or, possibly a person. This can predispose individuals to react differently affecting how the information is processed by the individual. Mature affective response can reflect feelings and evaluations toward the attitude object. Cognitive responses usual reflects the individual’s perceptions and thoughts of the attitude object. A behavioural response reflects the individual’s behavioural inclinations, intentions, and actions based on the level of respect towards the attitude object. Although it is a simple theory it can be used to explain social and cultural attitudes that can often be changed through experience and persuasion. Family and friends, especially parents can have a major influence both biologically and environmentally attitudes.
Need to evaluate (NES) model shows that if an individual is asked a series of question in regards to a point system or rating on a scale. An individual will characterize the ideological evaluation of the stimuli or situation. Attitudes that are available for self-report, affected by social desirability they can typically be measured by questionnaires.
'Perfectionists are amongst those normally considered to have an overwhelming need to evaluate their own work and find any faults.'
Devine (1989) used stereotypes, prejudice, and depression schemas to used explain Nazi political behaviour. The integrated perspective explains implicit and explicit attitudes can involve controlled and automatic. Problems with explicit measures of attitudes, psychologists have developed a number of indirect implicit responses. Not affected by social desirability but influenced by personality, attitudes that are not easily to self-report regarding little conscious awareness measured by priming questions and unethical reaction time experiments and facial electromyography. The vast majority of explicit attitudes are measured by self-analysis questioners, there’re four measurement scales used for an individual’s verbal behaviour.
• Thurstone’s equal interval
• Likert’s summated ratings
• Guttman’s scalogram
• Osgood’s (1957) Semantic Differential.
Theory of naïve psychology (Heider, 1958) common term ‘common-sense’, scientific logic causing affective description or prediction to a situation. Following the belief that behaviour is motivated, the primary principle of the theory is to look into cause and motive of an behaviour. An individual seeking to discover the causes of behaviour, looking for stability while distinguishing the differences of personal and environmental factors. Two primary ideas are influential; dispositional (internal cause) vs situational (external cause) attributions. Internal attribution (dispositional) attribute of behaviour to personal factors. External attribution (situational) attribute of behaviour to environmental factors.
Covariation model is one of the most widely recognised models; tracing past experience while looking for necessary or sufficient causes. Human beings act like scientists at a young age but the analytical aims of understanding have only developed with age; trying to discover the causes of behaviour as an adult. By identifying factors that covary with behaviour, assigning those factors quantitative variables then used to decide whether it is an internal or external attribute.
Emotional lability theory of conceptual frame of mind elaborating on the components of an individual’s emotional state. Believing the emotional state is a result of interactions both physiological and cognitive arousal factors. The methodology is difficult to evaluate effectively as there is no psychological emotion concept clarification within psychology.
Corresponding with self-perception theory describes the process, lacking initial attitudes or emotional responses, developed by observing their own behaviour and coming to conclusions as to what attitudes must have driven that behaviour. Counterintuitive interpretation of actions on both by others, socially influenced and not produced out of our own free will, although, persuasion industries such as marketing.
Correspondent inference theory (Jones & Davis, 1965) behaviour is freely chosen, believed to be due to internal factors. Accidental vs. Intentional behaviour attributes to personality, and behaviour which is accidental is commonly attributed to external causes. Personalism behaviour appears to have an intended to have an impact on an individual, ‘assuming’ that it is “personal”, not a product of situation or circumstance. Hedonistic relevance explains the other person’s behaviour if it appears, to benefit or harm us. Social desirable behaviours indicate low non-conforming leads internally dispose inferences in socially undesirable behaviours. The function theory developed from Darwinian can be used to explain attitude-behaviour relationship, attributes to evolutional factors leading to societal establishment. Knowledge means a need for order and structure, utilitarian functions describe the information process relating to reward and punishment. Self-expressive activities are personally therapeutic able to transfer emotions, values, and self-concept; although, ego defence explains immature response and can indicate attitudes towards or possible threats of an individual or topic. Functionalism is critical for societal living within education and achievement motives. Smith (1956) object-appraisal elaborates on the positive or negative attitudes of objects in a social setting, social-adjustment provides an individual the choice of who the individuals is likely to associate and build further relationship with, dissociative individuals harbour negative emotions or thoughts; while externalisation explains the individuals need for defence against an inner conflict, intense dislike towards something that threatens the individuals ego. Moderating factors to spontaneous behaviour gives little consideration to an individual’s intentions. Humans rely on accessible attitudes to guide day-to-day interaction, highly accessible attitudes can predict behaviour. Stronger attitudes have an influence on behaviour, although, different things affect the strength of an attitude. This also contributes to Katz (1960) theory relating to the knowledge process of information about attitude objects. While instrumentality supporting to maximise reward and minimise punishment. The ego-defence aims to protect the individuals self-esteem; value-expression explains how an individual expresses their self-concept and values to establish a common factor with a particular social groups.
