Attitude And Its Components

Attitude is a tendency that reflects how an individual reacts to a person or an underlying situation. Attitudes can be defined as “Observed statements or judgments which are either positive or negative about objects, people, or events. This makes it a bit complex to understand, as different people have different beliefs and opinions towards the same things.

The researchers assume that attitudes have three basic properties or components, which are- Cognition, Affect and Behavior. These three main components of an Attitude are explained in detail below:

1. Cognitive component: It is the opinion or belief part of an attitude. Cognitive component signifies the belief or the opinion about the way things are. It does not make any significant difference whether the information is correct or not. The statement” My office is located quite far from my place” contains the cognitive component of an attitude. This statement reflects a person’s belief about his/her home to office distance.

2. Affect component: It is the emotional or feelings part of an attitude. The feelings could be positive, negative or neutral, depending upon the situation and temperament of the individual concerned. The statement “I feel frustrated while commuting as my office is located so far” contains the affect component of an attitude. This statement reflects a person’s tribulation over his/her daily commutation.

3. Behavioral component: It is an intention to behave in a certain way towards someone or something. Only this component of attitude is visible as the other two can only be inferred. The statement” I’m going to look for another job which has an office near to my place” contains the behavioral component of an attitude. This statement reflects a person’s plan of action after feeling dissatisfied over his/her home to office distance.

Each one of these components can build upon one another to shape an individual’s attitude, therefore, affecting how one conducts himself with others at the workplace.

The three main components exhibit a cycle in which an event causes cognition, which causes affect, which then leads to behavior. The three main components of attitude are closely related to each other and it is difficult to part them. Their close relation is depicted in exhibit-1 below:

Exhibit I illustrates the relation between the three main components of an attitude. In order to understand how closely these components are related to each other, exhibit I is explained as follows:

An employee feels he has untapped potential which can help him in succeeding further in the present job; this is the cognitive component of his attitude. This feeling disappoints him, as he has not utilized his potential well; this is the affect component of his attitude. With this feeling of regret he decides that now he will work hard to utilize his potential up to its full scale; this is the behavioral component of his attitude.

This exhibit explains how these components occur in a sequential manner; where one situation gives rise to cognition in an individual, which through an emotional drive results in a behavior. Therefore, these three components are closely linked and it is difficult to separate them with each other.