Citizenly - duty

*

Social Equality

*

^Lawfulness

*

^{Sense of} ethicat accountability

*

^Loyalty

*

^Courage

*

Solidarity and respect

Human Values

-

Lessons from the lives of Great Reformers

In India

,

there have been ^many social reformers like Kabir, GuruNarakDev,^RajaRammohan^Roy,IshwarChandra Vidyasagar,

ETHICSAND HUMAN INTERfACE 31

Swami Vivekananda,etc^.whochallengedtheprevailingevilcustoms

and enlightened the society on various social and religiousmatters

.

We observe that their lives exhibit following values^*

•

^{Respect for Humanity}

•

^{Dignity for all}

•

^Humanism

•

^{Reason and Inquiry for seeking the truth}

•

Kindness and ^compassion

•

Contentment

•

^{Social Equality}

Inculcating Values- Role of Family

Family being the first and major agency of socialization has

great influence and bearingon the developmentof the child

.

It has been shown by various studies that most of the children who are successful/great achievers and well-adjustedcome fromthe^families where sustainingwholesomerelationships exist

.

Therefore, it is the home,whichsets thepattern for the child'^sattitude towardspeople and society

,

aids intellectual growth in the child and supports his aspirations and good values

.

Inculcating Values- Role of Society

Administrative morality is a part and parcel of the general moralityofthecommunity

.

Finersaid,"The ethicsof everyprofession will be found, on dose ^analysis, to be not much ^higher and not

much lower than the general decency of the nation as a whole

.

Their nature, at the best, is powerfully moulded by the level of the surrounding and prevailing civilization/

The success of any government depends upon the effective collaborationofits citizens^.All thebooksofdvies wouldemphasise civic consciousness for theprogressof thecountry

.

This is possible

34 LEXICON

only if our educational system and mass media are reoriented to

character

-

^{building among the people}

^.

^{People's character is the}

ultimatesource which can supply kineticenergy formodernisation and development

.

There is a great need to infuse civicconsciousness,patriotism anddisciplineamongthecitizens througheducation,adult education and functionalliteracy

.

The members of all the communities would

then ^cooperate with the personnel in the ^public services

.

And the personnel in the public services would work hard to bring about all round development of the people

.

Inculcating Values

-

^{Role of} Educational Institutes Education is a process of initiating the learners into a form of life that is considered as desirable to preserve and promote^.

Education necessarily involves transmission of values

.

However^, these changes are to be brought about employing such procedures as do nol violate the freedom and autonomy of the learner

.

The different aims of education

-

development of the human personality, pursuit of knowledge

,

preservation of culture, development of character, promotion of social justice, scientific

temper

,

^democracy, secularism and so on are

fust

^{so many varied}

educational expressions of the constituents of the good life

.

It is through education that society seeks to preserve and promote Its cherished values

.

UNIT

2 ^Attitude

After reading Ihis Unit

,

you will be able to understand

•

^{What is attitude}

•

^Components of attitude

* Structure function of attitude

•

Attitude and its influence

* Attitude relation with thought and behaviour

# Moral and political attitudes

•

^{Social Influence}

* Persuasion

Attitude

Attitude refers to a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular object with some degree of favour or disfavour^{. "Object}" includes people, things, events, and issues. Attitudes are the feelings and beliefs that determine the behaviour of the persons

.

^They provide framework for responding in a

particular fashion.

The attitudes may be positive or negative. The positive attitudes ^yield favourable behaviour and the negative attitudes yield unfavourable behaviour. Therefore all variables must be identified and analysed which help in the formation of favourable

36 LEXICON

attitudes

.

The personshavingpositiveattitudes towards the job and organisation may contribute their best to the organisation^,

Components of Attitude-

‘

^CAB’

Therearethreecomponentsofattitude,generallycalledCAB

-•

^Cognitive

•

^Affective

•

Behavioural

Cognitive Component

The cognitive component of attitudes refers to the beliefs, thoughts, and attributes we associate with an object

.

When you formyouropinionor judgmentonthe basisofavailableinformation and decide whether you havea favourableor unfavourableopinion on that, it is the cognitivepart of an attitude we are talking about

.

Affective Component

The affective component of attitudes refers to feelings or emotions ⁽e

.

^{g, fear, sympathy, hate, like, pleasure) linked to an}

attitude object

.

Affect plays a very important role in attitude formation

.

^{Also,affect is a} common component in attitude change, persuasion, social influence

,

and even decision making

.

How we feel about an outcome may override purely cognitive rationales

.

Behavioural Component

The behavioural component of attitudes refers to a tendency

or a predisposition ^{to act} in a certain manner

.

The predisposition

to behave in ^a certain ^{manner may be} caused by affective and cognitive components

.

