What is the purpose served by an
attitude? We find that attitudes provide a
background that makes it easier for a
person to decide how to act in new
situations.
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For example, our attitude
towards foreigners may indirectly provide
a mental �layout� or �blueprint� for the way
in which we should behave whenever we
meet one.
In addition to the affective, cognitive and
behavioural components, attitudes also
have other properties. Four significant
features of attitudes are : Valence (positivity
or negativity), Extremeness, Simplicity or
Complexity (multiplexity), and Centrality.
Valence (positivity or negativity) : The
valence of an attitude tells us whether an
attitude is positive or negative towards the
attitude object. Suppose an attitude (say,
towards nuclear research) has to be
expressed on a 5-point scale, ranging from
1 (Very bad), 2 (Bad), 3 (Neutral � neither
good nor bad), and 4 (Good), to 5 (Very
good).
If an individual rates her/his view
towards nuclear research as 4 or 5, this is
clearly a positive attitude. This means that
the person likes the idea of nuclear research
and thinks it is something good. On the
other hand, if the rating is 1 or 2, the
attitude is negative. This means that the
person dislikes the idea of nuclear research,
and thinks it is something bad. We also
allow for neutral attitudes. In this example,
a neutral attitude towards nuclear research
would be shown by a rating of 3 on the same
scale. A neutral attitude would have neither
positive nor negative valence.
Extremeness :
The extremeness of an
attitude indicates how positive or negative
an attitude is. Taking the nuclear
research example given above, a rating of
1 is as extreme as a rating of 5 : they are
only in the opposite directions (valence).
Ratings of 2 and 4 are less extreme. A
neutral attitude, of course, is lowest on
extremeness.
Simplicity or Complexity (multiplexity)
This feature refers to how many attitudes
there are within a broader attitude. Think
of an attitude as a family containing several
�member� attitudes. In case of various topics,
such as health and world peace, people hold
many attitudes instead of single attitude.
An attitude system is said to be �simple� if it
contains only one or a few attitudes, and
�complex� if it is made up of many attitudes.
Consider the example of attitude towards
health and well-being. This attitude system
is likely to consist of several �member�
attitudes, such as one�s concept of physical
and mental health, views about happiness
and well-being, and beliefs about how one
should achieve health and happiness. By
contrast, the attitude towards a particular
person is likely to consist of mainly one
attitude. The multiple member-attitudes
within an attitude system should not be
confused with the three components
described earlier. Each member attitude
that belongs to an attitude system also has
A-B-C components.
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AKHAND PRATAP SINGH
