Functions of attitude

Functions of Attitude

Attitudes serve four major functions for the individual:

The adjustments function,
The ego defensive function,
The value expressive function
The knowledge function.

Ultimately these functions serve people’s need to protect and enhance the image they hold of themselves. In more general terms, these functions are the motivational bases which shape and reinforce positive attitudes toward goal objects perceived as need satisfying and / or negative attitudes toward other objects perceived as punishing or threatening.

Adjustment Function

The adjustment function directs people toward pleasurable or rewarding objects and away from unpleasant, undesirable ones. It serves the utilitarian concept of maximizing reward and minimizing punishment. Thus, the attitudes of consumers depend to a large degree on their perceptions of what is needed satisfying and what is punishing. Because consumers perceive products, Services and stores as providing need satisfying or unsatisfying experiences we should expect their attitudes toward these object to vary in relation to the experiences that have occurred.

Ego Defensive Function

Attitudes firmed to protect the ego or self image from threats help fulfill the ego defensive function. Actually many outward expressions of such attitudes reflect the opposite of what the person perceives him to be. For example a consumer who has made a poor purchase decision or a poor Investment may staunchly defend the decision as being correct at the time or as being the result of poor advice from another person. Such ego defensive attitude helps us to protect out self image and often we are unaware of them. This function involves psychoanalytic principles where people use defense mechanisms to protect themselves from psychological harm. Mechanisms include:

Denial: Denial, is used for a psychological defense mechanism postulated by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence. An individual that exhibits such behavior is described as a denialist or true believer. Denial also could mean denying the happening of an event or the reliability of information, which can lead to a feeling of aloofness and to the ignoring of possibly beneficial information.

Repression: Psychological repression, or simply repression, is the psychological attempt made by an individual to their characterists to direct one’s own desires and impulses toward pleasurable instincts by excluding the desire from one’s consciousness and holding or subduing it in the unconscious. In psychoanalytic theory repression plays a major role in many mental illnesses, and in the psyche of the Average person.Repression, ‘a key concept of psychoanalysis, is a defense mechanism, but it pre-exists the ego, e.g., ‘Primal Repression’. It ensures that what is unacceptable to the conscious mind, which would arouse anxiety if recalled, is prevented from entering into it’; and is generally accepted as such by psychoanalytic psychologists.

Projection: Psychological projection is a theory in psychology in which humans defend themselves against their own unconscious impulses or qualities (both positive and negative) by denying their existence in themselves while attributing them to others. For example, a person who is habitually intolerant may constantly accuse other people of being intolerant. It incorporates blame shifting. According to some research, the projection of one’s unconscious qualities onto others is a common process in everyday life.

Rationalization: In psychology and logic, rationalization or rationalisation (also known as making excuses) is a defense mechanism in which controversial behaviors or feelings are justified and explained in a seemingly rational or logical manner to avoid the true explanation, and are made consciously tolerable—or even admirable and superior—by plausible means. It is also an informal fallacy of reasoning.

Rationalization happens in two steps:

A decision, action, judgement is made for a given reason, or no (known) reason at all.
A rationalization is performed, constructing a seemingly good or logical reason, as an attempt to justify the act after the fact (for oneself or others).

Rationalization encourages irrational or unacceptable behavior, Motives, or feelings and often involves ad hoc hypothesizing. This process ranges from fully conscious (e.g. to present an external defense against ridicule from others) to mostly unconscious (e.g. to create a block against internal feelings of guilt or shame). People rationalize for various reasons—sometimes when we think we know ourselves better than we do. Rationalization may differentiate the original deterministic explanation of the behavior or feeling in question.

Value expression function

Whereas ego defensive attitudes are formed to protect a person’s self image, value expressive attitudes enable the expression of the person’s centrally held values. Therefore consumers adopt certain attitudes in an effort to translate their values into something more tangible and easily expressed . Thus, a conservative person might develop an unfavorable attitude toward bright clothing and instead be attracted toward dark, pin striped suits.

Marketers should develop an understanding of what values consumers wish to express about themselves and they should design products and promotional campaigns to allow these self expressions. Not all products lend themselves to this form of market segmentation however. Those with the greatest potential for value expressive segmentation are ones with high social visibility. Cross pens, Saks Fifth Avenue clothes. Ferrari automobiles and Bang & Children stereo systems are examples.

