Definition relating to the culture of peace and education for living together
Disposition, posture or psychological reaction, which may be positive, negative or ambivalent, and externalized or not, towards any subject or object of consideration (persons, groups, cultural, ethnic, religious or national communities, situations, ideas, animals, objects, etc.) resulting from lived experience, or colored by external influences, opinions or favorable or unfavorable prejudices.
Source: Graines de Paix.
Definitions of the words behavior and savoir-être
Distinction between attitudes and behaviors
Attitudes concern the way we are, feel, think and judge.
Behaviors concern the way we act.
- Attitudes are primarily internal, but can also be externalized through behaviors that describe or hide them.
- Behaviors are always external and not necessarily a function of attitudes. See the three examples below.
The soft skills may include :
- attitudes such as non-judgment, empathy, or listening, and all other ways of feeling, thinking or reacting that are systematic, intrinsic, generally independent of a given situation…)
- and behaviors (ways of behaving, for example, when faced with a new situation, which can be anything from non-judgment to empathy or listening (specific to a given situation).
The two are therefore often linked, but not necessarily:
An attitude can be expressed in behavior (non-verbal language, facial expression, verbal expression, physical action, physiological reactions, etc.), or not.
Example 1 Contemptuous attitude
Possible behaviors:
– contemptuous grin or look, contemptuous words, contemptuous actions (exclusion from a game, a group, etc.)
or
– nothing externalized or noticeable, or pleasant behavior to mask contempt (so as not to hurt someone’s feelings, or so as not to be punished).
Example 2 Hateful attitude
Possible behaviors:
– glare or avoidance, strong words or silence, weighted or uncontrolled remarks, acts of revenge or not
– or nothing externalized or perceptible, or honeyed behavior, to mask a forthcoming misdeed.
Example 3 Systematic fear of spiders
There are a number of very different possible behaviors:
– Fleeing the room
– Screaming for help
– Remaining paralyzed
– Chasing the spider away with a broom
– Killing the spider…
Specific factors that can influence attitudes
– Values
– Beliefs
– Knowledge or lack of knowledge of the subject
– Ability to think critically, to distance oneself from sources of information
– Tendency to be prejudiced, critical
– Intelligence
– Self-esteem, self-confidence,…
– Age
(…)
External factors that can influence attitudes
– The behavior of others – observed or experienced
– The reliability and credibility of sources of information
– The attractive or unattractive presentation of sources of information
– Social norms (what is considered good or bad by one’s environment)
– Education
(…)
Thus, one’s own behavior is not one of the factors that can influence attitudes.
Factors of their own that can influence behavior
– Their values
– Their attitudes
– Their beliefs
– Their ability to control themselves and their emotions
– Fatigue, lack of sleep
– Illness, psychopathy
– Taking medication
– Taking disinhibiting substances
– Biology, genetics, gender, age, …
So attitudes are just one of the many factors that can influence behavior.
External factors that can influence behavior
– Perceived attitudes and behavior in others
– Endless repetition of the same situation
– Education
– Social norms (risk of what people will say)
– Laws and regulations (risk of punishment)
– Climate
(…).