COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES AND HOW IT AFFECTS BEHAVIOR 2
Abstract
Attitude is powerful and can depict who we are by our behaviors. The way we respond or
express ourselves develops the basic idea on how we approach different situations. Attitude can
be described into three different components, affective, behavioral and cognitive. We must watch
how we handle our attitude and understand the balance; having consistency is the key. Having a
strong attitude can affect one’s behavior. Researchers have shown that individuals can have
different perspectives, positive or negative, on a particular object, however, an individual could
have mixed feelings as well. Whereas some researchers have studied that attitude is brought one
by an individual’s emotion. God holds us accountable for our actions, while also expressing to
his children that he is our father and teaches us to behave and not be a fool. Turn to Jesus Christ
and allow him to guide you. We are in control of our actions.
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES AND HOW IT AFFECTS BEHAVIOR 3
Components of Attitudes and How It Affects Behavior
An attitude can depict a person’s self being, how they carry themselves, experience and
future behavior. While attitude can be powerful, the attitude is what determines who you are, but
even if your attitude is stable, it can also change. Attitude is emotions, a person’s belief, or
behavior towards something; an object, an occasion or event and or a person (Aronson, Wilson
& Sommers, 2019).<
Attitude consists of three components: cognitive, affective and behavioral (Aronson,
Wilson & Sommers, 2019). Cognitive is a thought or belief associated with an object. For
example, a person’s belief towards a dangerous wild animal. Affective is an emotion people feel
towards an object. For example, a person is afraid of a dangerous wild animal. Behavioral is how
a person acts towards an abject. For example, a person will have a heart attack if they see a
dangerous wild animal. Each component is completely different from each other but builds on
each other to form how our attitudes will be, therefore, it affects how we relate to world.
The topic of attitude was chosen to focus on the idea, that based on our attitude, is how
we get through life and the situations that come along with it. Attitude is such a powerful thing
that we all have, rather you choose to have a negative attitude or positive attitude which is an
important concept. As a child some parents teach their children to be respectful and love
everyone, however all upbringings are not the same. Everyone is different whereas every attitude
towards certain objects are different as well. Being able to balance attitude is a great thing but
using it wisely will take you many places. Having consistency is a key point to balancing
attitude. Negative attitude towards all objects gets you nowhere and quite honestly puts a person
in a position where they can’t be pulled out of, hence the power of attitude.
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES AND HOW IT AFFECTS BEHAVIOR 4
When a certain event has occurred, we may or may not think of our consequences or
future behavior before acting towards it. For example, being a waitress in a restaurant can have
its good moments and bad, which can pan out as negative or positive depending on the situation
at that time. Dinner was going well, and it was getting close to paying for our meal when another
table was making a commotion around the way from us. It did not look as if the waitress made
her customers unhappy. Whatever happened caused other staff and the manager to get involved,
but things did not look good for the waitress. As we were getting our bill, we asked what seemed
to be the problem and it appeared we that the waitress was disrespectful toward the customer by
saying a distasteful word. This waitress did not think of the consequences before acting out. Her
attitude was negative from the beginning, which affected how she treated her customers but also
caused her a job. Situations happen to us all but our attitude towards those situations are how we
presume our behavior. A person’s behavior can change depending on a person’s attitude. If you
choose to have a negative attitude, the way the waitress acted towards the customer turned into a
negative action. If she would have chosen to have a positive attitude towards the customer, the
night would have gone well. The actions that we make today will ensure what tomorrow will
bring.
Article I Review
According to the article wanting different perspectives by Kenneth et al., a person is
likely to have both positive and negative reactions on a particular object. The authors defined the
term ambivalent as the mixed reactions that an individual may have to do something or not.
People are likely to be uncertain or not sure about many things since they do not know a choice
that they are to make. In most cases, ambivalent is experienced in the most unpleasant states,
which can result in an adverse effect and undesirable outcomes.
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES AND HOW IT AFFECTS BEHAVIOR 5
In this article, the participants that were used to conduct the research include 55 males, 75
females, and three others whose gender was not stated. In this method, all the participants were
notified that they would have to complete a survey, which in it there was an assessment of actual,
ought, and ideal attitudes. The evaluation also included objective ambivalence and subjective
ambivalence where they were required to use ten different attitude objects (DeMarree, et al.,
2014).
