ATTITUDES EXPLAINED
“Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference.”
What are attitudes?
- Attitudes can be regarded as mindsets or viewpoints.
- Attitudes are specific ways of thinking, feeling or acting toward objects, ideas, places or people in a given situation.
- Attitudes reflect how you evaluate something.
- Attitudes are learned and acquired – you are not born with a fixed attitude.
- If compared to disease, attitude would be an infectious and not a genetic disease.
- Attitudes reflect the choices you have already made and they also influence the choices you are considering to make.
- Your attitude is a reflection of your mental and emotional state.
- Your attitude determines how you think, feel, and behave.
- Your predominant attitude determines the quality of your life.
Why do we have attitudes?
- Attitudes exist because they serve a purpose – there is a specific motive behind an attitude.
- Individuals have attitudes because they are programmed to minimize harm and maximize happiness.
- Attitudes serve to protect the ego or your self-image.
- Your attitude in the current moment determines the quality of your life.
- Attitude can be a powerful tool to develop your potential or it can be the poison that destroys it.
How do we explain attitudes?
- Attitudes can be explained in terms of (i) being the result of a process or as (ii) being the start of a process.
- You have an attitude because of what you experience – or it is the result of your experiences. Included here is your general attitude (linked to your personality type).
- Your attitude determines how others treat you. With a polite and respectful attitude you are more likely to receive better service in public. Included here are your different attitudes in diverse situations (linked to your unique characteristics in different life areas).
- Attitudes can be (i) conscious or (ii) unconscious.
- Conscious attitudes are mostly based on current experiences.
These attitudes are predominantly directed at specific occurrences in the current moment (the Now).
- Unconscious attitudes are mostly based on past experiences or influences.
These attitudes are predominantly directed at a particular individual or groups, specific places or environments, objects, concepts or anything you have in the past experienced.
Unconscious attitudes can also be influenced by genetic factors that include personality traits.
How do we classify attitudes?
There are different types of attitudes and one of the ways of categorizing the different types is through a psychological classification. According to this classification every attitude has three components (1) Thinking (cognitive), (2) Feeling (emotional) and (3) Acting (behavioural).
For instance, you may be someone who is afraid of the dark. The thinking (cognitive) component might be that you think something is hiding in the dark. The feeling (emotional) component would be the experiencing of fear. The acting (behavioural) component would be that you would avoid the dark by keeping the light on.
- Thinking component
- It reflects your thinking processes – analytical, critical or creative.
- Based on knowledge – acquired through experience or education by perceiving, discovering, or learning
- The cognitive component of an attitude is usually reflected in generalities or stereotypes, such as “all small animals are cute”, “beggars are lazy” etc.
- The level of knowledge of a specific subject also determines the attitude you attach to it. For example, we mostly label individuals and their actions wrongly if we do not really know them, but with more information (knowledge) we can change our attitude.
- Feeling Component
It reflects how you feel – anger, fear, joy or sadness.
Based on feelings or emotions and moods.
- It refers to the emotional reaction you have toward an attitude object.
- Attitudes about principle issues – such as politics, sex, and religion – tend to be emotionally-based.
- This type of attitude is used to express and validate our moral belief or value systems.
- Acting Component
It results in how you act. In most scenarios the fight or flight reaction – aggression (verbal – shouting or physical – assaulting) compassion (hugging). Based on intentions.
- It refers to your actions when exposed to an attitude object.
- Attitudes about reaching a specific goal – such as not getting hurt or injured, quenching your thirst, paying the bills or reaching a destination – tend to be behaviourally-based.
- This type of attitude is used to apply what you regard or consider the best reaction would be to a specific situation.
Although every attitude has these three components, any particular attitude can be based on one component more than another. In other words, there are emotionally-based attitudes, behaviorally-based attitudes, and cognitively-based attitudes.
What are the different types of attitudes?
There are four basic types of attitudes – (1) positive (2) negative (3) neutral (4) destructive.
- Positive Attitude.
Usually attributed to those who focus their attention inward.
This type of attitude requires order – specifically in the way you think.
It requires awareness and an acknowledgement (not necessarily acceptance) of what “is”.
It also requires the ability to determine what is within and beyond your control.
Examples of a positive attitude include:
Confidant attitude.
Humble attitude.
- Negative Attitude.
Usually attributed to those who focus their attention outward.
This type of attitude is mostly determined by judging external factors as negative, harmful or threatening.
It is the result of judging, criticizing and condemning experiences, belittling others and what they do or say.
A negative attitude is based on the worst case scenario and fatalistic thinking.
Examples of a negative attitude include:
Pessimistic attitude.
Depressing attitude.
- Neutral Attitude:
Usually attributed to those who do not focus their attention.
This type of attitude is mostly the result of detaching from what is happening in the environment.
By ignoring external factors it is possible to have an unemotional or neutral attitude.
Individuals with a neutral attitude are often referred to as spectators.
Examples of a neutral attitude include:
Indifferent attitude.
Detached attitude.
- Destructive Attitude:
Usually attributed to those who deliberately engage in harmful actions, hurtful comments and scornful thoughts.
This type of attitude is categorized by the damaging or destructive results it causes.
More than just being negative it is formed by actively engaging in thoughts and actions that are deliberately intended to destroy, damage or hurt.
Individuals with a destructive attitude are often referred to as those who are experiencing mental challenges.
Examples of a destructive attitude include:
Psychopathic attitude.
Masochistic attitude.
Keep in mind that you have a dominant attitude – towards life in general – and then you also have different types of attitudes for different situations.
Your predominant attitude determines the quality of your life.
- Your attitude will either motivate you or destroy you.
- Your attitude determines your levels of success and failure.
- The ability to manage challenges successfully is influenced by the nature of your attitude.
- The nature of your attitudes provides you with a definite perspective of life.
- Your skill in managing the challenges you are confronted with is directly shaped by the attitudes you hold.
Research indicates that the universal differentiation factor in most opposing scenarios is attitude. Attitude is what poses a difference between successful and failing individuals, happy and sad individuals, friendly and ill-tempered individuals.
In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl emphasizes the lifesaving importance of attitude:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Managing your attitude to your advantage is a life skill – a skill you can acquire.
Click here to find out how – *****
Please e-mail me with comments or suggestions – chirology@lantic.net