ATTITUDE OBJECTS
The people, subject or
situation towards which an
attitude is directed.
What is an ATTITUDE?
ATTITUDES – A learned behavioural
predisposition. (linked with personality)
UNSTABLE
LEARNED
DIRECTED TOWARDS
ATTITUDE OBJECTS
CAN BE
CHANGED/
CONTROLLED
ENDURING EMOTIONAL
& BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE
Formation of Attitudes
COACHES/
TEACHERS
PARENTS
FRIENDS/
PEERS
PAST
EXPERIENCES
PREDUJICE
ATTITUDES
MEDIA
Attitudes are mainly formed through experiences.
Socialisation: The process of mixing and relating to other people.
Triadic Model of Attitudes
This is
known as the
information
component
knowledge and beliefs
example : fitness training
keeps me fit
This is known
as the emotional
component
AFFECTIVE
COGNITIVE
feelings and emotions
example : I enjoy training
ATTITUDE
to regular exercise
This concerns
how a person
intends to
behave towards
an attitude object
BEHAVIOURAL
intended behaviour
example : I attend training
sessions regularly
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
(Festinger)
If a person hold two ideas that oppose and conflict with each other
an element of discomfort arises. Emotional conflict is called
DISSONANCE.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger)
To reduce this feeling of dissonance, the impact of one of the
conflicting ideas could be lessened and therefore an attitude would
change.
Updating knowledge or providing a person with new information can
change the cognitive component.
Providing a person with new and positive experiences can modify the
affective component.
If a skill is simplified or if some form of guidance is used to make
execution easier, the behavioural component of attitude can be changed.
Remember METHODS OF GUIDANCE from AS SKILL
Example


A rugby player might believe that
aerobics is too ‘girlie’ so the coach
tells him that some of the fittest
people do it to improve stamina.
This attack on the player’s beliefs
causes a change in attitude and the
player now does aerobics to keep
fit.

Other methods used by coaches
include:






pointing out the benefits to health
making the activity fun & enjoyable
allowing easy initial success
using the examples of role-models
using reinforcement
attributing the reasons for success
internally
Persuasive Communication Theory
You need to be aware of most effective way of persuading
someone to change their attitude.
Would these people persuade you or would they just cause you stress?
Persuasive Communication Theory
1. The Persuader
Significant other
with high status
3. The recipients
Easy to changed
an attitude if the
recipient really
wishes to be
changed
2. The Message
Positive to initiate
the change
PERSUASIVE
COMMUNICATION
the person must
- pay attention
- understand
- accept
- retain
the message being given
the coach must
- be expert
- be trustworthy
4. The situation
The presence of
other persuaders
the message must
- be clear
- be unambiguous
- be balanced between
pros and cons
TASK…………
You are a GCSE PE pupil.
How could persuasive
communication change your
negative attitude towards
cross country?
ANSWER…………
1. A significant other, e.g. teacher/captain persuades you that
cross country has excellent fitness benefits for a GCSE PE
pupil. The teacher explains that they can chose cross country
as one of their 4 sports.
2. The teacher tells you it will improve your practical grade if you
opt for cross country.
3. You understand that this could improve your overall practical
grade so you begin to realise the benefits of taking part.
4. Other pupils in your GCSE class share positive experiences of
cross country with you and actively encourage you to take part.
TASK…………
How could a physical education
teacher change the negative
attitude that a pupil may have
towards swimming?
ANSWER…..
• Educate the pupil about the benefits of swimming
• Use cognitive dissonance theory
• Persuasive communication from a significant other, e.g.
teacher
• Set achievable goals to ensure pupil achieves success
and experiences enjoyment.
• Offer rewards, e.g. praise, trophies.
• Familiarise with role models from within the sport of
swimming.
• Use floats to make execution of some strokes easier.
• Attribution retraining.
To conclude……….
Attitudes are generally poor predictors of
behaviour.
•
• Social and situational factors influence
actual behaviour very strongly.
• “Behavioural intention is the strongest
predictor of behaviour (Fishbein, 1974).”
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
Elite tennis players have to devote large
amounts of time to develop their skills,
requiring a positive attitude and high levels
of motivation.
Name and explain the components of
attitudes, giving an example of how a
tennis player would display a positive
‘attitude’. (3 marks)

A. Cognitive (component) – believe/think
they are training and playing in the correct
manner or eq.



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B. Affective (component) – positive
feelings/emotions/enjoyment or eq.
C. Behavioural (component) – actions of
the player/ train regularly/compete fairly or
eq
D. Use of applied positive example