Attitude

An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or dislike for something. Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event— this is often referred to as the attitude object. People can also be conflicted or ambivalent toward an object, meaning that they simultaneously possess both positive and negative attitudes toward the item in question. definitions of attitude An attitude can be defined as a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects, event, activities, ideas, or just about anything in your environment (Zimbardo et al., 1999) In the opinion of Bain (1927), an attitude is "the relatively stable overt behavior of a person which affects his status." "Attitudes which are common to a group are thus social attitudes or `values' in the Thomasonian sense. The attitude is the status-fixing behavior.

Attitude is a reaction or response from someone who is still closed to a stimulus or object. (Notoatmodjo, 2003)

Principal Components of Attitudes

In another section, Allport (1954) explains that the attitude it has 3 main components:

1. Belief (faith), ideas and concepts to an object.

2. Emotional life or emotional evaluation of an object.

3. Propensity to act (growing niche to behave).

All three of these components together to form a whole attitude. In determining this whole attitude, knowledge, thoughts, beliefs and emotions play an important role.

As with the knowledge, attitude consists of various levels.

1. Receive (receiving)

Accepting means that the person (subject) like and pay attention to a given stimulus (object). For example, attitudes toward nutrition and can be seen from the willingness of people's attention to the lectures.

2. Responding (responding)

Provide an answer when asked, doing and completing assigned tasks is an indication of the attitude.

3. Respecting (valuing)

Inviting someone else to do or discuss a problem is an indication of the attitude of the three.

4. Be responsible

Responsible for everything that has been chosen with all the risks are the highest attitude.

(Notoatmodjo, 2003: 126)

 

American Attitudes Toward the Elderly

The Youth Culture. Present-day American attitudes about the elderly have been reinforced by a century's worth of media, particularly movies and television. From the 1950's onward, a great culture of youth, fed by teen heros like James Dean and his sucessors over the decades, emerged and strengthened. Old people were left out of the picture. The period after World War Two also saw great mobility in America, which led to the break-up of large extended families. The old person was no longer seen as a useful member of a family team, but rather as a drain on the family's resources.

The Shrinking Family. Older people had previously depended on their families, hence on younger people, for support in their “declining years,” but suddenly that support was gone. Older people suffered as a result. Government programs could provide money at best, and never enough of it, hardly a substitute for a caring, loving family. Living past seventy became, for many, a rather bleak prospect, a time of loneliness, poverty and illness.

The Stereotype. The youth culture did another great disservice in stereotyping old people as chronically ill, unable to work, behind the times, slow-thinking, useless financial burdens on society. The idea that old people could actually fall in love or have sex with each other is embarrassing to many Americans, old, young and in-between. The baby boomer generation, which at present is fast entering the ranks fo the elderly, has other ideas about this stereotype.

Older Americans are Vital. Not one of these stereotypes is true, of course, certainly not the poverty notion. Americans over the age of fifty own 75 percent of all American assets and spend half the money. A full 70 percent of these people own their own homes. They vote and are active in the community to a greater extent than young people. You can find them out there doing sports and outdoor activities, or working out at the gym. If they find themselves single, divorced or widowed, they keep the Internet dating services humming, looking for each other. Just like younger people, they are just as likely to fall in love and, yes, they do actually have sex with each other.

American Attitude

·      If you have an appointment, you'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's ten minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable.

·      If you're talking to someone, you get uncomfortable if they approach closer than about two feet.

·      About the only things you expect to bargain for are houses, cars, and antiques. Haggling is largely a matter of finding the hidden point that's the buyer's minimum.

·      Once you're past college, you very rarely simply show up at someone's place. People have to invite each other over-- especially if a meal is involved.

·      When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, but it's only good business to 'play hardball'. Some foreigners pay excessive attention to status, or don't say what they mean, and that's exasperating.

·      If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so.

credit: for various sources