Attitudes

Question 1

What is the definition of an Attitude?

Answer 1

relatively enduring organisation of beliefs, feelings and behavioural tendencies

Question 2

what are the 3 elements of an attitude

Answer 2

cognitive (perception/ thinking), affective (feeling) and behavioural (act)

Question 3

what are some factors that impact the formation of an attitude

Answer 3

SES
experiences of a particular object
media consumption/ advertising
social setting and peers
social norms

Question 4

How can one change attitudes? (3 ways)

Answer 4

1. learning through observation; mimicking others around us or by direct experience
2. rewards and punishment
   positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement
3. messaging
   exertion of soft power which is impacted by how it is done, who it is done to and who does it

Question 5

what are the functions of attitudes? why do humans have them?

Answer 5

1. ego defensive
   protect our own self esteem
2. adjustment function
   change attitudes with regards to outcomes which is the foundation of future behaviours
3. value expressive function
   to express our own values
4. knowledge function
   aids our need for predictability and stability, helps us predict behaviour of others and the world around ua

Question 6

what is cognitive dissonance

Answer 6

contradictions of our actions and beliefs

Question 7

how might some people react when cognitive dissonance occurs?

Answer 7

1. minimise cognitive dissonance even if it means lying to ones self
2. change their behaviour to not have cognitive dissonance

Question 8

What might impact the desire to reduce or not reduce cognitive dissonance?

Answer 8

• how important are the elements to one when the dissonance is created (ie family, bad boss, work culture)
• compensation and salary
• degree of influence one has over the situation that might be able to reduce the cognitive dissonance

Question 9

why do we study attitudes in OB? why does attitudes matter in organisational behaviour

Answer 9

attitudes are the basis for future behaviours of employees in work environments. which in turn impacts a chain of things.
attitudes affect job satisfaction which determines job involvement and organisational commitment followed by employee commitment and lastly worse case absenteeism and overall job performance.

Question 10

name the chain of events that stem from ones attitude

Answer 10

attitude, job satisfaction, job involvement, organisational behaviour, employee engagement, job performance and absenteeism

Question 11

what’s the difference between employee engagement, job satisfaction and involvement?

Answer 11

job satisfaction: positive emotions associated with the job
job involvement: degree to which people identify with the job and derive their self worth from it
employee engagement: how involved are the people with the company, how is the employee interactions with management and their opportunities

Question 12

What are some factors that impact job satisfaction?

Answer 12

job conditions
salary
corporate responsibilities in relation to personal values
personality (neuroticism might lead to lower job satisfaction as opposed to those people with naturally high self efficacy)

Question 13

What are the 4 reactions to job dissatisfaction

Answer 13

active and destructive -> just quitting [exiting]
passive and destructive -> worsening of job performance and attitude [neglecting]

active and constructive -> feedback [vocalising]
active and passive -> trusting in the organisation that it will change [loyalty]