An attitude is a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events, or symbols. It is a learned tendency or predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner for a given object. Attitudes can be generally Positive and Negative, Implicit and Explicit, instrumental and Value expressive Attitudes.

 

Positive and Negative Attitudes

• The attitudes may be positive or negative. The positive attitudes yield favourable behaviour and the negative attitudes yield unfavorable behaviour.
• Therefore all variables must be identified and analyzed which help in the formation of favourable attitudes. The persons having positive attitudes towards the job and organisation may contribute their best to the organization.

 

Explicit Attitude and Implicit Attitudes

• Explicit Attitude (Conscious Attitude): If a person is aware of his attitudes and how they influence his behaviour, then those attitudes are explicit. Explicit attitudes are formed consciously.
• Implicit Attitude (Sub-Conscious Attitude): If a person is unaware of his attitudes (beliefs) and how they influence his behaviour, then those attitudes are implicit. Implicit attitudes are formed subconsciously.

 

Differences between Explicit Attitude and Implicit Attitudes

 

Explicit Attitudes	Implicit Attitudes
These are formed consciously and deliber­ately. They are generally formed due to recent experiences. Explicit attitudes have a dominant cognitive com­ponent. These can be expressed and shared easily (self-re­ported)	They will develop subconsciously They are the result of old experiences. Implicit attitudes are mainly driven by the Af­fective component. These exist mostly at a subconscious level and therefore sharing such attitudes is difficult.

 

Explicit Attitudes are attitudes that are at the conscious level, are deliberately formed and are easy to self-report. On the other hand, Implicit Attitudes are atti­tudes that are at the unconscious level, are involuntarily formed and are typically unknown to us.

 

Instrumental and value expressive attitudes

 

Instrumental attitudes	Value expressive attitudes
Instrumental attitudes can be positive or negative. People develop positive attitude upon rewards and negative attitude upon punishments. These attitudes are usually based on attributes of the attitude object Instrumental attitude is determined by the beliefs regarding the results of behavior. Examples: Fear towards snakes (Negative Attitude). Like towards a place(Positive Attitude)	Value expressive attitudes are those which will express one’s basic values. These are usually based on the attributes, values that a person possesses. This attitude can be determined upon the ego expressive function. Examples: Mother Theresa is an epitome of compassion. Mahatma Gandhi is known for the Honesty, modesty and simplicity.

 

As famously said by Zig Ziegler “It’s the attitude and not the aptitude that determines one’s altitude” one must accord highest priority to the attitude as the attitude is everything for a person.