ATTITUDE

DR RAJNI SINGH
MEANING
It is the persistent tendency to respond in a positive or
negative way to someone or something in one’s
environment.
To behave in a favourable or unfav. Manner towards
some object, person or idea.
Attitudes are guided by values.
In org., study of attitude is imp. because it affects
behaviour of people.
Components of attitude
There are three components-
1. Cognitive component (think)
2. Affective component (feel )
3. Behavioural component(behave)
Types of attitude
Three types of attitudes are found in organisational
behaviour.
1. Job satisfaction- “Feelings towards job”.
Person with high J.S. will have positive feelings
towards job and vice versa.
2. Job involvement-the degree to which a person actively
participates in his work and considers his
performance important to self worth.
Types-attitude
3. Organisational Commitment- The degree to which an
employee identifies with a particular org. and its goals
and wishes to maintain membership with that org.
Attitude helps a person to adjust to a new situation
and also how to behave in future so as to get the
benefits. This is “adjustment function of attitude”
Our values are expressed through our attitudes.
Attitude at work and its outcomes

J.S
Performance
Overall Ind.
Attitude Effectiveness
J.I towards at Work
Work
Late comings,
absenteeism,
ORG.
turnover
COMMIT
MENT
Make positive attitude
# By the individual
First identify your attitude through attitude measurement
exercises.
Try to see the positive aspects of the situation/people, avoid
negativity.
Build a positive self esteem
Set achievable goals
Do yoga and meditation to release negativity.
# By the Org.--Employee effectiveness at work can be increased by
managers by setting clear goals, meaningful works, positive
reinforcement, developing team spirit and sense of belongingness.
ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT
DIRECT TEST
1.Thurstone type of scale-no. of statements are
developed for the area in which attitude is to be
checked. Most favourable or most unfavourable
statement is checked.
2. Likert scale
3.Opinion surveys
4. Interviews
Indirect tests-
1. Projective techniques- incomplete stimulus are shown…
candidate has to make interpretations…it is qualitative and
quantitative. (subconscious mind is checked. E.g #Rorscach
inkblot test
#Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)- ambiguous pictures are
shown ..drawing or a cartoon candidate has to explain by telling a
story about the drawing in his own words….to read the
unconscious mind
2. Projective tests- candidate has to draw a person, object or situation
so that his cognitive, interpersonal or psychological functioning
can be checked. Thinking skills, self image, social skills (trees,
house).
THEORY OF ATTITUDE FORMATION &
CHANGE
ATTITUDE is the value a person assigns to someone or something
1. Social or Learning Theory - OUR PAST EXPERIENCE TEACHES
US/ Learning through observation
Attitudes are formed as a result of our day to day interaction with
others. We observe the behaviors and expressions of others and
tend to learn from the reinforcements which they receive.
(Reinforcement is an Environment event that follows a response)
We are more likely to adopt behaviors that are followed by positive
consequences than behaviors that are followed by negative
consequences. Individuals can learn by observing what happens to
others, it can be also by seeing TV, parents, teachers, peers, bosses
and so on. This learning can be positive also and negative also.
The tendency to adjust our attitudes is greater when
our reference group consists of individuals whose
opinions we value. This concept explains why, in some
cases, the attitudes of some adolescents are more likely
to be influenced by their peers than by their own
parents, since at that stage of identity formation, their
peer relations and the opinions of their friends are of
utmost importance.
THEORY OF ATTITUDE
2. The Functional Theory of Attitude Formation-
BASED ON NEED/ WE DO WHAT BENEFITS US
The functional theory states that attitudes are formed in order to satisfy
certain psychological needs. Attitudes are formed to satisfy our need  to
get along with others. They express a desire to seek whatever is of benefit
to us and avoid punishment. In order to conform, we sometimes tend to
have a public attitude which is in similarity with that of others, and a
private attitude which is different form our public attitude. Attitudes
which have a knowledge function help us to organize, simplifiy, and
predict certain aspects of our social world. However, predicting
someone’s behaviour from their attitude is not always a straight-forward
process. There are instances when people’s behaviours are not always a
reflection of how they feel or what they believe.
3. Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
AN ATTEMPT TO RESTORE HARMONY TO TWO OPPOSING TRUTHS
Cognitive dissonance happens when an individual experiences two
conflicting or inconsistent beliefs which cause a state of discomfort and
tension. 
When a person’s behaviour is incompatible with his thoughts as a result of
our natural desire for consistency among our cognitions, cognitive
dissonance creates an internal drive to eliminate the dissonance by either
causing us to change our attitudes or our behaviour.
The strength of the dissonance depends on how important the subject is to
us, how conflicting and incompatible the beliefs and thoughts are, and our
ability to rationalize and justify our behaviour. The obviation of tension is
usually achieved by either changing our  behaviour, justifying our
behaviour by changing the incompatible thoughts, or justifying
our  behaviour by adding more consonant beliefs in order to outweigh
the dissonant cognitions.
To illustrate further, someone who smokes but believes that smoking is a
danger to one’s health, will experience dissonance. The strength of the
dissonance depends on how much the individual likes to smoke and
how dangerous he believes smoking is. The greatest dissonance will occur if
both alternatives appear equally attractive. In order to eliminate the
dissonance, the individual can stop smoking, which is usually the most
difficult alternative, or justify his behaviour by convincing himself that he is
not such a heavy smoker, or that life is short and we all must die anyway. In
other instances, where it is difficult or impossible to reduce cognitive
dissonance because of the strength of our beliefs, we tend to engage in self-
affirmation, which is a process whereby we focus on positive self-attributes in
order to feel better about ourselves
 Two conflicting cognitions or inconsistency between State of dissonance
Motivation to reduce dissonance Attitude change Justification for counter-
attitudinal No dissonance No attitude change
Components of an Attitude
An attitude comprises three parts:
 The AFFECTIVE component is the emotional (like-
dislike) component of an attitude
 The BEHAVIORAL component is the overt behavior

attached to our internal attitudes

 The COGNITIVE component is the storage component

where we organize information about an attitude object

 Together these make up the ABCs of attitudes

The affective component makes an attitude different from

categorization