Attitude Functions
According to their functions, Daniel Katz divided attitudes into different groups.
1. Knowledge function: understanding ones or another's attitude provides knowledge.
2. Ego-defensive function: attitudes can aid in the protection of self-esteem and the avoidance of depression.
3. The ego-expressive function expresses one's core values and beliefs.
4. Supportive function: assists in determining what is rewarding (and also avoid punishment).
5. Social Acceptance function: adapt to a larger group's socially acceptable attitudes.
Daniel Katz
1. KNOWLEDGE FUNCTION
• As a result of the preceding discussion, it can be concluded that attitude is all about what a person likes or dislikes. We can predict a person's behaviour by knowing their attitude.
• Knowing that a person is religious, for example, we can predict that they will visit religious sites. As a result, attitude gives us a sense of control by allowing us to predict what is likely to happen.
• Attitudes can assist us in organising and structuring our lives.
• The knowledge function refers to our desire for a world that is predictable and stable. In a nutshell, attitudes serve as a source of meaning (knowledge) in one's life.
2. EGO-DEFENSIVE FUNCTION
• Not everyone is capable of doing everything. This is the case.
• However, our ego-protecting attitude (like/dislike) can obscure this truth. You might not be able to play football like Messi, for example. Instead of accepting this reality, you can claim that you don't like football and are only interested in intellectual pursuits to protect your self-esteem.
• Positive attitudes toward ourselves, like the example above, serve a protective (i.e. ego-defensive) function in preserving our self-image. Otherwise, we may succumb to depression.
3. Ego Expressive Function (Value Expressive/Self ExpressivE)
• Our attitudes (what we like and dislike) help to express who we are, what our core values are, and what we believe in.
• This serves to :
A. Communicate who we are
B. Make us feel good about ourselves because we have asserted our identity.
• Attitudes can also be expressed in nonverbal ways. As a result, our attitudes are a part of who we are.
4. INSTRUMENTAL FUNCTION (UTILITARIAN)
• People develop positive attitudes toward reward-related objects and negative attitudes toward punishment-related objects.
• For example, because tax evasion is punishable, a person may decide against evading taxes and begin paying them properly.
• Note: Any attitude that serves a utilitarian function is one that is adopted for one's own self-interest.
5. SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE FUNCTION (IDENTITY/ADAPTIVE)
• Other people will reward a person with approval and social acceptance if they hold or express socially acceptable attitudes, such as decorating the house during festivals.
• Adaptive functions assist us in blending into a social group. People seek out others who share their viewpoints and develop attitudes that are similar to those they admire.
ATTITUDE CHANGE
• Katz's functionalist theory also explains why people's attitudes change. An attitude shifts, according to Katz, when it no longer serves its purpose and the individual feels blocked or frustrated. That is, according to Katz, changing a person's attitude requires changing the person's underlying motivational and personality needs rather than changing the person's information or perception of an object.
• As your social status rises, your feelings toward your old car may shift – you need something that better reflects your new position. (In that case, your feelings toward old friends may shift as well.)
• When someone's attitude changes, its called attitude change. As a result, when a person shifts from a positive to a negative attitude, from a slightly positive to a very positive attitude, or from having no attitude to having one, change occurs.
The following are some of the theories that can be used:
Attitude change can be effected through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning, according to the learning theory of attitude change.
1. Classical conditioning – associate positive feelings with a target object, person, or event to elicit positive emotional responses.
2. Operant conditioning – reinforces positive attitudes while weakening negative ones.
3. Observational learning – allow people to observe others' behaviour in order to change their own.
People can change their attitudes in two ways, according to the Elaboration Likelihood Theory of Attitude Change (the theory of persuasion).
1. First, they may be motivated to listen to and consider the message, resulting in a shift in attitude.
2. Alternatively, they may be influenced by the speaker's characteristics, resulting in a brief or superficial shift in attitude.
Thought-provoking messages that appeal to logic are more likely to result in long-term changes in attitudes.
DISSONANCE THEORY OF ATTITUDE CHANGE:
When people have opposing viewpoints on a subject, they can change their minds (cognitive dissonance). People frequently change their attitudes in order to alleviate the tension created by these incompatible beliefs.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY
• Attitudes influence behaviour, and behaviour influences attitudes. When your beliefs and attitudes contradict each other or your behaviour, you are motivated to reduce the dissonance by changing your behaviour or cognition, according to Leon Festinger's (1919–1989) theory of cognitive dissonance.
• The theory has proven useful in predicting behaviour that reflects a lack of consistency in attitudes. When one's behaviour contradicts one's attitudes, pressure is applied to change one's attitudes in order to be consistent with one's behaviour.