Attitude — Definition, Components & Characteristics
Meaning and Nature of Attitude
Attitudes are fundamental determinants of our perceptions of, and actions toward all aspects of our social environment. Attitudes involve a complex organisation of evaluative beliefs, feelings and tendencies toward certain actions.
How much we like or dislike something determines our behaviour towards that thing. We tend to approach, seek out or be associated with things we like; we avoid, shun or reject things we do not like.
Attitude will have three components:
1. Cognitive:
It involves the knowledge or information about a person or object, etc., and his belief about it.
2. Affective:
Refers to feeling aspect, i.e. how he feels about it
3. Conative:
Refers to action tendency, i.e. how he behaves with it
Types of Attitudes:
Attitudes are of three types:
a. Positive:
A favourable attitude — liking people, objects, situation, etc.
b. Negative:
An unfavourable attitude — does not like people/ objects, etc.
c. Neutral:
Neither favourable nor unfavourable.
Components of Attitudes in Organisational behaviour
The three components of attitudes are:
- Cognitive component;
- Affective component; and
- Behavioural component
Read More:
- What is Organizational Behavior? | Definition, Importance, Model
- Personality in Organisational Behavior | Determinants, Nature, Definition
- Theories of Personality | Psychoanalytic, Type, Trait, Self Theory
- Perception | Definition, Nature, Factors Influence Perception What is
- Learning? Definition, Nature, Learning Process, Types
- Theories of Learning | Classical, Operant Conditioning, Cognitive, Social
- What is Attitude? Meaning, Functions, Types, Importance, Components
- What is Motivation? | Definition, Types, Theories, Importance
- Motivation Theories in Management | Explained
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs | Definition, Example
- Two Factor Theory | Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory
- Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation
