POSITIVE ATTITUDE BUILDING

T.M.JAYASEKERAB Sc. Eng.,C Eng., MBA,MICE,MSLIM,MSLITD,FIE,FIM,FCIWEM

MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT

WHAT IS MEANT BY ATTITUDE WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY?

WHAT IS AN ATTITUDE?

Attitude is a state of mind Your attitude is your mind-set It is the way you look at things mentally Attitudes are evaluative statements They indicate one’s feelings either

favourably or unfavourably to persons objects and or events

ATTITUDES ARE EVALUATIVE

STATEMENTS Attitude reflect how one feels about

something

Ex. When someone says “I like teaching” he is expressing his attitude about his work

HOW ATTITUDE WORKS

It is a cognitive and affective evaluation that predisposes a person to to act in a certain way

Cognitive

Affective

BEHAVIOUR

THREE COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES? Cognitions (Thoughts) Affections (Feelings) Behaviour ( Actions and reactions)

THREE COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES- AN EXAMPLE Cognitions (My job is interesting) Affections (I love my job) Behaviour ( I am going to get to work early

with a smile on my face- my intention to act)

DEFINITION OF ATTITUDE? Attitude is defined as the persistent

tendency to feel and behave in a particular way towards some objects, persons or events

WHAT ARE THE SALIENT FEATURES

ABOUT AITUDES? Attitudes are related to feelings and beliefs about

people Attitude is a response to persons objects or events Attitudes affect behaviour positively or negatively Attitudes undergo changes Attitudes affect perception, and in turn, behaviour

HOW ATTITUDES ARE FORM ED- DIRECT LEARNING AND SOCIAL LEARNING

Attitudes are not inherited They are acquired or learned by people

from the environment in which they interact The formation of attitudes is broadly

classified in to two sources namely 1. Direct experience 2. Social Learning

PROCESS OF LEARNING ATTITUDES FROM OBSERVATION- DIRECT LEARNING

One’s direct experience with an object or person serves as a powerful source for his or her attitude formation

In other words attitudes are formed on the basis of one’s past experience in concerned object or person

PROCESS OF LEARNING ATTITUDES FROM OBSERVATION- SOCIAL LEARNING

The process of deriving attitudes from family peer groups religious organizations and culture is called social learning

In social learning a person acquires attitudes from his or her environment in an indirect manner

They acquire it mainly by observing their models

PROCESS OF LEARNING ATTITUDES FROM OBSERVATION- SOCIAL EARNING

Attention - focus on something Retention - what observed must be retained Reproduction - Behaviour must be practiced

again and again Motivation - learner must be motivated to

learn from it

ROLE OF CULTURE IN ATTITUDE FORMATION Culture plays a definitive role in the

formation of attitudes Ex- Sri lankans earn for future requirements Americans for that matter earn to enjoy the

present

THREE TYPES OF JOB RELATED ATTITUDES

Job satisfaction - Individual’s pleasurable or positive emotional state toward his job

Job Involvement - the degree to which people immerse themselves in their jobs - It is identifying with one’s job

Organizational commitment - it is about employees loyalty towards their organizations - It is identifying with one’s organization

JOB SATISFACTION IS RELATED WITH FIVE SPECIFC JOB DIMENSIONS

PAY WORK ITSELF PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES SUPERVISION CO-WORKERS

JOB INVOLVEMENT

It is the degree to which employees immerse themselves in their jobs, invest time and energy in them and consider work as central part of their overall lives

Such employees tend to be high performers and seldom tardy and get absent

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

It is an attitude about employee’s commitment to the organization

It is the process by which an employee identify with the organization and and want to maintain membership with the organization

WHAT IS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO SAY?

WHAT IS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE Attitude is the way you communicate your

mood to others The way you perceive the world and your

position in it directly affects your dealings with others

a positive self image will reinforce and improve both professional and personal relationships

ATTITUDE IS YOUR MENTAL

FOCUS ON THE OUTSIDE WORLD Like using a camera you can focus or set

your mind on what appeals to you You can see situations as either

opportunities or failures Examples

– A hot summer day may be beautiful or ugly – A departmental meeting is either interesting or

boring

ARE YOU AWARE OF THIS?

When you are optimistic and anticipate successful encounters you transmit a positive attitude and people usually respond favourably

When you are pessimistic and expect the worst your attitude is often negative and people tend to avoid you

Quite simply you take the picture of life you want to take

EMPHASIZING THE POSITIVE

AND DIFFUSING THE NEGATIVE Emphasizing the positive and diffusing the

negative is like using a magnifying glass You can place the glass over good news and feel

better or you can magnify bad news and make yourself miserable

Magnifying situations can become a habit if you continually focus on difficult situations the

result will be exaggerated distortions of problems

A BETTER APPROACH

Imagine you have binoculars Use magnifying end to view positive things Use the other end whenever you encounter

negative elements to make them appear smaller

Once you know to highlight the positive you are on the right road

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FORM THIS Think more about the positive things and

try to make use of the positives to drive your life

This means that you have learnt to alter your imagery to highlight the positive

This means that you are on the right road

REMEMBER! ATTITUDE IS NEVER STATIC! IT IS AN ONGOING DYNAMIC PERCEPTUAL PROCESS

Unless you are on constant guard negatives can slip in to your mind which make your mind time spend on difficulties rather than on opportunities

If negative factors stay around for a long time they will be reflected in your disposition The positive may be still there but may be overshadowed by the negative

Challenge!

Push the negative factors to the outer perimeter of your thinking

Those who will learn the trick will reflect it and others will notice it

Challenge!

Of course! No one can be positive all the time

Excessive optimism is not realistic Positive attitude is not an act. It must be

genuine

HOW TO MEASURE ATTITUDES Self- Report Indirect tests Direct observation Techniques Psychological Reaction Techniques

HOW TO CHANGE ATTITUDES Filling in information Gap use of fear Resolving Discrepancies Impact of peers The co-opting approach

Thank you very much! T.M.Jayasekera