The structure of attitudes
It is generally accepted that an attitude contains three components: cognitive, affective and behavioral:
- The cognitive component corresponds to our own beliefs, ideas, perceptions, and knowledge toward a situation and the information we possess about it (frame of references) because attitude formation depends on this. These beliefs include the estimates, probabilities, and desirabilities of behaviors associated with the situations we expect to face. If we adopt third party opinions that skiing is good for us, we will surely generate a manifest belief and propensity to adopt a positive attitude because these beliefs will have a strong effect on our behavior. Attitudes are not only based on the beliefs we hold about a given situation but also on perceived control. This control would be our expectation about certain factors that hinder the adoption of a certain behavior, in other words, the more factors we believe hinder our skiing, the lower perception of control which will predispose our attitude.
- The affective component concerns our emotions and feelings which influence our perception of the situation and orient ourselves to a certain attitude towards it. The emotions that are generated when skiing are, in part, the result of our beliefs. We have a tendency to feel strong emotions during skiing. If we believe that skiing is dangerous, our attitude will be one of rejection but if we experience positive emotions, our attitude will also be positive.
- The behavioral component refers to displaying a certain behavior. This component exposes both the actions to be executed and the intention of behavior, that is, our tendency to act favorably or unfavorably towards the circumstance presented, this being considered as the active mechanism of attitude.
Social learning of attitudes
Children are prone to observe and imitate from an early age the attitudes of adults towards sport, especially their parents. If they are involved in skiing, parents will certainly have a positive influence on their children’s attitudes. But it may happen that, on the one hand, parents do not clearly recognize their children’s sporting achievements and do not consider giving the necessary reinforcement, which can generate an indifferent attitude to the sport and, on the other hand, parents are observed to be over-involved in their children’s sporting activities.
It would be appropriate for them to commit themselves moderately, avoiding extremes that cause a reduction in satisfaction and generate attitudes of opposition and disdain for the chosen activity. With respect to competition, too much emphasis on participating and winning causes children to stop enjoying skiing. The appropriate attitude should be to participate while enjoying.
To generate a positive attitude toward skiing, attention should be given to everyone equally and not just the top performers. Encouragement should be given often and care should be taken when transmitting to those skiers with lesser skills that they should practice extra because they may perceive it as a punishment. It should be taken into account that, in addition to distinguishing achievements, also reward -especially- the attitude towards effort as it will be beneficial for their future attitudes in life.
Attitudes of superiority
The attitudes of superiority, visible in some skiers, lead them to feel, redundantly, ‘superior’ to others in their behavior and ways of skiing. According to psychologist Celia Antonini, omnipotence, arrogance, narcissism, pride, and vanity are the most representative when it comes to exceeding socially permitted limits.
When these types of attitudes lead to skiing without observing the Rules of Conduct, the skier disregards other people on the slopes. Skiing defiantly because feeling inwardly that he is in control and will not be hindered in his actions shows a skewed assessment of reality. This supposed ‘superiority’ is nothing more than a considerable lack of self-confidence, wanting to stand out by demonstrating illusory qualities that, according to his belief, make him different from others.
