Attitudes and Behavior

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Presented by: Ms. Riffat Shaheen

Organized by: Ms. Qurat-ul-ain
What is an attitude?
• An evaluative reaction toward something or
someone, exhibited in one’s beliefs, feelings, or
planned behavior.

• May be positive or negative

Four Possible Reactions to
Attitude Objects
Why Study Attitudes?
Attitudes are important because they:
• strongly influence our social thought
– help to organize and evaluate actions
(e.g., as positive or negative)
• Most probably have a strong affect on behavior
– help to predict people’s behavior in wide range of
contexts (e.g., voting, interpersonal relations)
Components of Attitudes:
Tripartite View
Cognitive

Affective Attitude

Behavioral
ABC’s of Attitudes
• AFFECTIVE

Co
– emotions and feelings (pos & neg)

t
fec

gn
• BEHAVIORAL

it
Af

ion
– reaction (pos & neg actions)
• COGNITIVE
– beliefs and thoughts (pos & neg) Behavior
 Attitude Object: Nurse
 COGNITIONS
 Particular nurse is friendly.
 Particular nurse is busy.
 AFFECTS
 That particular nurse make me feel comfortable.
 I like that nurse .
 BEHAVIORS
 I call the nurse when I need.
 I share my problem with that nurse.
Why People Have Attitudes
• Value-Expressive function: Express who we are

• Ego-defensive function: Protect Self-Esteem

• Instrumental function: Obtain awards, avoid punishments

• Knowledge function: understand people and events

Basic Questions
• Is there a relationship between attitudes and
behavior and, if so, how strong is it?
Behavior Attitude
Behavior Attitude
 Behavior and Attitudes

Attitudes and Behavior

Chicken and then the Egg
Egg and then the Chicken….
Do attitudes predict behavior?
• Not really!!! People’s expressed attitudes often don’t predict their
behaviors.

Examples:
• Student attitudes toward cheating, doesn’t mean students won’t cheat.
• If people see the value of wearing their seatbelt then they are more
likely to actually wear it.
• Breast feeding

(Self-described racial attitudes don’t predict behaviors in actual situations).

Attitude Formation
• social learning- acquire attitudes from others
• classical conditioning- learning based on association
• unconscious conditioning- without awarenes
• instrumental conditioning- learn to hold the “right”
views
• observational learning- learning by observing actions
of others
Attitude Behavior
• Minimizing social influences on expressed attitudes.
• Minimizing other influences on behavior.
• Examining attitudes specific to the behavior.
• Making attitudes powerful.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Can we make people more self-
conscious of their attitudes?
• Yes!! How???

Mirrors and recordings of

our voice makes us
“honest.”
Diener and Wallbom
(1976)
Attitudes increase in potency if:
• We think about what our attitudes are before acting.

• We become self-conscious about our attitudes.

• Our attitudes are stronger if gained through

experience.
Evil acts
• If we commit an evil act once, it makes it easier to
commit more evil acts in the future.

• One explanation for repeated offenders (rape,

murder)
In Sum
• In general, the relationship between attitude and
behavior is weak.
• However, it is possible to strengthen this link.
• Combine attitude with social pressure.
• Make attitude memorable.
For joining Dr. Ziauddin Hospital Training &
Development Program