LESSON 4: DEVELOPING THE WHOLE PERSON

(Attitudes and Behavior- Values and Virtues)

OBJECTIVES: Attitudes and Behavior

♦ Evaluate his/her attitude
Attitudes are a person's thoughts, feelings, and emotions about
and behaviors. another person, object, idea or situation. Attitude is a result of a person's
evaluation of an experience with another person, object, idea or situation
♦ Differentiate attitudes and based on his or her values and belief systems. Beliefs and certain values
behavior; values and virtues. therefore, affect the attitude of a person.
♦ Show connections between Behavior is a manifestation or acting out of the attitudes an
attitudes and behaviors in individual has.
actual life situations.
Take a look at the following situation to illustrate how attitude and
. behavior are related:

Riding an overcrowded MRT couch and experiencing all sorts of physical sensations
such as heat, smell, and body contact can create an unfavorable attitude that riding the MRT is
an unpleasant and disliking experience. As a result, the individual with this attitude will express
this disgust by either avoiding the MRT or totally shutting down and becoming unmindful to the
distasteful experience, or become aggressive and unpleasant to other people while onboard the
train. If this individual continues to ride the MRT with the same attitude and corresponding
behavior, other people will get affected by this individual's behavior, who in turn, will act out a
similar aggressive or uncivil behavior onboard the train. This may affect other commuters and a
chain reaction will follow.

Can attitudes be changed? Yes. There are ways to change attitude. Behavior can change attitudes. If
the person riding the MRT changes the way he or she behaves, like remaining calm, smiling, and avoiding
bumping and giving dagger looks at those that imitate him or her, then that person's attitude about riding the
MRT will be different the next time he or she rides the train. If that person can accept the fact that the train ride
is not exactly a joyful and pleasant ride, but not necessarily a life-threatening situation, then that person can take
an attitudinal change by preparing for what is ahead and creating a more pleasant picture of the people riding
the MRT.
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 VALUES AND VIRTUES

At the core of every person lies a system of beliefs that adheres to the highest ideals of
human existence. These ideals create meaning and purpose in a person's life. These ideals are
called values. We will refer to values in this chapter as the universal human values that transcend
culture and race. There are different sets of values identified by different people and
organizations, depending on what their order of priorities are, and what they intend to achieve.

These are not in conflict with each other, but rather, a ranking in the order of importance over what set
of values they prioritize. The United Nations, for example, listed the following universal values: peace,
freedom social progress, equal rights, and human dignity. These values are enshrined in the Charter of the
United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Another example of values, this time for corporations and organizations, is borrowed from Robert L
Dienschneider, founder of Dilenschneider Group. In an article he wrote for Huffington Post sled Five Core
Values for the Workplace. Dilenschneider listed the following corporate values;

♦ Integrity
♦ Accountability
♦ Diligence
♦Perseverance
♦Discipline

Shalom H. Schwartz, a psychologist and cross-cultural researcher from the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, conducted & research which covered many different peoples and cultures to identify the ten common
values people have regardless of their racial and cultural backgrounds. Schwartz wrote in his report, Basic
Human Values: Theories, Methods and Applications, the findings of his research, which identified the ten
basic values that can be characterized by describing their central motivational goals. These ten basic
values are:

1. Self-Direction- independent thought and action; choosing, creating, and exploring

2. Stimulation - excitement, novelty, and challenge in life
3. Hedonism - pleasure and sensuous gratification for oneself
4. Achievement- personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards
5. Power social status and prestige, and control or
5. dominance over people and resources Security-safety, harmony, and stability of society, of
relationships, and of self Conformity-restraint of actions, inclinations, and im pulses that are likely to upset or
harm others and vio late social expectations or norms Tradition respect, commitment, and acceptance of the
customs and ideas that traditional culture or reli gion provide the self Benevolence-preserving and enhancing
the welfare of those with whom is in frequent personal con tact (the 'in-group') 10 Universalism-understanding,
appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and of nature

10 BASIC VALUES
Self-Direction independent thought and action; choosing, creating, and exploring
Stimulation excitement, novelty, and challenge in life
Hedonism pleasure and sensuous gratification for oneself
Achievement personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards
Power social status and prestige, and control or dominance over people and resources
Security safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationships, and of self
Conformity restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses that are likely to upset or harm
others and violate social expectations or norms
Tradition respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas that traditional
culture or religion provide the self
Benevolence preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with whom is in frequent personal
con tact (the 'in-group')
Universalism understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all
people and of nature
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 The motivational goals that characterize the ten values he identified were:

1. openness to change
2.self-transcendence
3. self-enhancement
4. conservation

In the diagram, Schwartz illustrated how certain values may contradict others when motivations
are considered. Achievement and power (self-enhancement) lies in contradiction to universalism and
benevolence (self-transcendence), as stimulation and self-direction (openness to change) is opposite
conformity or tradition and security (conservation).

For example, a person who has identified power as an important personal value will most likely
put social justice in equal importance. Schwartz explains that the contradiction may have been the result
of the various circumstances in life of the respondents of the research study. Schwartz noted that values
are influenced by gender, age, social background, and educational attainment.

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 VIRTUES

There has been confusion over the definition of values and virtues. Oftentimes, people
interchange these two, and when they write down a list of values, they also include virtues in this
list. Values are usually nouns, while virtues are adjectives that describe positive and desirable
qualities which usually mirror a value it represents.

VALUES VIRTUES

Peace Peaceful, calm

Integrity Reputable, responsible, believabel, honest, trust-worthy

Love Loving, caring, compassionate, gentle, affectionate

Respect Respectful, civil

Balance Objective, fair, harmonious

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ACTIVITY 1: Instruction:
Idenntify some behavior (pleasant on unpleasant) that you see every day around
you. Describe the behavior and figure out what could possibly be the attitude
behind the behavior. What value/s do you think is/are being projected or is/are
lacking in the behavior?

MY OBSERVATIONS

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ACTIVITY 2: Instruction:
Self- Assessment Answer the following question honestly.

1. What things are important to you? Are these things worthy enough for you to risk your future,
your relationship, your career or even your own life?

2. What are the things that are important to you that when taken away from you, or were not
honored by other people, will make you angry or feel hurt?

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