Attitude

Attitude is the mere expression of our likes and dislikes towards any object, person, situation
or any event. These expressions involve various kind of behaviours or reactions. Such types
of behaviours or reactions develop out of certain feelings towards a particular object, person,
situation or event. All the feelings or opinions, positive or negative, grow out of the
information that the person gathers through his or her experiences. Attitude is a measurable
entity. It may be appraised and evaluated by certain methods which show the intensity of
expressions towards any object or issue. There are different methods or techniques, which are
used to scientifically study different attitudes of people.
1. MEASURES OF ATTITUDE
An attitude is best defined by the A-B-C model of its components. "A" means the enduring
system of affective or feeling component. It relates to the emotions regarding the object of
attitude. 'B' means the behavioural component. It relates to the action or behavioural
tendencies associated with the object of attitude. 'C' means the cognitive component. It relates
to the belief regarding the object of attitude. A person's attitude may be directed towards any
event, object, situation, person or even towards social customs, rules, rituals. acts, and many
other economic, religious and political activities.

There are numerous measures of attitude. One of the most popular measures of attitude is the
self-report inventory. Under this method, there are a large number of statements. which
directly inquire the persons about their attitudes towards a particular thing. Such self-report
inventories are known as attitude scales. These attitude scales are constructed. They consist
of a set of statements towards which the person (whose attitude is being measured) needs to
indicate his/her attitude. One of the most widely used techniques of scale construction has
been developed by Likert. Such scales are known as Likert Scale.
While measuring attitudes, the following two underlying basic assumptions are taken into
consideration-

1. During a study, relating to measurement of attitude, it is assumed that an individual's

feelings with respect to the particular object of attitude will remain consistent in all situations.
For example, if a person dislikes social drinking behaviour, he will continue to dislike the
same, across all situations. If consistency in attitude is not displayed by the person, then it
becomes difficult to assess one's attitude.

2. Attitude cannot be measured directly. It can only be inferred from the person's behaviour.
The responses provided to every statement of the attitude scale indicate the person's
behaviour towards the object of attitude. The responses together constitute the degree of
favourableness or unfavourableness of attitude towards the object.
GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT WORK ON ATTITUDE:
The aim is to construct an attitude scale and to study the attitudinal differences among 2
groups [preferably two different generations like parents and children or between gender
(boys and girls)] using the scale. The steps or guidelines for the project work are summarised
below-
1. Selection of topic: The project work and consequent attitude scale need to be constructed
on any one of the following topics-[i] Fashion, [ii] Work/Lifestyle, [iii] Marriage.

2. Selection of group: The two groups, whose attitudes are to be measured, need to be
selected. The groups may either be-[i] two groups belonging to two generations like one
group containing mothers and the other containing their daughters, or [ii] two groups
belonging to different gender, like one containing boys and the other containing girls, both
preferably from class XI or XII.

3. Construction of scale: A 5-point rating scale (containing 10-15 items) with positive and
negative statements on the selected topic is to be constructed by these steps:

[i] Step-I: Information is to be collected from various sources, such as persons, books,
internet, social media, etc., regarding the selected topic.

Step-II: Statements are to be constructed based on the information, which reflect either
positive or negative opinion towards the topic.

Step-III: Each statement is to be rated on a 5-point scale from A to E, where, A denotes

'Strongly Agree', B denotes 'Partially Agree', C denotes 'Undecided or Neutral', D denotes
'Partially Disagree' and E denotes 'Strongly Disagree'.

4. Administration and data collection: The attitude scale is to be administered to both chosen
groups (parents and children or boys and girls). Data of the different responses, i.e ., the
rating of each person of the groups to each statement are to be collected.
5 Statistical analysis: Total scores need to be computed for each statement for all persons
based on the scoring procedure. Further statistical analysis of the scores are to be carried out
by calculating mean of all the scores obtained from each group for each statement. On basis
of the mean, a comparison among the groups is to be drawn.

6 Results and interpretation: After construction, administration and analysis of the attitude
scale, the responses are to be used to draw inference.
A SAMPLE PROJECT WORK ON ATTITUDE
1. General Problem: On Attitude

2. Specific Problem: To construct an attitude scale to measure and compare the attitude of
two groups (boys and girls) towards marriage.

