Attitudes

Question 1

Define Attitude

Which definitions are best? Give an example of an attitude

Answer 1

• The way we act towards someone/something
• Our thoughts and feelings that influence how we behave
• A learned emotional and behavioral response to a stimulus
• A predisposition to act in a certain way towards someone or something

Bottem three definitions are best

e.g. “I like sport because it’s fun and it’s good for me”

Question 2

Give factors affecting the formation of an attitude

Give examples

Answer 2

* An individual’s attitude is shaped by their enviroment/ observation
-Parents/ family/ upbringing e.g Parents are physically active
-Peers/ friends e.g. Friends enjoy sport
-People who are similar/ social group e.g. Social group all play sports
-Significant others/ rolemodels
-Culture/ race/ religion e.g. Muslim women and physical activity
-Media e.g. The Media reinforcing attitudes regarding womens sport
* If the model’s attitudes are reinforced, then the individual is more likely to form that attitude

Question 3

What are the three components of an attitude?

Answer 3

1. Cognative
2. Affective
3. Behavioral

Question 4

Describe the Cognative component of attitude

Give an example

Answer 4

An individuals beliefs and knowledge, formed through past experiance and from others

e.g. “regular exercise is good for you”

Question 5

Describe the Affective component

Give an example

Answer 5

An individual’s emotional reactions/ whether they like or dislike something

e.g. “I like going to spin class”

Question 6

Describe the Behavioural component

Give an example

Answer 6

• Is the individual’s actual behaviour/ how they respond
• This may or may not reflect their cognative belief

e.g An individual goes to spin class twice a week

Question 7

Describe how an individual’s attitude influences their participation in sport

Use components of an attitude

Answer 7

• An individual’s attitude influences their behaviour
• For an individual to participate in physical activity (behavioral) they must have a positive attitude (cognative and affective) towards physical activity

Question 8

Describe Persuasive communication

Answer 8

• Using verbal and visual communication to change a component (cognative) of an individual’s attitude
• This creates cognative dissonance

Question 9

Give factors that effect the effectiveness of persuasive communication

Give examples

Answer 9

• The status of the persuader - should be someone significant - e.g. A close friend persuading an individual to start exercising
• The message - the information must be accurate/ clear/ relevant/ well presented - e.g. “regular exercise will help you lose weight”
• The recipient - needs to be open to persuasion/ receptive - e.g. The individual wants to lose weight
• The situation- needs to be an enviroment where the individual feels comfortable/ the timing needs to be suitable

Question 10

Describe cognative dissonance

Give an example

Answer 10

Cognative dissonance uses emotional conflict to change an individual’s attitude.

1. Conflict/ disharmony (dissonance) is created if two or more attitudes components differ
2. To bring about a change in the behavioural component, the cognative or affective component must be changed
3. Persuasive communication can be used to introduce new information that challenges the current cognative attitude/ belief
4. Positive experiances can be used to challenge the current affective attitude
5. The conflict now brings about a desire for change

The greater the level dicomfort, the greater the desire for change.

• An individual does not exercise (behavioural) as they don’t like physical activity (affective) and they don’t know the benefits of physical activity (cognative)
• The individual is informed by a significant other about the benefits of regular exercise
• The individual tries a new exercise class and enjoys it
• The individual now knows the benefit of physical exercise and enjoys exercise