...................

and their influence on

performance and lifestyles
Beaumont School
Sports Psychology
Its pretty obvious that....
 ‘White men cant jump’
 People much prefer watching male sports.
 Women lack the competitive edge to be ‘winners’
 ‘Black men cant swim’
 Football is a yob sport
 Rugby is a gentlemen's game
 Girls are much better at Gym and dance than
boys
Attitudes = blend of values and beliefs

An attitude that is resistance to change =

prejudice

A component of a prejudicial attitude =

stereotyping
What is Attitude?
 Combination of beliefs and feelings about
objects, people or situations (known as
‘attitude objects’) which predispose us to
behave in a certain way towards them.
 The focus of a person’s attitude is called the
attitude object.
How are attitudes formed?

Who influences what think

(cognitive), feel (affective) and as a
result the may affect the way you
behave (behavioural)?
 Who influences Attitudes?
region / culture

friends peers
media

FORMATION
of family
ATTITUDES

past experiences teachers

coaches
Feedback can reinforce attitude Attitudes can create false
perceptions known as prejudice
Attitudes – common factors...
 Enduring emotional and behavioural response
 Attitudes are changeable
 Attitudes are directed towards ‘attitude objects’ i.e.
People, event, situation or idea.
 Attitudes are generally a poor predictor or behaviour
 Interaction between people known as ‘socialisation’.
 Can be positive or negative
 Develop through experience
 Are relatively stable and enduring
Components of Attitude
Triadic Model
COGNITIVE
knowledge and beliefs
example : fitness training
keeps me fit

ATTITUDE
to regular exercise

AFFECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL
intended behaviour
feelings and emotions
example : I attend training
example : I enjoy training
sessions regularly
Task 1:

Write down an attitude that you have

associated with sport.

Break your attitude down in to the three

components according to Triandis triadic
model.
Who is more likely to join the rugby
team...
When asked whether they would be joining the rugby
team...

Lauren said:
“Yeh I like rugby ill play this year”

Joel said:
“Yeh I like rugby, dad said it will toughen me up and keep me fit
ill make training on Monday”
Who is more likely to join the rugby
team...
When asked whether they would be joining the rugby
team...
Displaying a general
positive attitude
Lauren said: towards rugby, not a
true determinant of
“Yeh I like rugby ill play this year” sporting behaviour

Joel said:
“Yeh I like rugby, dad said it will toughen me up and keep me fit
ill make training on Monday” Has a specific attitude towards
rugby, has stated an actual
intention to go to training.
Significant other has encouraged
him.
The Triadic Model
 This model states that attitudes are formed through influences on the 3
elements:

1. Our beliefs are formed through past experiences and by what we have
learned from others.

2. Our emotional reactions depend on past experiences.

3. Our behaviour is not always consistent with our attitude. E.g. we may
believe that exercise is good for us and may enjoy participating, but we
may not exercise very much. We are, however, more likely to behave
in a way that reveals our attitude.
Attitudes and Behaviour
Is it accurate to use a performers attitude to predict
and therefore try to change behaviour?

 As attitudes are one of the key determinants of our

behaviour they can heavily influence the way in
which we behave towards different types of ‘attitude
objects’.

 Attitudes do not always predict behaviour (e.g. La

Piere’s study, 1934), only specific attitudes predict
specific behaviours. (Fishbein, 1995).
Attitudes and Behaviour

 Attitudes can only be used to predict behaviour

when we measure and assess attitudes to specific
aspects of our lives and whether or not there is a
stated intention of behaving in a particular
way.

 The best indicator of behaviour is an individual’s

behaviour intention. A positive attitude to
something incorporates an intention to do that
thing and therefore participation is more likely.
(Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975).
Exam question...
Use your understanding of Attitudes and the
information on page 142 of you textbook to
answer the question below.

 Attitudes are largely developed through

experience. Identify and describe factors that
form attitude.
(6)
 Positive and negative attitudes to Sport
POSITIVE ATTITUDES
• has a positive physical
self-concept
• satisfaction from
participation in sport
• believe sport promotes
health
• success at sport
• willing to try new activities
• encouraged by significant
others
• participates regularly
• opportunity to participate
NEGATIVE ATTITUDES
• had negative experiences
at sport
• have lifestyle which
makes regular sport
difficult
• find sport frustrating
• lack encouragement
• unlikely to participate in
sport
• have a negative self
concept
• find sport boring
 Prejudice
 If attitude is based on false information and is unfair, then it
becomes prejudice.

 Prejudice = an extreme or strongly held attitude (resistant to

change) held prior to direct experience. Situations or people are
pre-judged. In pre-judging a situation or a person we are expecting
to see or experience certain types of behaviour in certain situations.

 In relation to people, prejudice (extreme attitudes) serves to

develop a certain expectancy of behaviour leading to stereotyping.
This can then affect our behaviour towards certain individuals or
groups of people. E.g. Boys seen as having more potential in sport
→ higher expectations on boys → more time devoted to them →
boys develop more.
Where is zis guy from?
 Stereotyping
Stereotype

 A belief held by a collection of people about traits shared by a

certain category of person is called a stereotype. Brown (1986)
simply defines a stereotype as ‘a shared conception of the
character of a group’. E.g. female rugby players
Stereotyping

 ‘The general inclination to place a person in categories according

to some easily and quickly identifiable characteristics such as age,
gender, ethnic group, nationality or occupation and then to
attribute certain qualities believed to be typical to members of
that category.’ (R.Tagiuri, 1969).
NOW WRITE THIS IN YOUR OWN WORDS! BE PREPARED
TO FEEDBACK TO THE GROUP
Stereotyping
 Stereotypes are rarely accurate, yet are extremely resistant to change.

