Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values

An attitudeis a tendency to act for or against a person, object, or position. If you have a positive attitude toward the death penalty, you're likely to argue or act in favor of the death penalty (for example, vote for a candidate who supports the death penalty). If you have a negative attitude toward the death penalty, then you're likely to argue or act against it. Attitudes toward the death penalty will influence how favorably or unfavorably listeners will respond to a speaker who supports or denounces capital punishment.

A beliefis the confidence or conviction you have in the truth of some proposition. For example, you may believe that there is an afterlife, that education is the best way to rise from poverty, that democracy is the best form of government, or that all people are born equal.

The term valuerefers to your perception of the worth or goodness (or worthlessness or badness) of some concept or idea. For example, you probably attribute positive values to financial success, education, and contributing to the common welfare. At the same time, you probably place negative values on chemical weapons, corrupt politicians, and selling drugs to children. Because the values an audience holds will influence how it responds to ideas related to those values, it's essential that you learn the values of your specific audience.

Analyzing the Sociology of the Audience

In analyzing an audience be careful not to assume that people covered by the same label are necessarily all alike.

Let's look at four major sociological or demographic variables: (1) cultural factors, (2) age, (3) gender, and (4) religion and religiousness.

Сultural Factors

Cultural factors such as nationality, race, and cultural identity are crucial in audience analysis. Largely because of different training and experiences, the interests, values, and goals of various cultural groups will differ.

Age

Different age groups have different attitudes and bуliefs, largely because they have had different experiences in different contexts. Take these differences into consideration in preparing your speeches.

Gender

Gender is one of the most difficult audience variables to analyze. In recent decades rapid social changes have made it difficult to pin down the effects of gender. As you analyze your audience in terms of gender, ask yourself if men and women differ in the values they consider important insofar as these values are related to your topic and purpose.

For example, traditionally, men have been found to place greater importance on theoretical, economic, and political values. Traditionally, women have been found to place greater importance on aesthetic, social, and religious values. In framingappeals and in selecting examples, take into account the values your audience members consider most important. Ask too if your topic will be seen as more interesting by one gender or the other. Will men and women have different attitudes toward the topic? Men and women do not, for example, respond in the same way to such topics as abortion, rape, and equal pay for equal work.

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