A2 PE
PHED 3
Sport Psychology
Attitude
Attitude
What is an attitude?
What components make up an attitude?
Attitude
Attitude:
“A view held by an individual towards an attitude object”
This existence of an attitude predisposes the person to
behave in a certain way towards the attitude object
Attitudes are multi-dimensional
Formed from Knowledge, emotion and behaviour intentions
Harry Redknapp
Roberto Mancini
Attitude in sport
 Athlete may have a negative attitude towards
weight training
 Likely to train in a half hearted manner
 Leading to plateauing?
 Footballer may have a negative attitude towards a
particular official
 Change their behaviour towards them- disagreeing and arguing
 This attitude could stem from a previous encounter
 Does this mean that the player will have the same
attitude to all officials?
 Unlikely as attitudes tend to specific rather than global (Gill, 1986)
 Attitude can lead to a prejudice forming
Social Norms
People are often told to change their attitude
 If it is not approved of
 If it is not helpful
NCPE encourages schools to instil positive attitudes towards sport
and PE.
 Unfortunately it doesn’t always suggest ways to achieve this.
Social Norms
 Unwritten rules about your attitude, values, behaviour or beliefs
 Help control behaviour
 Based on consensus- Enough people believe them so they are
true
 Can lead to social acceptance or disapproval
Attitude Components
Triadic Model
Cognitive
Affective
Behavioural
Cognitive component- What we know and believe
about the object
Affective component- How we feel about the object
Behavioural component- How we respond to, or
intend to respond to the object
Example
 Hockey player may understand that training will
improve their performance (Cognitive)
 They enjoy the feeling of improved fitness during
the game (Affective)
 Plan their session and take part it to their best
ability (Behavioural)
Understanding the components
It is a natural assumption that if our cognitive and associative
components are in agreement then it we will behave according to
these
 However this is not always the case…
 Young people may realise that exercise is good for them and
enjoy it when they are taking part but may not chose to take
part voluntarily.
 Fishbein and Azedn (1975) suggested that to predict behaviour a
high degree of specificity of both attitude and behaviour
components is required – Cognitive Consonance
Predicting behaviour
 An intention to train for a specific event gives more predictability than just a general
intention to train.
 A stated intention to behave in a certain way was found to be a strong predictor of
actual behaviour
 Attitude towards behaviour and generally accepted beliefs (Normative beliefs) both
contribute towards predictability of behaviour.
 A teenage girl may appreciate the benefits of training and enjoy it but it may conflict with
the social norms of her peer group.
 To encourage performers to behave in accordance with a set of general values and
their own attitudes, you must ensure that…
 They understand the specific goals of the session
 They have a positive experience at the session
 Any negative attitudes or experiences are recognised and dealt with.
Model of predicting behaviour
Beliefs about
consequences of
behaviour
Attitude
towards
behaviour
Intention to
perform
behaviour
Normative
beliefs about
behaviour
Subjective norm
concerning
behaviour
BEHAVIOUR
Attitude formation
Attitudes are formed by experience and
learning, influenced by a number of factors:Peer groups
 Acceptance within a group can rest on
sharing similar attitudes
 Can help to create a sense of identityhigher degrees of cohesion
Conditioning
 Rewards will strengthen existing attitudespraise for training hard
Attitude formation
Socialisation
 Learnt form significant others – parents, teacher,
coaches, role models and the media
Familiarity
 The more experience someone has with an
object the more likely the attitude will be positive
 Taken to sport matches at a young age
Gary Neville
Rooney
Citys going down
Forming a good attitude
Why do we want positive attitudes?
 Positive cognitive and affective make positive
behaviour more likely
 Socially valued- abiding by perceived norms
 Needed to become an Elite performer
 Can help coaches help to improve group dynamics
(attitude to a new player)
Changing attitudes
Accepting that certain positive attitudes are beneficial for elite performers…
We may need to understand how to change an unwanted attitude…
Persuasive
Communication
Cognitive
Dissonance
Persuasive communication
Exactly as it sounds- try to influence the attitude of a performer by discussion, argument or debate.
Persuader
Main factors in success of persuasive communication…

The persuader

The message

The receiver
Receiver
Receiver
Message
Persuader
•
•
•
•
Status in the eyes of the
performer
Popularity- role-model status
Credibility- linked to feeling of
trustworthiness
Social background- linked to
credibility
•
•
•
•
Accuracy- is it correct?
Is it stated with confidence
and enthusiasm?
Clarity- argument well
constructed? Logical?
Does it appeal to intellect or
emotion? Sense of duty or
responsibility?
Message
•
•
•
Are they ready for the
message?- understand the
arguments?
How strongly held is the
current attitude? Why do they
hold it?
Are they motivated to
change? Or at least open to
the possibilty?
Cognitive
Cognitive Dissonance
Affective
Behavioural
Individuals like to be consistent in what they do, feel and
believe…
 If something new goes against this or they encounter
new knowledge or feelings, they feel uncomfortable,
they feel dissonance.
 Motivates individuals to reduce discomfort by changing
their existing attitude or acquiring new ones.
So to change an attitude you can ensure that one of the
three components is inconsistent with the others,
thereby creating dissonance.
Example of Cognitive Dissonance
A group of year10 boys are told that this term they will be
doing dance but the group have a poor attitude towards it and
is being uncooperative.
Explaining their attitude…
 Cognitive- They know dance isn’t highly thought of by
their peers, maybe their dad has made comments at the
TV.
 Affective- Tried it before and not enjoyed it or been
unsuccessful
 Behavioural- Refusing to try it now (Even if they haven’t
before)
Example of Cognitive Dissonance
Changing their attitude…
 Cognitive- Change their knowledge of dance, bringing in
a dancer to demonstrate modern and popular dance.
Show all-male dance groups and emphasise the
necessary components of fitness needed (Links to
Strength and Stamina)
 Affective- Create a positive situation. Choose music they
will like, keep difficulty at a low level to guarantee
success and lots of positive reinforcement.
 Behavioural- Using rewards and incentives to get them
to have a go.
Evaluation
Persuasive communication
 Common-sense way of getting someone to adopt a more positive attitude.
 Can fail in light of strongly held beliefs
Cognitive dissonance
 Criticised for being too simplistic
 Doesn’t take into account the individual’s motivation and need for consistency
Both
 Are useful for understanding why a negative attitude may have formed
 Are useful for giving an insight into what factors should be considered for
changing an attitude
However attitude change is a long process with no guarantee of success…
Prove it review
 Define and describe an ‘attitude’
 Discuss the influences on formation of an attitude and
influences on behaviour
 Explain how you can change attitudes through cognitive
dissonance and persuasive communication