 Media influence.

 Stereotyping can influences perceptions of self.

 There are many common held stereotypical views in sport and physical
education:
 Girls are better than boys at aesthetic-type activities
 Boys are more competitive than girls
 Disabled people cannot play sport
 Disabled people do not enjoy competitive sport
 Black people are not very good at swimming
 Certain sports are better suited to black people than white people.
Changing Attitudes
 Can attitudes be changed? If so how?

 Why change attitudes?

 Who wants to change attitudes?

 Our knowledge of what makes up attitudes and their

influences gives us some useful information about how
we might go about changing negative attitudes into
positive ones.
Changing Attitudes
 It is generally believed that attitudes are
changed in relation to one of two theories
(specified by Gill, 1986):

1. Persuasive communication

2. Cognitive dissonance theory.

 1. Persuasion/Persuasive
Communication

TASK:

Use page 143 in your text book. Draw out and

make notes on the key factors of persuasive
communication.
 1. Persuasion/Persuasive
Communication
 Persuader is looking to influence the cognitive, affective and/or behavioural
components of the persons attitude. E.g. persuade someone that exercise is fun so
they participate.

 The effectiveness of the persuasion depends on:

 The person doing the persuading
 The quality of the message
 The characteristics of the person being persuaded (must be capable of
understanding the message).

 Persuasive communication theory suggests that for an attitude to change the person
must attend to, understand, accept and retain the message (Hovland et al., 1953).
 1. Persuasion/Persuasive
Communication
 Persuasion to change an attitude in sport works best when:

 The coach / teacher (person who is persuading) is perceived as:

 Expert (perceived as having high status or credibility)
 Trustworthy

 and the message /information given:

 is clear, relevant, believable, concise

 makes sense, is accurate, unambiguous (not having more than one meaning, certain)

 is appropriately balanced between:

emotion and logic,
pros and cons.
Summary of factors that affect success of persuasion

People’s Perceptions of

SOURCE (who) MESSAGE (what) RECEIVER/OR CONTEXT (where)

AUDIENCE (to whom)
Independent  Accurate (easily  Level of education,  Formal/informal
variable understood/makes must be able to or sporting/non
 Status sense/unambiguous) understand message sporting
 Credibility  Order of argument  Individual  Level of
 Expertise  Presentation: differences, gender, commitment
 Likeability, Confident/believable intelligence,  Real life or
attractiveness,  One sided message or personality, self experiment
trustworthiness two sides esteem  Availability of
 Intention  Level of emotional  Function of original facilities/resource
motives appeal. Appeals to attitude (why they s to support
 Cultural fear/failure hold present attitude) message or
background  Be careful of hard sell  Persuadability (are change
(boomerang effect) they resistant to
change)
What is….

DISSONANCE ?

CONSONANCE ?
 2. Cognitive Dissonance Theory
(Festinger)
 Festinger (1957)

 This theory states that all three elements involved in an attitude

(according to the triadic model) should be consistent if the attitude is
to remain stable and the individual to be content.

 If any elements conflict dissonance is created.

 According to Festinger, if dissonance is experienced, the person is

motivated to change their beliefs, attitudes or thoughts in order to
return to consonance.
 2. Cognitive Dissonance Theory
(Festinger)
 When a performer experiences dissonance they hold opposing ideas
which cause an element of discomfort within the individual.

 For example:

 An athlete wants to perform a high level (behavioural) but does not

want to train (affective).

 To stop the dissonance one of the conflicting ideas must be reduced or

taken removed.
 Changing Attitudes

 TASK: DESCRIBE how a coach might change the negative attitudes

outlined in the scenarios below. Choose one scenario from…
1. A group of teenage girls thinks exercise is too hard and boring.
2. A group of teenage boys only want to play matches when they attend
training sessions rather than work on skill development.
3. A group of middle age office workers done take part in exercise
because they claim they don’t have the time, money or oppurtuntities
to participate in the local area.
Strategies to change performers
attitudes
 Reward the success elements of performance.

 Reward the success elements of squad involvement.

 Agree targets/goals with the performer.

 Give the performer an appropriate role/responsibility.

 Use positive role models (significant others, e.g. parents/coach) to

demonstrate positive attitude.

 Give positive reinforcement of correct behaviour/attitude.

Strategies to change performers
attitudes
 Coach/teacher/significant others/media/government body give
negative feedback/criticism/punishment of unacceptable
behaviour/attitudes.

 Pressure to conform applied by peer group/team.

 Attribute earlier failure to unstable/changeable factors.

 Highlight benefits, i.e. health, financial, success.

 Ensure training/practice is variable/enjoyable to maintain

motivation/interest.

 Highlight performance/process goals rather than just outcome goals

Homework – due in Thursday 16th
Answer the questions below.
1. Explain the term attitude object?
2. Do attitudes really help us predict behaviour?
3. What is dissonance?
4. Explain how an attitude can be changed by using
cognitive dissonance.
Attitudes Overview