What is the meaning of Attitude? Concept, Definition of Attitude

Concepts and meanings of attitude

1 Meaning of attitude

The attitude is the way a person, behaviour that employs an individual to make things. In this sense, can say that it is his way of being or act, behavior also can be considered some form of social motivation - in nature, therefore, secondary, against biological motivation, type primary-which promotes and guides the action towards specific objectives and goals. Eiser defines the attitude in the following way: predisposition learned to respond in a consistent manner to a social object.
In Social Psychology, attitudes constitute valuable elements for the prediction of behavior. For the same author of the fish, the attitude refers to a feeling for or against a social object, which can be a person, a social fact, or any product of human activity.
Based on various definitions of attitudes, Rodríguez defined attitude as a lasting organization's beliefs and cognitions in general, endowed with an emotional charge in favor or against a defined object, which predisposes to a consistent action with cognitions and emotions relating to that object. Attitudes are considered intercurrent variables, not be directly observable but subject to observable inferences.

The functions of attitudes

In the processes of cognitive, emotional, behavioural and social, are multiple. The main function is the cognitive. Attitudes are at the base of the cognitivos-emotivos processes prepuestos knowledge and orientation in the environment. Attitudes may have instrumental, expressive, functions of social adaptation (as in studies of Sherif on the attitude in relation to the ingroup, the reference group itself and the outgroup, the outgroup), defensive ego (a classic example is the study on the authoritarian personality of embellishment in the 1950s).
This concept is central in all social psychology because it has application in many different fields:
• Against objects or conduct specific predictive purposes of conduct, market studies.
• Groups or ethnic minorities, through the study of prejudices and stereotypes.
• Weekends and abstract objectives, where this type of attitude is defined as personal value.
• The attitude in relation to itself, defined as self-esteem.

2. Definition of attitude

According to what sustains the illustrated encyclopedic dictionary Manual Sopeña, attitude would be: posture, gesture, disposition of the body or of the mind. Moreover, if we take the Manual dictionary of the Spanish language (Editorial Larousse), we will see that the definition given to the word in question is as follows: how to behave or act a person before a certain fact or situation. While for the Royal Spanish Academy, it is the disposition of a spirit that manifests itself in some way.
From the foregoing, it may come off then that attitude would be the Act of an individual, understanding why behavior that uses a person to do things. Of course that human beings throughout his life are capable of experiencing emotions of all kinds, which often are not motivated by their free choice. As well, with the attitude Yes those psychic phenomena over which the person has use of freedom is can encompass. That, at the same time, are useful for the various challenges that may present in one way or another.
At the level of Social Psychology, attitudes come to constitute extremely important elements for the prediction of behavior. Referred to it, in writing Social Psychology, Rodriguez argues that attitude comes to refer to a feeling, which can be both for and against a given social object. The same may be any product of the activity of the man, a social fact, or an individual. According to the definition of the aforementioned author, the attitude would be a lasting organization's beliefs and cognitions in general, which contains an effective charge against or in favor of an already defined object, which induces a coherent character action both with cognitions, as well as with the affections linked to this object.
On the other hand, in social life attitudes serve social adaptation or defensive, instrumental, expressive type functions.

Synonyms of attitude

Now let's see what synonyms has the term that we have gathered in this article: form, mode, quality, fashion, style, disposition, conduct, gesture, gesture, appearance, porte and posture among others.

