Attitude Meaning and Definition

1. (n.) The posture, action, or disposition of a figure or a statue.

Three types of human attitude

It's believed that there are three categories of human attitude/nature. The first category comprises those who have ''You're right, I'm wrong'' attitude, the second
category has this ''I'm right, you're wrong'' attitude, and the third sect believes in ''You're right, so am I'' attitude.
Those under "You're right, I'm wrong" category are the ones, who're generally subservient and who easily concur with views/opinions of all people. Since they don't nurture
individual perceptions and perspectives about any matter, they instantly conform to others' thinking pattern. As they are always part of a herd, they never antagonize anyone,
nor do they get alienated from any group. 

Due to lack of spunk in them, they can never stand up for themselves, leave alone standing up for others. 

Those folks belonging to "I'm right, you're wrong" category, always vociferate their views with vehemence. They keep finding ways of advertising their potential and prowess in
everything. 

They often embark on 'sparring sessions' with everyone, just to prove what they think/believe is the universal truth. They make sure none surpasses them in any arena, since
they simply can't accept defeat of any sort. They feel it's some stupendous achievement, when they have the last word in all their squabbles/arguments.

The human-folks of "You're right and so am I" category are the most prudent and pragmatic lot, with oodles of sagacity in them. 

They are never credulous  or pushovers, and are impervious to any influences. Though they are prepared to assimilate good points from other people (and even acknowledge
others' good qualities), they live life on self-dictated terms. Being good listeners, they respect others' standpoints, but finally do what they deem it right. 

Being always phlegmatic and complacent, they enjoy life to the hilt. They never take dubious/devious routes to attain success, nor do they pull someone down to climb the
success ladder. 

They seldom inflict pain on others, nor do they get flustered by others' bad demeanour. They are so confident of themselves that they don't bother proving their skills/intelligence
before others. 

To encapsulate, they are the unpretentious lot, who always emerge victors in life's all spheres

Attitude formation

Unlike personality, attitudes are expected to change as a function of experience. Tesser (1993) has argued that hereditary variables may affect attitudes - but believes that they

may do so indirectly. For example, consistency theories, which imply that we must be consistent in our beliefs and values. The most famous example of such a theory

is Dissonance-reductiontheory, associated with Leon Festinger, although there are others, such as the balance theory.

[edit]Attitude change

Main article: Attitude change

Attitudes can be changed through persuasion and we should understand attitude change as a response to communication. Experimental research into the factors that can affect

the persuasiveness of a message include:

1. Target Characteristics: These are characteristics that refer to the person who receives and processes a message. One such trait is intelligence - it seems that

more intelligent people are less easily persuaded by one-sided messages. Another variable that has been studied in this category is self-esteem. Although it is

sometimes thought that those higher in self-esteem are less easily persuaded, there is some evidence that the relationship between self-esteem and

persuasibility is actually curvilinear, with people of moderate self-esteem being more easily persuaded than both those of high and low self-esteem levels (Rhodes

& Woods, 1992). The mind frame and mood of the target also plays a role in this process.

2. Source Characteristics: The major source characteristics are expertise, trustworthiness and interpersonal attraction or attractiveness. The credibility of a perceived

message has been found to be a key variable here; if one reads a report about health and believes it came from a professional medical journal, one may be more

easily persuaded than if one believes it is from a popular newspaper. Some psychologists have debated whether this is a long-lasting effect and Hovland and

Weiss (1951) found the effect of telling people that a message came from a credible source disappeared after several weeks (the so-called "sleeper effect").
 Whether there is a sleeper effect is controversial. Perceived wisdom is that if people are informed of the source of a message before hearing it, there is less

likelihood of a sleeper effect than if they are told a message and then told its source.

3. Message Characteristics: The nature of the message plays a role in persuasion. Sometimes presenting both sides of a story is useful to help change attitudes.

Cognitive Routes: A message can appeal to an individual's cognitive evaluation to help change an attitude. In the central route to persuasion the individual is presented with the

data and motivated to evaluate the data and arrive at an attitude changing conclusion. In the peripheral route to attitude change, the individual is encouraged to not look at the

content but at the source. This is commonly seen in modern advertisements that feature celebrities. In some cases, physician, doctors or experts are used. In other cases film

stars are used for their attractiveness.

