Changing Attitudes

Of one fact we can be sure : those who won positions of power, who gain recognition, who performed great services for mankind, who sought and found love, who, in whatever their sphere, became fortunate, maintained through thick and thin an affirmative attitude concerning the desires they sought to fulfill. ~ David Seabury

Attitudes are not rigid and inflexible. People may change their attitudes in order to justify recent behaviours, understand themselves better or present themselves to others as consistent.

Formation and change of attitude are not two separate things, they are interwoven. People are always adopting, modifying, and relinquishing attitudes to fit there everchanging needs and interests. Attitude cannot be changed by simple education. Acceptance of new attitudes depends on who is presenting the knowledge, how it is presented, how the person is perceived, the credibility of the communicator, and the conditions by which the knowledge was received.

Attitudes change when:

1. A person receives new infomation from others or media- Cognitive change.
2. Through direct experience with the attitude object- Affective change.
3. Force a person to behave in a way different than normal- Behavioral change.

Attitude can be changed by a number of sources including other people, family, media, church, or the object itself. In 1968, McGuire developed steps to changing an attitude. The steps are attention, comprehension, yielding, retention, and action. Triandis said, "In analyzing the attitude-change process, we must consider the effect of who says what, how to whom, with what effect."

Attitude will be changed based on how a person sees the communication and the communicator. Less committed people will change ideas more frequently. Attitude change also has to do with other personality characteristics such as susceptibility to persuasion, intelligence, readiness to accept change, etc. We are more likely to accept information if we feel the communicator has no intent to change our attitudes and opinions.

On the other hand, in an effort to simplify our social thinking, we resist changing our attitudes unless it is necessary to do so. Thus there are patterns in the ways attitudes are changed. Two important theories of attitude change include social-judgment theory and consistency theories.



I Think I Can
If you think you are beaten you are; If you think you dare not, you don't; If you want to win but think you can't; It's almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose you're lost; For out of the world we find Success begins with a fellow's will; It's all in a state of mind.

Life's battles don't always go To the stronger and faster man, But sooner or later the man who wins Is the man who thinks he can.