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Governance, Ethics, Law and International Relations — Group-I · Chapter 7

Attitude, Emotional Intelligence and Aptitude

What to remember

  • An attitude is a learned, lasting tendency to feel, think and act in a particular way towards a person, object or idea; it has three parts: cognitive, affective and behavioural.
  • Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to know, manage and use emotions in oneself and in others; Goleman's model has five parts: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.
  • Aptitude and foundational values for civil service include integrity, impartiality, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy and tolerance towards the weaker sections.

Attitude: meaning, components and functions

An attitude is a settled way of evaluating something as good or bad, liked or disliked. It can be positive, negative or neutral. It differs from a value: a value is a deep belief about what is important (for example honesty), while an attitude is an opinion towards a particular object or situation. It differs from an opinion because an attitude has feeling and a tendency to act.

ABC model of attitude components

ComponentMeaningExample (attitude to a public health camp)
Affective (feeling)Emotion towards the object"I feel happy when the camp helps people"
Behavioural (action)Tendency to act"I volunteer at the camp"
Cognitive (belief)Thoughts and knowledge"The camp prevents disease"

Functions of attitude (Daniel Katz)

FunctionMeaning
KnowledgeHelps to organise and understand the world
Instrumental (utilitarian)Helps to gain rewards and avoid punishment
Ego-defensiveProtects self-image from threat
Value-expressiveShows our basic values and self-concept

How attitudes form: through direct experience, family and peers, culture and religion, education, media, and reward and punishment (learning by conditioning and by watching others). Measurement: scales such as the Likert scale (agree to disagree) and the Bogardus social distance scale.

Attitude and behaviour: attitude does not always decide behaviour. The theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen) says that behaviour depends on intention, which comes from attitude, social pressure (subjective norms) and a person's sense of control. A civil servant may hold a favourable attitude to a scheme yet fail to act because of workload or lack of support.

Attitude change and persuasion

Cognitive dissonance (Leon Festinger): when belief and action do not agree, a person feels discomfort and tries to reduce it, either by changing the belief or the behaviour or by explaining away the difference. Example: a person who knows that smoking is harmful may decide that "the risk is small".

Persuasion is an effort to change attitudes through communication. Hovland's approach looks at four elements:

  • 1. Source: credibility, expertise and trustworthiness of the speaker.
  • 2. Message: clear reasons, balanced arguments, emotional appeals (fear appeals work only if a solution is also shown).
  • 3. Audience: age, education and existing beliefs.
  • 4. Channel: face-to-face talk, media or social media.

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty and Cacioppo) says there are two routes. The central route uses careful thinking about the arguments and gives lasting change. The peripheral route uses cues like the speaker's looks or popularity and gives short-lived change.

Other ways to change attitudes: contact with the other group, role models, incentives, awareness campaigns, and the "foot-in-the-door" method (a small request first, a larger one later). Government campaigns for sanitation, girl child education and road safety use such methods.

Social influence includes conformity (matching the group), compliance (acting on a request), and obedience (following authority). Public servants must be aware that group pressure and obedience can lead to wrong decisions.

Moral and political attitudes, prejudice

  • Moral attitudes are views on right and wrong, such as attitudes to honesty, corruption or animal welfare. They are strongly tied to values and conscience.
  • Political attitudes are views on governance, parties, rights and policies. They are shaped by family, caste, region, education, media and personal experience. In a democracy, public servants may hold their own political views but must remain politically neutral in work.
  • Prejudice is a negative attitude towards a group without good reason. Stereotype is a fixed image of a group. Discrimination is unfair behaviour based on prejudice. A halo effect is judging all qualities of a person from one good trait.
  • Ways to reduce prejudice: equal-status contact, shared goals, education, strong laws and fair institutions.

Emotional intelligence

The idea was introduced by Peter Salovey and John Mayer in 1990 and made popular by Daniel Goleman in 1995.

Goleman's componentMeaningUse in administration
Self-awarenessKnowing one's emotions, strengths and limitsHonest self-review
Self-regulationControlling impulses and staying calmHandling a crowd or a crisis calmly
MotivationInner drive, optimismPersistence in long projects
EmpathyUnderstanding others' feelingsTreating citizens with care
Social skillsManaging relationships, teamworkNegotiation, leadership

Uses of EI: better leadership, less conflict, stress management, better decisions under pressure, improved relations with the public and subordinates. EI is different from IQ, which measures reasoning ability. EI can be developed by training, feedback, reflection and practice. Limits: EI can be misused for manipulation, and measurement is difficult.

