Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Attitude and Behavior

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attitude vs behaviorOne of the widely accepted facts about human beings is, No two people are alike, whether in terms of physical appearance (i.e. body structure, height, weight, colour, etc) or abstract aspects (like intelligence, attitude, personality, behaviour and so on). Many people take a person’s attitude as their behaviour. Although directly or indirectly they are interrelated, they are different in the sense that attitude represents how a person thinks or feels about someone or something.

On the other extreme, behavior represents an individual’s reaction to a particular action, person or environment.

It has been said that ‘a person’s attitude affects thoughts while his/her behavior affects actions.’ So, in our today’s topic, we are going to explore some significant differences between attitude and behavior.

Content: Attitude Vs Behavior

  1. Comparison Chart
  2. Definition
  3. Key Differences
  4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for ComparisonAttitudeBehavior
MeaningAttitude refers to a person's mental view, regarding the way he/she thinks or feels about someone or something.Behavior implies the actions, moves, conduct or functions of an individual or group towards other persons.
Based onExperience and observationSituation
TraitHumanInborn
What is it?A person's mindset.Outward expression of attitude.
ReflectsWhat you think or feel?What you do?
Defined byWay we perceive things.Social Norms

Definition of Attitude

To put simply, attitude is a person’s mental outlook, which defines the way we think or feel anything. It is a hypothetical construct, i.e. whose direct observation is not possible. It is a predisposition to respond in a settled way to a person, event, opinion, object, etc., which is reflected in our body language. It has a strong impact on our decisions, actions, stimuli, etc. Education, experience, and environment are the major factors that affect a person’s attitude.

A person’s attitude can be positive, negative or neutral views, which shows one’s likes and dislikes for someone or something. So, the type of attitude we carry, speaks a lot about us, as we get into that mood and transmits a message to the people around us. There is no such thing like ideal attitude, for a particular situation as it is spontaneous and so we always have a choice to opt the right attitude for us.

Definition of Behavior

The term ‘behavior’ can be described as the way of conducting oneself. It is the manner of acting or controlling oneself towards other people. It is the range of actions, responses, and mannerisms set by an individual, system or organization in association with themselves or their environment, in any circumstances.

In short, behavior is an individual or group reaction to inputs such as an action, environment or stimulus which can be internal or external, voluntary or involuntary, conscious or subconscious.

Key Differences Between Attitude and Behavior

The difference between attitude and behavior can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:

  1. Attitude is defined as a person’s mental tendency, which is responsible for the way he thinks or feels for someone or something. Behavior implies the actions, moves, conduct or functions of an individual or group towards other persons.
  2. A person’s attitude is mainly based on the experiences gained by him during the course of his life and observations. On the other hand, the behavior of a person relies on the situation.
  3. Attitude is a person’s inner thoughts and feelings. As opposed to, behavior expresses a person’s attitude.
  4. The way of thinking or feeling is reflected by a person’s attitude. On the contrary, a person’s conduct is reflected by his behavior.
  5.  Attitude is defined by the way we perceive things whereas behavior is ruled by social norms.
  6. Attitude is a human trait but behavior is an inborn attribute.

Conclusion

So, with the above discussion, it is clear that whatever you say or do, conveys a message to the world about what’s going on in your mind. It is universally accepted fact that our emotions, opinions and thoughts cannot be observed, which shows our attitude. Further, our behavior is ruled by our attitude as his actions are the reflection of his thoughts.

While attitude is nothing but a person’s perception on something or someone in life. As against this behavior, is how a person reacts to various inputs and stimulus.

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Comments

  1. Vamsi M says

    Gotten full of clarity. Thanks for Key Differences. And I wonder if I find search option in this site to access other differences also.
    Thanks and Regards,
    Vamsi M

    Reply

  3. pepito says

    Thank you for the very clear messages and it will help me explain the difference between attitude and behavior.

    I appreciate the others expressions of satisfaction in this website.

    Pepito

    Reply

  4. M. Shahab0uddin says

    Its amazing to read key difference on behavior and attitude, Thanks for sharing your knowledge with people

    Reply

  6. Marcelle says

    Thank you for the clarity you have provided in explaining the differences between two very close and often mis used descriptions of how we present ourselves to others.

    Reply

  9. Anish George says

    Thank you sharing this valuable information with us. It made my doubts very clear and I hope I can do better in exams now!

    Reply

  12. Ali Abdallah says

    Indeed amazing it is vs the clarifications provided. Thanks for Key Differences for this great added knowledge.

    Reply

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