[edit]Emotion and Attitude Change

Emotion is a common component in persuasion, social influence, and attitude change. Much of attitude research emphasized the importance of affective or emotion

components. Emotion works hand-in-hand with the cognitive process, or the way we think, about an issue or situation. Emotional appeals are commonly found in advertising,

health campaigns and political messages. Recent examples include no-smoking health campaigns and political campaign advertising emphasizing the fear of terrorism.

Attitudes and attitude objects are functions of cognitive, affective and conative components. Attitudes are part of the brain’s associative networks, the spider-like structures

residing in long term memory that consist of affective and cognitive nodes.

By activating an affective or emotion node, attitude change may be possible, though affective and cognitive components tend to be intertwined. In primarily affective networks, it

is more difficult to produce cognitive counterarguments in the resistance to persuasion and attitude change.

Affective forecasting, otherwise known as intuition or the prediction of emotion, also impacts attitude change. Research suggests that predicting emotions is an important

component of decision making, in addition to the cognitive processes. How we feel about an outcome may override purely cognitive rationales.

In terms of research methodology, the challenge for researchers is measuring emotion and subsequent impacts on attitude. Since we cannot see into the brain, various models

and measurement tools have been constructed to obtain emotion and attitude information. Measures may include the use of physiological cues like facial expressions, vocal

changes, and other body rate measures. For instance, fear is associated with raised eyebrows, increased heart rate and increase body tension (Dillard, 1994). Other methods

include concept or network mapping, and using primes or word cues.

[edit]Components of Emotion Appeals

Any discrete emotion can be used in a persuasive appeal; this may include jealousy, disgust, indignation, fear, blue, disturbed, haunted,and anger. Fear is one of the most

studied emotional appeals in communication and social influence research.

Important consequences of fear appeals and other emotion appeals include the possibility of reactance which may lead to either message rejections or source rejection and the

absence of attitude change. As the EPPM suggests, there is an optimal emotion level in motivating attitude change. If there is not enough motivation, an attitude will not change;

if the emotional appeal is overdone, the motivation can be paralyzed thereby preventing attitude change.

Emotions perceived as negative or containing threat are often studied more than perceived positive emotions like humor. Though the inner-workings of humor are not agreed

upon, humor appeals may work by creating incongruities in the mind. Recent research has looked at the impact of humor on the processing of political messages. While

evidence is inconclusive, there appears to be potential for targeted attitude change is receivers with low political message involvement.

Important factors that influence the impact of emotion appeals include self efficacy, attitude accessibility, issue involvement, and message/source features. Self efficacy is a

perception of one’s own human agency; in other words, it is the perception of our own ability to deal with a situation. It is an important variable in emotion appeal messages
because it dictates a person’s ability to deal with both the emotion and the situation. For example, if a person is not self-efficacious about their ability to impact the global

environment, they are not likely to change their attitude or behavior about global warming.

Dillard (1994) suggests that message features such as source non-verbal communication, message content, and receiver differences can impact the emotion impact of fear

appeals. The characteristics of a message are important because one message can elicit different levels of emotion for different people. Thus, in terms of emotion appeals

messages, one size does not fit all.

Attitude accessibility refers to the activation of an attitude from memory in other words, how readily available is an attitude about an object, issue, or situation. Issue involvement

is the relevance and salience of an issue or situation to an individual. Issue involvement has been correlated with both attitude access and attitude strength. Past studies

conclude accessible attitudes are more resistant to change

[edit]Implicit and explicit attitudes

There is also considerable research on implicit attitudes, which are generally unacknowledged or outside of awareness, but have effects that are measurable through

sophisticated methods using people's response times to stimuli. Implicit and explicit attitudes seem to affect people's behavior, though in different ways. They tend not to be

strongly associated with each other, although in some cases they are. The relationship between them is poorly understood.

