CHAPTER II
THEORITICAL REVIEW
A. Reading
1. The Definition of Reading
Mark A. Clark and Sandra Silberstein (1987) in Simanjuntak (1988: 15) revealed that reading is a process of interaction as the following:
Reading is an active cognitive process of interactive with print and monitoring to establish meaning. Reading is the instantaneous association of those symbols with existing knowledge and comprehension of the information of ideas communication. It means that when a reader interacts with the printed materials, his prior knowledge combined with the written information, the result in comprehension about the message. Thus, reading is an active process of getting meaning.
2. The Function of Reading
Harmer (1998: 68) states that reading has many purposes, especially for the students, and they are:
a. Reading provides good models for English writing.
b. Reading provides opportunities to study language: vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and the way we construct sentences, paragraph, and text.
3. The Types of Reading
The Liang Gie in Agustina (2004: 7-8) says in general, reading is divided in three types:
a. Entertainment reading
Entertainment reading is for pleasure. The aim is to enjoy the story and to appreciate it. It is about stories such as in novel or entertainment magazines. It is in series reading from the first until the end of the story. It is easy to do because it doesn’t need special knowledge background of the story following time sequence and it doesnot including abstract meaning that technical term.
b. Glancing reading
It is quick reading and sometimes followed by jump reading. It is done from the front to the back or by crisscross. The aim is to get illustration for a second about the content of the text and to find out the information the reading looking in the text.
c. Study reading
4. The Problem in Reading
Problem in reading, Tampubolon (1987: 63): a. Lack of sense in contextual punctuation b. Mistake caused by real meaning
c. Lack of sense to find out the real meaning
B. Attitude
1. The Definition of Attitude
An attitude is "a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups events or symbols" (Hogg & Vaughan 2005, p. 150, in Saul McLeod, 2009)
"… A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour" (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 1, in Saul McLeod, 2009).
Attitude can be defined as a set of beliefs developed in a due course of time in a given sociocultural setting. Although it necessarily so not determine behaviour but can have some impact on it. It is studied that positive attitude facilitates learning. If the learner is reluctant to learn or he/ she does not have a positive attitude, he/ she does not produce any result. Language learning is affected by the attitude and motivation.
2. The Component of Attitude
a. Affective component: this involves a person’s feelings/ emotions about the attitude object. For example: “I am scared of spiders”.
b. Behavioralcomponent: the way the attitude we have influences how we act or behave. For example: “I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one”.
c. Cognitivecomponent: this involves a person’s belief/ knowledge about an attitude object. For example: “I believe spiders are dangerous”.
This model is known as theABC model of attitudes. The three components are usually linked. However, there is evidence that the cognitive and affective components of attitude do not always match with behavior. This is shown in a study by La Piere (1934), in (Saul McLeod, 2009).
3. The Feature of Attitude
Aijzen cited that there are three basic features of attitude and they are:
a. Consistency
1) Stimulus-Response Consistency
A person may give the same response or set responses consistently in the presence of a given stimulus object. This stimulus-response consistency may be taken as reflecting an attitude toward the object (Campbell, 1963 in Ajzen, 1975: 6). A definition of this type, however, fails to distinguish attitude from other concepts, such as habit, trait, drive, or motive. But, one can smooth this problem in part of requiring that each response express some degree of favourableness or unfavourableness toward the object in question. Another interpretation involves the degree of consistency between different responses with respect to the same object. Instead of the requirement that the same responses be made with respect to an object, the requirement in this case is that, whatever the responses are that are elicited by the object; they should be consistent with one another.
2) Response-Response Consistency
of party preferences, but it would be considered consistent if he voted for the more liberal candidate for each office. Consistency of a person’s behaviours must be judged along some dimension. Two behaviours are considered to be consistent if both are located on the same side of the dimension; they are inconsistent if they are located on opposite sides. Obviously, two behaviours may be consistent with respect to one dimension (liberal-conservative), inconsistent with respect to another (Democrat-Republican). This notion of response-response consistency fails to discriminate attitude, trait, motive, and various other concepts. At this point, let us recall that the proposed definition of attitude refers to behaviours that are consistently favourable or unfavourable. That is, response consistency should be judged with reference to an evaluative or affective dimension. Two or more behaviours are considered consistent in this sense when both are located on either positive or negative side of the evaluative dimension. Observed consistencies of this type are taken as evidence for the existence of favourable or unfavourable attitudes.
3) Evaluative Consistency
remains relatively constant. It is assumed that the favourability of the person’s attitude toward the candidate corresponds to the overall favourability expressed by his behavioral pattern.
The evaluative or affective consistency is what distinguishes between attitude and other concepts, and it is therefore hardly surprising that the evaluative dimension has frequently been regarded as the most distinctive feature of attitude (e.g., Thrustone, 1931; Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum, 1957; Fishbein, 1957c).
Most attitude measurement relies on overall evaluative consistency although some measures are based on stimulus-response consistency. To the best of our knowledge, none of the common attitude-measurement techniques rely on the notion of response-response consistency.
b. Attitudes are Predispositions
It has showed above that “response consistency” can be interpreted in at least three very different ways. Since predisposition must be inferred from such consistency, it follows that their interpretation depends on the definition of consistency. The stimulus-response interpretation of consistency implies that the individual is predisposed to make a particular response or out of responses on the presence of a given object. Knowledge of a person’s attitude, therefore, permits prediction of one or more specific behaviours.
