Attitude

Beaumont School Sports Psychology

...................and their influence on performance and lifestyles

Its pretty obvious that....‘White men cant jump’People much prefer watching male

sports.Women lack the competitive edge to be

‘winners’‘Black men cant swim’Football is a yob sportRugby is a gentlemen's gameGirls are much better at Gym and dance

than boys

Attitudes = blend of values and beliefs

An attitude that is resistance to change = prejudice

A component of a prejudicial attitude = stereotyping

What is Attitude?Combination of beliefs and feelings about objects, people or situations (known as ‘attitude objects’) which predispose us to behave in a certain way towards them.

The focus of a person’s attitude is called the attitude object.

How are attitudes formed?

Who influences what think (cognitive), feel (affective) and as a result the may affect the way you behave (behavioural)?

peersfriendsmedia

past experiences

coaches

teachers

familyFORMATION FORMATION

of of ATTITUDESATTITUDES

region / culture

Who influences Attitudes?

Feedback can reinforce attitude Attitudes can create false perceptions known as prejudice

Attitudes – common factors...

Enduring emotional and behavioural responseAttitudes are changeableAttitudes are directed towards ‘attitude

objects’ i.e. People, event, situation or idea. Attitudes are generally a poor predictor or

behaviourInteraction between people known as

‘socialisation’. Can be positive or negativeDevelop through experienceAre relatively stable and enduring

Components of AttitudeTriadic Model

ATTI TUD Eto regular exercise

COGNI TI VEknow ledge and beliefs

exam ple : fitness trainingkeeps m e fit

BEHAVI OURALintended behaviour

exam ple : I attend trainingsessions regularly

AFFECTI VEfeelings and em otions

exam ple : I enjoy training

Task 1:

Write down an attitude that you have associated with sport.

Break your attitude down in to the three components according to Triandis triadic model.

Who is more likely to join the rugby team...When asked whether they would be joining

the rugby team...

Lauren said:“Yeh I like rugby ill play this year”

Joel said:“Yeh I like rugby, dad said it will toughen

me up and keep me fit ill make training on Monday”

Who is more likely to join the rugby team...When asked whether they would be joining

the rugby team...

Lauren said:“Yeh I like rugby ill play this year”

Joel said:“Yeh I like rugby, dad said it will toughen

me up and keep me fit ill make training on Monday”

Displaying a general positive attitude towards rugby, not a true determinant of sporting behaviour

Has a specific attitude towards rugby, has stated an actual intention to go to training. Significant other has encouraged him.

The Triadic ModelThis model states that attitudes are formed through

influences on the 3 elements:

1. Our beliefs are formed through past experiences and by what we have learned from others.

2. Our emotional reactions depend on past experiences.

3. Our behaviour is not always consistent with our attitude. E.g. we may believe that exercise is good for us and may enjoy participating, but we may not exercise very much. We are, however, more likely to behave in a way that reveals our attitude.

Attitudes and Behaviour

Is it accurate to use a performers attitude to predict and therefore try to change behaviour?

As attitudes are one of the key determinants of our behaviour they can heavily influence the way in which we behave towards different types of ‘attitude objects’.

Attitudes do not always predict behaviour (e.g. La Piere’s study, 1934), only specific attitudes predict specific behaviours. (Fishbein, 1995).

Attitudes and Behaviour

Attitudes can only be used to predict behaviour when we measure and assess attitudes to specific aspects of our lives and whether or not there is a stated intention of behaving in a particular way.

The best indicator of behaviour is an individual’s behaviour intention. A positive attitude to something incorporates an intention to do that thing and therefore participation is more likely. (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975).

Exam question...Use your understanding of Attitudes

and the information on page 142 of you textbook to answer the question below.

Attitudes are largely developed through experience. Identify and describe factors that form attitude.

(6)

POSITIVE ATTITUDES

• has a positive physical self-concept

• satisfaction from participation in sport

• believe sport promotes health

• success at sport

• willing to try new activities

• encouraged by significant others

• participates regularly

• opportunity to participate

NEGATIVE ATTITUDES

• had negative experiences at sport

• have lifestyle which makes regular sport difficult

• find sport frustrating

• lack encouragement

• unlikely to participate in sport

• have a negative self concept

• find sport boring

Positive and negative attitudes to Sport

PrejudiceIf attitude is based on false information and is unfair,

then it becomes prejudice.

Prejudice = an extreme or strongly held attitude (resistant to change) held prior to direct experience. Situations or people are pre-judged. In pre-judging a situation or a person we are expecting to see or experience certain types of behaviour in certain situations.

In relation to people, prejudice (extreme attitudes) serves to develop a certain expectancy of behaviour leading to stereotyping. This can then affect our behaviour towards certain individuals or groups of people. E.g. Boys seen as having more potential in sport → higher expectations on boys → more time devoted to them → boys develop more.

Where is zis guy from?

StereotypingStereotype

A belief held by a collection of people about traits shared by a certain category of person is called a stereotype. Brown (1986) simply defines a stereotype as ‘a shared conception of the character of a group’. E.g. female rugby players

Stereotyping

‘The general inclination to place a person in categories according to some easily and quickly identifiable characteristics such as age, gender, ethnic group, nationality or occupation and then to attribute certain qualities believed to be typical to members of that category.’ (R. Tagiuri, 1969).