The results show that both objective uncertainty and the actual or the real desired attitude
discrepancies can predict subjective ambivalence immediately subsequent to controlling
relational uncertainty. This implies the genuine wanted frames of mind are not repetitive with
relational vulnerability. According to the study, it is clear that feelings, emotions, and affections
are the main components of behavior. These are what controls the choices a person makes and
the way they will behave. The feelings of a person will determine their ability to respond to
something, or it will determine the behavior in a person. If they are to choose between eating
junk food, then their feelings, emotions, and affection will evaluate the response given.
Article II Review
According to this study, it is evident that the author argues on attitudes not always
predicting the behavior of a person. Research on the affection component of approaches focuses
on how pleasant emotions are when associated with the position. On feelings, research shows
emotional experience in which there are pleasure and arousal. This study used 110 participants
who were undergraduate students to conduct their research on attitude. Nine of the participants
were disqualified because they did not follow the stated instructions, and they failed to complete
the necessary scales. The final sample involved 101 participants, who consisted of 30 men and
71 women. <The procedure involved the use of eight objects of attitude, and the participants were
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES AND HOW IT AFFECTS BEHAVIOR 6
asked to report or record their perspective on scales. A neutral midpoint was used for this case to
allow the participants to choose a positive or negative attitude. They were required to register
their attitude toward gay men. If the participants adopt the adverse reaction, they had to explain
why they incline gay men and vice versa (Seitz, Lord & Taylor, 2007).
The results show that the participants who were required to associate powerful emotions
with gay men who showed harmonious ways as compared to those participants who were
coached to associate inactive emotions which felt irritated. Similar to the other study, emotions
are the key factor in determining the attitude of a person. It can be concluded that the opinion
that a person has towards something will significantly determine the way they feel about
someone. For instance, if the participants hate to be associated with gay men, then the probability
of feeling irritated by them is high.
Biblical Integration
Attitude is one behavior that can be changed. Jesus sacrificed his life for us as Jesus knew
that we all would sin. Acting out towards a certain object is one of those sins Jesus sacrificed
himself for. Many people turn toward God to help them tough situations so that they will not act
rudely to other people. We are responsible for our actions, and the things we say and do. Our
attitude reflects our self, our children, our elders and community.
Philippians 4:8-9<says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any
excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned
and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with
you.” The tongue is a powerful thing, if we do not humble ourselves, our own tongue can be our
worst enemy. God wanted us to follow and be an example, and spread his word so everyone can
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES AND HOW IT AFFECTS BEHAVIOR 7
be a Christian. We learn growing up as a child that we should think before we do or speak. Our
elders would tell us this too, as they do not wish to see the younger generations fall into
destruction. We tend to adjust to our surroundings, however adjusting can sometimes go against
God’s word. We have to have control and if we do not have control, we need to grab it while we
can because our tongue and mind will take charge.
Be your own you, some have heard. Speak for yourselves and do not let anyone sway you
wrong. Roman 12: 2 says,<“do not be conformed to this world,<but be transformed by<the renewal
of your mind, that by testing you may<discern what is the will of God, what is good and
acceptable and perfect”. We should not be conformed to the behaviors that we see on a daily and
we should not allow the world to transform us into something we are not. Attitude is an
evaluation of certain objects, but an evaluation that can be changed based on a person’s behavior.
God knows what we are thinking before we think it, if we pull closely to him; he can guide and
hold us close.
Life can be so full of trials and tribulations, but God has put us through them to see if we
are able to with stand. We can change our attitude and we can control how we use it, rather
positive or negative. Researchers have shown results displaying evidence that individuals can
have diverse perspectives, positive or negative, on a particular object, yet, having shown that
individuals have mixed feelings as well. Many researchers have shown that attitude can be
carried by an individual’s emotion. In a perfect world we want to be just like Jesus Christ, but
we first must follow and understand. Jesus prayed and worried about nothing, but also
maintained a perfect behavior and attitude towards all situations. We all should be like Jesus
Christ, please God, and seek guidance. Balancing our attitude and doing right by him can show
that we can have control of our thinking.
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES AND HOW IT AFFECTS BEHAVIOR 8
References
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Sommers, S. R. (2019).<Social psychology<(10th ed.). New
York, NY: Pearson.
DeMarree, K. G., Christian Wheeler, S., Briñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2014). Wanting other
attitudes: Actual–desired attitude discrepancies predict feelings of ambivalence and ambivalence
consequences.<Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,<53, 5-18.
Seitz, S. J., Lord, C. G., & Taylor, C. A. (2007). Beyond Pleasure: Emotion Activity
Affects the Relationship Between Attitudes and Behavior.<Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin,<33(7), 933–947.<
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