pee attitude is a predisposition to react in a pet Attitude: The Way We See Things and haracteristic manner to some situation, idea, material object or person. Our set ways of reacting to religious rituals, to our parents pid teachers, to a profession and other professions are examples ‘les can be postive or negative. An attitude of J ders in a positive attitude. An attitude of hatred ‘community in a negative attitude) Attitudes accompanied by strong feelings are called sentiments. n remark that certain person has a great attitude or ad attitude or should change his or her attitude. The media regularly reports on peoples altitude towards a wide range of topics ike drugs, smoking, marriage, cowry, divorce, sexual harassment, assisted suicides, capital punishment, fast food, etc. (Anattitudeisany bs mnevaluation {PASH Some object, person or event along a continuum from e-posilive. It predisposes us to actin a certain way toward: Object, person or event) ‘Our attitudes have a great effect on our behavior and have many other functions. Attitude research has become a big pusiness, Large sums of money are spent each year on measuring or trying to change buyers’ attitude toward consumer products Gnd in measuring and trying to change altitude of voters toward candidates. ‘Terri—A Case History In 1991, a cerlain Terri employed in US “Continental Airlines” aan aitport sales agent was dismissed from her job as she refused to wear make up ‘and eyeliner) which was compulsory as per their dress code manual. Terri had not worn make up in DAtituda, @ Mental hoalth & Mentert Vilna, Attitude: The Way We See Things 135 ‘her yrs in ine industry and no one had ever complained Her atte was that she was doing a fine jb without ngmake up, sowhy should she start now. Altera few wes, 8 reinstated in her job without having to wear make up, Characteristics or Functions of Attitude 3. Predisposition “st ie a pontine thermoreter at ay kareio very eg ‘Terri makes negative evaluation up which means she has developed a negati towards make up. cane 2. Targeting: The evaluation is targetted towards same object, Temr’s negative attitude is targetted against {is wearing make up. x ce poliepse at iabehaveinacraln means we approach some objects, peopl ents sndavostties os bcos Srencingintcarteoanve ea Dt itude toward wearing make up predisposed 0 fight against it, even to the point of losing her job. Components of Attitude : ‘An attitude has three components a Cos and his belief about it fawareness, knowledge), how ci {awareness knowledge, how he perceives events and how he ut it (feeling really shows concern)? bA low he fegl seein: Coutive or behavior) Rehavioral tencency both verbal anc al, Towards the objects (psychomotor aspects) how he 2 (it cst proto ic tn, oh a pelo feds and thnks and ‘sow bela Maly nage i some cosmetics are tested al elieves is a cruel practice, peas136 _ Psychology for Graduate Nurses 'b. Affective component: Another reason, Terti does not approve of using make up is that when she does, she feels ‘uncomfortable because she doesnot like what she sees in of effective component of attitud : Behavioral component: “Lerri’s negative attitude towards cosmetics predisposed or influenced her behaviop Her refusal fight to save her job are examples ‘of behavioral component of : A nurse may have det the way Patients should be treated. make her feel angry (affective componen) ‘she may be on the look ottfor cruelty and st sign of any fellow nurse's impatience and to wear make up and to i it (cognitive component). Che nurse's oiun behavior could never include any act of cruelty towards any patient Cbeaoral component) Altitude sh: Gome people have very strong positiv ‘about healthy life styles ( ent aitention to what is said and written about healthy ‘Gognitive component) One would expect such people to choose, for example, brown bread when they go shopping (behavioral component) Factors that Determine Our Attitude ‘There are primarily three factors that determine our attitude. They 3, Education. Environment Fhvironment consists of the following: ‘Home: Positive or negative influences School: Peer pressure Work: Supportive or over-critical supervisor ‘Media: Television, newspapers, magazines, radio, movies, ete Cultural background Religious background ‘Traditions and beliefs Altitude: The Way We See Things 137 vironments create a culture. Every place—be it a home, organization or a country—has a caltore : Experiences ‘Our behavior changes according to our experiences with people and events in our life. If we have a positive experience with a Ts0n, our attitude toward him becomes posi re wersa Education. ‘Knowledge strategically applied translates int i lied translates into wisdom, en: sucess A teacher affects tety. The rippleetfetisimmeasarat he _{N¢ are drowning in information but starving for knowledge and wisdom. Education ought to teach us not only how to make a living but also how to live. Development of Atiudes Our attitudes are acquired by us, and in acquiring them, we are influonced by our social environment, by our ows thinking, coe own motives, our schooling and cultu nur early traning ang the factual knowledge we have abot = edity plays onl : attitudes, through differences in physical characteristics, and intelligence. Itismainly the environmental factors that are for development of attitudes) Tazly in life a childs attitudes are shaped primar Ouring trepertba between age 1230, Beit period, a person's altitude takes the fina form. The major influences during this period ea person ee received through various media id education) After 30, attitudes change very little except that ‘Aittde Development Doman Classical438 Psychology for Graduate Nurses. thoreis a tendency to become more conservative ve can however modify the established attitudes by changing our perceptions, by