ATTITUDE NOTES FOR B.SC/GNM NURSING

 

ATTITUDE

An attitude is a positive; negative or mixed evaluation of an object that is expressed at some level of intensity. It is an expression of a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of a person, place, thing or event.

These are fundamental determinants of our perceptions of, and actions toward all aspects of our social environment. Attitudes involve a complex organization of evaluative beliefs, feelings, and tendencies toward certain actions.

How much we like or dislike something determines our behavior towards that thing.

We tend to approach, seek out or be associated with things we like; we avoid, shun or reject things we do not like.

Some examples of attitudes are- he has a positive attitude about the changes, she is friendly and has a good attitude, he was showing some attitude during practice today, so the coach benched him, I like my friends that means I am expressing my attitudes towards my friends, etc.

Definition of Attitude

Attitude is the manner, disposition, feeling and position with regard to a person or thing, tendency or orientation especially in the mind.

According to Gordon Allport, “An attitude is a mental and neural state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related.”

Frank Freeman said, “An attitude is a dispositional readiness to respond to certain institutions, persons or objects in a consistent manner which has been learned and has become one’s typical mode of response.”

Thurstone said, “An attitude denotes the sum total of man’s inclinations and feelings, prejudice or bias, preconceived notions, ideas, fears, threats, and other any specific topic.”

Anastasi defined attitude as, “A tendency to react favorably or unfavorably towards a designated class of stimuli, such as a national or racial group, a custom or an institution.”

According to N.L. Munn, “Attitudes are learned predispositions towards aspects of our environment. They may be positively or negatively directed towards certain people, service or institution.”

Characteristics of Attitude

Attitude can be described as a tendency to react positively or negatively to a person or circumstances.

Thus the two main elements of attitude are this tendency or predisposition and the direction of this predisposition.

It has been defined as a mental state of readiness; organize to through experience which exerts a directive or dynamic influence on the responses.

These can also be explicit and implicit.

Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and that clearly influence our behaviors and beliefs. Implicit attitudes are unconscious, but still, have an effect on our beliefs and behaviors.

Characteristics of Attitude are;

1. Attitudes are the complex combination of things we tend to call personality, beliefs, values, behaviors, and motivations.
2. It can fall anywhere along a continuum from very favorable to very unfavorable.
3. All people, irrespective of their status or intelligence, hold attitudes.
4. An attitude exists in every person’s mind. It helps to define our identity, guide our actions, and influence how we judge people.
5. Although the feeling and belief components of attitude are internal to a person, we can view a person’s attitude from his or her resulting behavior.
6. Attitude helps us define how we see situations, as well as define how we behave toward the situation or object.
7. It provides us with internal cognitions or beliefs and thoughts about people and objects.
8. It can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitude is those that we are consciously aware of an implicit attitude is unconscious, but still, have an effect on our behaviors.
9. Attitudes cause us to behave in a particular way toward an object or person.
10. An attitude is a summary of a person’s past experience; thus, an attitude is grounded in direct experience predicts future behavior more accurately.
11. It includes certain aspects of the personality as interests, appreciation and social conduct.
12. It indicates the sum total of a man’s inclinations and feelings.
13. An attitude is a point of view, substantiated or otherwise, true or false which one holds towards an idea, object or person.
14. It has aspects such as direction, intensity, generality or specificity.
15. It refers to one’s readiness for doing Work.
16. It may be positive or negative and may be affected by age, position, and education.

17.  Attitude may be defined as a feeling or disposition to favor or to be against objects, persons, and situations.

It is a well-defined object of reference. It may be defined as ‘an enduring predisposition or readiness to react or behave in a particular manner to a given object or situation, idea, material or person’.

It describes and evaluates the action with respect to an object or a situation, with each belief having a cognitive effect and behavioral components.

Each of these beliefs is a predisposition that results in some preferential response towards the object or the situation.

Actually, it is frequently used in describing people and explaining their behavior.

For example:-

“I like her attitude”, “He has a good attitude” etc. Actually, it is characterized by the tendency to feel and behave in a particular way toward some object.

 

Components of Attitude

Attitudes are simply expressions of much we like or dislike various things. Attitudes represent our evaluations, preferences or rejections based on the information we receive.

Three (3) components of attitude are

(1) Cognitive Component,

(2) Affective Component and

(3) Behavioral Component.

Factors Influencing Attitudes

Attitudes, we mean the beliefs, feelings, and action tendencies of an individual or group of individuals towards objects, ideas, and people.

Attitudes involve some knowledge of a situation.

However, the essential aspect, of the attitude is found in the fact that some characteristic feeling or emotion is experienced and, as we would accordingly expect, some definite tendency to action is associated.

Subjectively, then, the important factor is the feeling or emotion.

There are a number of different factors that can influence how and why attitudes form. These are-

§      Social Factors.

§      Direct Instruction.

§      Family.

§      Prejudices.

§      Personal Experience.

§      Media.

§      Educational and Religious Institutions.

§      Physical Factors.

§      Economic Status and Occupations.

       MORE will discuss after your comment in next notes.