ATTITUDES & BEHAVIOUR

© Celeste Duque, 1999 - Clinical Psychologist (celeste.duque @ gmail.com)

The attitudes and behavior are part of the subject's life, but how they relate t
hese two dimensions? How do attitudes influence our perspective towards work? An
d life in general? Then presents an elaborate discussion in the form of theoreti
cal condensed summary which explains these concepts and other directly related.
Definition of attitude
The attitudes are favorable or unfavorable rules for objects, people and events,
or in relation to some of their attributes. "I like apples" expresses an attitu
de, such as "I like dealing with you," the group dinners are fun "and" doing the
accounting is boring. "
Tripartite component of attitudes
One way to conceptualize an approach is through the triple composition of attitu
des. Attitudes are composed of beliefs, feelings (or assigned) and trends of act
ion. The figure below shows the relationship between these factors, they overlap
but are not identical.
Beliefs / Cognition
Affect / Feeling
Tendency for Action / Behavior
Figure 1. Triple component of attitudes
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Beliefs or cognitive aspect
As components of attitudes, beliefs are of two types:
Informational beliefs - what one believes about the facts of a situation, and ev
aluative beliefs - which consist in what one believes about the merits and demer
its, good, bad, fair, unfair, benefits and costs of different situations.
For example, the manager may have an informational belief that only half the mem
bers of his department have the necessary requirements (in training) to efficien
tly use the computer and an evaluative belief that it is important for the effic
iency of the department that all members have computer training. The combination
of these two beliefs should influence the attitude of the manager on how best t
o manage the training budget of the department. The Manager B may have a differe
nt attitude of the manager as a result of:
a different informational beliefs, for example, all members of the department al
ready have sufficient training in computer science, or a different evaluative be
lief, for example, with the exception of some experts, the computer skills of me
mbers of the department would not add value to your efficiency.
Affections or feelings
The term affectionately refers to general feelings of an individual or evaluatin
g a situation. Unlike the cognitive component (beliefs), which is usually multid
imensional because it relates to all different aspects of the situation that an
individual perceives, the affected component, is one-dimensional: it relates to
how individuals feel or experience the situation as a whole. For example, the ma
nager may feel that the situation was "unsatisfactory" while the manager feels t
hat B is "acceptable". The main element that distinguishes an attitude of belief
or opinion is thus the negative or positive affect one has on a given situation
. Some attitudes consist almost entirely of his emotional element. Simple statem
ents like: "I like apples" often express attitudes that are composed almost enti
rely of affection. Yet the beliefs or opinions are part of almost all attitudes.
Fortunately this is so, according to the viewpoint of someone who is trying to
change the attitudes of other people, because research has shown that the elemen
t of a belief attitude is easier to change the emotional element.
Tendency for the action or behavior
The last component of attitudes, according to the theory of the triple component
, is the tendency to act consistently with attitude. Continuing with our example
, we wait
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as the Manager A, Manager B as compared go probably spend much of the training b
udget of the department with the individuals he believes that they have limited
knowledge of computers.
Intent
The human behavior is driven by intentions and their degree of motivation.
Definition of intent
The intentions are plans of action. When can be measured accurately, they tend t
o predict with high accuracy a person's behavior (what someone will do - better
attitudes) but even so, there are always many opportunities that prevent people
from continuing with the their intentions. For example, a person may intend to r
emain calm during a meeting, anticipates that as difficult but€while this may b
e caused in such a way that ends up losing his cool and calm and react inversely
. Another example, a person can have the sincere intention of arriving on time t
o a meeting, but may get delayed due to problems with transportation (eg, may ha
ve a hole, an accident, miss the bus ...). The individual consciousness of the i
ntentions is high compared, for example, with the consciousness of the motives o
r attitudes.
Theory of Action as
The most commonly accepted model of the relationship attitude / behavior is know
n as the Theory of Action reflected and was developed in 1967 by Fishbein and Aj
zen. The main difference compared to other models, is not dealing with attitudes
towards people, objects and institutions, but only with actions, so that its pr
ediction about the behavior is more effective compared to other previous models.
This theory, rather than trying to predict how individuals will vote from their
attitudes toward political parties, the policies and political personalities, b
ut rather tries to predict the voting behavior of individuals from their attitud
es towards the same vote. The theory of action has reflected a major development
in 1991, passing its name to a Theory of Planned Behaviour and include a set of
new variables (see Figure 2).
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In its initial form, the theory posits that behavior is directly determined by t
he intention of achieving it, and this, in turn, influenced by attitude (ie, pos
itive or negative evaluation by the individual performing the behavior to play)
and by subjective norm (ie perceived social pressure to perform or not perform t
he behavior). The subjective norm is formed from the perception that each
Attitude
Subjective norm
Intention
Intention
Behavior Intention
Perceived control
individual has on the behaviors that are "lawful" or "illegal" according to soci
al groups of reference.