For example, the things you believe about something ⁽for e g_- '^my boss is corrupt and is misusing company funds'⁾ and the way you feel about it (e

.

g^, 'I can't stand working

ATTITUDE .17

for him'^} may have some effect on the way you are predisposed

to behave (e

.

g. Tm going to quit ^my present job'^}

.

Categories of Attitudes

-

Explicit and Implicit

Attitudes are divided into two categories as given below

.

The basic difference between these two types of attitudes is conscious and unconscious cognition

.

*

^{Explicit attitudes}

^-

^{Result of} Conscious Cognition

•

^{Implicit attitudes-} Result of Unconscious Cognition

Explicit ^Attitudes

They are characterizedas the attitudes which are the result of conscious ^cognition, ^{which means person} is aware of his or her attitude

.

Explicit attitudes are mostly affected by recent or more

accessible events

.

^{These types of attitudes represent cognitive and}

motivational factorsbehind theassigningofattitude,moredeliberate thinking is involved in it

.

^{Since self is involved more} consciously in it so sometimes it is known as 'self reported attitude'

.

Implicit ^Attitudes

Implicit attitudes are derived from past memories

,

which are rooted in unconscious cognition

.

Sometimes unknowingly we attribute something for object that is implicit attitude which are governed by our past memories ⁽sometimes forgotten memories⁾

.

We do ^not deliberately think over it

.

It just comes out from our self without an intention

.

Since cognitive pari is absent in these attitudes so these are largely influenced by affective experiences andbecause of these experiences primingaffects implicit attitudes than explicit altitudes, which means implicit altitudes are more easily accessible if there is Influence of contextual factors

.

^Since

implicitattitudes are more closely related to affective experiences and the 'culture' ^{is a} collection of certain feelings andemotions,

38 LEXICON

therefore, cultural biases have appreciable impact on implicit attitudes^.

Formation of Attitude

Right from our birth onwards

,

we are exposed to a wide

variety of stimuli^, both directly and ^indirectly, which lead to our acquiring particular attitudes towards the altitudinal object

.

It is believed that attitudes are by and large acquired as a result of various life experiences, although a small but growing body of evidence indicates that attitudes may be influenced by genetic factors, too^,

A number of theories have been used to identify what lead

to formation and maintenance of attitudes

-•

^{Classical or Pavlovian} Conditioning

•

Instrumental Conditioning

•

Observational Learning

•

^{Genetic Factors}

Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning

Classical Conditioning is a process ofbehaviour modification by which a subject comes to respond in a desired manner to a previouslyneutral stimulus that has beenrepeatedly presented along with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits the desired response^, A stimulus is a factor that causes a response in an organism

.

Conditioning is usually done by pairing the two stimuli,

as in Pavlov'^{s classic} experiments

.

Pavlov presented dogs with a ringing bell followed by food

.

The food elicited salivation

(unconditioned stimulus⁾, and after ^repeated belf^{- fpod pairings} the bell also caused the dogs to salivate

.

In this experiment

,

the unconditioned stimulus is the dog food as it produces an

unconditioned response, saliva

.

The conditioned stimulus is the

ATTITUDE 39

ringing bell and it produces a conditioned response of the dogs producing saliva

.

Classical conditioningcould play a role in establishing some of the emotional components of attitudes and prejudice Further, through classical conditioning,peoplemay cometohave powerful attitudina^! reactions to social objects even in the absence of firsthand experience^. Hence, children who hear repeated pairings of words in their parents' conversations ⁽such as say, Muslims^' Aggressive, Muslims^-Fundamentaltsts⁾ throughout their early years of development may come ^{to adopt} such negative attitudes themselves

—

^{without even meeting them}

^.

Instrumental Conditioning

According to this, behaviours ^that are ^{followed by positive}

outcomestend tobestrengthened, while those that are followed by negative outcomes are suppressed

.

The degree to which attitudes are verbally or nonverbally reinforced by others will affect the acquiring and maintenance of attitudes^,

Forexample,early in yourlife

,

ifyourparentsand teacherspraised you for doing well in studies, you may have doubled your efforts and ^{developed a} positive attitude towards ^{studies. However}

,

^{if your}

friend's parentsdidnotacknowledgeher achievements instudies,she would have probably developed a negative attitude toward studies

.

Observational Learning

The phenomenon by which a person acquires new forms of behaviour or thought simply by observing the rewards and punishments that others ^get is called observational ^learning.

Genetic Factors

Genetic factors also play a role in shaping attitudes of an individual^, However,they playstrongerrolein shapingsomeattitudes

40 LEXICON

than others

.

For example, attitudes involving gut

-

^level preferences

{say a preference for a certain kind of food⁾ may be more strongly influenced by genetic factors than attitudes that are more cognitive in nature ⁽say attitudes towards environment conservation^}

.

