Evaluative judgments--Attitudes
Attitudes-- Evaluative judgments at
any point on a continuum
Very Bad
Very Good
Very Unfavorable Very Favorable
Very Negative
Very Positive
Dislike very much Like very much
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
151
152
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
152
Attitudes

Definition:



comes from the Latin term “aptus,” which means
“fitness”’ or “adaptiveness”
Thurston: the amount of affect or feeling for or
against a stimulus
Peter & Olsen “overall evaluation of a concept”
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
153
Characteristics of Attitudes

Direction:
can be positive, negative, or
neutral

Magnitude: degree of favorability or
negativity; extremity of liking or disliking

Ambivalence/Internal Consistency: degree to
which underlying cognitions or beliefs are
similar in evaluative criteria
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
154
Characteristics of Attitudes

Centrality:
degree to which knowledge
about attitude object is closely connected to
important, central end goals, needs, values

Interrelatedness: degree to which knowledge
about attitude object is interconnected
amongst itself and is associated with other
knowledge
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
155
Characteristics of Attitudes

Emotionality: degree of emotionality
associated with the attitude object

Stability: Consistency or sameness of attitude
and related cognitive structures over time and
situations
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
156
Tricomponent Attitude Model
Affect
Conation
Cognition
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
157
Tricomponent Attitude Model

Cognitive



Knowledge and perceptions
Attitudes and beliefs
Need for Cognition
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
158
Tricomponent Attitude Model

Affect



Emotions or feelings
Evaluative (e.g., favorable, unfavorable)
Emotionally charged states (happy, sadness, etc.)
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
159
Tricomponent Attitude Model

Conative (behavior)


Likelihood or tendency that an individual will
undertake a specific action or behave in a certain
way
Frequently treated as “intention to buy”
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
160
Persuading people
to make an
evaluative
judgment about
drinking and
driving
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
161
162
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
162
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
163
Four Functions of Attitudes




Utilitarian Function
Ego-Defensive Function
Knowledge Function
Value-Expressive Function
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
164
Utilitarian Function


People express feelings to maximize rewards
and minimize punishments received from
others;
e.g., express favorable attitudes about
something to win support of someone who
you suspect as similar attitudes
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
165
Ego-Defensive Function

self-esteem maintenance function; attitudes
held to protect people from basic truths
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
166
Knowledge Function


Helps a person to give meaning to the
unorganized and chaotic world; i.e., form a
frame of reference by which the world is
interpreted;
e.g., have a positive attitude towards a brand,
buy it all the time to simplify life
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
167
Value-Expressive Function


social identify function; people express
positive views about products, brands,
services, etc. to make a statement about
themselves;
e.g., like to stay in Ritz Carlton Hotels
because means I have arrived
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
168
How Are Attitudes Formed


Formed by integrating salient beliefs about
attitude concept
Come from:



exposure to an advertisement
comment from a friend while making a purchase
decision
articles in Consumer Reports; etc.
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
169
Attitude Toward Object

States three major factors are predictive of
attitudes



salient beliefs
strength of belief
evaluation of each salient belief
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
170
Attitude Toward Object



Ao = overall attitude towards object “o”
bi = strength of the belief of whether or not
object o has some particular attribute “i”
ei = evaluation of the goodness or badness of
attribute “i”
bi = 1 “extremely unlikely” 10 “extremely likely” that you
buy car with attribute x
ei = -3 = “very bad” +3 = “very good”
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
171
172
Corvette
Buick Park
Avenue
Mercedes
300 E
Attribute
ei
bi
bi x e i
bi
bi x e i
bi
bi x e i
Sporty styling
+3
8
24
5
15
7
21
Good handling/ride
+3
8
24
4
12
7
21
High cost
-1
7
-7
6
-6
8
-8
Great acceleration
+3
7
21
3
9
6
18
Low repair frequency
+1
3
3
2
2
8
8
SUM
+65
+32
+60
Attribute
ei
bi
bi x e i
bi
bi x e i
bi
bi x e i
Sporty styling
-1
9
-9
5
-5
7
-7
Good handling/ride
+3
3
9
9
27
7
21
High cost
-3
8
-24
6
-18
10
-30
Great acceleration
-2
10
-20
2
-4
6
-12
Low repair frequency
+3
2
6
8
22
9
27
Consumer
Ph.D.
SUM Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker,
-38
+24
-1
172
Level of Specificity of Attitude Concept

