attitude

• what is an attitude

  Attitude: a value aimed at an attitude object

  An attitude is what an individual believes, how they feel and how they act towards an attitude object.

  Attitude objects can include other people, places, situations or items.

  Attitudes whilst usually deep rooted are not permanent -> can be changed though can be difficult.
• the triadic model

  the triadic model of attitude suggests that an attitude is made up of 3 components - ABC - the cognitive, the affective, the behavioural
• the cognitive part

  Most deep rooted part of the attitude. The cognitive part of the personality represents – thoughts & beliefs. E.g., I believe I can be a successful squash player.
• the affective part

  Affective part of the attitude concerns the feelings and emotions of the player and how those feelings are interpreted. This component is shown when the player enjoys taking part in training and playing. E.g., I enjoy playing squash and feel energised after each training session.
• the behavioural part

  The behavioural part of an attitude reflects what you do, it is shown by the actions/responses & habits of the performer. E.g., a player in a team sport who goes training couple times a week and plays in matches at the weekend -> displays good behavioural aspect to their attitude.
• attitude formation

  Attitudes can be positive or negative and are often developed through experiences rather than being innate, often begin to form at an early age. they can be formed in following ways:

  • past experiences
  • socialisation
  • social learning
  • media
• attitude formation - past experiences

  Past experiences – e.g., winning matches/comps is an enjoyable experience which can lead to individual developing a high perception of their own ability -> increases confidence. BUT a bad experience e.g., loosing or injury may lead to a negative attitude -> individual may have low self-confidence and poor perception of their ability -> may develop a negative attitude towards physical activity as a whole.
• attitude formation - socialisation

  individuals wish to fit in with the cultural norms around them. If it is the norm for your friends/family to participate regularly and have a positive attitude towards physical activity then you will conform in order to fit in. the opposite i.e. for negative attitudes is true too – will adopt to be consistent with those around you.
• attitude formation - social learning

  imitating attitudes of significant others e.g., parents, teachers and peers. If your parents friends have a positive attitude towards a particular sporting activity, it is likely you will copy them, especially if you are reinforced or praised for doing so. BUT if they have a negative attitude and abstain from participating then likely you will copy same attitude and behaviour.
• attitude formation - media

  high profile role models in the media/on TV often display positive attitude -> as we regard them highly -> we are likely to adopt their positive attitudes towards being active.
• attitude change

  Positive attitudes need to be encouraged so participants maintain motivation & effort and continue to take part in exercise.

  There are 2 concepts to change attitudes – cognitive dissonance and persuasive communication
• persuasive communication

  Sports performers can be talked into changing their attitudes but it is hard -> attitudes are stable & set as core beliefs & the performer could be quite resistant to change.

  Coaches may try persuasive communications, especially by significant others who encourage you to change your mind and take on board their more positive point of view.
• persuasive communication - significant other

  If an individual has a deep seated negative attitude – may only want to change if significant other/expert is talking to you. Must give a very clear message & must be relevant about why you should change your attitude & you must understand what they’re saying. They might enlist the help of your peers to support their view/messages.
• persuasive communication - timing

  The coach may also think about timing of trying to persuade them to change -> just after a loss/poor performance would be a good time as player realises something needs to change.

  This strategy is very difficult to get right – ultimately the performer must want to change
• cognitive dissonance

  When an individuals attitude components all match (positively or negatively) they are in a state of cognitive consonance -> their beliefs, feelings & actions are all in harmony -> individuals attitude will remain.

  To change this attitude -> the coach attempts to put pressure on one or more of the attitude components so that the performer feels uneasy and is motivated to change their existing attitude
• cognitive dissonance can be used in the following ways

  1.Player may be given some new info or presented with new form of activity - start to question current attitudes & become motivated to change them. coach may point out +ves of new form of exercise/training methods which player has shown a -ve approach to & challenge current thinking of the player

  2.Making activity fun & varying practice may make the session more enjoyable -> if activity is more fun than originally thought may help to change opinion.
• cognitive dissonance can be used in the following ways pt 2

  3. rewards as reinforcement may increase turnout at training & at games e.g. if there's a prize for player of the week

  4. specialist/role model player from diff club - encourage participation.