The document defines attitude as a mental state of readiness that influences responses to people, objects, and situations. Attitudes are learned through social interaction and experience. They have three components - cognitive (beliefs), affective (feelings), and behavioral (actions). Attitudes are formed through direct experiences, conditioning, vicarious learning from others, social groups, communication, and one's environment. Positive attitudes benefit individuals and organizations by increasing productivity, teamwork, problem-solving, and relationships while reducing stress. Attitudes help with adjustment, ego defense, knowledge, and expressing values. They can be changed by providing feedback, new information, positive role models, and influencing social groups.

2. DEFINITION
• An Attitude is mental state of readiness, learned
and organised through experience, exerting a
specific influence on person’s response to
people, object and situations with which it is
related.
• Attitude means the beliefs, feelings and action
tendencies of an individual or group of
individuals towards objects, ideas and people.

3. NATURE OF ATTITUDE
• Attitudes are learnt. (Social interaction and
experience)
• Attitude has an object (person, place, thing)
• Attitude influence behaviour
• Attitude is a relatively stable phenomenon.
Its not like perception.
However, it may change.

4. COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDE

5. 1.Cognitive Component
• The aspect of attitude involves belief or knowledge
towards people, object or things.
• It involves information, facts or ideas which
individuals have.
• For example-
• Warm water with lemon is good for health in
morning.
• Promotion was due you didn’t get it then you
believed that you deserved this promotion.
• I believe that my immune system can fight corona
virus.

6. 2. Affective Component
• The aspect of attitude involves emotion or
feeling towards people, object or things.
• For example-
• I feel angry for people who don’t follow the rules.
• I hate my boss for his favouritism in the
organisation.
• I like LED bulbs for longer life.

7. 3. Behavioural Component
• The aspect of attitude involves action towards
people, object or things.
• Based on the information and emotions, we act
towards a person, object or things.
• For example-
• I am going to leave my job.
• I will replace all bulbs at my home with LED.

8. HOW DOES ATTITUDE FORM
• Attitude refers to the feelings and beliefs of
individuals or groups of individuals.
• But the question is how these feelings and beliefs
developed?
• The point which has been stressed by many
people are that attitudes are acquired, but not
inherited.
• A person acquires these attitudes from several
sources.

9. 1. Direct Personal Experience
• A person’s direct experience with the attitude
object determines his attitude towards it.
• The personal experience of an individual,
whether it is favourable or unfavourable, will
affect his attitude deeply.
• Attitudes formed on experience are difficult to
change.

10. 2. Classical Conditioning & Attitudes
• Pavlov’s Theory- Dogs salivate at the sound of a
bell.
• People develop associations between various
objects and the emotional reactions that
accompany them.
• Advertisers use this principle- Link a product
with a positive feeling or event.

11. 3. Operant Conditioning & Attitude
• Acquisition Attitudes that are reinforced, either
verbally or non-verbally.
4. Vicarious Learning
• Observing behaviour of others and consequences
of that behaviour.
• Also learnt through television, films and media.

12. 5. Family & Peer Groups
• Learning attitudes through imitation of parents.
• If parents have a positive attitude towards an
object, the child is likely to adopt a similar
attitude, even without being told about the
object.
• Example: attitudes towards gender, religion,
tolerance, prejudice, education, occupations,
political parties etc.
6. Neighbourhood
• The neighbourhood in which we live has certain
cultural facilities, religious grouping and ethnic
differences.

13. • The people belonging to different cultures have
different attitudes and behaviours.
• Some of these we accept and some of these we deny
and possibly rebel. The conformity or rebellion in
some respects is the evidence of the attitudes we
hold.
7. Economic Status & Occupations
• The economic status and occupational position of the
individual also affect his attitude formation.
• Our socio-economic background influences our
present and future attitudes.
• Research findings have shown that unemployment
disturbs former religious and economic values.

14. • Children of professional class tend to be
conservatives. Respect for the laws of the country is
associated with increased years of higher education
8. Mass Communication
• Attitudes are generally less stable as compared to
values.
• Advertising messages for example, attempt to alter
the attitude of the people toward a certain product or
service.
• For example, if the people at Hyundai Santro can get
you to hold a favourable feeling toward their cars,
that attitude may lead to a desirable behaviour (for
them) your purchase of a Santro car.

15. BENEFITS OF POSITIVE ATTITUDES
• Increases productivity
• Fosters teamwork
• Solves problems
• Improves quality
• Makes for congenial atmosphere
• Breeds loyalty
• Increases profits
• Fosters better relationship with employees, employers
and customers
• Reduces stress
• Makes for a pleasing personality

16. FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDES
1. Adjustment Function:
• Attitudes of people help them to adjust to their
work environment.
• When employees are well treated, they are likely
to develop a positive attitude towards
management and organisation.
• When they are treated negatively, they develop a
negative attitude towards their firm and their
superior.

17. 2. Ego Defense Function:
• People often form and maintain certain attitudes
to protect their own self images.
• E.g. An employee may feel threaten by another
employee who has the chances of promotion so
they develop a feeling of prejudice and
misbehaviour towards that particular employee.
• The attitude will remain unchanged until this
feeling is changed.

18. 3. Knowledge:
• People need to maintain a stable, organised and
a meaningful structure of their world to prevent
confusion and imbalance.
• Attitudes provide the standard or frames of
reference by which an individual judges objects
and events.

19. 4. Value Expression:
• People tend to have positive attitude towards
objects or expressions which increases the value
and a negative aspect towards anything that
decreases the value of either life, expression or
working condition.

20. CHANGING ATTITUDES
Changing attitudes of employees:
A manager can help in changing attitudes of his or
her employee in the following base:
• Give feedback
• Increase positive conditions
• Provide new information
• Be a positive role model
• Use of fear
• Influence of friends and peers
• Co-opting approach