Figure 2. Theory of planned behavior (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1991)
And finally, the anticipated consequences of the performance or nonperformance o
f the behavior affect both the attitude and the subjective norm. For the attitud
e, belief in the performance of certain behavior will result in specific outcome
s relates directly to the evaluations of these results. For subjective norms, th
e beliefs we have about specific individuals who expect that our behavior is dir
ectly related to our motivation to act according to the opinion of those specifi
c individuals. Thus, the theory suggests that if Manuela is a non-smoker, it is
because she will not smoke and their intentions are influenced by their positive
attitudes towards healthy living (or negative attitudes to smoking) and by his
conscience social pressure not to smoke. Furthermore, their attitudes are influe
nced by their beliefs about the results of not smoking - for example, a belief a
bout smoking harm to health - and their evaluation of those beliefs - she very m
uch values their health. The susceptibility of Manuela social pressure is also i
nfluenced by their beliefs - it will persist with his behavior of not smoking if
you believe that the people she wants to accept that she did not expect smoke.
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The theory of action is reflected extremely intuitive and parsimonious with grea
t explanatory value, and has already been applied with great success in predicti
ng consumer behavior, health, voting, and recreational organizations. However, o
nly applies to conduct "voluntary", where the person has total control over thei
r behavior. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of our behaviors fit into a
nother category, because we have only partial control over what we do: our inten
tion is to take the train, but the membership is canceled, we intend to appear a
t a scheduled meeting, but we forget us.
Theory of Planned Behaviour
Fishbein and Ajzen developed later, new versions of the theory of reflective act
ion, including behaviors that are not completely within the scope of voluntary c
ontrol - where the shares are subject to interference from external and internal
forces. This new version designated the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Developmen
ts concerning the earlier theory is adding a variable, perceived behavioral cont
rol, which is the belief that the individual possesses about the ease or difficu
lty of performing the behavior. Perceived behavioral control influences intentio
n as the attitude and subjective norm,€but can also directly influence the beha
vior (when the individual perceives that has real control over the performance o
f behavior - a rare case, according to many researchers). Thus, the theory sugge
sts that if Manuela is a non-smoker, it is because she will not smoke and their
intentions are influenced by their positive attitudes towards healthy living (or
negative attitudes to smoking) and by his conscience social pressure not to smo
ke. Furthermore, their attitudes are influenced by their beliefs about the resul
ts of not smoking, for his evaluation of those beliefs but also his estimate, fo
r example, smoking will come into conflict with his desire not to smoke and thei
r emotional reaction disgust, which in turn act directly on their intentions to
smoke. The susceptibility of Manuela social pressure is also influenced by their
beliefs - it will persist with his behavior of not smoking if you believe that
the people she wants to accept that she did not expect smoke.
Attitudes toward work
Attitudes are an important part in people's lives, particularly at work. Our att
itudes to work or the organization can have profound effects not only in how we
perform the work and produce, but also on quality of life we experience at work.
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Although in everyday language, often we use the word attitude, this use fails to
capture the richness of the concept as applied by researchers Psychosociology.
Attitudes are relatively unstable, so they are easily changed. As noted, the att
itudes are composed of three components:
Cognition (Belief) Affect Behavior (the tendency for Action)
The evaluative or affective component refers to evaluative judgments (positive o
r negative) for objects, people or events that, generally, are called "attitudin
al objects." They reflect what the person feels about something. When, for examp
le, says "I like my job" is to express their attitude towards work. But attitude
s involving more than sentiment, also involve knowledge - that is, that where a
person believes about a certain "attitudinal object." For example, can be convin
ced that your co-worker, earns much more than you should earn your rewards when
compared with his. These beliefs, whether entirely justified or totally false, u
nderstand the cognitive component of attitudes. What you believe about something
and what we may feel about it (for example, "this is unbearable work environmen
t!") May have some effect on how you are predisposed to behave (eg "I'll look fo
r another job") . In other words, attitudes have a behavioral component, ie a pr
edisposition to act a certain way. It is noteworthy that this predisposition may
not serve as a prediction of behavior. For example, although you may be interes
ted in a new job, can not accept it if there is a better position available or i
f there are other aspects of work that you enjoy enough to offset their negative
feelings. In other words, their intention to behave in a certain way can dictat
e how it will act. These three components of attitude are closely related. The b
elief that, for example, sex discrimination at work is wrong, is a trial evaluat
ion, which mirrors the cognitive component of attitude. This, in turn, sets the
stage for the most critical of the attitude - its affective component. Affect is
the emotional or feeling segment of an attitude and is reflected in statements
like: "Taste of Francisco because it is perfectly fair in the treatment and mana
gement of male and female employees." Finally, the affection can lead to behavio
ral results. The behavioral component of attitude refers to an intent for the in
dividual to act a certain way with "attitudinal objects." For example, I choose
to approach me Manuel's because of my feelings for him.
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Combining these three components we can define the concept.
Attitude: a relatively stable set of feelings and biases / behavioral intentions
compared to an "attitudinal object specific".
When it comes to attitudes toward work, we refer to those feelings, beliefs and
behavioral tendencies, relatively durable, compared to various aspects of own wo
rk, the place where it is played and the people involved.€Attitudes toward work
are linked to many aspects of organizational behavior, including performance, a
bsenteeism and voluntary turnover. Attitudes are more studied in Psychosociology
:
Job satisfaction, work involvement, and organizational commitment.
