Organizational Behavior

1

Dr. Mohammed A. Nasseef

BUS 233

Attitude and Behavior

What is an attitude?

...a positive, negative, or mixed reaction to a person, object, or idea.

Brehm et al. (2002, p. 179)

...a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with

some degree of favour or disfavour.

Eagly & Chaiken (1993, p. 1)

Do Attitudes DetermineBehavior?

An underlying assumption in persuasion research is: Shift a person’s attitude in the right direction and behavior will follow.

Examples:

1. If people see the value of wearing their seatbelt then they are more likely to actually wear it.

2. If people think that smoking is bad for their health then they will quit.

Basic Questions

Is there a relationship between attitudes and behavior and, if so, how strong is it?

When might such a relationship exist?

How do attitudes influence behavior? In other words, what is the psychological process?

Do Attitudes Predict Behavior? Yes, but not

strongly.

Classic Study of Cheating• Relationship between attitudes toward cheating

and actual cheating behavior.• Students took True-False exam then asked to

assign themselves a score.• Instructor also graded the exam. • difference between student’s self-assigned score

and instructor’s score was measure of cheating behavior.

Relationship between attitude toward cheating and actually cheating close to zero.

Those who did poorly more likely to cheat. Meta-analysis of attitude studies showed less

than .30 correlation between attitudes and behavior.

Attitude-Behavior Survey

1. Students should read

2. Homelessness is a

problem

3. I should exercise

4. I should recycle

5. I should designate a

driver

6. I should vote

7. Should change

strategy to fight

terrorism

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Yes, Important Yes, I acted

When do attitudes predict behavior?

Are there factors that make attitudes more or less predictive of behavior?

4 Factors that Impact the Relationship:

Qualities of the…

• Behavior (General vs. specific)

• Person (Who is being asked)

• Situation (When and how are they being asked?)

• Attitude (How was the attitude formed?)

Behavior Being Predicted

Attitudes and behaviors must be measured at the same level of specificity.

Example: A person’s attitude toward their general health will not predict their tendency to jog.

Specific attitudes will predict specificbehaviors.

Person You Ask

Certain peoples’ attitudes are more consistent with their behaviors than others.

Example: High Self Monitors

• A high self monitor changes their behavior depending on the situation. A low self monitor behaves the same way across situations.

• Are you a high self monitor?

• The behavior of low self monitors is consistent with their expressed attitudes.

Situation in Which You Ask Them

Whether attitudes predict behavior may depend on the context in which you ask the question.

Norms can be so strong that it is unlikely that overt behavior will reflect private attitudes.

• Example: People who hate their jobs will still go to work because of normative and financial incentives.

• Attitudes toward work predict attendance when obligation to attend is removed.

• Question: How many people would show up if I made one class “optional”?

Additional Situational Factors

Attitudes are more predictive of behavior when:

• People have a vested interest in the issue.

• When people are under time pressure.

• When situational indications make your attitude salient (a focus of attention).

Situations can be changed to make attitudes more predictive.

Job Satisfaction and Performance

Studies have shown consistently that happy workers are not necessarily more productive.

Why do think this is the case?

How can job attitudes become more predictive of behavior at work?

• Recent study shows that happy workers don’t make firms more successful, but successful firms make their employees happier.

How do Attitudes Actually Predict Behavior?

Two theoretical models that explain why attitudes predict behavior.

Theory of Reasoned Action:

• Theory relevant when the behavior is thoughtfully planned in advance.

Attitude-To-Behavior Process Model

• Theory relevant when behavior is a spontaneous reaction to one’s immediate situation.