3. Basic Concept: Attitude is simply an opinion of a person towards any object, event or
person. His/her behaviour is determined based on the attitude. A person or a group of people
either have positive view or negative view towards the target object, event or person. People
may also have ambivalent or neutral view towards it.

4. Preliminaries: 2 groups of randomly selected 10 boys and 10 girls.

Age: 17-18 years

Date of Study: DD-MM-YYYY
Education: Studying in class XII
Time of study: XX-XX AM/PM
Condition: Fresh and cooperative

5. Materials Required: Pen, pencil, paper, ruler, and information through magazines. books,
internet or persons (in order to construct statements).

6 Plan of Work:
Phase I: Step-I: Collection of information from various sources.
Construction on
scale Step-II: Statement constructions (e.g., 10 statements on marriage.
Half of the statements need to indicate positive attitude and half
need to indicate negative attitude towards marriage).
Phase II: Step-I: Administration of the list of 10 statements on both groups.
Administration of Each statement is attached with 5-point scale-A to E, where, A
the list of 10 denotes 'Strongly Agree', B denotes 'Partially Agree', C denotes
statements on both 'Undecided or Neutral', D denotes 'Partially Disagree' and E denotes
groups 'Strongly Disagree'. Each point of the 5-point scale represents a
corresponding score.

Step-II: A short semi-structured interview with the participants to

be conducted (Interview questions to be decided by the students).
This interview has to be used to corroborate the statistical result
obtained from the Likert Scale.

Phase III: Analysis Step-I: The scores of all the participants for each statement are
and interpretation calculated based on the scoring procedure.

Step-II: Summation of all scores of the statements of all

participants of the two groups are done.
 Step-III: Calculation of mean from each summated scores of all the
statements.

Step-IV: Comparison of attitudinal perspective of two groups by

comparing their mean of scores of all the statements.

7. Instructions to the Participants or Subjects (each group member): "Please sit

comfortably and pay attention to my instruction. I shall present a list of 10 statements
regarding marriage. Please go through them carefully and put a tick against the suitable
option with which you agree. Ask me, if you have any inconvenience.

8. Scoring Procedure: the scoring of the statements in the 5-point scale is illustrated below:

Serial number of the statements 5-point scale and their corresponding

scores
Positive statements: 1 / 3 / 5 / 7 / 9 A / B/ C / D / E - 5 / 4 /3 / 2 / 1

Negative statements: 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 10 A / B / C / D / E – 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 /5

The maximum score for each statement is 5. So, the maximum total score of all the
statements is 50. Since there are 10 students in each group, mean of maximum possible score
is 5 (50/10=5).
The minimum score for each statement is 1. So, the minimum total score of all the statements
is 10 and mean of minimum possible score is 1.

Mean score for each statement = (Mean of maximum possible score + Mean of
minimum possible score)/2

So, the mean score for each statement is 3 {(5+1)/2}.

If an individual scores above the mean value of 3, it indicates favourable attitude towards the
topic (Marriage). If an individual scores below the mean value (3), it indicates unfavourable
attitude towards the topic (Marriage).

9. Data and statistical Analysis:

Group of Boys:

Group of Girls:
10. Interpretation and Inference: After administering the attitude scale on each group of
students (10 boys and 10 girls), the mean of all the statements are calculated. From these
mean values, the group mean values are found as 2.12 for the group of boys and 4.34 for the
group of girls. The results indicate that the mean value for the group of boys is below the
mean value of 3 of all the statements. This indicates that the boys have unfavourable attitude
towards marriage. While the girls' mean value is above the mean value of 3. This indicates
that the girls have a favourable attitude towards marriage.

9.Conclusion: On the basis of the present study, it can be concluded that girls have more
favourable attitude towards marriage than the boys.
 Stress
We generally use the word 'stress' when we feel that everything seems to have become too
much, i.e., we are overloaded and wonder whether we really can cope with the pressure
placed upon us. Everyone feels stressed from time to time. But what is stress? What are the
potential causes of stress? What are the effects of stress? These are some of the burning
issues for which extensive research and investigations are being carried on.
MEASURING STRESS:

The word 'stress' is derived from the Latin word 'stringere', which means 'to draw out tight'.
The exact meaning can be articulated as a person feeling a noose of uneasiness and
disturbance around his neck. It then gradually tightens its hold till the person manages to free
himself through individual efforts by effectively dealing with it. Anything that poses a
challenge or a threat to our well-being is a stress. Some stresses are good for us as they get us
going with increased vigour. Without any stress, many say that their lives would be boring
and pointless. However, when the stress undermines both our mental and physical health, it is
detrimental. Stress is closely associated with poor physical health, disease progression and
psychological maladjustment. Thus, assessing and monitoring stress levels may help prevent
the adverse effects of stress on one's well-being.

