In cognitive psychology, attitude is understood as a learned, stable evaluation of people, events, or circumstances that guides perception and behavior.
There are a couple notable points from this definition of attitude. One, it is learned. As noted in our last post, “Attitude Rectitude,” attitude is not a matter of personality or DNA. We are not destined to have a wrong attitude. Instead, attitude is learned.
Two, attitude sets our perception and influences our behavior. This should awaken us to how important attitude is. My attitude will not only determine how I see any given matter, it will impact how I respond to that person or circumstance.
To give you a picture to hold in your mind, I would say that your attitude constitutes the lens in your glasses through which you see (and therefore experience) life around you.
Psychologically, attitude comprises three components: cognitive, affective (emotional), and behavioral. Let me give a brief elaboration of each of these.
Cognitive – our attitude determines what we believe about a given person or situation, and how we think about it (or them)
Affective – how we feel about the person or event is set by our attitude toward it (or them)
Behavioral – the cognitive and affective dynamics above will impact our behavior in the given setting
A way to understand this is that attitude serves as a series of mental filters which shape how we interpret information. In other words ...
Attitude fuels the meanings we give to things in life.
Now let’s consider the fruit of good and bad attitudes—or as we learned last time, right and wrong attitudes.
A positive attitude is growth-oriented. This type of attitude supports resilience, motivation, and problem-solving.
A negative attitude is rigid by nature and produces distortions. Common types of distortions associated with a negative attitude include catastrophizing, blaming, and hopelessness.
That is to say, one of the chief consequences of a negative attitude is that it reinforces emotional distress.
On the flip side, improved problem-solving abilities, higher motivation in life, and resilience in bouncing back from difficulties are all fruits of a healthy attitude.
When it comes to attitude, the same can be said about it as Scripture says about people – “You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16)
Til next time,