3 Concept of attitude

The attitude is the voluntary disposition of a person given the existence in general or to a particular aspect of this. Humans in your life experience various emotions that are far from being motivated by his free choice; Instead, the attitude encompasses those psychic phenomena on which man's use of freedom and that serve for the various challenges that arise in one way or another.
Those provisions that help us to cope against the demands of the environment can encompass in what is called a positive attitude. The positive attitude of a person originates in making use of those resources that it has to solve its problems and difficulties. Indeed, the emphasis of a person with a positive attitude focuses on that which possesses rather than deal with what lacks. Thus, the positive mental attitude has interference in health psychic encouraging sentiments that reflect well-being and serenity.
Conversely, the negative attitude is an inexhaustible source of troubles and defeatist feelings. In general, people when they suffer from depression adopt this type of stance towards life. Basically, a person with a negative attitude focuses your attention on something that lacks and needs: health, money, love, etc. By legitimate that these aspirations may be, the truth is that focus on the shortcomings we will not eliminate them, but that instead, you can create us others.
In addition to this classification according to how we stop against our lives and from there is the attitude that we also take these types of attitudes (negative or positive) can be used to catalog our behavior to others, all other human beings that surround us. Between positive attitudes, which will surely come and strengthen our links with others either in family, friends, work, school, associations in which we participate, are: solidarity, friendship, understanding, be proactive, creativity, humor, among others. On the other hand, those which relate to the negative attitude and that tend to create conflicts and tensions with others, are: selfishness, envy, jealousy, resentment, lie, greed, arrogance, indifference, among others, that can be identified.
Many times, both the positive attitudes as negative ones can be innate to human beings, i.e., a person can be by solidarity essence, or conversely, jealous. These attitudes, which make up our "way of being" are those that can cause problems with others in our social interactions (especially negative ones). It is very common that couples be separated because one of the two want another change attitudes, for example, jealousy. However, it is very difficult for humans to have a full control of these attitudes that are part of it.
Another very different situation is when someone adopts a certain attitude to accomplish or achieve a specific goal, and in this sense, the attitude will be part of it on a temporary basis. For example, the famous "white lies" that often say is, and beyond that it is a lie in any way, do not seem to be as serious.
It is greatly necessary to pay attention to the attitudes we adopt against the different events that we must daily experience. Insofar and as soon as every man directs his life to an increase of their welfare and the attainment of happiness, all use we make of our freedom will tend to bring us closer or away from these objectives. A correct positive attitude undoubtedly improves the chances of success.
Psychology for example, with its multiple lines of therapeutic approach has undoubtedly contributed greatly to the identification of attitudes (negative, in general are the general conflict and are then consulted with professionals) and its possible control. As we said, recognizing our attitudes daily, to focus on them and try to eliminate the negative of our life, it will be an elimination of many conflicts and tensions which may arise with other people.