NOW WRITE THIS IN YOUR OWN WORDS! BE PREPARED TO FEEDBACK TO THE GROUP

Stereotyping Stereotypes are rarely accurate, yet are extremely resistant

to change.

Media influence.

Stereotyping can influences perceptions of self.

There are many common held stereotypical views in sport and physical education:

Girls are better than boys at aesthetic-type activitiesBoys are more competitive than girlsDisabled people cannot play sportDisabled people do not enjoy competitive sportBlack people are not very good at swimmingCertain sports are better suited to black people than

white people.

Changing AttitudesCan attitudes be changed? If so how?

Why change attitudes?

Who wants to change attitudes?

Our knowledge of what makes up attitudes and their influences gives us some useful information about how we might go about changing negative attitudes into positive ones.

Changing AttitudesIt is generally believed that

attitudes are changed in relation to one of two theories (specified by Gill, 1986):

1. Persuasive communication

2. Cognitive dissonance theory.

It is generally believed that attitudes are changed in relation to one of two theories (specified by Gill, 1986):

1. Persuasive communication

2. Cognitive dissonance theory.

1. Persuasion/Persuasive Communication

TASK:

Use page 143 in your text book. Draw out and make notes on the key factors of persuasive communication.

1. Persuasion/Persuasive Communication

Persuader is looking to influence the cognitive, affective and/or behavioural components of the persons attitude. E.g. persuade someone that exercise is fun so they participate.

The effectiveness of the persuasion depends on:The person doing the persuadingThe quality of the messageThe characteristics of the person being persuaded (must

be capable of understanding the message).

Persuasive communication theory suggests that for an attitude to change the person must attend to, understand, accept and retain the message (Hovland et al., 1953).

1. Persuasion/Persuasive Communication

Persuasion to change an attitude in sport works best when:

The coach / teacher (person who is persuading) is perceived as:Expert (perceived as having high status or credibility)Trustworthy

and the message /information given:

is clear, relevant, believable, concise

makes sense, is accurate, unambiguous (not having more than one meaning, certain)

is appropriately balanced between:emotion and logic,pros and cons.

SOURCE (who) MESSAGE (what) RECEIVER/ORAUDIENCE (to whom)

CONTEXT (where)

Independent variable

Status Credibility Expertise Likeability, attractiveness,trustworthiness Intention

motives Cultural background

Accurate (easily understood/makes sense/unambiguous)

Order of argument Presentation: Confident/believable One sided message or

two sides Level of emotional

appeal. Appeals to fear/failure

Be careful of hard sell (boomerang effect)

Level of education, must be able to understand message

Individual differences, gender, intelligence, personality, self esteem

Function of original attitude (why they hold present attitude)

Persuadability (are they resistant to change)

Formal/informal or sporting/non sporting

Level of commitment

Real life or experiment

Availability of facilities/resources to support message or change

People’s Perceptions of

Summary of factors that affect success of persuasion

What is….

DISSONANCE ?

CONSONANCE ?

2. Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger)

Festinger (1957)

This theory states that all three elements involved in an attitude (according to the triadic model) should be consistent if the attitude is to remain stable and the individual to be content.

If any elements conflict dissonance is created.

According to Festinger, if dissonance is experienced, the person is motivated to change their beliefs, attitudes or thoughts in order to return to consonance.

2. Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger)

When a performer experiences dissonance they hold opposing ideas which cause an element of discomfort within the individual.

For example:

An athlete wants to perform a high level (behavioural) but does not want to train (affective).

To stop the dissonance one of the conflicting ideas must be reduced or taken removed.

Changing Attitudes

TASK: DESCRIBE how a coach might change the negative attitudes outlined in the scenarios below. Choose one scenario from…

1. A group of teenage girls thinks exercise is too hard and boring.

2. A group of teenage boys only want to play matches when they attend training sessions rather than work on skill development.

3. A group of middle age office workers done take part in exercise because they claim they don’t have the time, money or oppurtuntities to participate in the local area.

Strategies to change performers attitudes

Reward the success elements of performance.

Reward the success elements of squad involvement.

Agree targets/goals with the performer.

Give the performer an appropriate role/responsibility.

Use positive role models (significant others, e.g. parents/coach) to demonstrate positive attitude.

Give positive reinforcement of correct behaviour/attitude.

Strategies to change performers attitudesCoach/teacher/significant others/media/government

body give negative feedback/criticism/punishment of unacceptable behaviour/attitudes.

Pressure to conform applied by peer group/team.

Attribute earlier failure to unstable/changeable factors.

Highlight benefits, i.e. health, financial, success.

Ensure training/practice is variable/enjoyable to maintain motivation/interest.

Highlight performance/process goals rather than just outcome goals

Homework – due in Thursday 16th Answer the questions below.1. Explain the term attitude object?2. Do attitudes really help us predict

behaviour?3. What is dissonance?4. Explain how an attitude can be

changed by using cognitive dissonance.

Attitudes Overview