Structure of Attitude and the Dynamic Properties of Attitude

The structure of attitudes can be examined ^by exploring their

(CAB's^} dynamic implication for information ^{processing, retrieval} and judgment These dynamicpropertiesofattitudes are as follows

-•

Altitude Strength

•

Attitude Accessibility

•

^Attitude Ambivalence

Attitude Strength

Attitudesdiffer in strength^, Strong,central attitudesareattitudes that refer to important attitude ^objects that are strongly related

to the self

.

These attitudes are often related ^to important values

.

Attitude strength involves several dimensions, such as

-

^certainty,

intensity and extremity, attitude ^origin, personal

imfxirtance

^.

Attitude Accessibility

Attitudeaccessibility referstotheease with which attitudescan be retrieved from memory, inother words how readily available is an attitude about an object

,

issue

,

or situation

.

Attitudes that are more accessible from memory are more predictive of behaviour, influence what messages are attended ^to, and how those messages are processed

,

^{and are more stable across time}

.

Attitude Ambivalence

Peoplecanalso be conflicted or ambivalent towardanobject,

ATTITUDE 41

meaningthatthey simultaneously possessboth^positiveandnegative attitudestoward the object inquestion

.

Attitude ambivalence refers to the fact that our evaluations of objects,issues, events, or people are not always uniformly positive or negative; our evaluations are often mixed, consisting of both positive and negative reactions

.

Attitude ambivalence may also be the result of conflicting values

.

For example,^you may havean ambivalent attitude towards arranged marriages, because on one hand you value obedience and adherence to parents; on the other, you may value freedom and personal choice

.

Moral Attitude

All humans hold and express moral attitudes

.

Moral attitudes include moral ^judgmentssuchas"rightor wrong" and"blameworthy or praiseworthy"

.

Moral attitudes are also present when states

of the world are described in terms of "good

"

^{or "bad}

"

^and

"better or worse" as this tells us something about the values and worldview of the speaker

.

Big differences exist in what people describe as good or right

.

These differences in attitudes are found when comparing cultures or groups ⁽cultural level^} but also when comparing individualswithin thesame group ofpeople ⁽individual level⁾ and when comparingthe attitudes the same ^personexpresses under different circumstances ⁽situational level⁾

.

Moral values are the highest among all natural values

.

Goodness

,

^purity

,

truthfulness

,

humility of man rank higher than genius, brilliancy, exuberant vitality, than the beauty of nature or of art, than the stability and power of a state

.

What is realized and what shines forth in an act of real forgiveness

,

^{in a} noble and generous renunciation; in a burning and selfless love, is more significant and morenoble, more important and more eternal than all cultural values

.

The moral values were also recognized by the great minds, such as Socrates, or Plato, who continually repeated that it is better to suffer injustice than to commit it. This pre

-42 LEXICON

eminence of the moral sphere is

,

above all

,

a basic proposition of the Indian cultural ethos^,

Political Attitude

An attitude ^{is a} predisposition to respond to ^a particular stimulus ^{i

.

e

.

, object⁾ in a particular manner

.

Political attitudes are

those directed towardpoliticalobjects,such aspolitical candidates, political issues, political parties

,

and political institutions

.

Political Attitude and Personality Traits

Scholars have acknowledged that certain personality traits

influence ^{our political leanings} and orientation^{. In} this ^regard, following five traits are usually mentioned

-*

Extraversion^-It impliesan energeticapproach tothe social and material world and includes traits such as sociability, activity

,

assertiveness, and positive emotionality

.

*

Agreeableness

-

Agreeableness contrasts a pro

-

^{social and}

communal orientation toward others with antagonism and includes traits such as altruism, tender

-

^{mindedness, trust, and}

modesty^,

*

Conscientiousness

-

^It describes socially prescribed impulse control that facilitatestask and goal directed behaviour,such as thinking before acting, delaying gratification, followingnorms

and rules^, and planning, organizing, and prioritizing tasks^,

*

^{Emotional Stability}

^-

^{Emotional Stability describes even}

-temperedness and ^contrasts with negative emotionality, such as feeling anxious, nervous, sad and tense

.

*

^Openness_{closed-minded}^{to Experience}_{ness) describes}

^-

^Opennessthe breadth^{to Experience,} depth, originality^(versus, and complexity of an individual's mental and experiential life

.

ATTITUDE 4 J

Eachtrait may havedifferent effectson our economic ideology

(free market vs interventionist⁾ as well as on our social ideology

(pro^-choice/pro^-equality vs pro^-life/pro^-tradition⁾

.

Four of these five traits areexpected to influence our ideology

.

The onlyexception is extroversion, which is expected to influence political participation

bul not ideology

.

Functions of Attitude

Katz takes the view that attitudes are determined by the functions they serve for us

.

People hold ^given attitudes because these attitudes help them achieve their basic goals

.

The main

functions of attitude are as fotlowing

-•

Utilitarian/ Instrumental Function- Ihis fund^ionisveryclose^to theconceptof instrumental conditioning

.