Aptitude and foundational values for civil service

Aptitude means natural or developed ability to do a particular type of work well. Foundational values for civil service are:

  • Integrity: honesty and consistency between word and deed.
  • Impartiality and non-partisanship: equal treatment, no favour to a party, group or person.
  • Objectivity: decisions on facts and merit, not on feelings.
  • Dedication to public service: putting duty above personal interest.
  • Empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker sections.
  • Courage and accountability: ready to give reasons for decisions.

The Indian civil servant should combine intellectual ability, emotional maturity and moral strength. Aptitude tests look at skills; ethics tests look at conduct.

Attitude and the public servant: applying the ideas

Attitudes matter in administration because they decide how an officer treats a citizen. A negative attitude towards the poor, women, tribal people or minorities leads to delay, rudeness and denial of services. A positive attitude of service leads to responsive and humane governance.

Ways a public organisation can build good attitudes:

  • Selection and training: orientation programmes, field visits and case studies on empathy and fairness.
  • Leadership by example: seniors who are honest and fair set the tone for the team.
  • Feedback and grievance systems: citizens' feedback, social audits and public hearings show where attitudes need change.
  • Rewards and recognition for good service; fair action against misconduct.
  • Rotation and exposure to rural and difficult areas so that officers understand the real conditions.

Emotional intelligence in practice: a District Collector in a flood relief camp has to remain calm (self-regulation), understand the fear of displaced families (empathy), motivate the staff for long hours (motivation), and coordinate departments (social skills). An officer with high IQ but low EI may take correct technical decisions but fail to carry people with him.

Typical case-study pointers: separate facts from feelings; avoid acting in anger; listen before judging; do not allow a personal bias (about caste, religion, gender or region) to touch a decision; and be ready to explain the decision in simple words to the public.

Attitude formation in the Indian setting

In India, attitudes towards gender, caste, religion and work are strongly shaped by family and community. Education, mass media and legal change slowly alter them. Campaigns that mix awareness, role models, community leaders and incentives, as seen in sanitation and girl-child education drives, show that change is possible when the message is repeated and trusted. A public servant has to understand local attitudes before planning a scheme, because a good scheme can fail if the people's belief or habit is against it.

Exam traps

  • Cognitive = belief; affective = feeling; behavioural = action.
  • A value is deeper and more lasting than an attitude.
  • Katz's four functions: knowledge, instrumental, ego-defensive, value-expressive.
  • Festinger is linked to cognitive dissonance; Petty and Cacioppo to ELM; Ajzen to planned behaviour.
  • Central route gives lasting change; peripheral route gives short-term change.
  • Prejudice is an attitude; discrimination is behaviour.
  • Salovey and Mayer introduced EI; Goleman popularised it.
  • Impartiality is equal treatment; neutrality in politics is non-partisanship.

One-liners

  • 1. Attitude has three components: cognitive, affective and behavioural.
  • 2. Katz gave four functions of attitude.
  • 3. Cognitive dissonance was proposed by Festinger.
  • 4. The Likert scale measures attitude on an agree-disagree range.
  • 5. ELM has a central and a peripheral route.
  • 6. A stereotype is a fixed image of a group.
  • 7. Goleman's model has five components.
  • 8. Empathy is understanding another person's feelings.
  • 9. EI was introduced in 1990 by Salovey and Mayer.
  • 10. Objectivity means decision based on facts and merit.
  • 11. Foot-in-the-door starts with a small request.
  • 12. A halo effect is a judgment of all traits from one good trait.

Practice questions

  1. The three components of an attitude are

    1. Source, message and audience
    2. Self, other and society
    3. Cognitive, affective and behavioural
    4. Moral, legal and social
    Answer

    C. Cognitive, affective and behavioural

    The ABC model: affective, behavioural, cognitive.

  2. The cognitive component of attitude refers to

    1. Beliefs and thoughts
    2. Actions
    3. Feelings
    4. Habits
    Answer

    A. Beliefs and thoughts

    Cognitive means beliefs and knowledge about the object.

  3. The affective component of attitude refers to

    1. Behaviour
    2. Beliefs
    3. Emotions and feelings
    4. Rules
    Answer

    C. Emotions and feelings

    Affective means feeling towards the object.

  4. Cognitive dissonance theory was proposed by

    1. Leon Festinger
    2. Icek Ajzen
    3. Daniel Katz
    4. Daniel Goleman
    Answer

    A. Leon Festinger

    Festinger described discomfort from conflicting beliefs and actions.

  5. The functions of attitude were classified by

    1. Hovland
    2. Katz
    3. Goleman
    4. Kohlberg
    Answer

    B. Katz

    Katz gave four functions: knowledge, instrumental, ego-defensive, value-expressive.