[edit]

Attitude

The key that opens your mind and heart to better job performance, an enriching career and life is your attitude. All of us want success; we want good results in all
walks of life, in our homes, in work and in all our relations. The most important single factor that guarantees positive results is the Positive Mental Attitude !
A positive mental attitude helps you:
- Consider your neglected and misunderstood fact
- Summary: Job as a part of the larger pattern of your organisation
- Utilise your potential when dealing with other employees and customers
- Understand how your own attitude affects other people’s attitudes and performance
The noted American trainer and motivator, Zig Ziglar, remarks: Positive attitude is the result of new thinking …… believing in yourself, focussing on successes, learning
from failures and surrounding yourself with people who share your values, principles and thinking. Positive attitude won’t let you do anything but it will let you do everything
better than negative thinking. It will let you use your abilities and capabilities.
Attitude is defined as ‘the position or bearing as indicating action, feeling or mood’. And it is our actions, feelings or moods that determine the actions, feelings or
moods of others. Our attitude is the way we communicate our mood, and tells the world what we expect in return. If we are optimistic and anticipate success, we will transmit a
positive attitude and people and customers usually respond favourably to our attitude. But when we are pessimistic and expect the worst, our attitude is often negative and
people tend to avoid us. Inside our head, where it all starts, attitude is a mind-set; it’s the way we look at things mentally.
Attitude is not simply a state of mind; it is also a reflection of what you value. Your attitude is more than just saying ‘ I Can ’; it is believing ‘ I Can Do ’. It requires believing
before seeing, because seeing is based on situations; believing is based on faith and your unwavering conviction.
As a human creature, all of us have been given the godlike power to create our own lives. Every day, we utilise actions and ideas that will determine the nature of our
tomorrows. Those ideas and actions lead some people to extra-ordinary achievements; some to a kind of average life; for some, those actions and ideas bring repeated frustration
and problems.
We tend to live up to our expectations; and others give to us what we expect. Our attitude is something we can control, and the people will reflect back to us the attitude we
present to them. It is, then, our attitude towards life that determines life’s attitude toward us. Law of Cause and Effect.
Your attitude is the disposition you transmit to others. It is also the way you see things mentally from the inside. The more you can focus on the positive aspects of your
environment and life, the easier it will be to feel and remain positive. Positivity can be maintained through conscious efforts. When something negative diverts your mental
focus, you can bounce back and make the adjustments by following these time-tested techniques :
• Think cheerfully; you become what you think about all the day long. There is always a silver lining in the dark clouds; so, look for the light and this will enlighten your mind
and thoughts process.
• Clarify your objectives; a person with a crystal-clear goal is more apt to have a positive attitude than someone without an aim. A well-defined objective in life provides you
direction, helps you achieve better focus, and removes doubts and fears.
• Sense of humour; the more you develop it, the more positive you become. Find out the funny aspects in every so-called problem and you can turn it into an opportunity.
• Mix up with winners when an odd situation confronts you. Negative losers can very easily aggravate the situation. Avoid these ‘turkeys and fly with the eagles’ who
radiate enthusiasm, hope and optimism.
• Visualise success; you get what you expect. Positive expectations pave the way for harmonious and positive times. Your imagination is the laboratory where you can rehearse
and preview the successful events.
• Pep talk, often called self-talk or monologue; it is your thinking aloud. When you assure yourself over and again of good, your subconscious mind accepts and believes
so, and your actions radiate the same thought process.
Rick Wilkins, an American management consultant, concluded after exhaustive research that you have the full control over your thinking pattern; you have the total
ownership of your attitudes. No one else on this planet has the power or authority to change your attitude without your permission. Your attitude allows you to become more
empowering than money, to rise above your failures and accept others for who they are and what they say.
Your attitude is the forerunner of all skills needed for happiness and success; it can be used to build you up or pull you down … the choice is yours. It also gives you the
wisdom to know that we cannot change events of the past. I am totally convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I respond to it. And it is with this state of
mind that I remain in charge of my attitude.
Your Attitude and the Work Environment
Nowhere is your positive attitude more required and appreciated by others than your workplace. There are sound reasons for this: about 30% of an employee’s waking
hours are spent at the workplace. Without some positive people around, this time could become troublesome.
Supervisors/managers reply on the positive attitudes of employees to establish a team spirit. Positive attitudes among a few employees make others’ job easy. Besides,
positive employees devote their time and concentrate on solutions, and radiate enthusiasm that is contagious. This creates a very pleasant work atmosphere where negative
thinkers don’t find much room to pollute the environment
Both positive and negative employees’ attitudes travel quickly in the workplace. Working around positive persons is a delightful and exciting experience. He/she can make you
feel more motivated. Likewise, working near a negative person is very likely to cause you to turn negative. A positive work environment speaks its merits for itself. It is obvious
from noticing the productivity and efficiency of workers who not produce at a high level but also makes it easier for others on the team to stay positive and produce more. In the
same manner, negative workers can turn others negative.

