Daniel Karz gave four functions of attitude –
- Knowledge function: Knowing one’s or other’s attitude imparts knowledge.
- Utility/instrumental/adjustment/ adaptive: Helps to choose what is rewarding (and also avoids punishment).
- Ego Defence/expression: Attitudes can help people protect their self-esteem and avoid depression. Mechanisms: Denial, Repression, Projection, Rationalization.
- Value expression/ social acceptance: Used to express one’s core values or beliefs.
- Heuristic: shortcut to solve a problem immediately.
- Conversion of negativity to positivity: I have not failed 1000 times but I have found 1000 ways that did not work (Edison)
