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

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Organizational Psychology­ (PSY510)
VU
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,
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Organizational Psychology­ (PSY510)
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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
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·
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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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHLOGY:Hawthorne Effect
  2. METHODOLOGIES OF DATA COLLECTION:Observational method, Stability of Measures
  3. GLOBALIZATION:Aspects of Globalization, Industrial Globalization
  4. DEFINING THE CULTURE:Key Components of Culture, Individualism
  5. WHAT IS DIVERSITY?:Recruitment and Retention, Organizational approaches
  6. ETHICS:Sexual Harassment, Pay and Promotion Discrimination, Employee Privacy
  7. NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONS:Flat Organization, Neoclassical Organization Theory
  8. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE:Academy Culture, Baseball Team Culture, Fortress Culture
  9. CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE:Move decisively, defuse resistance
  10. REWARD SYSTEMS: PAY, Methods of Pay, Individual incentive plan, New Pay Techniques
  11. REWARD SYSTEMS: RECOGNITION AND BENEFITS, Efficiency Wage Theory
  12. PERCEPTION:How They Work Together, Gestalt Laws of Grouping, Closure
  13. PERCEPTUAL DEFENCE:Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Stereotyping
  14. ATTRIBUTION:Locus of Control, Fundamental Attribution Error
  15. IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT:Impression Construction, Self-focused IM
  16. PERSONALITY:Classifying Personality Theories, Humanistic/Existential
  17. PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT:Standardized, Basic Categories of Measures
  18. ATTITUDE:Emotional, Informational, Behavioural,Positive and Negative Affectivity
  19. JOB SATISFACTION:The work, Pay, Measurement of Job Satisfaction
  20. MOTIVATION:Extrinsic motive, Theories of work motivation, Safety needs
  21. THEORIES OF MOTIVATION:Instrumentality, Stacy Adams’S Equity theory
  22. MOTIVATION ACROSS CULTURES:Meaning of Work, Role of Religion
  23. POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY:Criticisms of ‘Traditional’ Psychology, Optimism
  24. HOPE:Personality, Our goals, Satisfaction with important domains, Negative affect
  25. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:EI IS Related To Emotions and Intelligence
  26. SELF EFFICACY:Motivation, Perseverance, Thoughts, Sources of Self-Efficacy
  27. COMMUNICATION:Historical Background, Informal-Formal, Interpersonal Communication
  28. COMMUNICATION (Part II):Downward Communication, Stereotyping Problems
  29. DECISION MAKING:History, Personal Rationality, Social Model, Conceptual
  30. PARTICIPATIVE DECISION MAKING TECHNIQUES:Expertise, Thinking skills
  31. JOB STRESS:Distress and Eustress, Burnout, General Adaptation Syndrome
  32. INDIVIDUAL STRESSORS:Role Ambiguity/ Role Conflict, Personal Control
  33. EFFECTS OF STRESS:Physical Effects, Behavioural Effects, Individual Strategies
  34. POWER AND POLITICS:Coercive Power, Legitimate Power, Referent Power
  35. POLITICS:Sources of Politics in Organizations, Final Word about Power
  36. GROUPS AND TEAMS:Why Groups Are Formed, Forming, Storming
  37. DYSFUNCTIONS OF GROUPS:Norm Violation, Group Think, Risky Shift
  38. JOB DESIGN:Job Rotation, Job Enlargement, Job Enrichment, Skill Variety
  39. JOB DESIGN:Engagement, Disengagement, Social Information Processing, Motivation
  40. LEARNING:Motor Learning, Verbal Learning, Behaviouristic Theories, Acquisition
  41. OBMOD:Applications of OBMOD, Correcting Group Dysfunctions
  42. LEADERSHIP PROCESS:Managers versus Leaders, Defining Leadership
  43. MODERN THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP PROCESS:Transformational Leaders
  44. GREAT LEADERS: STYLES, ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS:Globalization and Leadership
  45. GREAT LEADERS: STYLES, ACTIVITIES AND SKILLS:Planning, Staffing