controlling our motivational factors through efforts of home and schos)> is the first place for formation of attitudes. Parents Family begin the information flow that forms beliefs and attitudes about things. Information provided by the the (Erroneous and nonadaptive attitudes moulded from parental feedback have tremendous implications personality developmen} Mat jons, parent-child ways of perceivi —all influence our us.etc. A child ternalize the attitudes of people whom he likes or ‘ly a child tends to reject attitudes ttitudes accompanied by strony of people wh feelings are called sentiments. Classical Conditioning G comfortable room or one which was ‘sked to rate how much they liked the other people present in the room, individuals in the hot room reported liking the others than individuals in the comfortable room. In this manner, tudes can be formed simply by association. less Instrument Conditioning Gf you express an att reinforcement by smiling or nodding, your attitude strengthened) és or expressing disapproval, your titude to a friend who then provides positive ikely to be if your friend provides punishment by showing, attitude is likely to be weakené>. ince balance is preferred by everyone, ‘at are harmonious with other senti- sroduce tensions Altitude: The Way We See Things 139 eoeea ats of Attitudes: he scientific study of attitudes 1 In order to measure attitudes, evdleetion into sone number system For some purpose ad bee aude with only two categories ¢ favorable” and : most common method of sessing afatUdes the self-report method, in which people we sce aspects of the issue uncler stud spect ly. Each statement involves acceptan jection af the Kea imple in he sateen. These ste cee ts are equally spaced tum from complete filtitude scales are: kert’s method of summuated rat Paired compariaon method “™ order method distance scales. ublic apinior i Opinion polls are used ei predtsometingoro provide imation Theyare sed opr the outcome of lection, the likelihood of buying a produc, -gree of public su ri sof the the degree of public suppor for implementing new policies ofthe EOOATIVE AND NEGATIVE ATTITUDES een le with positive attitudes are caring, confident, patient and Pee ve attitudes foster teamwork, solve ais stress and make the person nassel to hissacieh| Negative Ind betemas, fest 9 purpose Hl lh and ih level of ses to themeeies and thes on velop a postive altitude 7 Pe fe Sein real attitude the following suggestions will Fook forthe poaitue, Look wok for the. look for what ir Situation nstind of what is wrong, en PON140 Psychology for Graduate Nurses 2, Avoid procrastinatiop. Procrastination causes fatigue and leads To a negative attitude. A completed task is fulfilling and energizing, 3, Develop an attitude of gratitude, Count your blessings and not Jour troubles, There isa lot to be thankful for. “I complained no feet.” About my bad shoes, till [ met a person wi itules. Ghe altitudes once originated and developed {nthe Family environment are changed by school and other world experiences. A teacher, a friend, a specific event curriculum, etc. can make attitudinal changes in childred. ‘ommuni a ich attitudinal ghanges can be effected in adults. Through effective communica- tions people can be persuaded to Whe extent that their attitudes may even make a shift from positive to negative. To make communication effective, three variables are to fu tionately as below 1. The source of the communi 2. The nature of the communication (how he says 3. The characteristics of the audience (to whom does he say 3). 15) has defined attitude as a mental and neural state ce, exerting a directive spect play a very significant role in our social life. Our suc failure depend on our attitudes towards our work and abilities. [Gieatiindes ‘an acquired from our family and peer group during carly childhood and later periods of life. So most of our attitudes ee re formed within the group to which we belos'g| fecond source g por i: ens is the personal experience gained during the cout with this societ) [he third source is traumatic experience which compels us to form attitudes about others) Attitudes ‘become stable and try to resist any change. However, be changed in a variety of ways. Some of the ways of changing the attitude are: 1, Obtaining net InfORRHI a fa. This information produces changesin the cognitive ‘component; affective and behavioral components also change. ., Attitudes change through direct experience, Changes in attitude can be brought about by legislations Attitude: The Way We See Things 141 The external situation around the person als o id the person also has Pay on also has some effect ul the nurse The nurse who car ries out an asses cea, ni ont ide to his illness, The nurse who 8 attitudes in order to plan appr studies and her knowledge will affect her at illness; her previous nursing experience to hospital, treatment, staff and patients ., (eens should ry to understand herpatonsatitude of them enter the hospital read others ready and willing to cooperate, o enter hospital afraid ot resentful to the deasof reef tncotment autitudes may be the result oftheir i ere r wn previous experi thehospalorofeesperiene oftheir nds and lates These Bray be the est of also insufficient knowledge af what is goin © happen to them when they are in the hospit es 1 murses should try to find ses of unfav them into favourable ones, b favorable attitudes help in treatment and recovery. Shecan as th by providingbetter experience by adequate explanations by em a feeling of security andl self confidence, by means efficent and skillful care, assurances and giving them a sense of ut peace CA cxercising fience and not being rushes) The ee to develop and cultivate professional at i Contribute to het suse in her work se which wl le to the patient’s luences her attitude