The Influence of Attitude on Behaviour - Essay Example

THE INFLUENCE OF ATTITUDE ON BEHAVIOUR By Presented [Your The Influence of Attitude on Behaviour Introduction There are varying definitions for attitude with each definition criteria focusing on various aspects when defining the word attitude. One simple definition of attitude is from Eagly and Chicken (1993 cited in Banaji and Heiphetz, 2010, p. 356) who identified attitude as “a psychological tendency that is expressed by a process of evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour.” In this case, the two authors use a simple and intuitive definition that is not only easy, but also a broad towards understanding the definition and meaning of the word attitude. Based on this definition, other definition criteria focus on the aspect of evaluation as being central to defining the word attitude. Case in point, Crano and Prislin (2006) defined attitudes as the principles associated with “evaluative judgement that integrates and summarises… cognitive or effective reactions” (cited in Banaji and Heiphetz, 2010, p. 357). All these definitions provide the same meaning for the word attitude since there is the evaluative aspect in all definitions. For the purpose of this essay, however, the definition of the word attitude will be based on the definition provided by Eagly and Chicken (1993), which identifies attitude as “a psychological tendency that is expressed by a process of evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour” (cited in Banaji and Heiphetz, 2010, p. 356). On the other hand, contextual factors are considered when defining the word behaviour. These contextual factors involve factors related to biological and psychological aspects. Based on these factors, differences abound from the various definitions available on behaviour. In relationship to the biological context, behaviour involves innate responses that are coordinated from within a living organism or an individual, or even by groups with the response being an action or inaction to a stimuli that is either internal or external (Ambady and Weisbuch, 2010, p. 464). Based on this definition, it is obvious that people can learn behaviour or behaviour could also be something inherent and innate in individuals. In addition, it is clear that behaviour is responsible for providing outputs from an individual to the environment in which the individual exists. On the other hand, the behaviour of an individual is explained to be an influence of a combination of both the endocrine and nervous systems of an individual (Ambady and Weisbuch, 2010, p. 464). Based on this, the two systems are a result of the chemical component of an individual. For the purpose of this essay, however, behaviour is going to be defined as the response that an individual produces once they encounter a situation in their daily lives. There is belief to suggest that these two – attitude and behaviour – have a relationship with one influencing the other. In most cases, there is conviction that the actions and decisions made by an individual, which simply is their behaviour, is a result of their attitudes towards a particular subject or situation that they encountered in their life. Although this could have an element of truth, research suggests that most of the time individuals act based on their attitudes although at other times their behaviour has varying differences with their attitude towards a particular issue. Based on this, this essay focuses on identifying the relationship, if any, on how attitudes influence the behaviour of human beings. To achieve this, this essay is going to focus on first identifying the relationship between attitude and behaviour. Thereafter, the essay will identify various factors that predict the influencing of behaviour by attitudes. Finally, the essay will provide an analysis in which attitudes predict behaviour among human beings. Relationship between Attitude and Behaviour Various researchers, in the field of social psychology, have conducted various studies with a view of finding the relationship and justification that individuals act based on their attitudes. In a 1937 study conducted by Corey to find the relationship between the attitude of students on cheating and their actual cheating behaviour, the findings of the study indicated an existence of a relationship between the attitude of students on cheating and their actual cheating behaviour (Fazio and Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2004, p. 43). Based on these findings, it is evident that the attitude of students towards cheating could influence their behaviour regarding the actual cheating behaviour. Hence, some students who view cheating as a bad act and immoral act could exhibit behaviour that abhors cheating whether in exams or during their interactions with others. On the other hand, students who view cheating as important in achieving their objectives could participate in actions related to cheating with their perception on cheating influencing the behaviour of cheating whether in exams or during their interaction with other people. In another case whereby an individual’s attitude influences their behaviour, data from a study conducted by Kelley and Mirer in 1974 points out to a relationship between the attitude and behaviour of individuals. In the study, which investigated the voting patterns related to the four elections in the US between 1952 and 1964, the researchers found out that individuals are more likely to vote for their favourite candidates based on their pre-election attitudes. In this case, about 85% of the voters voted for their candidates based on their attitudes towards them (cited in Fazio and Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2004, p. 43). From this example, there is a clear relationship between the attitude of voters and their behaviour with their attitude towards candidates indicating their inclination and the likelihood of either voting for the candidates or not voting for these candidates. Hence, their attitudes determined their behaviour with the response being on casting their votes for particular candidates. Based on the findings from the two examples, however, it is not conclusive whether attitudes wholly influenced the behaviour of individuals. However, it is safe to conclude that a relationship exists between the two aspects of attitude and behaviour with attitudes, sometimes, influencing the behaviour of individuals. In this case, students could cheat for various reasons. Nonetheless, students whose perception on cheating inclines on supporting the behaviour are more likely to cheat based on their support and attitude towards cheating. On the other hand, there is a relationship between the attitudes of voters towards various candidates and their voting patterns. Hence, there is evidence to support the claim that to some extent, attitudes influence the behaviour of individuals. Instances when Attitudes Guide Behaviour As indicated above, attitudes only shape the behaviour of an individual but only to some extent. In this case, various factors could contribute to attitudes guiding the behaviour of an individual. This section discusses