Stress can be measured indirectly by assessing the psychological, physiological and

behavioural reactions given by the person to any stressor. A stressor is an agent or stimulus
that causes stress. Noise, unpleasant people, illness, unhealthy relationships, work overload,
etc., are some examples of stressors. One major way of categorising stressors is as follows-

1. Dispositional or internal variables or causes: These stressors include personality

attributes of a person such as one's ability to think, one's perception about his control over the
situation (locus of control), one's degree of respect for own self(self-esteem) one's control on
emotions, one's perception of own efficiency in the particular situation (self-efficacy),etc. and
cognitive appraisal of the person.

2. Situational or external variables or causes: These stressors include different physical

factors (noise, heat, lack of ventilation, unhygienic surroundings, crowding. lack of
illumination, etc.), social factors (poor economic condition, domestic violence unhealthy
relationship with parents, peers, etc.), cultural factors (caste, religion, dress, food habits, etc.),
academic factors (examination, lack of understanding of any learning concept, preparation for
exams, classroom atmosphere, inability in choosing appropriate career goals, etc.), and
significant life events (death of near ones, divorce, personal injury or accident, marriage,
retirement, pregnancy, health problem, etc.). Stress can be measured by identifying the
impact of a particular stressor or effect of stress on the personal life of an individual by
administering an appropriate checklist or questionnaire. The impact of a particular stressor
may be understood on the basis of the frequency of occurrence of any significant life event.
 GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT WORK ON STRESS:
The aim is to study the causes and effects of stress among school students by using two
checklists. To successfully complete the project work, the following guidelines are to be
followed-

1. Selection of group: Two separate groups of minimum 10 students (preferably from class
X or XI) in each group need to be selected.

2. Construction of checklist: Two simple checklists with a 5-point rating scale are to be
constructed. One of the checklists must pertain to the stressors. It must contain 10 statements-
5 on internal stressors (personality attributes and cognitive appraisal) and 5 on external
stressors. Another checklist must be constructed to study the effects of stress. It must contain
15 statements-5 on psychological effects, 5 on physical effects and 5 on behavioural effects.
The construction of checklist is to be done by the following steps-
• Step-I: Information on internal and external stressors from various sources like
magazines, books, newspapers, internet, social media, etc., for constructing checklist
1 is to be collected. For constructing checklist 2, information for the physical,
psychological and behavioural effects of stress is to be collected.
• Step-II: Statements are to be constructed from the collected information regarding the
stressors and their effects. The checklist is prepared by compiling the statements.
• Step-III: Each statement of the checklists is to be rated on a 5-point scale based on the
frequency of occurrence of the stressor or the effect of stress. The rating scale is
marked from A to E, where, A denotes 'Very Often', B denotes 'Often', C denotes
'Sometimes', D denotes 'Rarely' and E denotes 'Very Rarely'.
3.Administration and data collection: Constructed checklists are to be administered on the
group of students. The rating of each person of the groups to each statement are to be
collected. Total scores need to be computed on all the statements of the checklists for all
persons based on the scoring procedure.

4. Statistical analysis: The statistical analysis for the data collected is to be done by the
following steps-
• Step-I: All the ratings given by the students on each statement of the checklists are to
be added. Thus, a summated score corresponding to each statement is to be calculated.
• Step-II: Based on the summated score, the most common stressor and the most
common effect of stress need to be identified.
• Step-III: Finally, statements are to be arranged in order of highest to lowest in terms
of frequency of their occurrences.

5. Results and interpretation: After construction of the checklists, administration and

statistical analysis, the responses are to be used to draw inferences.
 A SAMPLE PROJECT WORK ON STRESS
1. General Problem: On Stress

2. Specific Problem: [i] To prepare two checklists on stress (stressor and effect of stress),
and [ii] To study the causes and effects of stress among school students.

