POSITIVE ATTITUDE BUILDING

T.M.JAYASEKERA
B Sc. Eng.,C Eng., MBA,MICE,MSLIM,MSLITD,FIE,FIM,FCIWEM MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT

WHAT IS MEANT BY ATTITUDE

WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY?

WHAT IS AN ATTITUDE?
Attitude is a state of mind
Your attitude is your mind-set It is the way you look at things mentally

Attitudes are evaluative statements

They indicate ones feelings either

favourably or unfavourably to persons objects and or events

ATTITUDES ARE EVALUATIVE

STATEMENTS
Attitude reflect how one feels about

something Ex. When someone says I like teaching he is expressing his attitude about his work

HOW ATTITUDE WORKS

It is a cognitive and affective evaluation that

predisposes a person to to act in a certain way

Cognitive Affective

BEHAVIOUR

THREE COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES?

Cognitions (Thoughts)
Affections (Feelings) Behaviour ( Actions and reactions)

THREE COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES- AN EXAMPLE

Cognitions (My job is interesting)
Affections (I love my job) Behaviour ( I am going to get to work early

with a smile on my face- my intention to act)

DEFINITION OF ATTITUDE?
Attitude is defined as the persistent

tendency to feel and behave in a particular way towards some objects, persons or events

WHAT ARE THE SALIENT FEATURES

ABOUT AITUDES?
Attitudes are related to feelings and beliefs

about people Attitude is a response to persons objects or events Attitudes affect behaviour positively or negatively Attitudes undergo changes Attitudes affect perception, and in turn, behaviour

HOW ATTITUDES ARE FORM ED- DIRECT LEARNING AND SOCIAL LEARNING

Attitudes are not inherited

They are acquired or learned by people

from the environment in which they interact The formation of attitudes is broadly classified in to two sources namely 1. Direct experience 2. Social Learning

PROCESS OF LEARNING ATTITUDES FROM OBSERVATION- DIRECT LEARNING

Ones direct experience with an object or

person serves as a powerful source for his or her attitude formation In other words attitudes are formed on the basis of ones past experience in concerned object or person

PROCESS OF LEARNING ATTITUDES FROM OBSERVATION- SOCIAL LEARNING

The process of deriving attitudes from

family peer groups religious organizations and culture is called social learning In social learning a person acquires attitudes from his or her environment in an indirect manner They acquire it mainly by observing their models

PROCESS OF LEARNING ATTITUDES FROM OBSERVATION- SOCIAL EARNING

Attention - focus on something

Retention - what observed must be retained Reproduction - Behaviour must be practiced

again and again Motivation - learner must be motivated to learn from it

ROLE OF CULTURE IN ATTITUDE FORMATION

Culture plays a definitive role in the

formation of attitudes Ex- Sri lankans earn for future requirements Americans for that matter earn to enjoy the present

THREE TYPES OF JOB RELATED ATTITUDES

Job satisfaction - Individuals pleasurable or

positive emotional state toward his job Job Involvement - the degree to which people immerse themselves in their jobs - It is identifying with ones job Organizational commitment - it is about employees loyalty towards their organizations - It is identifying with ones organization

JOB SATISFACTION IS RELATED WITH FIVE SPECIFC JOB DIMENSIONS

PAY
WORK ITSELF PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

SUPERVISION
CO-WORKERS

JOB INVOLVEMENT
It is the degree to which employees

immerse themselves in their jobs, invest time and energy in them and consider work as central part of their overall lives Such employees tend to be high performers and seldom tardy and get absent

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT
It is an attitude about employees

commitment to the organization It is the process by which an employee identify with the organization and and want to maintain membership with the organization

WHAT IS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY?

WHAT IS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Attitude is the way you communicate your

mood to others The way you perceive the world and your position in it directly affects your dealings with others a positive self image will reinforce and improve both professional and personal relationships

ATTITUDE IS YOUR MENTAL FOCUS ON THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Like using a camera you can focus or set

your mind on what appeals to you You can see situations as either opportunities or failures Examples
A hot summer day may be beautiful or ugly A departmental meeting is either interesting or boring

ARE YOU AWARE OF THIS?

When you are optimistic and anticipate

successful encounters you transmit a positive attitude and people usually respond favourably When you are pessimistic and expect the worst your attitude is often negative and people tend to avoid you Quite simply you take the picture of life you want to take

EMPHASIZING THE POSITIVE AND DIFFUSING THE NEGATIVE

Emphasizing the positive and diffusing the

negative is like using a magnifying glass You can place the glass over good news and feel better or you can magnify bad news and make yourself miserable Magnifying situations can become a habit if you continually focus on difficult situations the result will be exaggerated distortions of problems

A BETTER APPROACH
Imagine you have binoculars
Use magnifying end to view positive things Use the other end whenever you encounter

negative elements to make them appear smaller Once you know to highlight the positive you are on the right road

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FORM THIS

Think more about the positive things and try

to make use of the positives to drive your life This means that you have learnt to alter your imagery to highlight the positive This means that you are on the right road

REMEMBER! ATTITUDE IS NEVER STATIC! IT IS AN ONGOING DYNAMIC PERCEPTUAL PROCESS

Unless you are on constant guard negatives can slip in to your mind which make your mind time spend on difficulties rather than on opportunities

If negative factors stay around for a long time they will be reflected in your disposition The positive may be still there but may be overshadowed by the negative

Challenge!
Push the negative factors to the outer

perimeter of your thinking Those who will learn the trick will reflect it and others will notice it

Challenge!
Of course! No one can be positive all the

time Excessive optimism is not realistic Positive attitude is not an act. It must be genuine

HOW TO MEASURE ATTITUDES

Self- Report
Indirect tests Direct observation Techniques

Psychological Reaction Techniques

HOW TO CHANGE ATTITUDES

Filling in information Gap
use of fear Resolving Discrepancies

Impact of peers
The co-opting approach

Thank you very much! T.M.Jayasekera