Decoding The Positive Attitude
February 14, 2009 in Positive Attitude
(Part 3 of 10)
Attitude is defined by practitioners of psychology, insiders and experts, according to online sources and handbooks, as a hypothetical construct, concept tyring to example and referring to what people prefer, like, admire, or not. What we think, believe, decide and act out, upon etc.
Different types of attitudes can include positive, negative or neutral views of something or somebody. It could pertain to a particular individual, group of people, acts or occurences, happenings and events in and surrounding our lives and realities. So, it says something about how and what we choose to interact with and do in the world, with others. There can be ambivalance between totally positive, somewhat negative and everything in-between and beyond these extremes. You could experience as an individual BOTH, simultaneously positive and negative thoughts, emotions, attitudes.
How we see, judge, interpret, assess, value etc. all influence and manifests our attitudes . Psychologists and behaviourists refer to this as the ABC sequnece or model of behavior/acting: first: affect second: behavior, habits that change and thirdly: cognition, knowledge, understanding.
These physiological responses are stemming from survivalist and other related instincts, learned behaviors and interaction with environemtn and others – somewhat of a product of evolution. Our preferences or attitudes help us deal with life and shows what we want and do not want. Evaluation and verbal intent, observational learning all play into our attitudes, positive and/or negative, which in turn effects and impacts our actions/behavior, some of which is and can be at times quite negative, suspicious, even irrational.
Attitudes can change based on our experiences, learning, maturity, practice, which suggests that we can actively choose to be postitive or negative or both. IT is an act of our will, again showing what sets the humans apart. We sometimes give in to persuasion or influence. Here are some factors that can have an impact on our attitudes: intelligence, self-esteem, mood, expertise, trust, credibility, attractiveness, how information is shared, hidden agendas and motives sometimes enables, sometimes undermines attitudes. According to Carl Jung, his definition of attitude is a "readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way". In short this is how you orient yourself to the world and others around you, interact and live.
