Attitudes and Attitude Change

Attitudes could be regarded as the categorization of a stimulus object along an evaluative dimension based upon three general classes of information: (a) cognitive information; (b) affective/emotional information; and/or (c) information concerning past behaviors or behavioral intentions. In this sense, attitudes are evaluations. They denote a person's orientation to some object. All attitudes have an “object of thought,” which may be specific and tangible or abstract and intangible (equality, globalization). By denoting the individual's orientation to the object, an attitude conveys the individual's evaluation of the object. Attitudes are expressed in the language of “like/dislike,” “approach/avoid,” and “good/bad.” When the object of the attitude is important to that person, the evaluation of the object produces an affective, or emotional, reaction in that person. Two features are important here. The first feature is that attitudes can be activated and can function automatically, suggesting that attitudes are a part of cognitive life (since they constitute categorizations). The second feature is that attitudes are communicative and social, since they only have sense inasmuch as they convey information from one person to another.

The tendency to evaluate is not directly observable and intervenes between certain attitude objects and certain responses. It is assumed to be grounded in experience and to have many observable manifestations. Both the experiences that lead to a certain attitude and its manifestations are often divided into three components: cognition, affect, and behavior. The cognitive component refers to a person's perception of the object of the attitude, and/or what the person says he or she believes about that object. The affective component entails emotions and feelings elicited by the attitude object, and the behavioral component comprises actions directed at the attitude object as well as behavioral intentions.

Attitudes serve a number of functions. The knowledge function is similar to the common understanding of what an attitude does. Attitudes help us explain and understand the world around us. Attitudes serve a utilitarian function, by which it is meant that they help us gain rewards and avoid punishments. To be “politically correct,” for example, is to hold and display [Page 87]attitudes for utilitarian reasons. The third function is the value-expressive one. The expression of an attitude can sometimes be no more than a public statement of what a person believes or identifies with. Finally, attitudes can serve an ego-defensive function. Such attitudes are usually deep-seated, difficult to change and hostile to the attitude object. Attitudes that serve this function project outwardly what are really internal, intrapsychic conflicts.

Work-Related Attitudes

There are two specific work-related attitudes that are crucial in organizations: job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Job satisfaction could be defined as a positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experiences. It generally refers to a variety of aspects of the job that influence a person's level of satisfaction with it. These usually include attitudes toward pay, working conditions, colleagues and boss, career prospects, and the intrinsic aspects of the job itself.

One of the major determinants of job satisfaction seems to derive from the intrinsic features of the work itself. According to J. Hackman and G. Oldham's model, such features might be skill variety-the extent to which the tasks require different skills; task iden-tity-the extent to which an individual can complete a whole piece of work; task significance-the extent to which the work is perceived as influencing the lives of others; autonomy-the extent to which the individual has freedom within the job to decide how it should be done; and feedback-the extent to which there is correct and precise information about how effectively the worker is performing. In addition, leader behavior is also important in satisfaction at work as well as perceptions of distributive justice. Finally, value theory claims that job satisfaction exists to the extent that the job outcomes an individual receives match those outcomes that are desired. The more people receive outcomes they value, the more satisfied they will be; the less they receive outcomes they value, the less satisfied they will be. Value theory focuses on any outcomes that people value, regardless of what they are.

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