Difference Between Attitude and Aptitude

The difference between attitude and aptitude is that attitude refers to temperament of a person facing certain situations and aptitude is talentthe ability or skill that one has for something.

These two concepts are often confused because of their written similarity and because both are important qualities for optimal interaction with the environment, in addition to being qualities valued in the organizational field.

Attitude Aptitude Definition Default response to reality. Talent or specific ability to execute a task. Origin Types Positive. Negative. neutral. Proactive. Reactive. Interested. Altruistic. Collaborator. Passive. aggressive. assertive Emotional. Rational. abstract. Social. Mechanics. Artistic – plastic. Space. Visual-motor. Verbal. numeric. Examples In the workplace, a positive and proactive attitude is valued, in such a way that workers can develop healthy, productive relationships, oriented towards the search for creative solutions. In a programmer-focused job search, applicants are expected to have abstract and numerical skills, depending on the work they will be doing.

What is attitude?

In psychology, attitude is understood as the predisposition of a subject to respond to situations consistently and, therefore, it is considered an important variable to predict behaviors.

In other words, the attitude can be considered a learned tendency or predisposition of a cognitive and affective nature before the circumstances, people or objects that trigger a response from the subject.

The attitude is based on biological factors (the organism’s primary response to a stimulus), emotional factors and the belief system, and can be triggered by a specific or generalized stimulus. In addition, it can be reinforced in a positive or negative way, according to experience.

types of attitude

There are five major types of attitude, which in turn are subdivided into new categories:

Attitude according to affective valence

They are the attitudes of people according to the assessment they have of their environment.

Positive attitude: reality is interpreted optimistically, so the behavior is aimed at achieving the objectives in a healthy way.

Negative attitude: pessimistic interpretation of reality. It is impossible for the individual to see the positive aspects of reality.

neutral attitude: is the attitude of those who wish to project impartiality; However, it is not a frequent type of attitude.

Attitude according to activity orientation

They are the attitudes that are developed with respect to the execution of a task.

Proactive attitude: the person is capable of generating solutions autonomously and creatively.

reactive attitude: the person avoids solving a problem or task and tends to conformism.

Attitude according to motivation

As its name indicates, they are the attitudes that are generated according to what motivates the individual.

interested attitude: It is characteristic of people who seek to satisfy their needs, without considering the motivations and interests of others.

altruistic attitude: the person acts for the benefit of the other, beyond their own interests.

Attitude based on the relationship with the other

They are attitudes that arise based on experiences, relationships and social ties.

collaborative attitude: stimulates the integration of the other or the group based on the achievement of a common objective.

passive attitude: there is a lack of initiative, and even, the person can put his interests aside to subordinate what the group decides.

aggressive attitude: the person can make use of physical, psychological or verbal violence to achieve their goals.

assertive attitude: own interests and those of others are considered and agreement is sought.

Attitude based on the assessment of reality

They are attitudes determined according to the emotionality or rationality with which reality is perceived.

emotional attitude: as its name indicates, the person perceives reality solely based on their emotions, leaving rational assessment in the background.

rational attitude: reason and logic are taken into account to assess reality, ignoring or suppressing emotionality.

Attitude Components

In the field of psychology, attitude is considered to have three essential components:

cognitive component: for a subject to develop an attitude towards something or someone, it is necessary that they have a cognitive representation about it. That is, he has to have information about that object, as well as perceptions and beliefs about it, in order to form his attitude. In this sense, it is not possible to have an attitude about what is unknown.

affective component: is the positive or negative feeling that develops towards the object, person or event about which an attitude is generated.

behavioral component: is the predisposition or consistent response of the subject to the same object, person or event.

Attitude functions

Attitudes fulfill four basic functions:

The attitude allows the person to get closer to the fulfillment of his objective, so it has an instrumental function. Helps the individual to process information from the environment. The attitude contributes to make visible the beliefs and the scale of values ​​of the person. The attitude acts as a resource for the reaffirmation of the subject’s self-esteem and the justification of her acts.

What is fitness?

In psychology, aptitude is the ability to achieve something. It can also be defined as the series of conditions or requirements that a person has to fulfill a specific function or objective.

For example, a communicator must have verbal skills, a programmer must have logical analysis and problem solving skills, an illustrator must have artistic skills, etc.

Fitness Types

These are some general skills that a person can develop, according to psychology:

abstract fitness: ability to understand complex concepts.

social aptitude: It refers to all the abilities that allow interrelation with other people or groups of people according to the norm.

mechanical aptitude: ability to understand movement.

artistic aptitude – plastic: understanding the use of shapes and colors.

spatial fitness: understanding and proper use of space.

Visual-motor aptitude: coordination of eye and hand movements.

verbal aptitude: understanding and proper use of words.

numerical aptitude: understanding and execution of operations with numbers.

Both attitude and aptitude can be natural or acquired. Natural attitudes are those that are part of the personality, while natural aptitudes are what we call talent, that is, an innate ability to do something well.

On the other hand, the acquired attitudes are those learned through the deconstruction of behavior to change the response to different situations. While learned skills are those that are acquired with specific knowledge and its practical application.

See also:

Graduated in 2006 in Communication Sciences from the University of the Americas, with a postgraduate degree in Management Strategies and Control from the University of Chile in 2008.