  6. Emotional intelligence was introduced as a concept by

    1. Goleman alone in 1995
    2. Piaget
    3. Freud and Jung
    4. Salovey and Mayer
    Answer

    D. Salovey and Mayer

    Salovey and Mayer introduced it in 1990.

  7. Which of the following is NOT a component of Goleman's emotional intelligence?

    1. Empathy
    2. Social skills
    3. Memory power
    4. Self-awareness
    Answer

    C. Memory power

    The five components are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

  8. Understanding the feelings of another person is called

    1. Empathy
    2. Sympathy only
    3. Prejudice
    4. Conformity
    Answer

    A. Empathy

    Empathy means seeing a situation from another's view.

  9. A fixed and over-simplified image of a group is a

    1. Norm
    2. Aptitude
    3. Value
    4. Stereotype
    Answer

    D. Stereotype

    Stereotype is a fixed image of members of a group.

  10. Unfair behaviour towards a person because of group membership is

    1. Prejudice
    2. Discrimination
    3. Stereotype
    4. Persuasion
    Answer

    B. Discrimination

    Discrimination is behaviour; prejudice is attitude.

  11. The Likert scale is used to

    1. Measure intelligence
    2. Measure attitude on an agree-disagree range
    3. Measure personality only
    4. Measure social class
    Answer

    B. Measure attitude on an agree-disagree range

    It records the degree of agreement.

  12. The Bogardus scale measures

    1. Social distance
    2. Emotional intelligence
    3. Intelligence quotient
    4. Political ideology only
    Answer

    A. Social distance

    It records how close a person is willing to be to a group.

  13. In the Elaboration Likelihood Model, attitude change through careful thinking about arguments is the

    1. Peripheral route
    2. Social route
    3. Affective route
    4. Central route
    Answer

    D. Central route

    The central route gives more lasting change.

  14. The ELM was proposed by

    1. Ajzen and Fishbein
    2. Festinger and Katz
    3. Petty and Cacioppo
    4. Salovey and Mayer
    Answer

    C. Petty and Cacioppo

    Petty and Cacioppo gave the Elaboration Likelihood Model.

  15. The theory of planned behaviour is associated with

    1. Goleman
    2. Kohlberg
    3. Festinger
    4. Ajzen
    Answer

    D. Ajzen

    It links intention to attitude, norms and perceived control.

  16. Which one is a foundational value for a civil servant?

    1. Personal loyalty to a leader
    2. Secrecy for its own sake
    3. Impartiality
    4. Partisanship
    Answer

    C. Impartiality

    Impartiality and non-partisanship are core civil service values.

  17. Judging a person's every quality from one good trait is called the

    1. Halo effect
    2. Cognitive dissonance
    3. Foot-in-the-door effect
    4. Conformity
    Answer

    A. Halo effect

    Halo effect is a bias of overall judgment.

  18. A person who knows smoking is harmful but says "one cigarette does no harm" is reducing

    1. Obedience
    2. Cognitive dissonance
    3. Conformity
    4. Persuasion
    Answer

    B. Cognitive dissonance

    He changes his belief to remove the discomfort.

  19. A campaign shows a famous film star urging people to wear helmets, and people copy him without thinking about the facts. This is the

    1. Central route
    2. Moral route
    3. Instrumental route
    4. Peripheral route
    Answer

    D. Peripheral route

    The star's popularity is a peripheral cue.

  20. An official stays calm when an angry crowd gathers. Which EI component is shown?

    1. Motivation
    2. Halo effect
    3. Self-regulation
    4. Prejudice
    Answer

    C. Self-regulation

    Controlling impulses and staying calm is self-regulation.

  21. A collector listens to a farmer's problem with care and understands his worry. This shows

    1. Empathy
    2. Discrimination
    3. Stereotyping
    4. Persuasion
    Answer

    A. Empathy

    Understanding the other's feelings is empathy.

  22. A person supports a scheme because it will give him a promotion. According to Katz, this is the

    1. Knowledge function
    2. Instrumental function
    3. Value-expressive function
    4. Ego-defensive function
    Answer

    B. Instrumental function

    It serves personal reward.

  23. A person supports a cause because it expresses his basic values. This is the

    1. Ego-defensive function
    2. Knowledge function
    3. Instrumental function
    4. Value-expressive function
    Answer

    D. Value-expressive function

    The attitude expresses self-concept and values.

  24. Which approach starts with a small request and then moves to a larger one?

    1. Foot-in-the-door
    2. Central route
    3. Door-in-the-face
    4. Halo effect
    Answer

    A. Foot-in-the-door

    It is a compliance technique.

