This document defines attitudes and discusses factors that influence their development and change. It contains the following key points: 1) Attitudes have three components - cognitive (beliefs and knowledge), affective (feelings), and conative (behavioral tendencies). They are learned predispositions to react in characteristic ways. 2) Attitudes develop through the integration and differentiation of experiences, as well as traumatic experiences and adopting attitudes of others like family and peers. 3) Factors affecting attitudes include family, peers, conditioning, instruction, modeling, prejudices, and satisfaction or dissatisfaction with people and objects. 4) Attitudinal change can occur through congruent or incongruent means, primarily

1. ATTITUDE
For Physiotherapy and Nursing students

2. CONTENTS
• Definitions.
• Development of attitude.
• Factors affecting attitude.
• Change of attitude.
• Behaviour and attitudes.
• Attitudinal changes

3. Definitions
• An attitude is a learnt predisposition to react in a persistent and characteristic
manner to some situation, idea, material, objects or person.
• It is “Psychological readiness” that prompts the person to behave with or react to
certain objects, individuals and circumstances.
• Attitude has three components:
• Cognitive: It is made up of thoughts and beliefs the people hold about the object of the
attitude.(Knowledge and awareness)
• Affective: It is matter of liking or disliking something. (Feeling shows the concern)
• Conative: Behavioural tendency (verbal and non verbal)towards the object.

4. Development of attitude
• Integration of experiences: The accumulation and integration of number of
related experiences about an object gives birth to attitude towards the object.
• Differentiation of experiences: When new experiences are acquired they are
differentiated or segregated from already acquired experiences.
• Trauma or traumatic experiences: Attitudes are formed with greater speed and
intensity on account of sudden unusual, shocking and painful experiences.
• Adoption of available attitudes: A large number of attitudes are acquired in
readymade fashion by simply following suggestions or examples of friends,
teachers, parents or adopting the norms of the society.

5. Factors affecting attitude:
• Family: Family is the first place for formation of attitudes. Information provided by
parents in earliest stages of life is very difficult to undo.
• Peers: Attitudes originated in the family are strengthened when peers, playmates
appreciate them. Likes the attitudes of the people whom he like and visceversa.
• Conditioning: Classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning.
• Direct Instruction: Sometimes direct instruction can influence attitude information.
• Modelling: Its influential in developing attitudes towards a wide range of issues from
alcohol to various kinds of dress, shoes etc.,
• Prejudices: Pre-conceived idea or judgements where one develops some attitude on the
other people, objects without proper information.
• Satisfaction: Individual develops favourable attitudes towards those people and objects
which satisfy his wants and unfavourable attitudes towards those who do not.

6. Attitudinal change
• There are two alternatives to change your attitude:
• Congruent change: Involves increase in strength of existing attitude either
positive or negative.
• Incongruent change: Involves changes in direction opposite to the originally held
attitude.
• Source of attitude change is by obtaining new information, which may come from
other people or through the media.
• This change affects the other components, this is usually called as PERSUASION.
• Persuasion can be done by:
• Experts
• Attractive communicators.
• Low self esteem people can be persuaded easily.
• Pace of speech.
• Emotional appeal.
• New information.
• Two- sided communication approach.

7. Behaviour and attitude
• Attitudes may influence behaviour, people will behave in ways
consistent with their attitudes.
• Our behaviour doesn’t always conform to attitudes, attitudes are
strongly associated with corresponding behaviour when:
• Attitudes are strong.
• Attitudes are stable.
• Attitudes are accessible/ available in memory.
• Attitudes are relevant to behaviour.
• Attitudes are prominent but attitudes are often not associated with
corresponding behaviour.

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