Ways Of Attitude Formation

Introduction

Attitudes develop our way of thinking based on the acceptance or rejection of an object, on the approaching or distancing from it and, also, they lead to people having a relatively constant behavior towards similar objects. Attitudes help in saving energy, time and effort in thinking and are thus very difficult to change.
Attitudes are important because they shape people’s perceptions of the social and physical world and influence overt behaviors. For example, attitudes influence friendship and animosity toward others, giving and receiving help, and hiring candidates who are of a different origin. They are also at the heart of many violent attacks, including master-minded crimes against humanity (e.g., the Holocaust and the terrorist

The three main ways of attitude formation are Cognitive, Affective or Behavioral processes.
1. Cognitive routes: An attitude is formed on the basis of cognitions when one comes to believe either that the attitude object possesses desirable attributes, or that the attitude object will bring out desired outcomes. Fishbein and Ajzen claim that all attitudes are based on beliefs about the attitude object.

2. Affective routes: An affectively based attitude is based more on people’s feelings and values than on their beliefs about the nature of an attitude object. The function of attitudes based on values and feelings is not so much to paint an accurate picture of the world as to express and validate one’s basic value system.

3. Behavioural routes: A behaviorally based attitude is based on people’s observations of their behaviour toward an object. According to Daryl Bem’s self-perception theory, under some circumstances, people don’t know how they feel until they see how they behave. This happens when people have no plausible explanation for their behavior and they thus begin to infer their attitude from their

Job Satisfaction: It is a measure of someone’s feelings toward his job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. It is a very personal aspect of work as it reflects not only how the person views his job but also how the organization views how they do their job and how they are as a person. There are several components associated with job satisfaction, namely: Growth in position and responsibility, equitable compensation and recognition.

2. Employee Engagement: An employee’s engagement with his organization also shows his attitude. It is the degree to which an employee is connected to all aspects of the company and works to help the organization grow and reach its goals. For instance, the employee might volunteer himself for the Corporate Social Responsibility programs organized by the organization. Such employees have a passion for their work and are deeply connected with the company. Such type of engagement is most sought after by organizations.

3. Job Involvement: It measures the degree to which people identify with their job and consider their perceived level of performance important to self-worth. For instance, an employee comes late to work and shows disinterest in his daily work. He also doesn’t go beyond what is required of him. These are direct reflections of the level of job involvement a person has reflects in their attitude towards doing their