This document discusses attitudes, how they are formed and changed. It begins with an overview of key topics such as the definition of attitudes, their structure and functions. Attitudes are formed through both cognition (thinking) and affect (emotion). The cognitive response model and theory of reasoned action are presented as ways attitudes are formed through thinking. Emotional appeals and fear appeals can also shape attitudes. To change attitudes, one must target the underlying beliefs, evaluations, norms or emotions. Changing conditions and consequences of behaviors as well as using positive persuasion can help modify attitudes. Maintaining an optimistic, open-minded outlook and thinking independently also supports developing constructive attitudes.

1. ATTITUDE FORMATION
AND CHANGE
www.humanikaconsulting.com

2. Attitude is
Everything.
IT IMPACTS
EVERYTHING
YOU DO!

3. Chapter Overview
• What is an attitudes?
• Structure and function of attitudes
• Function of Attitudes
• Attitudes: Cognition and Evaluation
• Forming attitudes
• Concepts related to attitudes
• Can attitudes predict behavior?
• Attitudes formation: cognition (thinking)
– Cognitive response model
– Theory of reasoned action (TORA)
• How to change attitudes: cognition (thinking)
• Attitude formation: affect (emotion)
• How to change attitudes: affect (emotion)

4. What Is an
Attitude?
• A thought accepted as true
• An emotional readiness to
behave in a particular way
• Leads one to think, feel or
act positively or negatively
toward a person, idea or
event
• Deeply ingrained in our
personalities as we learn
and grow

5. Aspects of Attitudes
• Can be changed or new
ones learned
• Not formed casually or
quickly
• Can motivate or cause to
act
• One can choose to act or
not
• Values serve as a
foundation for attitudes

6. Figure 6.1
The Relationship Among
Values, Attitudes,
and Behaviors

7. What’s the Big Deal About Attitudes?
• Attitudes……
– Guide our thoughts (cognitive
function)
– Influence our feelings (affective
function)
– Affect our behavior (connative
function)

8. Structure and Function of Attitudes
There are a number of different views about what an attitude
is:
– an affective orientation toward, or evaluation of, an
attitude object (one-component model, socio-cognitive
model); (Feeling)
– a mental readiness to act and a guide for how to respond
and guides our evaluations (two-component model);
(Thought and feeling)
– or a combination of information about, and feelings and
behavioural intentions toward, an object (three-
component model). (Though, Feeling and
Action/Behaviour)
ONE, TWO OR THREE

9. Structure and Function of Attitudes
“The three-component model is probably most popular.
Generally, attitudes are useful because they are enduring
and they provide a cognitive and affective orientation
toward objects and thus help us pursue goal-directed
thought and action. “

10. Function of Attitudes
• Katz (1960)
– Knowledge
– Instrumentality (means to an
end or a goal)
– Ego-defense (protects ones
own self-esteem)
– Value-expressiveness (allow
people to display those values
that uniquely identify and
define them).Daniel Katz (Psychologist)

12. Structure and Function of Attitudes
• According to cognitive
consistency theories, our
attitudes should be relatively
congruent with one another
because we seek consistency
among our cognitions.
• Specifically, we seek balance
between how we feel about an
object, how someone else feels
about an object, and how we
feel about that other person
(balance theory). Heider’s
theory of attitude change
• If you and I like apples, it would
be unbalanced if I did not like
you.Fritz Heider (1958)

13. Examples of balanced and unbalanced triads
from Heider’s theory of attitude change

14. Attitudes: Cognition and Evaluation
• Pratkanis and Greenwald’s
sociocognitive model.
• Attitude is represented by
– An object label and the rules for
applying that label
– An evaluative summary of that
object, and
– A knowledge structure
supporting that evaluation
• E.g. Shark
– Big Fish with large teeth (label)
– Is frightening and best avoided
when swimming (evaluative)
– Well-documented threat to our
physical well-being (knowledge
structure)
Anthony Pratkanis

15. Figure 5.2 The sociocognitive model of attitude
structure and function
Source: Based on Pratkanis & Greenwald (1989)

16. Forming attitudes
• Attitude formation can rest on direct
experience with the attitude object; mere
exposure to an object can influence how
much we like or dislike it and thus our
attitude toward it (Zajonc,1968).
• We can also acquire positive or negative
attitudes toward an object by direct
reinforcement or punishment associated
with the object, or by observing someone
else being rewarded or punished(modelling)
– Classical Conditioning: Attitudes paired with
positive or negative effects
– Spreading Attitude effect: Ripple effect of
meeting different people
– Instrumental Conditioning: Positive
consequences more likely to be repeated, while
negative effect are not.
– Observational Learning: Rewards and
Punishment and modelling.
Robert Zajonc (1923-2008)

17. Forming attitudes

18. Forming attitudes
Through whatever process we form an attitude,
one of the most important sources of enduring
attitudes is our parents, and later our peer
groups.
– Parents
– Teachers
– Friends
– Mass Media

19. Concepts related to attitudes
• Values are higher-level constructs that often subsume and
organize specific attitudes. Values can be differentiated
into those that concern end states (e.g., freedom,
equality) and those that are more instrumental (e.g.,
honesty, tradition).
• Allport
– Theoretical: Interest in problem solving/how things
work?
– Economic: An interest in economic matters such as
finance and money
– Aesthetic: An interest in the arts, theatre, music etc
– Social: A concern for others, interest in social welfare
– Political: An interest in politics
– Religious: Interest in theology.
• Rokeach
– Terminal Values: Broad values that have control over
specific value: (e.g. Equality, Freedom)
– Instrumental Values: Motivations that may influence
specific attitudes (honesty and ambition).

