Attitudes

• attitude - a combination of beliefs and feelings about objects, people and situations

• peer group - people of the same age and status as you

• prejudice - preconceived (usually negative) judgements about people or situations

• cognitive dissonance - when two attitudes conflict and cause emotional discomfort

• triadic model - triangle showing three components of attitude

• affective component - feelings and emotions which contribute to attitude

• attitude objects - an object you have an attitude towards

• socialisation - interaction with other people which allows us to gain knowledge

• persuasion - a way to change attitudes

• cognitive component - knowledge and beliefs which contribute to an attitude

• behavioural component - intended behaviour which contributes to an attitude

Beliefs and feelings about:       

• objects
• people
• situations    ...these cause us to behave in a certain way

Attitudes affect how we perceive and behave in sport situations

• Learned or organised through experience
• Make us think positively or negatively about attitude objects
• Attitudes are deep seated and enduring but can be changed

• Pleasant experience > positive reinforcement > positive attitude
• Unpleasant experience > negative reinforcement > negative attitude

MIXING AND RELATING WITH OTHER PEOPLE

 We gain: 

•  interaction 
•  knowledge 
•  experiences 

ROLE MODELS - influence our attitudes

• Bandura > observation / imitation

Groups that shape our attitudes:

• friends, family, teachers, team mates, coaches, officials, opposition, professionals

PREJUDICE

• usually based on wrong information
• cause false perceptions and inappropriately influence attitudes
• reinforce stereotypes

Biased judgement -> negative attitude

Eg:

• women = weak
• disabled people = unable to participate
• older people = not interested in sport
• ethnic groups = particular abilites in certain sports

NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES

POSITIVE ATTITUDES

• positive physical self concept
• satisfaction from participation in sport
• believe sport promotes health
• successful at sport
• willing to try new activities
• encouraged by significant others
• participates regularly
• has opportunity to participate

NEGATIVE ATTITUDES

• has negative experiences of sport
• lifestyle makes sport difficult
• find sport frustrating
• lack encouragement
• unlikely to participate in sport
• negative self concept
• find sport boring

Attitudes to regular exercise:

• Cognitive

Knowledge and beliefs, eg. I know exercise is good for my health and keeps me fit

• Affective

Emotions and feelings, eg. Going to training is fun and improves my mood

• Behavioural

Intended behaviour, eg. I go to training every week

[ Cognitive dissonance ]

• if a person holds two ideas that oppose eachother, there'll be discomfort
• this emotional discomfort is called dissonance

eg. smoker knows smoking is bad for health

to reduce dissonance, attitude must be changed

eg. smoker realises effect on life expectancy and stops smoking

To change an attitude: alter one of the components of the triadic model

Cognitive : updating knowledge, new information

Affective: new and positive experiences

Behavioural: simplifying the skill, providing guidance

Persuasion is another way to change an attitude. 

Called : Persuasive communication theory

• persuader (coach) = expert, high status, trustworthy
• recipient (player) = must pay attention, understand, accept message, want to change
• message = must be clear, presented in encouraging way
• situation = easier if other persuaders are present and they reinforce persuader