Fuentes de diversidad o pluralismo cultural desde la perspectiva de Will Kymlicka

The   third   concept,   ‘attitude’,   can   be   harder   to   uncover   and   express.   The   more   detailed   investigation   concentrated   on   the   definition   of   attitude,   how   attitudes   influence   behaviour,   and   how   they   are   measured.   There   is   much   interest   in   research   in   trying   to   understand   which   methods   are   the   most   appropriate   to   measure  attitudes,  how  they  are  developed  and  how  they  can  be  changed  (Cooper,   Blackman,  &  Keller,  2016;  Maio  &  Haddock,  2014).    

3.4.3.1      Definition  of  attitude  

Fazio   (1995,   p.247)   stated   that   attitude   is   ‘an   association   in   memory   between   a   given   object   and   a   given   summary   evaluation   of   the   object’.   A   similar   view   is   offered  by  Maio  and  Haddock  (2014,  p.4),  who  describe  the  basic  characteristic  of   attitude  as  ‘an  association  in  memory  between  an  attitude  object  and  an  evaluation   of  it’.  They  continue  saying  that  ‘attitude  is  an  overall  evaluation  of  an  object  that  is   based   on   cognitive,   affective   and   behavioural   information’.   Each   of   these   definitions  include  an  aspect  of  evaluation  of  the  object,  and  making  a  judgement  

of  like  or  dislike.  This  knowledge  assisted  designing  the  interview  questions  about   attitude;   participants   were   asked   whether   they   had   more   positive   or   negative   thoughts   about   the   topics   discussed,   e.g.   interRAI   training   or   AIS   assessments   (Appendix  4).    

3.4.3.2      Attitudes  and  behaviour  

Attitudes   influence   people’s   view   of   the   world,   what   we   think   and   what   we   do   (Maio  &  Haddock,  2014);  our  thoughts,  feelings  and  experiences  are  seen  to  form   our  attitudes.  Attitudes  cannot  be  directly  observed,  they  can  only  be  concluded  by   a   person’s   responses   (Fazio   &   Olson,   2003).   Attitudes   are   generally   believed   to   affect  our  behaviour,  although  some  research  findings  have  disputed  this.  Recent   studies   showed   that   attitudes   may   predict   behaviour   more   strongly   in   some   conditions   than   others,   depending   on   such   factors   as   time,   place,   and   the   social   groups  we  belong  to  (Ajzen,  2015;  Eiser  &  van  der  Pligt,  2015).    

Fishbein   and   Ajzen’s   Theory   of   Reasoned   Action   (Fishbein   &   Ajzen,   2015)   recognises  that  there  are  situations  or  factors  that  limit  the  influence  of  attitude  on   behavior.  In  relation  to  the  interRAI  study,  an  example  would  be  that  the  RN  has  a   positive  intent  towards  completing  an  assessment,  but  does  not  have  the  time  to   complete  it,  therefore  the  attitude  varies  from  the  actual  behavior.    

The   Theory   of   Reasoned   Action   includes   two   elements   that   predict   behavior   intent:  attitudes  and  norms.  It  recognizes  that  others’  conflicting  expectations  can   influence  a  person’s  behaviour  intent.  For  example,  the  RN  wants  to  learn  a  new   skill   to   improve   their   career   and   gain   interRAI   competency,   but   their   colleagues  

say  that  the  tool  is  very  difficult  to  use.    These  conflicting  attitudes  would  make  the   RN’s  decision  to  attend  the  training  more  challenging.    

The   Theory   of   Reasoned   Action   states   that   three   factors   influence   how   much   behavioral  intent  affects  our  actual  behaviour.  Firstly,  we  must  have  control  over   our  behaviour.  For  example,  if  there  are  no  computers  available,  the  RN  is  not  able   to  complete  an  assessment  whether  they  want  to  do  it  or  not.  Secondly,  there  must   be   a   high   correspondence   between   measures   of   attitude   and   behaviour.   For   example,   the   interview   questions   relating   to   behaviour   should   be   very   specific:   Instead   of   asking   “Do   you   think   interRAI   is   useful?”   the   question   should   be   “In   what  way  do  you  think  interRAI  is  useful  to  the  resident  or  to  you  personally?”  It  is   possible  that  the  RN  thinks  that  the  interRAI  is  useful  to  the  resident  but  not  for   themself.   Thirdly,   attitudes   change   over   time.   Therefore,   behavioral   intent   and   behavior  should  be  measured  at  the  same  time  to  ensure  that  they  relate  (Ajzen,   2015).    

