Attitude Flashcards
What is attitude?
- a predisposition (an opinion held because of previous experiences) towards an attitude or object
- it is made up of beliefs, feelings and behaviour
What are the 3 components of attitude?
- Cognitive
- Affective
- Behavioural
What is the cognitive component?
- it is our beliefs/ knowledge that are (formed through past experiences and from others)
What is the affective component?
- it refers to our emotional reaction towards an attitude/ object whether we like or dislike something
What is the behavioural component?
- it is how we actually behave/ react/ respond, (which may/ may not reflect our cognitive belief)
Example of cognitive component
- you know/ believe/ think spinning class is good for our health
Example of affective component
- you enjoy going to spinning class and feel good after going
Example of behavioural component
- you go to spinning class twice a week
Components of attitude (Triadic model)
Cognitive (knowledge and beliefs) example: fitness training keeps me fit
Affective (feelings and emotions) example: i enjoy training
Behavioural (intended behaviour) example: i attend training sessions regularly
Factors that affect how attitudes are formed
- past experience
- education
- media
- other group members or peers
- cultural norms
- perceived need for health and exercise
- parental influence
Strategies to use to change your attitude from a negative towards a positive one
- use appropriate role models
- show the benefits to health
- emphasis positive body image
- persuasion
What are the 2 most commonly used methods to change people’s attitudes?
- Persuasive communication
- Cognitive dissonance
If a performer has a positive attitude what does the coach generally have less of?
- the coach generally has fewer problems to overcome in terms of motivation and task persistence
What does the persuasive communication method involve?
The attitude being altered by persuasion
What must the persuasive communication theory have?
- The persuader- significant other with high status
- The message- positive to initiate the change
- The recipients- easy to changed an attitude if the recipient really wishes to be changed
- The situation- the presence of other persuaders
In persuasive communication the person must:
- pay attention
- understand
- accept
- retain
The message being given
In persuasive communication the coach must:
- be expert
- be trustworthy
In persuasive communication the message must:
- be clear
- be unambiguous
- be balanced between pros and cons
What is the triadic model?
- an attitude that consists of 3 components - affective (emotions), behavioural (actions) and cognitive (thoughts)
What is dissonance?
An emotional conflict
Cognitive dissonance
- changing 1 of the components of the triadic model developing a new attitude or retaining existing approach
Strategy 2- cognitive dissonance
- festigner (1957) proposed that an individuals beliefs and thoughts have a direct influence on his/ her behaviour
- if these ideas or cognitions are challenged with new information, then a person will experience a sense of psychological discomfort and will attempt to restore the balance of harmony
- such a conflict of beliefs is known as dissonance
- the aim of this method to change an attitude is based on the assumption that one of the components of the triadic model can be manipulated to create dissonance
- after reviewing the new information or experience the individual either then develops a new attitude or retains the existing approach
If dissonance does occur the feelings of discomfort can be dispelled by the following 3 stages:
- Making the cognition/ thought less important
- Changing the cognition
- Replacing the cognition
Strategy 2: cognitive dissonance (continued)
- To alter the cognitive component of an attitude, new information can be provided
- The affective component may be changed by giving a different experience, which may be viewed as more positive
- The behavioural component can be altered by ensuring the skill is simplified, success is achieved and subsequently reinforced, thus causing a positive affective component of an attitude