Knowledge function

Humans have a need for a structured and orderly world, and therefore they seek consistency stability definition and understanding. Out of this need develops attitudes toward acquiring knowledge. In addition, the need to know tends to be specific. Therefore an individual who does not play golf, nor wish to learn the sport is unlikely to seek knowledge or an understanding of the game. This will influence the amount of information search devoted to this topic. Thus, out of our need to know come attitudes about what we believe we need or do not need to understand.

In addition attitudes enable consumers to simplify the complexity of the real world. That is, as was pointed out in the chapter information processing, the real world is too complex for us to cope with so we develop mechanisms to simplify situations. We saw that this involves sensory thresholds and selective attention and it also involves attitudes. Attitudes allow us to categorize or group objects as a way of knowing about them. Thus, when a new object is experienced we attempt to categorize it into a group which we know something about. In this way the object can share the reactions we have for other objects in the same category. This is efficient because we do not have to spend much effort reacting to each new object as a completely unique situation. Consequently we often find consumers reacting in similar ways to ads for going out of business sales limited time offers American made goods etc. Of course there is some risk of error in not looking at the unique aspects or new information about objects but for better or worse, our attitudes have influenced how we feel and react to new examples of these situations.,

Attitudes are evaluations of people, objects, or events that are expressed through a person’s feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. They are learned through experience and can be changed through Persuasion or new information. Attitudes can have a powerful influence on our lives, affecting our behavior, relationships, and Health.

There are three main components of an attitude:

Affect: This is the emotional component of an attitude, and it refers to how we feel about something. For example, we might have a positive affect towards chocolate, or a negative affect towards spiders.
Belief: This is the cognitive component of an attitude, and it refers to what we think about something. For example, we might believe that chocolate is delicious, or that spiders are dangerous.
Behavior: This is the behavioral component of an attitude, and it refers to how we act towards something. For example, we might eat chocolate, or avoid spiders.

Attitudes can be formed in a number of ways, including through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social Learning.

Classical conditioning: This is a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that already elicits a response. Over time, the neutral stimulus will come to elicit the same response as the original stimulus. For example, if you are repeatedly paired the smell of chocolate with the taste of chocolate, you will eventually come to associate the smell of chocolate with pleasure.
Operant conditioning: This is a type of learning in which a behavior is followed by a consequence, which either increases or decreases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated. For example, if you are praised for eating chocolate, you are more likely to eat chocolate in the future.
Social learning: This is a type of learning in which we learn new behaviors by observing others. For example, if you see your friends eating chocolate, you are more likely to eat chocolate yourself.

Once formed, attitudes can be difficult to change. However, there are a number of techniques that can be used to change attitudes, including persuasion, exposure, and cognitive dissonance.

Persuasion: This is a process of influencing someone’s attitudes or beliefs through the use of argument or suggestion. For example, you might try to persuade someone to eat chocolate by telling them how delicious it is.
Exposure: This is a process of increasing someone’s familiarity with something in order to change their attitude towards it. For example, you might try to change someone’s negative attitude towards spiders by exposing them to spiders in a safe and controlled Environment.
Cognitive dissonance: This is a state of psychological discomfort that occurs when we hold two contradictory beliefs or attitudes. For example, if you believe that chocolate is delicious, but you also believe that it is unhealthy, you might experience cognitive dissonance. This discomfort can motivate us to change one of our beliefs or attitudes in order to reduce the dissonance.

Attitudes can have a powerful influence on our lives. They can affect our behavior, relationships, and health. By understanding how attitudes are formed and changed, we can learn to manage our attitudes in a way that is beneficial to us.

Here are some tips for managing your attitudes:

Be aware of your attitudes. The first step to managing your attitudes is to be aware of them. What are your attitudes towards different people, objects, and events? Once you are aware of your attitudes, you can start to think about whether they are serving you well.
Challenge your attitudes. Just because you have an attitude about something doesn’t mean it’s true. Ask yourself why you have the attitude you do. Is it based on evidence? Or is it based on stereotypes or assumptions? If you can find evidence to support your attitude, great. But if you can’t, you might want to consider changing it.
Be open to new information. One of the best ways to change your attitudes is to be open to new information. If you’re exposed to new information that challenges your attitude, be willing to consider it. You might be surprised at how your attitude changes.
Focus on the positive. Our attitudes are often influenced by our focus of attention. If we focus on the negative aspects of something, we’re more likely to have a negative attitude towards it. But if we focus on the positive aspects, we’re more likely to have a positive attitude. So, try to focus on the positive aspects of the people, objects, and events in your life.
Take action. Our attitudes can also be influenced by our behavior. If we act in a certain way, we’re more likely to develop an attitude that matches our behavior. So, if you want to change your attitude towards something, start acting in a way that is consistent with the attitude you want to have.