the factors that could contribute to instances whereby the attitude of individuals could guide their behaviour. First, it is crucial to point out that quality of an individual’s behaviour has an effect on their behaviour. In line with this, studies conducted by various researchers point to a situation in which the quality of behaviour significantly is influenced by the attitudes of the individuals. In one of the studies conducted by Fishbein and Ajzen in 1974, the global attitude of individuals towards being religious people influenced their behaviour in relationship to their performance of 100 specific behaviours that were religious in nature with these behaviours related to praying or even donating money to religious institutions (cited in Fazio and Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2004, p. 44). On the other hand, the quality of the individual determines the extent to which an individual’s attitude could influence their behaviour. By the quality of an individual, the most important measure is the personality of an individual, which determines their inner feelings as guided by their self-dispositions with individuals responding to their inner feelings that guide their behaviour (Fazio and Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2004, p. 45). It is possible for people to show different behaviour in various circumstances and when dealing with different people. Hence, people could act and behave differently when interacting with different people despite the conditions under which they are interacting with these people being similar. From this case, it could be said that there is a possibility that individuals could monitor the impressions that they made on other people and shape their behaviour based on their perception. Another factor that could influence the extent to which attitude shapes behaviour is in relationship to the situation in which individuals found themselves in, which vary based on the factors of time and the effects of norms. With regard to the pressure contributed by the time factor, it is crucial to point out the likelihood that individuals could base their behaviour and decisions on their attitudes especially during instances when there is a pressure added by the time factor (Fazio and Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2004, p. 47). In instances whereby people are under duress due to the issue of time to make decisions, it is obvious for them to make decisions without a proper investigation of the consequences of their behaviour with the decisions made being irrational. In effect, this implies that the aspect of time pressure influences the attitude of people and consequently contributes to their behaviour. On the other hand, the effects of norms, which are the beliefs based on the expectations of an individual when facing a particular situation, influence their behaviour (Fazio and Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2004, p. 46). In this case, norms shape the behaviour of an individual regardless of their attitudes based on a situation that they encounter. On the other hand, direct experiences shape the attitudes of an individual towards a situation, which makes them behave in a particular way (Fazio and Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2004, p. 46). For example, it is common for a child to form an attitude about a particular toy based on their experiences, which is a result of their interaction with the toy. Consequently, these attitudes, shaped by the experiences of interacting with the toy, influence the behaviour of the child regarding the toy. How Attitudes Guide Behaviour Based on the discussion above, it is clear that attitude, although to some extent as discussed, guide and influence behaviour in two varying approaches. In the first of these two approaches, attitude influences the behaviour of an individual in a manner that is planned, well thought out, and even deliberate with the attitude of an individual exerting an impact on the behaviour of the individual following the reflection of the individual on their attitude towards a situation. In this case, it is safe to argue that individuals base their behaviour on a well-reasoned and thought out process by starting to consider the implications of their actions before engaging in the particular actions. On the other hand, the second approach through which the attitude of an individual could influence their behaviour is in relation to their attitude influencing their perception towards objects and situations, which in turn influences their behaviour. This implies that their attitude does not stem from a reflection of the subject at hand, but from their perception on the subject at hand, which shapes their attitude and this consequently influences their behaviour. Based on these two approaches, within which attitudes influence behaviour, it is clear that not all behaviour from a group or from an individual is reasoned and deliberate. In a similar way, not all behaviour all behaviour of an individual is not a result of an impulsive reaction based on the way they defined and perceived an event. Conclusion Throughout this essay, there is evidence to support the claim that attitudes have an influence on the behaviour of an individual. However, this is not to indicate that all human behaviour is entirely based on the attitudes of an individual. In retrospect, this implies that the attitude of an individual shapes their behaviour, but only to some extent as discussed in this expose. Nonetheless, there is a relationship between the attitude of an individual and their behaviour with the attitude, sometimes shaping their behaviour but only because of various factors. These factors include the quality of the behaviour of an individual predicted by the attitudes towards the issue at hand. In this case, individuals engage in a measure of their attitudes on an issue with the determination of their attitude based on the expected behaviour. Other factors include the personality of the individual, which is responsible for shaping their behaviour. Others include the time factor and the effect of an individual’s norm with each shaping the behaviour of an individual in a different way. In conclusion, however, the attitudes of an individual influence their behaviour, but only to some extent with this based on various aspects as discussed in the aforementioned. Bibliography Ambady, N., and Weisbuch, M. 2010. Nonverbal Behaviour. In S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert, and G. Lindzey, eds. 2010. Handbook of Social Psychology, Volume 1. 5th ed. Hobokken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Ch. 13. Banaji, M. R., and Heiphetz, L. 2010. Attitudes. In S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert, and G. Lindzey, eds. 2010. Handbook of Social Psychology, Volume 1. 5th ed. Hobokken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Ch. 10. Fazio, R. H., and Roskos-Ewoldsen, D. R. 2004. Acting as we feel: When and How Attitudes Guide Behaviour. In T. C. Brock and M. C. Green, eds. 2005. Persuasion: Psychological Insights and Perspectives. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Ch. 3. Read More