The Attitude Change of the Judge, Police Officer and Mr. Harris in Hidden Figures

 Based on the lecture by Professor Marci Lobel, Attitude refers to the reaction towards something .Attitude has of four theories: learning of the message, transfer of the affect, desire for consistency and counter arguing. Learning of the message assists one in understanding the meaning of the message which in turn helps in initiating attitude change. Most people’s behaviors do not march other peoples’ expectations, feelings and faiths.  This is known as desire for consistency. Transfer affect is formed by associating an object with something that may influence the overall appearance of the object. A communicator is a person who conveys the message with the intention of gaining other people’s attention.   A firm information should contain evidence that can help in persuading people to change their attitude. The third factor to consider after choosing the message is the target audience. The communicator must ensure that the audience he has chosen are receptive to the message and show commitment. The audience must also be thoughtful and process the information presented to them by blocking any distractions. Instances of attitude change are seen through the characters of the judge, Mr. Harris and a police officer in the movie, Hidden figures.

Hidden Figures has instances of attitude change. Attitude change is seen when Mary has to battle it out in court in order to be admitted in the University Of Virginia. She needed the engineering courses so as to qualify to attend the training program in NASA. Sadly for her she is black and this puts her in a forewarning position that leads to fear arousal. The campus does not admit black students. The judge maintains that Virginia is a segregated state. Mary listens to the judge keenly without any distraction and evaluates the message of the judge. Mary pleads with the judge to allow her into the institution. She goes further to explain that she will be the first woman to attend the university just as the judge was the first man in his family to be educated. The judge allows her to attend evening classes. The judge changes his attitude towards Mary by trying to fit in with her predicaments and feelings. Mary counter argues the statement of the judge by trying to alter his beliefs and feelings. Mary’s husband is against her decision to go to court as he believes that freedom is not given but   fought for. He later changes his attitude when Mary persuades him so as to achieve desire   for consistency.

 The trio’s car breaks down while they were going to work. Mary fears that they might lose their jobs due to their lateness. Kathrine acknowledges Mary’s worries and suggests that she should probably walk the remaining distance or sit in a segregated bus which reserves back sits for blacks.   A white police officer arrives to confirm what was going on. Before he could listen in, Mary retorts, “no crime in being a negro” Kathrine replies back, “nobody wants to go to jail because of your mouth either” the minute Mary tries to defend herself, the officer conclude that she is ill-mannered .The officer seems to be inoculated to conclude that Mary is rude and he could not be persuaded by her. When the officer finds out they work for NASA and they are assisting in putting a man on the moon before the Russians, he offers to escort them. In the conversation between the officer and the three women, attitude change process is initiated when the officer finds credibility in their occupations and this shifts his behavioral change towards them as he escorts them to work. The officer took a liking to them which built his trustworthiness toward the ladies.

 When Mr. Harris realizes discrimination and racism hinders Kathrine from performing her tasks, he goes to the west wing to pull down the sign ‘colored bathrooms’ from one of the bathrooms and allows everyone to go to any bathroom near their respective workspace. Harris shows his commitment to change his attitude toward black people who worked at NASA. He then takes a forewarning position and lets other whites know that there is nothing special about bathrooms and black people and white people pee the same color.

The judge’s attitude is changed by the empathy he feels towards Mary and he allows her to be admitted to the University of Virginia. The police officer's attitude change is caused by love for his country. The officer is willing   to assist black women because they work for NASA .Mr. Harris is willing to fight racism and discrimination with the aim of creating a conducive working environment for all people including people of color. This belief changes his attitude. Therefore, attitude change is created through transfer of effect, learning of the message and desire for consistency.