What is the difference between attitude and aptitude? This debate is quite old and tends to oppose attitude and aptitude as if they were contradictory: in a first approximation we can think that an attitude requires a codified education, and that, on the contrary, an aptitude would be something that is given to us as if by divine intervention. .
With this Psychology-Online article we are going to see in detail the characteristics of both, in order to better explain the difference between attitude and aptitude. We will see the definitions of both terms, what they have in common and what differentiates them with practical examples.
What is attitude
If we look at the meaning of attitude, this is a constant willingness to respond in certain ways to situations of the world by the residue of past experience that in some way guides, guides or influences behavior in one way or another (Galimberti, 1992). In this article you will find the.
If we look at the question of what attitude is in psychology, attitude is considered a hypothetical structure (as the unconscious is in psychoanalysis) because cannot be observed directlybut only inferred from the verbal manifestations and the sequence of acts observed in relation to the object.
Types of attitudes according to psychology
The fields in which attitude is the object of special attention are social psychology, analytics and the psychology of understanding.
Attitude according to social psychology
In this area, they identify various types of attitudeeach of them is considered a relatively permanent disposition towards the positive or negative evaluation of any entity.
These are the different types of attitudes according to social psychology:
- Verbal or behavioral attitudes.
- Permanent or temporary.
- Consistent or not with the group they belong to.
Attitude according to analytical psychology
He accepts attitude as one of the existential elements of his psychological theory. He later used the phenomenology of these attitudes with what he considers to be functions of the psyche that, depending on their predominance, determine a preferred attitude of thought, feeling, intuition or sensation.
These are the types of attitudes according to analytical psychology:
- Extroverted attitude.
- Introverted attitude.
Attitude in the psychology of understanding:
The study of attitudes constitutes the first of the three parts in which the psychology of the world conceptions of people is articulated. Karl Jasperswhich differentiates the following types of attitudes:
- Objective attitudes.
- Self-reflective attitudes.
- Enthusiastic attitudes.
Now, after having seen all these types of attitudes, you should know that each person has their abilities and circumstances, but everyone we are responsible for our attitudes before life, and these can be changed. For example, this article explains .
What is fitness
The fitness is the potential capacity that makes an individual suitable for a certain activity, and it is generally revealed early, in most cases it pre-exists learning. Although in the absence of a practical possibility of expression it can remain latent for life (Galimberti, 1992).
The assessment of skills is carried out through specific tests used for both school and professional guidance, with a view to promoting skills and their adaptation towards the objectives to be achieved. Among the most used tests for the evaluation of aptitudes we remember:
- DAT (Differential Aptitude Test): multiple aptitude test for evaluating the aptitudes of adolescents between 13 and 17 years old.
- Graves test (Graves design judgment): reagent for the evaluation of aesthetic aptitudes in subjects between 13 and 30 years old.
- CSPDT (Crawford Small Parts Dexterity Test): aptitude reagent for motor functions.
- Thurstone test: evaluates mnemonic abilities, precision in calculation, organizational ability and, in general, the qualities that characterize mental aptitudes in relation to operations, depth and content.
Types of skills
It is common to differentiate between different types of skills:
Physical abilities
They are those skills that are part of the sensory and motor abilities. Furthermore, physical, perceptual and mnemonic abilities reach their maximum expression around 20-25 years of age.
On the other hand, it is considered that the skills are determined by the combination of innate and acquired factors in different proportions, and especially in perceptual and motor skills, the innate element seems to prevail. Some examples of physical abilities are:
- The precision.
- Coordination of movements.
- Physical resistance.
- The reaction speed.
psychic abilities
They are those abilities that encompass favorable dispositions in one or more mental faculties. It should be said that intellectual attitudes They have a longer duration, with a statistically verifiable decline at age 60. It is considered that intellectual aptitudes play a decisive role in learning.
Some examples of skills psychics are:
- The perception.
- The memory.
- The analytical capacity.
- The synthetic faculty.
- The intuitive ability.
- The artistic faculty.
4 differences between attitude and aptitude
The 4 main differences between the concepts attitude and aptitude are the following:
- Attitude has more weight to achieve the success. An important Harvard study from a few years ago managed to scientifically demonstrate that in the aptitude-attitude dichotomy 85% of the chances of achieving success in life lie in attitude: Having correct preparation is important to achieve what you set out to do, but what is absolutely essential is having an appropriate attitude. Despite this scientific evidence, it is equally true that attitude must be accompanied by talent, skills and abilities; that is, the ability to achieve the expected success.
- The attitude can be positive or negative. As Clement Stone (1959) indicates, “there is very little difference between people, but this small difference makes a big one: the small difference is in the attitude; The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” Therefore, success lies precisely in the coincidence of aptitude with attitude.
- Aptitude is possibility. Aptitude is having the ability to perform a task, function or activity (preparation and study, skills and abilities), while attitude is a state of mind that inspires behavior focused on achieving the proposed objectives.
- The most important thing is that talent and aptitude depend on our abilities but the attitude depends on us.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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