20. Concepts related to attitudes
• Ideologies are similar to values but go further
insofar as they are usually associated with, and
sometimes define, membership in particular
groups. Ideologies also serve to justify relations
between groups (they are system-justifying or
hierarchy-enhancing), or to challenge the
status quo and energize social change (radical
ideologies).
• Explanatory function (Thompson, 1990).
Ideologies can be used to explain events that
influence attitudes.
• Every thinking and attitudes influenced by
ideological dilemmas (Billig, 1991)

21. Concepts related to attitudes
• The third construct that is related to attitudes is social
representations. Social representations are
explanatory belief systems that simplify complex or
distressing phenomena and make them easily
understood by ordinary people.
• They are developed through informal, interindividual
communication and become consensual within
communities or groups.
• From an attitudinal perspective, this is an important
point, that is, attitudes are framed by, and embedded
within, wider representational structures, which are in
turn grounded in social groups. In this area, attitudes
are socially constructed, reflecting society or groups in
which people live their lives.

22. Can attitudes predict behaviour?
• The utility of attitudes, both theoretically and practically,
rests largely on how much people’s attitudes influence their
behaviour.
• It is only possible to predict behaviour from attitudes if the
attitude is very specific and is oriented toward an intention
to behave in a certain way.
• Examples of studies, i.e. drink or ethnic tolerance, small
correlation between what people report and what they do
(Gregson & Stacey, 1981; La Piere).
• General attitudes are very poor predictors of specific
behaviours but can predict an average of a wider range of
behaviours (multiple-act criterion).

23. Can attitudes predict behaviour?
• The two main theories of attitude-behaviour relations
are:
• (a) the theory of reasoned action (people behave in line
with their attitudes if they have a favourable attitude and
there is general social support for the behaviour), and
• (b) the theory of planned behaviour, which added that
people also need to feel that performance of the
behaviour is under their control. When these conditions
are met, people’s behavioural intentions (and to a lesser
extent their actual behaviour) can be quite well
predicted.

24. • The theory of planned behavior holds that human
action is guided by three kinds of considerations:
– Beliefs about the likely outcomes of the behavior and
the evaluations of these outcomes (behavioral beliefs
or Attitudes)
– Beliefs about the normative expectations of others and
motivation to comply with these expectations
(normative beliefs/Subjective Norm)
– Beliefs about the presence of factors that may facilitate
or impede performance of the behavior and the
perceived power of these factors (control
beliefs/Perceived Behavioural Control).
Can attitudes predict behaviour?

25. Figure 5.3 A comparison of the theory of reasoned action
(TRA) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB)
Source: Based on Ajzen & Fishbein (1980); Madden, Ellen & Ajzen (1992)

26. • Attitudes sought by
employers
– Self-motivation
– Openness to change
– Team spirit
– Health consciousness
– Appreciation of
coworker diversity
– Honesty
Attitudes Valued by
Employers

27. How are attitudes formed through
cognition?
• The Cognitive Response
Model
– thoughts/reactions we have
in response to a message
• Theory of Reasoned Action
(TORA)
– explains how, when and why
attitudes predict behavior

28. Cognitive Response Model
• Counterarguments (CAs)
– disagreement
• Support arguments (SAs)
– agreement
• Source derogations (SDs)
– attack the source

29. 29
Your choices
TODAY impact your
successes
TOMORROW.
Happiness is Your’s
to create.
Build your attitude
from the INSIDE
out.
Watch what you say
to yourself.

30. Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA)
Belief about
consequences
of an act (bi)
Evaluation of
consequences
of an act (ei)
Attitude toward
the act (Aact)
Normative belief
(what do important
others think about
this act?) (NBj)
Motivation to
comply (desire to
please these important
others) (MCj)
How much consumer
is actually influenced
by these others (SN)
Behavior
Behavioral Intentions

31. Calculating TORA
Behavioral Intentions
BI A SN
A b e
SN NB MC
act
act i i
i
j j
j
 





32. TORA Example: Getting a tattoo
• B=get a tattoo
• BI=intention to get a tattoo
• Aact=your attitude toward getting a tattoo
• SN=what influence others have on you