Katz says we develop positive attitudes towards those objects that areassociated with rewards and develop negative attitudes toward those that are

associated with punishment^,

•

^{KnowledgeFunction-Weall haveaneedtoattainsomedegree}

ofmeaningful, stable,clear

,

and organised view of the world

.

Attitudes satisfy this knowledge function by providing a frame of reference for organizing our world so that it makes sense

.

Using such a cognitiveperspective,attitudes serve as schemas that help us in organizing and interpreting social information^,

•

^{Ego-Defensive Function- Some attitudes serve to protect us}

from acknowledging basic truths about ourselves or the harsh realities of life

.

These can help a person cope with emotional conflicts and protect self

-

^esteem,

•

^{Value Expressive Function}

^-

^Value

^-

^expressive attitudes show who we are, and what we stand for

.

Hence ^they serve to

demonstrate one's self

-

^{image to others and to express our}

basic values

.

•

^Social Identity Function- Social ^identity function refers to the

44 LEXICON

informativeness of Attitudes for person impressions

,

^{or how}

much attitudes appear to convey about the people who hold them

.

For ^example

,

^the purchase of an Indian flag on the RepublicDay may be drivenprimarily by social identity goals

.

Influence of Attitudes on Behaviour

Various research works suggested that attitudes simplyinfluence behaviour

.

In fact, the earliest definitions defined attitudes largely in terms of behaviour

.

For example, Allport defined attitudes as

tendencies or predispositions to behave in certain ways in social situations

.

The most recent research works suggest that the extent of influence of attitudes on behaviour depends upon certain factors

.

Following are the factors, which determine degree of influence of attitudes on behaviour^'

•

^{Irue versus}Expressed Attitudes- True attitude and the expressed attitudes differ because both are subject to other influences

.

A measured or expressed attitude may not be a person's true attitude especially when dealingwithsensitive issues

,

^contexts

and situations

.

•

^{One Instance versus Aggregate- The effects of an attitude}

becomesmoreapparent when we look at a person'^{s aggregate} or average behaviour rather than at an individual ^act

.

For example,research shows that people'^sgeneral attitude towards religion poorly predicts whether they will go and worship

next weekend^. That's because the weather^, their mood, their health

,

^{how far the templeis from residence,}alternative plans

,

etc^,also influence attendance

.

However,religious attitudes do predict quite well the total quantity of religious behaviours

over a long time

.

•

^{Level of Attitude-behaviour} Specificity- Attitude specificity, the extent to which altitudes are focused on specific objects

ATTITUDE 45 or situations ⁽e

.

g

.

JDo you like lo eat Mexican foodf) rather than on general ones ⁽e

.

^g

.

^{Do you} like to go out to eat?'⁾ Is clearly an important factor in the attitude^-behaviour link

.

Attitudes canpredict behaviour if both altitudes and behaviours are measured at similar levels of specificity

.

•

^{Self Awareness- Another aspect that influences behaviour is}

the self awareness, that isr ^{how far the individual is aware of}

[he attitudes that he or she holds

.

So long as persons are noi

aware of their attitudes, these attitudes will tend to influence the individuals^'behaviours all themoreintensely^.Onthe other hand if an individual Is aware of his attitude, he or she will be quite self conscious about it and may hesitate showing it in their behaviours

.

•

^{Attitude Strength- The stronger} the attitudes are, the greater

their impact on behaviour

.

Attitudes formed through direct experience are stronger, ^{and as a result, are} better predictors of later behaviour

.

The attitudes of more personally involved individualswill bestrongerpredictors of behaviourthanattitudes of the less involved

.

•

Attitude Accessibility

-

Attitude accessibility refers to the ease with which attitudes can be retrieved from memory

.

The more accessible attitudes can be spontaneously and automatically activated without our conscious awareness, and can guideour

behaviour without us being necessarily ^aware of them*

Social Psychology

Throughout its history, humankind has been motivated ^to

war, terrorism, ethnic cleansing

,

^genocide,racist hysteria

,

^religious

intolerance and extremism, mass suicide and many other forms of irrational and pathological behaviour^. In order to give answers

to why these atypical behaviours occur, and lo understand the motivation behind peoples social or political behaviour, we need

to tap into the fields of social psychology

.

46 LEXICON

Social psychology is defined as 'the scientific study of the ways that people^'s behaviour and mental processes are shaped by the real or imagined presence ^{of others}'

.

Social psychologists emphasisethecoreobservation that human behaviour is a function

Social psychology is defined as 'the scientific study of the ways that people^'s behaviour and mental processes are shaped by the real or imagined presence ^{of others}'

.

Social psychologists emphasisethecoreobservation that human behaviour is a function

In document Lexicon Ethics by Raz Kr (Page 29-44)