3. Basic Concept: According to McGrath (1976), “stress is involved in an environmental

situation that is perceived as presenting a demand which threatens to exceed the person's
capabilities and resources for meeting that demand." Stress is actually the response or
reaction of one's mind and body to a real or imagined threat due to some event or change in
the environment. In 1936, Hans Selye used the term 'stress' in its present context and defined
it as the 'non-specific response of the body to any demand for change'. He thus, described it
as a biological process or experience with physiological responses.

4. Preliminaries: A group of randomly selected 10 students.

Age: 17-18 years
Condition: Fresh and cooperative
Sex: Female
Date of Study: DD-MM-YYYY
Education: Studying in class XI
Time of study: XX-XX AM/PM

5. Materials Required: Pen, pencil, paper, ruler, and information through magazines, books,
newspapers, internet or persons (in order to construct statements for checklists).
6. Plan of work:
Phase I: Step-I: Collection of information from various sources regarding
Construction of two stressors and effect of stress.
checklists
Step-II: Statement constructions for checklists.

Checklist 1: 10 statements on stressors-5 statements on internal

stressors and 5 statements on external stressors.

Checklist 2: 15 statements on effects of stress-5 statements on

physiological effects, 5 statements on psychological effects and 5
statements on behavioural effects.

Phase II: Administration of the checklists on the group of 10 students. Each

Administration of statement of the checklists is attached with a 5-point rating scale-
two checklists on the A to E, where, A denotes 'Very Often', B denotes 'Often', C
group of 10 students denotes 'Sometimes', D denotes 'Rarely' and E denotes 'Very
Rarely'. Each point of the 5-point scale is specified and represents
a corresponding score.

Phase III: Analysis Step-I: Summation of all scores against each of statements are
and interpretation done.
 Step-II: The most common stressor and effect of stress in the
students' life are obtained.

Step-III: Finally statements are to be arranged from highest to

lowest in terms of frequency of their occurrence.

7. Instructions to the Participants or Subjects (each group member): "Please sit

comfortably and pay attention to my instruction. I shall present you two checklists. one after
the other, containing 10 and 15 statements respectively. Please go through them carefully and
put a tick against the suitable option with which you agree. Ask me, if you have any
inconvenience."
10. Interpretation and Inference: From the above findings, the following interpretation
may be drawn separately for the two checklists.
Checklist-1:
[a] Internal Stressors domain- Statements from highest score to least score are 3, 5, 1, 4, 2.
Thus, the order of frequency of occurrence of stressors from highest to least is 3, 5, 1, 4, 2.
The top-two internal stressors are the feeling of being over-burdened and feeling of the
pressure and tension for achieving the goal.
[b] External Stressors domain- Statements from highest score to least score are 10, 9, 6, 7, 8.
Thus the order of frequency from highest to least is 10, 9, 6, 7, 8. The top-two external
stressors are quarrel with a friend and inability to relax before examination.

Checklist-2:
[a] Physical effects- Statements from highest score to least score are 1, 2, 3, 5, 4. Thus the
order of frequency from highest to least is 1, 2, 3, 5, 4. The top-two physiological effects are
headache and bouts of nausea due to stress.
[b] Psychological effects- Statements from highest score to least score are 7, 6, 8, 10, 9. Thus
the order of frequency from highest to least is 7, 6, 8, 10, 9. The top-two psychological
effects are feeling disturbed regarding physical appearance and anxiety for missing important
classes.
[c] Behavioural effects Statements from highest score to least score are 14, 13, 12, 11, 15.
Thus the order of frequency from highest to least is 14, 13, 12, 11, 15. The top-two
behavioural effects are crying due to the feeling of being neglected and feeling restless due to
waiting.

11. Conclusion: After conducting this study, it can be concluded that the top two internal
stressors experienced by students are 'feeling of being overburdened' and 'feeling of pressure
and tension for achieving the goal'. The top two external stressors are 'quarrel with a friend'
and 'inability to relax before examination'. The prominent physical effects of stress include
headaches and bouts of nausea. The psychological effects include- feeling disturbed
regarding physical appearance and anxiety for missing important classes. The behavioural
effects include-crying because of feeling neglected and feeling restless because of waiting for
something.