3.4.3.3      Measuring  attitudes  

The   current   consensus   is   that   attitudes   reflect   how   much   we   like   or   dislike   something.  Attitudes  differ  in  valence  (the  direction  of  person’s  evaluation  towards   negative  or  positive)  and  strength  (Maio  et  al.,  2014).  The  question  arises:  how  can   attitudes  be  measured?  Two  of  the  most  well  known  pioneers  in  attitude  research,   Louis  Thurstone  and  Rensis  Likert,  were  able  to  demonstrate  that  attitudes  can  be   quantifiably  measured.  Thurstone  (1928)  developed  the  Equal  Appearing  Intervals   method  (EAI),  and  this  idea  was  developed  and  simplified  by  Likert  (1932),  who  

developed  Likert  scales.  Likert  scales  are  still  widely  used  to  scale  responses  and   to  measure  attitudes  in  survey  research  (Johnson  &  Morgan,  2016).    

Attitudes  can  be  explicit  or  implicit  (Maio  et  al.,  2014).  Explicit  processes  require   conscious  attention,  while  implicit  processes  do  not  (Maio  et  al.,  2014).  In  relation   to  attitude  measurement,  this  means  how  much  the  participant  is  aware  that  their   attitudes   are   being   assessed.   When   using   explicit   measures   in   research,   the   participant   is   asked   directly   about   their   attitude   towards   something.   Implicit   measures,  however,  measure  participants’  attitudes  without  their  awareness  of  the   fact  that  their  attitude  is  being  assessed  (Maio  et  al.,  2014).    

Explicit   measures,   such   as   Likert   scales,   are   regarded   as   useful   in   research.   However,   there   are   some   limitations   that   the   researcher   must   be   aware   of.   One   limitation   might   be   that   the   participant   is   not   actually   aware   of   their   underlying   attitude   about   the   topic   (Altmann,   2008;   Petty,   Fazio,   &   Brinol,   2009).   Another   consideration   that   may   affect   a   participant’s   response   can   be   as   simple   as   the   order   in   which   the   questions   are   asked   (Silber,   Höhne,   &  Schlosser,   2016).   Awareness  of  other  people’s  opinions  can  also  alter  a  participant’s  stated  opinion   (Olson,   Goffin,   &   Haynes,   2007).   These   issues   must   be   considered   in   both   qualitative  and  quantitative  research.    

One   of   the   greatest   challenges   that   a   researcher   must   take   into   account   is   that   sometimes  the  participants  may  not  be  honest  with  their  answers  relating  to  their   attitudes  (Altmann,  2008;  Paulhus  &  John,  1998).  Paulhus  and  John  (1998,  p.1029)   talk   about   ‘impression   management’.   Participants   may   want   to   impress   the  

researcher   by   giving   more   positive   responses   than   what   their   reality   is,   feeling   they  have  to  meet  a  certain  societal  norm,  or  in  this  study,  professional  standard.   For  example,  as  interRAI-­‐LTCF  is  already  a  compulsory  requirement  in  every  ARCF   in   NZ,   the   RNs   may   feel   they   should   be   more   positive   about   it,   or   at   least   they   should   say   that   they   feel   positive   even   though   they   may   not.   They   may   also   feel   obliged  to  say  positive  things  about  the  company  and  how  well  they  are  keeping  up   with  the  standards  and  completing  the  interRAI-­‐LTCF  assessments.    

One   method   to   increase   reliability   in   the   study   would   be   interviewing   many   respondents  from  the  same  facility  in  the  hope  that  the  ‘truth’  prevails,  although   one  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  truth  is  subjective  to  each  individual  (Sandelowski,   1996).   Another   method   to   obtain   more   reliable   data   is   triangulation   i.e.   using   multiple  data  sources  to  confirm  what  is  actually  happening  (Holloway  &  Wheeler,   2016).   Triangulation   in   a   qualitative   study   can   be   achieved   by   comparing   voiced   attitudes  to  behaviour  (e.g.  by  checking  the  interRAI  data).  In  this  study,  however,   the   main   goal   was   to   find   out   about   RNs’   perceptions   of   their   experiences.   Therefore,   ensuring   participants’   answers   were   kept   strictly   confidential,   having   rapport  between  interviewer  and  participant,  and  emphasising  the  benefit  of  open   disclosure   was   believed   to   encourage   the   participants   to   give   sincere   responses   (Seidman,  2013).