Page 140 - DMGT519_Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Notes one that will increase social welfare benefits. We are more likely to change our attitudes
if doing so allows us to fulfill our goals or avoid undesirable consequences.
2. Knowledge: Attitudes provide meaningful, structured environment. In life we seek some
degree of order, clarity, and stability in our personal frame of reference.
3. Value-expressive: Express basic values, reinforce self-image. For example, if you view
yourself as a Catholic, you can reinforce that image by adopting Catholic beliefs and
values. For example, we may have a self-image of ourselves as an enlightened conservative
or a militant radical, and we therefore cultivate attitudes that we believe indicate such a
core value.
4. Ego-defensive: Some attitudes serve to protect us from acknowledging basic truths about
ourselves or the harsh realities of life. They serve as defense mechanisms. For example,
those with feelings of inferiority may develop attitude of superiority.

Katz’s functionalist theory also offers an explanation as to why attitudes change. According
to Katz, an attitude changes when it no longer serves its function and the individual feels
blocked or frustrated. That is, according to Katz, attitude change is achieved not so much
by changing a person’s information or perception about an object, but rather by changing
the person’s underlying motivational and personality needs.
For example, as your social status increases, your attitudes toward your old car may
change - you need something that better reflects your new status. (For that matter, your
attitudes toward your old friends may change as well).

7.3.2 Learning Theory (which Stresses Attitude Formation)

There are several means by which we learn attitudes.
1. Classical conditioning: For example, a father angrily denounces the latest increase in
income taxes. A mother happily announces the election of a candidate she worked for.
These parents are expressing opinions, but they are also displaying nonverbal behavior
that expresses their emotions. For a child watching the parents, the association between
the topic and the nonverbal behavior will become obvious if repeated often enough. And
the nonverbal behavior will trigger emotional responses in the child: the child feels upset
and disturbed when listening to the father and happy when listening to the mother.

This is an example of classical conditioning: when two stimuli are repeatedly associated, the
child learns to respond to them with a similar emotional reaction. In this case, the stimuli
are the attitude topic and the parental emotion. Through repeated association, a formerly
neutral stimulus (the attitude topic – taxes or politicians) begins to elicit an emotional
reaction (the response) that was previously solicited only by another stimulus (the parental
emotion). Whenever tax increases are mentioned, the child feels an unpleasant emotion;
when the elected official is mentioned, the child feels a pleasant emotion.

For example, Pavlov’s dogs. Bell was rung when dogs received food. Food made dogs
salivate. Then whenever a bell was rung, dogs salivated even when food was not present.
For example, When you were a child, parents may have cheered for N.D. football. You
may not have even known what N.D. football was, but you liked your parents happy
attitude. Now N.D. football evokes that same response in you.
For example, Men with bow ties. Meet a bad man who wears bow ties, and you may come
to hate all bow ties.

COMMENT: This explains why behaviors can persist even after reinforcement is withdrawn.
Also helps explain self-reinforcement.

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