Adopting the response-response interpretation of consistency implies a more general predisposition. In this case, the individual is predisposed toward performing a class of behaviours, all of which are either favourable or unfavourable with respect to the object. Thus a person holding a favourable attitude toward the object would be expected behaviours; whereas the reverse would be true for a person holding an unfavourable attitude.
It is of interest to note that the early conceptions of attitude were largely restricted to predispositions or mental sets; the concept of attitude gained popularity only after it was a more general behavioral disposition (cf. Fleming, 1967). Of greater importance, the notion of predispositional specificity points to some additional ambiguities with respect to the attitude concept. In the first two interpretation discussed above (i.e., stimulus-response consistency), the predisposition is linked to one or more specific responses. Once a person’s predisposition (i.e., attitude) has been established, it is expected that the person will (or will not) perform the behaviour in question. The stimulus-response interpretation of consistency implies that a given attitude always elicits a given response or set responses (in terms of which the attitude was defined). Response-response consistency implies that a positive attitude will lead to the performance of positive behaviours and a negative attitude to the performance of negative behaviours. In contrast, the third view of predisposition (i.e., overall evaluative consistency) makes no such assumption. Even though an individual may have a favourable attitude, there is no expectation that he will perform any particular behaviour with respect to the object, favourable or unfavourable.
by observing overall evaluative consistency but assume a predisposition to perform a specific behaviour. Many of the agreements concerning the definition of attitude can be traced to the investigator’s description of the nature of the predisposition. For example, Sarnoff (1960) defined attitude as “a disposition to react favourably or unfavourably to a class of objects. Thurstone (931) and others have argued that attitude is an affective or evaluative predisposition. Although not discussing its nature per se, Chave (1928) provided a detailed description of the factors that influence a person’s predisposition: “An attitude is a complex of feelings, desires, fears, convictions, prejudices, or other tendencies that have given a set or readiness to act to a person because of varied experiences. “a direct description of the nature of predisposition has been offered by Krech and Crutchfield (1948), who defined attitude as “ an enduring organizational, emotional, perceptional, and cognitive processes with respect of the individual’s world.”
c. Attitudes are Learned
to explain the behaviour of organisms with complex and unique past experiences. It is widely accepted that residues of this experience influence or modify behaviour or the organism. Since a person’s complete history is not available to investigator, he often turns to variables that reflect of past experience. Attitudes are generally assumed to constitute such residues (Campbell, 1963), and hence attitude are considered to be learned.
In other words, predispositions to respond in consistently favourable or unfavourable ways are assumed to be the result of past experience. Clearly, the level of predispositional specificity at which an investigator is working will tend to determine the kinds of past experiences that he considers relevant for attitude formation. For example, concern with predispositions to perform a particular response is likely to leas to considerations of past experience directly related to performance and non-performance of the behavioural response in the presence of the stimulus object. Thus investigation may focus consequences of the behaviour, such as monetary rewards, punishments, social approval or disapproval, and on the effort involved in performing the behaviour, as well as on social pressures to perform or abstain from performing it.
study of a person’s predisposition toward Catholics, for example, it would be possible to consider consequences of different behaviours with respect to Catholics, social pressures concerning such behaviours, factual knowledge about Catholics, general feelings one had previously experienced in the presence of Catholics, etc. indeed, almost any experience might be deemed relevant for the formation of a general predisposition toward Catholics.
4. The Function of Attitude
Attitudes can serve functions for the individual. Daniel Katz (1960), in (Saul McLeod, 2009) outlinesfour functional areas:
a. Knowledge
Attitudes provide meaning (knowledge) for life. The knowledge function refers to our need for a world which is consistent and relatively stable. This allows us topredictwhat is likely to happen, and so gives us a sense of control. Attitudes can help us organize and structure our experience. Knowing a person’s attitude helps us predict their behavior. For example, knowing that a person is religious we can predict they will go to Church.
b. Self/ Ego-expressive
c. Adaptive
If a person holds and/ or expresses socially acceptable attitudes, other people will reward them with approval andsocial acceptance. For example, when people flatter their bosses or instructors (and believe it) or keep silent if they think an attitude is unpopular. Again, expression can be nonverbal [think politician kissing baby]. Attitudes then are to do with being a part of a social group and the adaptive functions helps us fit in with a social group. People seek out others who share their attitudes, and develop similar attitudes to those they like.
d. The Ego-Defensive
The basic idea behind the functional approach is that attitudes help a person to mediate between their own inner needs (expression, defense) and the outside world (adaptive and knowledge).
5. Factor Influencing Attitude
Purwanto (1998: 142), there are some factors in developing students’ attitude:
a. Maturation
Maturation is a process of becoming made mature. When someone gets experiences, it makes him or her knows about something and based on it he or she decides to do it.
b. Family education
Parents are the figure of their children their interaction is the main determination the children’s attitude, because the children imitate their parents in their life activities.
c. Social environment
Social environment is a condition concerning with the relations between people or communities affecting people’s life.
d. School
It can develop students’ attitude because it puts the moral understanding and the concept in their students. The concept is something, which is used to determine something good or bad, legal or illegal.
e. Mass media
Mass media is a tool to convey the information and message which contains suggestions. The suggestion will influence our opinion. New information makes new understanding and will make a new attitude.
6. Characters of Attitude
Suryadi in Darsono (1989: 21):
1. It is always involves a correlation between subject and object.
2. It is learned and formed through some experiences.
3. It is changeable depending on the individual environment on the different time.
4. It is always involves motivation and feeling.
