Attitudes Include All Of The Following Except

Attitudes Include All of the Following Except: Unpacking the Components of Attitude and Their Impact

Understanding attitudes is crucial in various fields, from psychology and sociology to marketing and management. Attitudes shape our behaviors, influence our decisions, and impact our interactions with the world. But what exactly is an attitude? And what elements are definitively not included in its definition? This article delves deep into the components of attitudes, exploring what they encompass and definitively clarifying what doesn't constitute an attitude.

We'll explore the key components—cognitive, affective, and behavioral—that define a complete attitude, offering real-world examples and highlighting the distinctions between attitudes and related concepts like beliefs, values, and opinions. By the end, you'll have a comprehensive understanding of what constitutes an attitude and what falls outside its scope.

Defining Attitudes: A Tripartite Model

Psychologists generally agree on a three-part structure for attitudes, often referred to as the ABC model of attitudes:

• Affective Component: This refers to the emotional aspect of an attitude. It encompasses the feelings, emotions, and sentiments associated with an attitude object (the thing, person, or idea the attitude is directed toward). For example, if your attitude towards spiders is negative, the affective component might include feelings of fear, disgust, or anxiety.

• Behavioral Component: This component reflects the actions and intentions related to the attitude object. It's about how we behave toward the object of our attitude. Continuing the spider example, your behavioral component might involve avoiding spiders, screaming when you see one, or actively trying to kill them.

• Cognitive Component: This is the thought-based aspect of an attitude. It involves beliefs, knowledge, and opinions about the attitude object. In the spider example, your cognitive component could include beliefs such as "spiders are dangerous," "spiders are poisonous," or "spiders are creepy."

A complete attitude must possess all three components (ABC): The absence of even one weakens or invalidates the claim that a complete attitude exists. It's the interaction and integration of these three components that form a holistic and meaningful attitude.

What Doesn't Constitute an Attitude?

While the ABC model provides a clear framework for understanding attitudes, it's crucial to differentiate attitudes from other related but distinct psychological constructs. Attitudes do not include:

• Transient Emotions: Fleeting feelings or moods are not attitudes. While a sudden surge of anger or happiness might influence behavior momentarily, it doesn't represent a lasting, structured evaluation of an object. An attitude is enduring and relatively consistent over time. Feeling annoyed at a traffic jam is a transient emotion; a negative attitude towards driving in rush hour traffic involves consistent feelings, beliefs, and behaviors related to that situation.

• Momentary Actions: A single action, performed without a consistent underlying feeling or belief, isn't an attitude. For instance, helping an elderly person cross the street doesn't inherently indicate a positive attitude towards the elderly. It could be a spontaneous act of kindness without deeper, consistent feelings or beliefs involved. However, consistently volunteering at a senior center would suggest a positive attitude.

• Simple Beliefs: Beliefs are cognitive components that may contribute to an attitude, but they aren't attitudes themselves. A belief ("recycling is good") is a single cognitive component. A full attitude towards recycling would require associated feelings (e.g., satisfaction, responsibility) and actions (e.g., consistently recycling).

• Purely Physiological Responses: Physical reactions like increased heart rate or sweating are not attitudes. These are physiological responses that might correlate with an attitude (e.g., fear of spiders might cause sweating), but they don't define the attitude itself.

• Unconscious Biases: While unconscious biases significantly influence behavior, they are not fully formed attitudes. Unconscious biases are implicit attitudes that lack the conscious awareness and consistent expression that characterize full-fledged attitudes. They represent a predisposition rather than a complete attitude.

• Values: Values are broad, enduring principles that guide behavior across multiple situations. They are more abstract and overarching than attitudes. For instance, the value of honesty can influence various attitudes (honesty at work, honesty in relationships, etc.), but it’s not an attitude in itself.

• Opinions: Opinions are expressions of judgment or belief, often more transient than attitudes. While opinions can inform attitudes, they are less deeply ingrained and less likely to predict consistent behavior.

• Personality Traits: Personality traits represent enduring patterns of behavior and thought, encompassing a broader range of characteristics than attitudes. While personality traits can influence attitudes, they are not attitudes themselves. For example, extraversion is a personality trait; a positive attitude towards social gatherings is influenced by extraversion, but it’s not the same thing.

The Interplay of Attitude Components: Examples

Understanding how the affective, behavioral, and cognitive components interact is vital. Let's explore this through examples:

Example 1: Attitude towards Recycling

• Cognitive: "Recycling is environmentally beneficial," "Recycling saves resources," "Recycling is easy."
• Affective: Feelings of satisfaction from contributing to environmental protection, a sense of responsibility, slight annoyance at the inconvenience.
• Behavioral: Consistently sorting recyclables, using reusable bags, advocating for better recycling programs.

This is a relatively strong and positive attitude because all three components align.

Example 2: Attitude towards Public Speaking

• Cognitive: "Public speaking is a valuable skill," "I am a good communicator," "I am nervous when speaking publicly."
• Affective: Fear, anxiety, excitement (a mix of emotions).
• Behavioral: Avoiding public speaking opportunities, preparing extensively for presentations, occasionally accepting speaking engagements despite nervousness.

This attitude is more complex, revealing internal conflict. While the cognitive component recognizes the value of public speaking, the affective and behavioral components show a strong negative influence.

Example 3: Attitude towards a Specific Brand of Coffee

• Cognitive: "This coffee is smooth," "This coffee is expensive," "This coffee is ethically sourced."
• Affective: Enjoyment of the taste, feelings of guilt (if expensive), positive feelings towards ethical sourcing.
• Behavioral: Regularly purchasing the coffee, recommending the coffee to others, occasionally choosing cheaper alternatives.

This demonstrates that attitudes can be multifaceted and involve a mixture of positive and negative components.

The Importance of Understanding Attitudes

Understanding attitudes is crucial across many disciplines:

• Marketing: Marketing campaigns aim to shape consumer attitudes toward products or brands. By understanding the ABC components, marketers can craft effective messages that target emotions, beliefs, and behaviors.

• Healthcare: Understanding patient attitudes towards treatments or lifestyle changes is vital for improving health outcomes. Positive attitudes often lead to better adherence to medical advice.

• Social Psychology: Attitudes play a critical role in understanding social phenomena like prejudice, discrimination, and persuasion. By understanding how attitudes are formed and changed, researchers can develop interventions to reduce negative attitudes and promote positive social change.

• Management and Leadership: Understanding employee attitudes towards their work, their managers, and the organization is crucial for creating a positive work environment and improving productivity.

Conclusion: Attitudes – A Holistic Perspective

Attitudes are complex psychological constructs formed from the interplay of feelings, beliefs, and behaviors. They are enduring, relatively consistent, and significantly influence our actions and interactions. It's crucial to distinguish attitudes from transient emotions, single actions, simple beliefs, physiological responses, unconscious biases, values, opinions, and personality traits. Only when all three – affective, behavioral, and cognitive – components are present can we truly speak of a complete attitude. By understanding this intricate interplay, we can better navigate the complex world of human behavior and effectively influence attitudes across various contexts.