The more positive the workplace, the higher the departmental productivity. There will be more output, higher productivity, better quality, fewer mistakes and less
complaints. When employees feel easy and relaxed, they concentrate better reach their potential. Besides, employees are more tolerant of each others and work is viewed as an
enjoyable challenge than as a boring task.
All of us are responsible for our lives. We produce causes all day long, and the environment can return to us only a corresponding effect. Consequently, we determine the
quality of our own life.
Here is a way to evaluate the quality of your attitude in the past: Would you say that people and customers tend to react to you in a smiling, positive manner,
giving you friendly greetings when you appear? Your honest answer to this question will tell you the rest.
Attitude is never static. It is an ongoing, dynamic and perpeptual process. Unless you are vigilant, negative factors will have a negative influence on your attitude. This will cause
you to focus your mind on problems rather than on solutions. If negative factors occupy your mind long enough, they will be reflected in your actions. The positivity is still there,
but it has been over shadowed by negativity.

Undoubtedly, none of us can remain positive all the time. Excessive optimism is not realistic. Some people and situations will always be there to steal your positive attitude
and challenge your ability to bounce back. But winners are those who can regain their positive attitude quickly. People, who are unable to bounce back and constantly think of
difficulties instead of opportunities, miss out of what life has to offer.
As soon as you begin to change your attitude, your surrounding will start changing, and it works like this: positive attitude, positive results; negative attitude, negative
results. Dr. William James of the Harvard University, after exhaustive research, concluded: The biggest discovery of the 20th century is that people can change their lives by
changing their attitudes of mind. So, we shape our own life and the texture and quality of our lives is determined by our habitual attitude. It sounds simple, but it is not so simple
and easy. For most of us, learning this new habit takes time. But once it becomes a regular habit, your life will start changing dramatically.
There are countless human beings who live depressed and frustrated lives simply because they take a defensive and doubtful attitude toward themselves and life in general.
People with a poor attitude become a magnet for unpleasant situations. When these situations occur, they further reinforce their poor attitude, thereby bringing more problems
and so on. Such persons become a living example of the self-generating, problem-inviting prophecy. We get what we expect. Our outlook on life is a paintbrush with which we
paint our environment. It can be bright and filled with hope and satisfaction, or it can be dark, depressing and gloomy
Sometimes, it is hard to convince people that the situations they experience is the result of their attitude. They take the attitude that only if people or customers will be nice to
them, they would be nice in return. They are like the person standing in front of a tree waiting for the fruit. Until they nurture it, there will not be any fruit. It is up to them to act
first. It has to start somewhere. Let us begin with us.
Attitude is the reflection of the person inside. Whenever you find people doing an excellent job and getting outstanding results, you will find people with a positive,
winning attitude. These people take the attitude that they can accomplish what they intend to achieve. These people follow ‘I Can and I Will’ attitude. They have the positive
expectation; they take the attitude of becoming as successful and competent as anyone else.
They have a positive mental attitude towards themselves and, consequently, towards life. Due to their healthy attitude, they achieve some outstanding goals. Other people may
call them lucky, in-born achievers, gifted etc., but they are not at all genius or talented. The only brilliance they have is their right mental attitude. Failures don’t know, and
sometimes don’t want to know, that what they are getting is the outcome of their own attitude. Nothing will ever change in the outer world until we change our inner world.
When our attitudes change, our life will start changing.

Positive Attitude: Positive Results; Negative Attitude: Negative Results …… so simple, so basic and so easy but often
• Positive Mental Attitude is the Right Mental Attitude; it is the outward manifestation of a mind that primarily thinks of positive matters. It is that state of mind that which can
be maintained only through conscious efforts.

• Your attitude towards others and customers determines their attitude towards you. Outer world is simply the reflection of our inner world.

• Act towards others the same way that you want them to act toward you. Treat others and your customers as the very important persons. You will immediately start feeling a
change in your personal and professional life.

• It is your attitude and not aptitude that determines your altitude in life. Besides, it is your attitude that, more than any other skill, brings about success in your career.

• Positive attitude triggers enthusiasm; it enhances creativity; causes good things to happen and build your self-esteem