  25. Consider the statements. 1. Attitude has cognitive, affective and behavioural parts. 2. A value is shallower than an attitude. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    A value is deeper and more lasting.

  26. Consider the statements. 1. Prejudice is an attitude. 2. Discrimination is a behaviour. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  27. Consider the statements. 1. Central route persuasion gives lasting change. 2. Peripheral route persuasion is based on careful study of arguments. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    The peripheral route depends on surface cues.

  28. Consider the statements. 1. EI can be improved by training. 2. EI is the same as IQ. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    EI differs from IQ and can be developed.

  29. Consider the statements. 1. Attitude always decides behaviour. 2. Social pressure and perceived control also affect behaviour. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    B. 2 only

    Behaviour depends on more than attitude.

  30. Consider the statements. 1. Goleman's model has five components. 2. Goleman popularised EI in 1995. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  31. Consider the statements. 1. Political attitudes are shaped by family and media. 2. Civil servants must show political neutrality in their work. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both are correct.

  32. Consider the statements. 1. Cognitive dissonance can lead people to change their beliefs. 2. It can also lead to changed behaviour. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Either can be changed to reduce discomfort.

  33. Consider the statements. 1. Conformity is matching one's behaviour to a group. 2. Obedience is following the order of an authority. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    C. Both 1 and 2

    Both definitions are right.

  34. Consider the statements. 1. Equal-status contact between groups can reduce prejudice. 2. Prejudice cannot be reduced by education. Which is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Answer

    A. 1 only

    Education and contact can reduce prejudice.

  35. Match the thinker with the theory: Festinger

    1. Planned behaviour
    2. Cognitive dissonance
    3. Functions of attitude
    4. Elaboration likelihood
    Answer

    B. Cognitive dissonance

    Festinger developed cognitive dissonance theory.

  36. Match the thinker with the theory: Ajzen

    1. Moral development
    2. Social distance scale
    3. Cognitive dissonance
    4. Planned behaviour
    Answer

    D. Planned behaviour

    Ajzen proposed the theory of planned behaviour.

  37. Match the EI component with its meaning: Self-awareness

    1. Managing relationships
    2. Knowing one's own emotions and limits
    3. Understanding others' feelings
    4. Controlling impulses
    Answer

    B. Knowing one's own emotions and limits

    Self-awareness means knowing oneself.

  38. Match the EI component with its meaning: Social skills

    1. Knowing one's strengths
    2. Inner drive
    3. Calmness in crisis
    4. Managing relationships and teamwork
    Answer

    D. Managing relationships and teamwork

    Social skills handle relationships.

  39. Match the function of attitude with its meaning: Ego-defensive

    1. Gains rewards
    2. Protects self-image
    3. Organises knowledge
    4. Expresses values
    Answer

    B. Protects self-image

    It guards a person from threat to the self.

  40. Which of these is NOT a feature of a good civil servant's attitude?

    1. Dedication to public service
    2. Compassion for the weak
    3. Objectivity
    4. Favouritism to those known personally
    Answer

    D. Favouritism to those known personally

    Favouritism goes against impartiality.

  41. Which feature best differentiates EI from IQ?

    1. EI measures reasoning ability
    2. EI cannot be developed
    3. EI is fixed at birth
    4. EI deals with managing emotions and relationships
    Answer

    D. EI deals with managing emotions and relationships

    IQ measures reasoning; EI is about emotions.

  42. A public speaker is trusted because of expertise and honesty. Which persuasion element is strong?

    1. Audience age
    2. Source credibility
    3. Message length
    4. Channel
    Answer

    B. Source credibility

    The source's credibility makes the message persuasive.

  43. A message that shows a danger and also a way to avoid it is more likely to succeed. This refers to

    1. Obedience
    2. Fear appeal with a solution
    3. Halo effect
    4. Stereotyping
    Answer

    B. Fear appeal with a solution

    Fear without a solution may lead to denial.

  44. An officer believes that people from one village are always lazy and refuses their petition. This is

    1. Stereotype leading to discrimination
    2. Empathy
    3. Self-regulation
    4. Objective decision
    Answer

    A. Stereotype leading to discrimination

    Stereotype and discrimination.

  45. Which method is most suitable for lasting change in public attitude towards sanitation?

    1. A single fear poster
    2. Ignoring the issue
    3. Punishing everyone
    4. Awareness with reasons, role models and incentives
    Answer

    D. Awareness with reasons, role models and incentives

    Reasons, role models and incentives work through the central route.

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