KEY FEATURES OF ATTITUDES?

Dr. Kari Ruoho

AAU 2011

Attitudes are judgments

An attitude represents an individual's degree of like or dislike for an item

Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event (=attitude object)

Attitudes can also be conflicted or ambivalent toward an object, possessing both positive and negative attitudes

Attitudes are relatively permanent and stable

Attitudes classify phenomena (all, everybody)

Opinion is a verbal expression of attitude (Thurstone 1928,531)

Attitudes can be changed based on experience, through persuasion or through cognitive routes

“All mini bus drivers are arrogant”

”All gypsies steal”

“Down syndrome children cannot learn to read and write”

“It is impossible to change inherited behavioural patterns”

“It is useless to train profoundly disabled child”

1. IMMIGRANTS ARE A CAUSE OF LOW WAGES. 1 2 3 4 5

2. IMMIGRANTS ARE A BURDEN ON STATE AND 1 2 3 4 5 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.

3. IMMIGRANTS TAKE JOBS AWAY FROM 1 2 3 4 5 NATURAL BORN CITIZENS.

1=strongly disagree 2=disagree 3=neither disagree or agree 4=agree 5=strongly agree

Affective The emotional componentEx: "I feel good when I am around my friend."

Behavioral The action component; consisting of the predisposition to act a certain way toward the attitude object. Ex: "I try to hang out with my friend whenever I get the chance.”

Cognitive The mental component consisting of beliefs and perceptions Ex: "I think my friend is kind, charming, and humorous."

Components of the attitudes – ABC model

Implicit attitudes are generally unacknowledged or outside of awareness, but they have effects on individual’s behaviour

Explicit attitudes can be articulated more or less clearly by the concerned persons

Implicit and explicit attitudes

How do you feel, are hidden attitudes more difficult to change by training or convincing?

Physical **

MR/Mild ***

EBD ***

Vision **

Speech

Hearing

MR/Profound ***

1 2 3

Citizens MP 1999 - 2003

MP 1995 - 1999

* = level of significance according to the analysis of variance

+ +/- -HUMAN RIGHTS VS. ATTITUDESALL CAN LEARN VS. ATTITUDES

How the Finnish citizens and the MPs saw the possibilities of to inclusion of disabled persons in Finland?

Consider…

1)Do you have some strong attitudes towards some students or student groups?

2)Do your colleagues have some strong attitudes?

3)How evidence based they are?

4)What it can be done to make them more evidence based?

Thank you for your attention!!