33. TORA Scales
• bi = the likelihood that this outcome will occur
is (-3) very low to (+3) very high
• ei = if this outcome occurs, it will be (-3) very
bad to (+3) very good
• NBj = this person thinks I should (-3) not do it
to (+3) do it
• MCj = how much do I care what this person
thinks? (-3) don’t care at all to (+3) care very
much

34. TORA Example: Aact
Beliefs
will hurt
will be cool
will be expensive
self-expression
bi
+3
+1
+2
+3

35. TORA Example: Aact
Beliefs
will hurt
will be cool
will be expensive
self-expression
bi ei
+3 -3
+1 +2
+2 -2
+3 +3

36. TORA Example: Aact
Beliefs
will hurt
will be cool
will be expensive
self-expression
bi ei Sum bi X ei
+3 X -3 = -9
+1 X +2 = 2
+2 X -2 = -4
+3 X +3 = + 9
Therefore, Aact = -2

37. TORA Example: SN
Important Others
Parents
Sig. Other
Best Friend
MKT 171 Instructor
NBj
-3
-3
+2
+3

38. TORA Example: SN
Important Others
Parents
Sig. Other
Best Friend
MKT 171 Instructor
NBj MCj
-3 -1
-3 +3
+2 +1
+3 0

39. TORA Example: SN
Important Others
Parents
Sig. Other
Best Friend
MKT 171 Instructor
NBj MCj Sum NBj X MCj
-3 X -1 = +3
-3 X +3 = -9
+2 X +1 = +2
+3 X 0 = + 0
Therefore, SN = -4

40. The Bottom Line
BI = Aact + SN
= -2 + -4
= -6
Decision: Don’t do it!

41. 41
Your attitude reflects
YOU.
Focus on the
POSITIVE.
Your Setbacks can be
Setups for even greater
opportunities.
Be committed to change!

42. Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA)
Belief about
consequences
of an act (bi)
Evaluation of
consequences
of an act (ei)
Attitude toward
the act (Aact)
Normative belief
(what do important
others think about
this act?) (NBj)
Motivation to
comply (desire to
please these important
others) (MCj)
How much consumer
is actually influenced
by these others (SN)
Behavior
Behavioral Intentions

43. Attitude Change Strategies
• Change beliefs (bi)
• Change evaluations (ei)
• Add a new belief (biei)
• Target normative beliefs

44. Cognitively-Based Attitude Change
Issues
• Communication Source
– spokesperson credibility
– company reputation
• Message factors
– argument quality
– one- vs. two-sided messages
– comparative messages

45. How are attitudes formed through
affect (emotion)?
• Affective involvement
• Affective reactions

46. Affectively-Based Attitude Change
Issues
• Communication Source
– Attractiveness
• Message Factors
– Emotional appeals
– Fear appeals

47. 47
Embrace change…it’s inevitable.
Develop a “Whatever-It-Takes” attitude.
Take your time…change doesn’t happen
overnight.
Keep your long-term goals in mind.

48. How to Change
Attitudes
• Attitudes are hard
to change
• Knowing how to
change attitudes in
yourself and others
can be essential to
effective human
relations

49. Changing Your Own Attitude
Attitudes that help
achieve positive results:
– Choose happiness
– Embrace optimism
– Think for yourself
– Keep an open
mind

50. Total Person Insight
We don’t need more money, we don’t need greater success or fame, we
don’t need the perfect body or even the perfect mate—right now, at this
very moment, we have a mind, which is all the basic equipment we need to
achieve complete happiness.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler
Coauthors, The Art of Happiness

51. Choose Happiness
• Happiness is the state of mind that permits us to live
life enthusiastically
• Happy people Unhappy people
– more sociable – self-focused
– flexible – socially withdrawn
– creative – antagonistic
• Energy builder and key to overcoming adversity and
reaching goals
• Perceptions of situation are critical

52. Embrace Optimism
• Optimistic thoughts give rise to good moods, which help
develop positive attitudes
• Optimists are more likely to bounce back after a
disappointment
• Focus on success rather than failure
• Avoid pessimism which leads to cynicism

53. Think for Yourself
• Need for acceptance by group can lead to “group think”
• Two groups in the workplace
– Personal relationships
– Professional relationship
• Overlap can cause confusion
• Evaluate situations based on your values!

54. Keep an Open Mind
• Our attitudes may persist in the
face of overwhelming evidence to
the contrary
• Learn to consider other points of
view and gently question your
beliefs
• Expose yourself to experiences
and information beyond what you
have been socialized to believe

55. Helping Others Change Attitudes
• Change the conditions that precede the behavior
• Change the consequences that follow when the person
exhibits the behavior

56. A Final Word
• Changing an attitude can be a
challenge
• Change is part continued growth
and success

57. No matter what
you do in life, if
you have a
positive attitude,
you’ll always be
100%

58. A = 1
T = 20
T = 20
I = 9
T = 20
U = 21
D = 4
E = 5
ATTITUDE = 100
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

59. 59
Make a difference in the life of someone else and be self-
fulfilled.
We can all find the time to GIVE BACK.
Learning and Giving … for Better
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