Attitudes are powerful things. But

What are the functions of attitude?

Attitudes serve three main functions:

Evaluative function: Attitudes help us to evaluate objects, people, and events. They tell us whether something is good or bad, desirable or undesirable.
Knowledge function: Attitudes help us to make sense of the world around us. They provide us with a framework for understanding and interpreting new information.
Social function: Attitudes help us to connect with others and to maintain our social relationships. They help us to signal our group memberships and to communicate our values to others.

What are the different types of attitudes?

There are many different ways to classify attitudes. One common way is to distinguish between positive and negative attitudes. Positive attitudes are favorable evaluations of something, while negative attitudes are unfavorable evaluations. Another way to classify attitudes is to distinguish between explicit and implicit attitudes. Explicit attitudes are conscious and easily accessible, while implicit attitudes are unconscious and less accessible.

What are the determinants of attitudes?

Attitudes are influenced by a number of factors, including our personal experiences, our social environment, and our Personality. Our personal experiences can shape our attitudes in a number of ways. For example, if we have a positive experience with something, we are more likely to develop a positive attitude towards it. Similarly, if we have a negative experience with something, we are more likely to develop a negative attitude towards it. Our social environment can also influence our attitudes. For example, if the people around us hold positive attitudes towards something, we are more likely to develop positive attitudes towards it ourselves. Similarly, if the people around us hold negative attitudes towards something, we are more likely to develop negative attitudes towards it ourselves. Finally, our personality can also influence our attitudes. For example, people who are high in agreeableness are more likely to have positive attitudes towards others, while people who are high in neuroticism are more likely to have negative attitudes towards others.

How are attitudes measured?

There are a number of different ways to measure attitudes. One common way is to use a Likert scale. A Likert scale is a type of rating scale that asks respondents to rate their agreement or disagreement with a series of statements. Another common way to measure attitudes is to use a semantic differential scale. A semantic differential scale is a type of rating scale that asks respondents to rate an object, person, or event on a series of bipolar adjectives.

How can attitudes be changed?

Attitudes can be changed in a number of ways. One common way to change attitudes is through persuasion. Persuasion is the process of influencing someone’s attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors through the use of argument and reason. Another common way to change attitudes is through exposure. Exposure is the process of being exposed to something repeatedly. The more we are exposed to something, the more likely we are to develop a positive attitude towards it. Finally, attitudes can also be changed through behavior change. If we change our behavior, we may also change our attitudes. For example, if we start eating healthy foods, we may develop a more positive attitude towards healthy eating.

What are the consequences of attitudes?

Attitudes can have a number of consequences. For example, attitudes can influence our behavior. If we have a positive attitude towards something, we are more likely to engage in that behavior. Similarly, if we have a negative attitude towards something, we are less likely to engage in that behavior. Attitudes can also influence our thoughts and feelings. For example, if we have a positive attitude towards something, we are more likely to think positive thoughts about it and to feel positive emotions about it. Similarly, if we have a negative attitude towards something, we are more likely to think negative thoughts about it and to feel negative emotions about it. Finally, attitudes can also influence our relationships. For example, if we have a positive attitude towards someone, we are more likely to want to be friends with them. Similarly, if we have a negative attitude towards someone, we are less likely to want to be friends with them.

Attitudes are:
(a) learned predispositions to respond favorably or unfavorably to a person, object, or event.
(b) a set of beliefs and feelings that predispose a person to respond in a particular way to an object or situation.
(c) a mental and emotional state of readiness to respond in a particular way to a person, object, or situation.
(d) all of the above.
Attitudes are important because they:
(a) influence our behavior.
(b) help us to make sense of the world around us.
(c) guide our interactions with others.
(d) all of the above.
Attitudes are formed through a variety of processes, including:
(a) classical conditioning.
(b) operant conditioning.
(c) observational learning.
(d) all of the above.
Attitudes can be changed through a variety of methods, including:
(a) persuasion.
(b) exposure.
(c) cognitive dissonance.
(d) all of the above.
Attitudes are related to a variety of behaviors, including:
(a) voting behavior.
(b) consumer behavior.
(c) Prejudice And Discrimination.
(d) all of the above.
Attitudes are relatively stable over time, but they can be changed.
(a) True
(b) False
Attitudes are always conscious.
(a) True
(b) False
Attitudes are always positive or negative.
(a) True
(b) False
Attitudes are always based on accurate information.
(a) True
(b) False
Attitudes are always consistent with our behavior.
(a) True
(b) False