Attributional theory aims to explain an individual’s ‘understanding’ also referred to ‘common sense’ as an explanation of an individual’s behaviour. An outcome dependant event (positive or negative) may face a specific affect or future expectation and assumption can reflect an individual’s behaviour. The functional significance overlooks the cognitive processes and phenomenal experience unable to adapt to a mature behavioural functionalism. Attitudinal ambivalence can be identified as existing the same attitude object is evaluated simultaneously as both positive and negative. Attribution theorists aim to investigate the perception or judgement of the factors that manifest regarding a particular incident. Dimensions and associated casual factors the affective responses and future expectations to explain an individual’s behaviour. Focus on attributional dimensions of task achievement. Evaluated into three performance categories of attributional dimension achievement; Locus is seen as an individual internal or external factor. Stability? Controllability? By examining the moderating role of attitudinal ambivalence (as assessed by split‐semantic differential measures) the relationship between bipolar semantic differential measures of attitude and subsequent behaviour using moderated regression analysis. We as individuals seek to understand the world around us constructed under the ideology of common-sense casual inference refers to attribution theories.
Krantz & Rude (1984-1988) Depressive attributions differentiating elements of competence and belief consistency regarding depressive and non-depressive cognitive process. The bias effects of an individual’s emotional congruence. Belief congruence were separated depressed vs. non-depressed subject usually inspected. The influence on social science and the practical examination of compliance.
Dweck & Legett (1988) social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality provided a research based model to document and describe maladaptive behaviour. Entity theorists believe that intelligence and ability is predetermined through genetics, while, incremental theorists believe that intelligence and an individual’s ability can be increase through effort.
Intention are important a major factor to consider is that behaviour can be premeditated and not always spontaneous. The individuals intentions are relevant mediators to the individual’s cognitive goals, premeditated mediators of attitude explain behavioural influences and action. This has an influence on personal biases and prejudice views and behaviour but are stemming from stereotypes, these are not the same but are closely associated. Moderators of social attitude behaviour and relationship are commonly cultural, social, personal values, circumstance, ethical biases.
Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) develops and understand of induvial actions guided by three forms of beliefs. Normative beliefs and attitudes formed by beliefs about outcomes of a situation; indicates the behaviour and the result of these outcomes. Beliefs about the normative expectations of possible motivation to comply with these expectations are subjective norms. Indicating factors that may facilitate or impede performance of behaviour, perceived power of these factors can lead to perceived behavioural control.
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) the individual will have electrodes attached to their fingers. The electrical conductivity of the individual skin will react to the presentation of unpleasant or pleasant words increasing the individuals’ GSRs to greater than neutral. Although, neutral words such as objects in the room ‘pen’ would not elicits a response as GSRs will remain neutral. Evaluation is focused on an individual’s positively or negatively thinking about the attitude object or topic. Potency regarding how powerful the individual emotional response is to the topic. Activity describes how the topic is processed being active or passive.
Facial Electromyographic Recording (EMG) measures the muscles in the face, sensitive electrodes record the muscle movement conscious and unconscious. This electrically records muscle activity in the facial region. Certain muscles move when smiling and frowning; some emotions commonly present in a similar facial reaction indicating beliefs globally.
Milgram’s lost letter technique (1965) distribution of stamped but unposted letters to political organisations. The rate of returned letters was seen to indicate people’s attitudes to the parties (friends of the Nazi party, friends of the communist party). The lost letter technique aims to determine attitudes or factors that influence behaviour without directly asking (unobtrusive measure). Participants were unaware of the study, no risk to altered behaviour.
Bogus Pipeline technique leads the participant to believe that a machine resembling a lie detector could pick up on an individual’s underlying emotions. Evaluating the studies of the approach result in individual being more likely to reveal ‘true’ attitudes, even when socially undesirable.
Attitudes can be measured in a wide variety of ways, although, it is difficult to make a completely accurate analysis of an attitude. There are so many factors to be taken into consideration; Implication association test – (bad or good). Cognitive reactions time can indicate conscious behaviours and the cognitive process time can be measured predictive of an individual emotions and behaviour. Behavioural attitudes can be measured by body language, eye contact and physical distance. Physiological measurement can be taken by MRI/CAT scans, BP,HR, GSR and facial EMG.