4. What is attitude

The Real Academia Española mentions three definitions of the word attitude, a term that comes from the latin actitudo. According to the SAR, the attitude is the mood that is expressed in a certain way (such as a conciliatory attitude). The other two definitions refer to the posture: the body of a person (when transmitting something effectively or when posture is associated to the psychic disposition) or an animal (when manages to arrange care for any question).
Three examples with this term: "I don't like the attitude that Manuel is taking with employees", "If you go with that attitude, you'll be outside of the team", "the attitude of the Leopard showed that the animal was not willing to let yourself be caught easily".
The attitude has also been defined as a State of the nervous and mental disposition that is organized from the experiences and guides or directs the response of a subject to certain events.
Therefore, the attitude is rather a social motivation rather than a biological motivation. From experience, people acquire a certain predisposition that allows them to respond to stimuli.
An attitude is the way in which an individual actively adapts to its environment and is the consequence of a process of cognitive, affective and behavioural.
Therefore, social psychology is responsible for studying the attitudes of humans to predict possible behaviors. When the attitudes of an individual is observed, it is feasible to foresee its mode of action.
Attitudes meet various functions in social life. It can be the case of someone who adopts a defensive attitude, and thus predisposing in a particular way before the interactions. Attitude can also be oriented to adaptation, in an attempt to minimize conflicts.
There are several types of attitudes:
A disinterested attitude is that leads a person keep in mind another not as a means to achieve something, but as an end to achieve a self-serving. Four cualidad:disponibilidad, openness, acceptance and application are needed to get it.
The manipulative attitude is what a person exerts to achieve a personal goal and takes into account the other as a medium, giving sufficient attention to achieve his goal.
Interested attitude: is caused by a situation of indigence. A person sees something private that need and seeks by all means to retrieve or achieve their needs. Others, are also a resource that can help you out of this situation of helplessness.
An attitude integradoraes who has a person who seeks not only their benefit but also that of those who surround her. It is based on a close communication between two people whose objective is the unification and integration.
Throughout history have been many theories about the attitude, here are some of them.
On the theories of learning attitudes are learned like everything in life. We capture new information and learn the feelings, actions and thoughts that are related with them. In this line of thinking is conceived people as passive subject beings where learning is the detonator of the attitude to take. It depends intimately on the amount of positive and negative elements you have learned the subject.
Theories of cognitive consistency say that people seek coherence in his life and in base to get it is that they vary their attitudes and thoughts to feel a oneness in his being internal because the presence of two States of consciousness (inconsistency) makes uncomfortable them. In this case the attitude would have to do with the succession of actions that ensure a balance for the individual.
Theories of cognitive dissonance argues that, as explained in the previous theory, subjects feel awkward when they have ideas or attitudes that contradict each other (dissonance) and as a result seek to reduce this dissonance. The same happens when you perform an action that goes against what the subject believes or not related to the life that you want to carry, with who is.
From the perspective of psychology, attitudes can become tangible in three ways: at the ideativo level, behavioral or emotional. We will explain it with an example:
A supermarket cashier kindly behaves with a client (attitude is expressed as behavioural) but at the same time has a thought that is not "I must be gentle with this person" (expression ideativo level); at the same time the cashier not only is it doing and thinking, but that is sientiendolo (expression to emotional level). Keep in mind these three parts is critical to getting change an attitude that is not going according to what we want.
It is important to also establish the difference between positive and negative attitudes. The positive ones are those who collaborate with the individual to get face the reality of a healthy and effective way, negative ones are which hinder this relationship of the individual with its surroundings. The freedom of the individual lies in being able to choose from one attitude to another each time.
Finally, it only remains to say that attitudes changed not only the individual, but also group behavior. A person with a positive attitude towards the problems, can get to encourage the group to move forward and improve; While one with a negative attitude, you get "infect" but to guide you in a behavior that will lead to failure.

5. Definition of attitude

According to R.Jeffress we can say that attitude is a mental and emotional response to the variety of circumstances that occur in life. They are not specifically behaviors but modes or forms of conduct or performance.
It is expressed outwardly, through gestures, movements, words, cries, laughs, tears, or sometimes stillness and apathy, but it responds to internal, cognitive and affective stimuli. You cannot have an attitude to what is not known or is not valued as good or bad.
It means taking a body and/or evaluative position on certain objects or facts, based on knowledge gained from them. Positive or negative, feelings that make birth a response, a cause-effect relationship are generated at that mental representation.
For example, "to learn of his illness took an attitude of resignation", "Seeing his friend in danger, had a heroic attitude".
A positive attitude is a strong-willed and optimistic reaction to adversity, and a negative attitude is a harrowing vision, with the consequent reaction apathetic or aggressive. "A cancer was diagnosed, and he immediately asked which was the treatment, because I wanted to fight the disease" (positive attitude) "a cancer was diagnosed, and he only managed to cry, and reject all kinds of help" (negative attitude).
There are innate predisposition to react in a certain way to certain stimuli, and others acquired. A child who grows getting from their elders, challenges and punishments, will surely mimic such attitudes and will become an adult with violent attitudes.
The scale of values that constructs a person throughout his life, will contribute to the attitudes that manifests. A person who puts family, health, respect for themselves and others rights, friendship, justice and peace, in its scale of values will surely have a committed and responsible attitude in the development of its existence.
Ethical, social, religious and legal standards to create the consciousness of duty, tend to achieve positive attitudes.