How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

What is Attitude?

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Definitions |

We all kind of know what 'attitude' is (for example when we complain about the attitude of teenagers), yet it can be very difficult to pin down exactly what it means. Even dictionaries differ in the detail.

Definition

Classic definitions

There are a range of definitions, including:

• The Oxford English Dictionary talks about a 'settled way of thinking or feeling' to which the Google 'define' function adds, 'typically reflected in a person's behavior'.
• Merriam Webster talks about a 'mental position regard to a fact or state' and 'an organismic state of readiness'.
• Wikipedia describes it as 'a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects, event, activities, ideas, or just about anything in your environment', yet also notes that there is debate about precise definitions.
• Dictionary.com suggests 'manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc. with regard to a person or thing', noting also a 'tendency or orientation, especially of the mind.'
• C.G. Jung defined it as 'readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way.'
• Eagly and Chaiken (1993), one of the main academic references on the subject, describes attitude as 'a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor'.

While attitude can be positive, it is often talked about as negative, the Oxford English Dictionary noting that (mostly in North America) it typically indicates 'truculent or uncooperative behaviour'. This is confirmed by Merriam Webster, which talks about 'a negative or hostile state of mind' and 'a cool, cocky, defiant, or arrogant manner'.

Definitions also sometimes talk about position, from that of an aircraft to that of the body. For example Merriam Webster notes 'the arrangement of the parts of a body'.

A new definition

Unpicking these (and other) descriptions and adding implied elements, we can create a new definition as:

• Thoughts and feelings...: It includes a combination of both thinking and feeling.
• ...towards people or things...: The target can be a wide range of things, from cars to governments to ethnic groups.
• ...that reflect social beliefs and values...: At the root of attitudes are beliefs and values that are typically shared by a group of people or are embedded in a social culture.
• ...and consequent biased evaluations....: An important result of this is how it leads narrow decisions that act as judgements that are often unfair yet are strongly held, for example in the use of stereotypes.
• ...that may be reflected in non-verbal and verbal language.:  Attitudes can often be seen in body language and words that betray the intent and potential attitude of the person.

More simply, attitude is 'A signal of bias and potential action'. Attitude can often be seen and it is often easy to deduce what people are thinking and how they might behave, based on how they speak and how they hold and move their body. In this way, we indicate to others what think and what we might do.

Discussion

Variables

Debates around attitude seem based on the variables that are addressed within the subject. These include:

• Evaluation: The nature of the decision or judgement, including the bias shown in this.
• Target: What exactly we can have attitudes about, including things, ideas, groups and indivdiuals.
• Consciousness: Whether the person deliberately showing attitude or whether the attitude is driving unconscious thought and action.
• Positivity: The balance of whether the attitude is positive, being considerate of others, or negative, being critical and excluding others.
• Strength: The degree to which the attitude is held in the face of opposition, or whether the person is open to discussion about the subject.
• Rationality: The extent of whether the attitude is logical and reasonable, or based on emotive perceptions and bias.
• Components: The balance of emotion, thought and behaving that are found in attitudes.
• Source: The extent to which the attitude comes from other people or from within the individual.

Variables are particularly important when there is a desire to measure and compare attitudes.

Attitude as signal

Aggressive attitudes send the signal that others should be fearful as the person is predisposed to anger and attack. Friendly attitudes, on the other hand, are open and signal a bias towards safety and concern for other people. The use of attitudes to send signals is a powerful non-verbal communication tool.

When it is recognized and liked, an attitude may well be an in-group signal, for example as can be seen by the posturing within groups of friends or gangs. For others, it may be an exclusion signal, telling outsiders that they are not welcome. In this way, attitudes silently shape societies, creating collegiate groups and differentiating members from other groups.

What may be viewed as some form of 'attitudes' are common amongst animals, for example where males/females get grumpy and aggressive around mating season. The evolutionary value can be seen here where signals to others of the same species say 'Don't attack me as I'm feeling aggressive'. In this way, there is much posturing but little harm as the implied intent to attack seldom has to happen.

This gap between signal and action can also be seen in humans when we suggest through our attitudes that we may behave in a certain way, but when it comes to the crunch we come to our sense and avoid risky activity. Differences can also be seen in hypocrisy, such as where a person preaches safety but drives dangerously. Attitudes are hence poor predictors of how people will actually behave.

It can be difficult not to display attitude as we always have one, even though to us it may well seem normal. When we meet others, we seek to understand their attitude and hence decide what matching attitude we need to display. This approach of sending and reading signals hence facilitates social interaction.

Attitudes as personality

We tend to hold similar attitudes over a period of time and they hence may be seen as a part of our personality. Like  temperament, they are relatively stable, although mood-like variations may occur.

Attitude can be a life choice. We adopt attitudes from parents, peers, friends and colleagues. We select attitudes that help us fit in with others and that help us cope with life. In the same way we adopt beliefs and values, we tend to pick up matching attitudes that align with these.

Although attitude adoption can be a conscious and deliberate choice, it is often unconscious. This can create opportunities for changing minds as highlighting a person's attitudes and questioning the efficacy of these for creating a comfortable life can be catalytic in getting the person to adopt new attitudes (and the attendant beliefs and values).

So what?

Watch and listen to people as they display their attitudes. Get closer to them by reflecting these, showing you share or at least have sympathy for their attitudes.

You can also lead with attitudes. When you approach others, if you display an attitude that is aggressive or friendly then you will trigger responding attitudes in them. If you can see the cause and effect in this, you can start to manage an interaction even before it begins.

See also

Temperament, Mood and Emotion, Planned Behavior Theory