Influencing Factors-te

Factors Influencing Attitudes

A child’s attitude is formed as a direct result of his interaction within the home, school, neighbourhood and society at large. It is the by-product of thoughts, beliefs, customs, traditions, judgment and self-esteem.

Broadly speaking, there are three factors which influence the attitude of person. These are:

1. Cultural beliefs
2. Past and present experiences
3. What others have told him or demonstrated for him.

Let us examine and understand each of these factors.

1. Cultural Beliefs:

   Certain beliefs differ from region to region. For instance, the teacher is accorded a venerable status in India by his students whereas he is treated as a friend by his western counterparts. Attitude towards teacher or guru is thus dependent on cultural beliefs.

2. Past and Present Experiences:

   Experiences undergone in childhood largely contribute to the formation of one’s attitudes in later life. Let us look at a couple of examples

   1. Suresh does not approve of his wife taking up a job. Why?

      Because his childhood had been spent mostly in the company of maids. He used to miss the presence of his mother who had a job with long working hours. This past experience shaped his attitude towards all working women.

   2. Hari is reluctant to pick up waste papers lying near his desk in the class. Why?

      It is so because as a frequent late-comer to school, he had to pick up the waste paper lying within the school compound as a punishment. For Hari, picking up paper in this manner amounted to undergoing punishment. And hence the attitude of reluctance now.

3. What others have told him or demonstrated for him:

   The child comes across individuals whose utterances or behaviour play a vital role in shaping his attitude.

   1. Salim lost his father when he was just 10 years old. To him God is very cruel. Why?

      All the mourners who visited his house for condolence, kept saying so, and this was deeply imprinted into his innocent mind.

   2. John never believes in sharing his belongings with his classmates even in their dire need. Rather, he never believes in giving. Why?

      This kind of attitude has been programmed for him by his parents ever since his childhood. His parents always used to advise him: “Mind your own business”. And so John grows up as a selfish boy, insensitive to other’s needs.

Here is an interesting story, reinforcing the above idea.

A child had fallen into a pit. The passers-by kept pleading to him “Give your hand”, obviously with a view to pull him out. But he kept refusing. Then a family friend of that child happened to pass by seeing the crowd, he halted there and the onlookers narrated to him the non-cooperation on the part of the child. With a smile on his face, the gentleman went near the pit and shouted at the boy. “Take my hand: Take my hand” and the child responded immediately and was pulled out of the pit.

“The child has been trained only to take and not to give” said he, to the puzzled spectators,

The above examples highlight the importance of developing the right attitudes in children at a young age so that they grow up with sound values and are mentally, emotionally and spiritually well equipped to handle the challenges of life with confidence and courage.

[Adapted from: ‘Attitude Tests’, A Handbook for Balvikas gurus and Teachers by Smt. G.Nalini Padmanaban]