FOCAL CONCEPTS

Prepared by: Ms. Johanna C. Saldo

 defined as a mental predisposition

to act that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor
Mental orientations towards

concepts

 refers to our beliefs,

theories, expectancies, cause-and-effect beliefs, and perceptions relative to the focal object.

 refers to our feeling with

respect to the focal object such as fear, liking or anger

 refers to our goals,

aspirations, and our expected responses to the attitude object.

considered to be the central component of attitudes. consist of the imputation of some degree of goodness or badness to an attitude object functions of the cognitive, affective and behavioral intentions

 It can function as frameworks and

references for forming conclusions and interpreting or acting for or against an individual, individuals, a concept or an idea. Attitude can influence the way we act and think in the social communities we belong

is a reason or set of reasons for engaging in a particular behavior refers to initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behavior. (Geen, 1995)

Self actualization

Self-esteem Social Needs Safety & Security Physiological Need

sometimes called as MotivatorHygiene Theory. 2 factors:

Motivators (e.g. recognition, challenging

work w/c gives positive satisfaction) Hygiene factors (status, salary and fringe benefits) which can motivate if present but if absent will result in demotivation

 Created by Clayton Alderfer Existence (physiological and

safety needs) Relatedness (Social and selfesteem) Growth (self-actualization)

direct behavior toward particular goals lead to increased effort and energy increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities

enhance cognitive processing determine what consequences are reinforcing lead to improved performance

is an impression that one is capable of performing in a certain manner or attaining certain goals it is a belief that one has the capabilities to execute courses of actions required to manage prospective situations.

 Self-esteem relates to a

persons sense of self-worth Self-efficacy relates to a persons perception of their ability to reach a goal.

is the most common measurement tool in the affective domain it essentially requires an individual to provide an account of his attitude or feelings toward a concept or idea or people.

is a set of categories designed to elicit information about a quantitative attribute in social science. basic feature is that it consists of a number categories, these are usually assigned integers.

it tries to assess an individuals reaction to a specific words, ideas or concepts in terms of ratings on bipolar scales defined with contrasting adjectives at each end

Good ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Bad 3 2 1 0 1 2 3

0 is labeld as neutral 1 slightly 2 quite 3 extremely

 Bipolar adjectives are simple,

economical means for obtaining data on peoples reactions. Ratings on bipolar adjective scales tend to be correlated. 3 dimensions are (EPA):
1. Evaluation 2. Potency 3. Activity

 Some adjective scales are almost

pure measures of the EPA dimensions: Example: good-bad for Evaluation powerfulpowerless for Potency fast-slow for Activity

 EPA measurements are

appropriate when one is interested in affective responses. The SD has been used as a measure of attitude in a wide variety of projects

 Thurstone is considered to be the

Father of attitude measurement. He addressed the issue of how favorable an individual is with regard to a given issue He developed an attitude continuum to determine the position of favorability on the issue.

____1. Reproductive Health Bill is morally wrong. (scale value = 0.9) ____2. I am not interested if Reproductive Health Bill is right or wrong. (scale value = 5.4) ____3. I believe that RH Bill should be given consideration. (scale value =10.3)

 In 1932, Likert developed the method

of summated ratings (or Likert Scale), which is still widely used. The Likert scale requires that individuals tick on a box to report whether they strongly agree, agree, are undecided, disagree, or strongly disagree.

Pick individual items to include. Choose individual items that you know correlate highly with the total score across items. 2. Choose how to scale each item 3. Ask your target audience to mark each item. 4. Derive a targets score by adding the values that target identified on each item
1.

Use of Facebook 1- Strongly Disagree 3 - Agree 2- Disagree 4 Strongly Agree

1. Facebook has become part of 1 2 3 4 my daily routine 2. I have used Facebook to keep In touch with my old friends 1 2 3 4

 In 1944, Guttman suggested that

attitude should be measured by multidimensional scales as opposed to unidimensional scales He developed the Scalogram Analysis, Cumulative Scaling or Guttman Scaling Major characteristic of this scale is that the response to one item helps predict the responses to other items

 I like cake

if the respondent respond

negatively to this item then it will be predictive that he will not respond positively to this statement:
Cakes are great for breakfast

Here is an example of a Guttman scale - the Bogardus Social Distance Scale: (Least extreme) Are you willing to permit immigrants to live in your country? Are you willing to permit immigrants to live in your community? Are you willing to permit immigrants to live in your neighbourhood? Are you willing to permit immigrants to live next door to you? Would you permit your child to marry an immigrant? (Most extreme) E.g., agreement with item 3 implies agreement with items 1 and 2.

the most common and perhaps the easiest instrument in the affective domain. A checklist consist of simple items that the student or teacher marks as absent or present

Enumerate all the attributes and characteristics you wish to observe relative to the concept being measured. 2. Arrange these attributes as a shopping list of characteristics 3. Ask the students to mark those attributes or characteristics which are present and to leave a blank those which are not
1.

__ 1. ask an interesting, speculative question __ 2. show a picture, tell a little story __ 3. try playfulness, silliness, and use props __ 4. signal students auditorily: use a bell, beeper or timer. __ 5. vary your tone of voice: loud, soft, whispering __ 6. use colors: colored chalk, colored papers __ 7. use eye contact

Construct a rating scale Measuring attitudes toward the use of cellphone for texting Measuring attitudes towards Mathematics Measuring attitudes towards to-be implemented Sex education in elementary Measuring attitudes towards the use of Facebook

 Construct a checklist

Classroom observation for a practice

teacher Good interpersonal relations checklist Study habits checklist Checklist for behavior demonstrating good manners and right conduct