Attitudes and stereotypes

Social cognition the way we interpret, analyse,

remember and use information about the social
world (how we think about other people)
Schema the basic component of social
cognition
Aspects of social cognition
Attitudes (our evaluations of various aspects of the
social world)
Attribution (our efforts to understand the causes of
our own and others behaviour)


Attitude (cog/beh/aff)
Prejudice
Cognitive
Stereotype

Behavioural
Discrimination

Affective
Stereotypes
Prejudice attitude (usually negative) towards
the members of some group, based solely on
their membership in that group
Functions as a schema
Works on automatic processing/in an implicit manner
Tend to evaluate members of the group negatively
merely because they belong to that group, rather than
looking at them as individuals
Discrimination negative actions towards
groups that are the target of prejudice
Stereotypes beliefs that all members of a
particular group show certain typical
traits
Operate as schemas do
Labelling, scapegoating and self-fulfilling
prophecies/pygmalion effect
Judge people prematurely
Schema - Basic component of social
cognition
Mental frameworks that allow us to organise
and process large amounts of information in
an efficient manner, operating as mental
short-cuts which help us reduce the effort we
put in to understand the social world and
preserve cognitive capacity
As a result of schema, mental processes
proceed on automatic and appear to be
implicit
Schemas influence what we pay attention
to (filters) and hence could block
rationality and produce distortions
Schemas are generally difficult to change
even in the presence of contradictory data
(perseverance effects/inferential prisons)
Create a special sub-type
Create a self-fulfilling prophecy


Roots of prejudice and stereotypes
Realistic conflict hypothesis
Social networks
Social learning
Social categorisation
In-group and out-group
In-group heterogeneity and out-group
homogeneity
Reducing prejudice and stereotypes
Unlearning (introspection and questioning of
the reified) and relearning
Contact hypothesis
Recategorising
Prejudice and stereotypes at work
The relevance of diversity
Attitudes
Attitude (cog/beh/aff)
Prejudice
Cognitive
Stereotype

Behavioural
Discrimination

Affective
Definition
Evaluative reaction which is either
positive or negative toward something or
someone that we reveal in our thoughts,
feelings, or intended actions toward that
person or thing
Could sometimes be ambivalent too
Process of evaluation or outcome of
evaluation process

Attitude as tendency versus attitude as
disposition (personality/traits)
Genetic versus learned

Stimulus attitude response
Response
Direction: positive or negative
Intensity: degree of extremity
Stimulus (attitude objects)
Abstract versus concrete
Object or class of objects
Social attitudes
Political attitudes
Prejudice
Interpersonal attraction
Self-esteem
Values
Does Behavior Always Follow from
Attitudes?
Leon Festinger No, the reverse is sometimes true!
Cognitive Dissonance: Any incompatibility between two or
more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes
Individuals seek to reduce this uncomfortable gap, or dissonance,
to reach stability and consistency
Consistency is achieved by changing the attitudes, modifying
the behaviors, or through rationalization
Desire to reduce dissonance depends on:
Importance of elements
Degree of individual influence
Rewards involved in dissonance

Moderating Variables
The most powerful moderators of the attitude-behavior
relationship are:
Importance of the attitude
Correspondence to behavior
Accessibility
Existence of social pressures
Personal and direct experience of the attitude.

Behavior Predict Attitudes
Moderating Variables
Predicting Behavior from
Attitudes
Important attitudes have a strong relationship to behavior.
The closer the match between attitude and behavior, the
stronger the relationship:
Specific attitudes predict specific behavior
General attitudes predict general behavior
The more frequently expressed an attitude, the better
predictor it is.
Attitudes based on personal experience are stronger
predictors.
What are the Major Job
Attitudes?
Job Satisfaction
A positive feeling about the job resulting from an
evaluation of its characteristics
Job Involvement
Degree of psychological identification with the job where
perceived performance is important to self-worth
Psychological Empowerment
Belief in the degree of influence over the job, competence,
job meaningfulness, and autonomy
Another Major Job Attitude
Organizational Commitment
Identifying with a particular organization and its goals, while
wishing to maintain membership in the organization.
Three dimensions:
Affective - emotional attachment to organization
Continuance- Commitment economic value of staying
Normative - moral or ethical obligations
Has some relation to performance, especially for new
employees.
Less important now than in past now perhaps more of
occupational commitment, loyalty to profession rather than a given
employer.

And Yet More Major Job
Attitudes
Perceived Organizational Support (POS)
Degree to which employees believe the organization values their
contribution and cares about their well-being.
Higher when rewards are fair, employees are involved in
decision-making, and supervisors are seen as supportive.
High POS is related to higher OCBs and performance.
Employee Engagement
The degree of involvement with, satisfaction with, and
enthusiasm for the job.
Engaged employees are passionate about their work and
company.
Are These Job Attitudes Really
Distinct?
No: these attitudes are highly related.
Variables may be redundant (measuring the
same thing under a different name)
While there is some distinction, there is also a
lot of overlap.
Job Satisfaction
One of the primary job attitudes measured.
Broad term involving a complex individual summation of a
number of discrete job elements.
How to measure?
Single global rating (one question/one answer) - Best
Summation score (many questions/one average) - OK
Are people satisfied in their jobs?
In the U. S., yes, but the level appears to be dropping.
Results depend on how job satisfaction is measured.
Pay and promotion are the most problematic elements.
Pay influences job satisfaction only to a point.
After about $40,000 a year (in the U. S.), there is no relationship
between amount of pay and job satisfaction.
Money may bring happiness, but not necessarily job satisfaction.


Personality can influence job satisfaction.
Negative people are usually not satisfied with their jobs.
Those with positive core self-evaluation are more satisfied with
their jobs.

Causes of Job Satisfaction
Employee Responses to Dissatisfaction
Exit
Behavior
directed
toward leaving
the
organization
Voice
Active and
constructive
attempts to
improve
conditions
Neglect
Allowing
conditions to
worsen
Loyalty
Passively
waiting for
conditions to
improve
Active
Passive
Constructive Destructive
Outcomes of Job Satisfaction
Job Performance
Satisfied workers are more productive AND more
productive workers are more satisfied!
The causality may run both ways.
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors
Satisfaction influences OCB through perceptions of
fairness.
Customer Satisfaction
Satisfied frontline employees increase customer
satisfaction and loyalty.
Absenteeism
Satisfied employees are moderately less likely to miss
work.
More Outcomes of Job Satisfaction
Turnover
Satisfied employees are less likely to quit.
Many moderating variables in this relationship.
Economic environment and tenure
Organizational actions taken to retain high performers and to weed
out lower performers
Workplace Deviance
Dissatisfied workers are more likely to unionize, abuse
substances, steal, be tardy, and withdraw.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the impact of job
satisfaction on the bottom line, most managers are either
unconcerned about or overestimate worker satisfaction.
Global Implications

Is Job Satisfaction a U. S. Concept?
No, but most of the research so far has been in the U. S.

Are Employees in Western Cultures More Satisfied
With Their Jobs?
Western workers appear to be more satisfied than those in
Eastern cultures.
Perhaps because Westerners emphasize positive emotions and
individual happiness more than do those in Eastern cultures.

Summary and Managerial
Implications
Managers should watch employee attitudes:
They give warnings of potential problems
They influence behavior
Managers should try to increase job satisfaction
and generate positive job attitudes
Reduces costs by lowering turnover, absenteeism,
tardiness, theft, and increasing OCB
Focus on the intrinsic parts of the job: make work
challenging and interesting
Pay is not enough