🧭 Social Values and Attitudes
Learn the meaning of values and attitudes, their social roots, and their importance in behaviour change and extension work.
Extension tries to bring desirable change in behaviour. But behaviour does not arise suddenly. It is shaped by deeper layers of attitude and value. That is why social values and attitudes are important in rural sociology.
Meaning of Social Values
Social values are ideas and standards that help people judge whether something is:
- good or bad
- desirable or undesirable
- right or wrong
- acceptable or unacceptable
Values guide preference and judgement. They influence what people respect, reject, protect, or attempt to change.
Meaning of Attitude
An attitude is a tendency to respond positively or negatively toward a person, object, idea, or situation.
Unlike visible action, attitude cannot be seen directly. It is inferred from behaviour, speech, and choice.
Values and attitudes are closely connected:
- values provide broad standards
- attitudes reflect the direction of response
Social and Psychological Determinants
People do not all respond to change in the same way. Acceptance of new practices may be influenced by factors such as:
- caste position
- age
- landholding and economic status
- education
- prestige
- personal traits like honesty, reliability, and openness
These factors affect how strongly a person values change, security, prestige, or tradition.
Types of Values
Values may be classified in different ways.
Some broad examples include:
- moral values - concerned with right and wrong
- economic values - concerned with usefulness, cost, and gain
- social values - concerned with welfare of others and group life
- religious values - concerned with faith and spiritual meaning
- political values - concerned with authority and power
- aesthetic values - concerned with form, beauty, and harmony
These different values often influence rural decisions together.
Rural Values and Social Change
Traditional rural life may emphasize values such as:
- respect for elders
- religious orientation
- importance of family honour
- prestige attached to land
- community recognition
At the same time, development efforts often promote new or modified values such as:
- equality
- scientific outlook
- rational decision-making
- openness to innovation
- dignity of labour
Much of extension work involves helping people negotiate between old values and new demands.
Why Values Matter in Extension
Extension recommendations are not accepted only on technical merit. People also ask:
- Will this increase prestige?
- Is it socially acceptable?
- Does it fit our beliefs?
- Does it threaten our identity?
For example, a profitable innovation may still face resistance if it conflicts sharply with local custom or group expectation.
This is why sociological understanding is essential in technology transfer.
Attitudes Toward Innovation
Attitudes may become favourable when an innovation appears to offer:
- profit
- prestige
- convenience
- security
- social approval
Attitudes may become unfavourable when people see:
- risk
- cultural incompatibility
- loss of status
- lack of trust
Therefore extension workers must address not only facts, but also meanings and perceptions.
Summary Cheat Sheet
- Social values are standards for judging what is desirable or undesirable.
- Attitudes are tendencies to respond positively or negatively toward something.
- Values influence attitudes, and attitudes influence behaviour.
- Social and psychological determinants include caste, age, landholding, economic status, education, and prestige.
- Values may be moral, economic, social, political, religious, or aesthetic.
- Extension succeeds more easily when it understands local values and works intelligently with them.
- Behaviour change often requires change in attitude and value orientation, not only information transfer.
References
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References
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