Functions Of Attitude (1)

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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.


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Attitudes are evaluations of people, objects, or events that are expressed by a person’s feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Attitudes are learned and can be changed. They can be positive or negative, and they can be strong or weak.

Attitudes have a number of functions. They help us to evaluate and make sense of the world around us. They provide a framework for understanding and responding to new information. Attitudes can motivate us to behave in certain ways. They can also lead us to avoid certain behaviors. Attitudes can help us to form relationships with others. They can also lead us to exclude or avoid certain people. Attitudes can influence our thoughts and feelings. They can also affect our physical Health and well-being.

There are a number of ways to change attitudes. One way is to change the way we think about something. For example, if we have a negative attitude towards exercise, we can try to change our thinking by focusing on the positive aspects of exercise, such as how it can improve our health and fitness. Another way to change attitudes is to change our behavior. For example, if we have a negative attitude towards a certain food, we can try to change our behavior by eating that food more often. Finally, we can also change our attitudes by changing the way we feel about something. For example, if we have a negative attitude towards a certain person, we can try to change our feelings by spending more time with that person and getting to know them better.

Attitudes are important because they can have a significant impact on our lives. They can affect our behavior, our thoughts and feelings, and our physical health and well-being. Therefore, it is important to be aware of our attitudes and to be willing to change them if necessary.

Here are some tips for changing your attitudes:

Changing your attitudes can be a challenge, but it is possible. By following these tips, you can start to change your attitudes and improve your life.

What is an attitude?

An attitude is a mental and emotional evaluation of a person, object, situation, or event. Attitudes are learned and can be changed. They can be positive or negative, and they can be strong or weak.

What are the functions of attitudes?

Attitudes serve a number of functions, including:

What are the different types of attitudes?

There are many different ways to classify attitudes. One common way is to distinguish between:

How are attitudes formed?

Attitudes are formed through a variety of factors, including:

How can attitudes be changed?

Attitudes can be changed through a variety of methods, including:

What are the consequences of attitudes?

Attitudes can have a number of consequences, including:

  1. Attitudes are:
    (A) learned predispositions to respond favorably or unfavorably to a person, object, or event.
    (B) innate predispositions to respond favorably or unfavorably to a person, object, or event.
    (C) learned predispositions to respond in a specific way to a person, object, or event.
    (D) innate predispositions to respond in a specific way to a person, object, or event.

  2. Attitudes are composed of three components:
    (A) cognitive, affective, and behavioral.
    (B) affective, behavioral, and physiological.
    (C) cognitive, behavioral, and physiological.
    (D) affective, cognitive, and behavioral.

  3. The cognitive component of an attitude refers to:
    (A) a person’s beliefs about a person, object, or event.
    (B) a person’s feelings about a person, object, or event.
    (C) a person’s intentions to behave in a certain way toward a person, object, or event.
    (D) a person’s physiological reactions to a person, object, or event.

  4. The affective component of an attitude refers to:
    (A) a person’s beliefs about a person, object, or event.
    (B) a person’s feelings about a person, object, or event.
    (C) a person’s intentions to behave in a certain way toward a person, object, or event.
    (D) a person’s physiological reactions to a person, object, or event.

  5. The behavioral component of an attitude refers to:
    (A) a person’s beliefs about a person, object, or event.
    (B) a person’s feelings about a person, object, or event.
    (C) a person’s intentions to behave in a certain way toward a person, object, or event.
    (D) a person’s physiological reactions to a person, object, or event.

  6. Attitudes are important because they:
    (A) can influence our behavior.
    (B) can influence our thoughts.
    (C) can influence our feelings.
    (D) all of the above.

  7. Attitudes can be formed through:
    (A) direct experience.
    (B) indirect experience.
    (C) both direct and indirect experience.
    (D) neither direct nor indirect experience.

  8. Attitudes can be changed through:
    (A) Persuasion.
    (B) exposure to new information.
    (C) both persuasion and exposure to new information.
    (D) neither persuasion nor exposure to new information.

  9. The foot-in-the-door technique is a persuasion technique that involves:
    (A) getting someone to agree to a small request in order to get them to agree to a larger request later.
    (B) getting someone to agree to a large request in order to get them to agree to a smaller request later.
    (C) getting someone to agree to a request that is consistent with their attitude.
    (D) getting someone to agree to a request that is inconsistent with their attitude.

  10. The door-in-the-face technique is a persuasion technique that involves:
    (A) getting someone to agree to a small request in order to get them to agree to a larger request later.
    (B) getting someone to agree to a large request in order to get them to agree to a smaller request later.
    (C) getting someone to agree to a request that is consistent with their attitude.
    (D) getting someone to agree to a request that is inconsistent with their attitude.

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