Involvement at Work
The involvement in the work measures the degree to which a person identifies psy
chologically with his work and treats their perceived level of performance impor
tant for their own recovery.
Workers with a high level of involvement in the work are identified strongly wit
h and are interested in the type of work they do. High levels of involvement in
the work are related to low levels of absenteeism and voluntary turnover.
Organizational Commitment
If the work involved could be related to the specific work carried out by an ind
ividual, organizational commitment relates to the identification with the employ
ing organization.
The organizational commitment is the degree to which the employee identifies wit
h a particular organization and its goals and want to stay in the organization.
We can therefore say that organizational commitment is an attitude of employees
towards the organization, linking up with several job characteristics, the natur
e of the rewards received, with the host and other variables. High levels of com
mitment are associated with low levels of absenteeism and voluntary turnover, hi
gh levels of willingness to share and make personal sacrifices and several posit
ive consequences. The organizational commitment includes three factors:
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1. 2. 3.
a strong belief in the objectives and values of the organization, willingness to
exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization, a strong desire to con
tinue as a member organization.
Thus, organizational commitment is not simply loyalty to the organization. It is
rather an ongoing process through which organizational actors express their con
cern with the organization and its success and well-being continued.
Changing Attitudes
Have you ever noticed the way people change what they say not to contradict what
they do? Suppose to finish this course you will have two job offers. After much
thought, finally choose one. If you're like most people, their attitudes toward
the two organizations will alter radically. Their attitude towards work accepte
d will become more positive and his attitude towards work that will be rejected
more negative. This means that we seek to reconcile differing attitudes and alig
n the attitudes and behaviors so that our behavior seems reasonable and consiste
nt. This is due to a process called cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance
The theory of cognitive dissonance proposed by Festinger, aims to explain the li
nk between attitude and behavior. Generally people do not like to tolerate incon
sistencies and bad ambiguity. When there is inconsistency, begin forces for the
individual to return to an equilibrium where the attitudes and behaviors are con
sistent again. When we say one thing and do another or when we discover that we
have an attitude that is inconsistent with another, we are in cognitive dissonan
ce.
Cognitive dissonance refers to any inconsistency that one can perceive between t
wo or more attitudes or between their behavior and attitudes. The desire to redu
ce the dissonance is determined by the importance of the creative elements of di
ssonance, the degree of influence that the person believes he has on the element
s and the rewards that may be involved in the discrepancy.
There are several ways to reduce the dissonance: change behavior; jarring conclu
sion that the conduct is not so important, change in attitude, or even seek the
most consonant to weigh against the dissonance
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To justify the decision and to avoid cognitive dissonance can change how we feel
, aligning our attitudes with our feelings. As suggested, people sometimes chang
e the attitudes that are consistent with others. There may be interest in improv
ing the attitudes related to work because the negative attitudes may be associat
ed with undesirable behaviors (eg, high absenteeism and voluntary turnover). Of
course it may also be interested in changing attitudes without more, this is to
create more positive attitudes to work due to the resulting positive feelings wh
ich, in turn,€help people feel a higher quality of work life.
What are the organizational implications of cognitive dissonance?
Can help predict the propensity to change their attitude and behavior. In additi
on, the greater the dissonance - after it has been moderated by the importance,
the choice and the factors of reward - the higher the pressure to reduce. Suppos
e your supervisor asks you to work late to finish a report. Report which is requ
ired for a meeting to be held the next day, early in the morning. Now imagine yo
u're watching a TV ad about healthy cereals for breakfast. Although it appears t
hat these two situations have nothing in common, they share one key element: bot
h are directed towards changing their attitudes - have more willingness to work
late in the first case, and get involved in grain, the second . Although in most
cases not be aware, it is highly likely that you are constantly being bombarded
by attempts to change their attitudes - a process known as persuasion. In this
process, a target person (the individual whom we change the attitude) is given a
message in which the information presented is designed to change their attitude
s. This process involves two basic elements - the issuer and communication (the
specific content of the message itself). There are several factors that make sup
ply and communication more persuasive. For example, more easily persuade those w
ho have a favorable attitude to us or we are much more easily persuaded by eloqu
ent speakers who speak without hesitation. But the most powerful determinant in
persuasion is probably the credibility of the source, ie the degree to which the
individual is trustworthy (reliable). The more an individual believed to be cre
dible, it is much more effective in changing attitudes. Factors such as experien
ce, expertise and the reasons for issuing all increase the credibility of the so
urce. For the message, such factors as the clarity and intelligibility or the si
ze of the discrepancy in attitude (ie, degree of difference between the attitude
s expressed in the communication and the target person) contribute to its effect
iveness persuasive.
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Bibliography
Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, (1974). Attitudes Toward objects as predictors of a single
and multiplibehavioral criteria. Psychological Review, 81 59-74. Fishbein, M. &
Ajzen, (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and Behavior: An introduction to the
ory research. Reading MA: Addison-Wesley.
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© Celeste Duque - 04/06/2008
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