Attitude can be defined as a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects, event, activities, ideas, or just about anything in your environment-also called “attitude objects”. Attitude influences the way we feel, the way we behave or act and the way we believe or think or what we know of an attitude object. All these perspectives of ‘attitude’ affect performance.
Your attitude toward work goes far in making you a truly professional and it will have an effect on those you deal with. Attitude is a frame of mind and it shows itself in different ways. By looking forward to working and dealing with other people, you will have that positivity others will notice. Likewise, if you are not happy with yourself or your position it will show too.
Attitudes can serve functions for the individual and for the group. Knowing a person’s attitude helps us predict their behavior. For example, knowing your supervisor’s attitude may help you predict what subjects may be or not be of interest to him or her. Our attitudes are part of our identity, and help us and other people to be aware of ourselves through expression of our feelings, beliefs and values. We sometimes develop an attitude to protect our egos or self esteem when doing otherwise would have been detrimental to our well being.
People seek out others who share their attitudes, and develop similar attitudes to those they like.
One of the most commonly applied functions of attitude is the ‘adaptive’ function. If a person holds and/or expresses socially acceptable attitudes, other people will reward them with approval and social acceptance. In this regard attitudes can help us fit in with a social group. People seek out others who share their attitudes, and develop similar attitudes to those they like.
Because attitudes can be manipulated by an individual to suit specific situations, attitude functions are useful tools in influencing performance. Research shows that people can change their attitudes when they have conflicting beliefs about an attitude object. In order to reduce the tension created by these incompatible beliefs, people often shift their attitudes. Are you a pessimistic person? Do you have a tendency to point out the negatives in a situation without seeing the good? Do people reject or regret being in your company because of your attitude? Shift your attitude for social acceptance.
Successfully changing your attitude is dependent on a change in mindset, and successfully changing your mindset is a choice you can make. It is therefore important that you manage your attitude to succeed. EE