There are different levels of specificity;
implication is that when measuring attitudes,
one must precisely identify the attitude
concept, at the level of abstraction and
specificity that is most relevant to the
marketing problem of interest;
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
173
Specificity of Attitude Concept

“How do you feel about Marriott Hotels” vs.
“How do you feel about the Marriott Hotel
located at the corner of Green Valley
Parkway and Sunset”
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
174
Changing Attitudes







Associate the Product with a Special Group,
Event, or Cause
Resolve Two or More Conflicting Attitudes
Change the Relative Evaluation of Attributes
Change Brand Beliefs
Add an Attribute
Change Brand Overall Rating
Change Belief about Competitor
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
175
How to Change Attitudes




Add a new salient belief
Change the strength (bi) of an existing salient
belief
Change the evaluation (ei) of an existing
salient belief
Make an existing belief more salient
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
176
Conative (behavior)

The behavior involves four distinct elements


the action:
(i.e., the behavior one is trying to
measure); e.g., purchase of a hotel room
the target:
(the thing at which a behavior is
directed); e.g., purchase of a Marriott hotel room
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
177
Conative (behavior)


the context: e.g., staying at a Marriott for
business vs. staying at a Marriott for pleasure
the time: e.g., perhaps if late at night stay
not at a Marriott, but first place you find
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
178
Correspondence with Attitudes and Conative
(behavior)


Ao misses action, context, and time
elements; thus, attitudes toward a brand can
be unrelated to attitudes toward buying the
brand
Need to understand attitude towards the
action
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
179
Theory of Reasoned Action

Basic Tenet: A person’s intention is a
function of two basic determinants
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
180
Attitude towards the behavior

Individual’s positive or negative evaluation of
performing the behavior; the beliefs that
underlie attitudes towards the behavior are
called the behavioral beliefs; e.g. of attitude
toward the behavior of buying Miller Beer
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
181
A action = bi * ei



A action = overall attitude towards action
bi = strength of the belief that performing the
action will result in consequence “i”
ei = evaluation of the goodness or badness of
consequence “i”
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
182
Social Norm

Person’s perception of the social pressures
put on her/him to perform or not perform the
behavior in question

the beliefs that underlie a person’s subjective
norm are termed normative beliefs
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
183
Formula for Subjective Norm


Nbj = normative belief that a referent group j
thinks that consumer should/ should not
perform behavior
MCj = motivation to comply with influence of
referent j
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
184
Final Formula

Behavior  Behavioral Intention =




W1 (AB) + W2 (SN)
AB = attitude towards the action
SN = subjective norms
W1 and W2 = empirically determined weights
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
185
186
Theory of Reasoned Action
Belief that the behavior
leads to certain outcomes
Attitude toward
the behavior
Evaluation of the
outcomes
Intention
Beliefs that specific
referents think I should or
should not perform the
behavior
Behavior
Subjective norm
Motivation to comply with
the specific referents
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
186
Commercial



McDonald’s
Wedding
Club 18-30
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
187
Balance Theory



Balance theory suggests that attitude
inconsistencies can lead to persuasion.
Balance theory focuses on consistency
between a person (p), another person known
to p (o) and a stimulus (x).
Balance exists if all three relations are
positive (e.g., the friend of my friend is my
friend) or if two relations are negative and
one is positive (the enemy of my enemy is my
friend).
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
188
Applying balance theory
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
189
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
190
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
191
Question

Describe an instance from your own
experience in which social norms conflicted
with your own attitude. What behavior did
you adopt? Why
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
192
Exercise

If you worked for a resort that vacationers
were likely to visit about once a year, how
would you use information presented to get
customers to return?
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
193
Case Study: American Legacy



Research has shown that 80% of all smokers begin smoking before
the age of 18. Why is smoking so attractive to a thirteen-year-old?
What was the rationale behind Legacy’s decision to focus on
prevention, and target sensation-seeking teens between the ages of
12 and 17? Do you agree with this rationale?
Legacy made a number of interesting decisions with respect to the
truth advertising campaign. For example, it decided that (1) the
campaign would not be a “call to action;” i.e., that the ads would not
urge kids to quit smoking; (2) it would not identify itself as the
sponsor of any of the ads; (3 it would focus exclusively on the
tobacco industry – rather than politicians, parents, the media,
marketers, etc – as the enemy in all the ads; and (4) it would use
graphic images such as body bags, urine, dog feces, etc, to
communicate its message. Do you agree with these decisions?
How “truthful” was this campaign?
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
194
Case Study: American Legacy



How was the truth campaign different than most traditional public
service campaigns? More generally, why are most traditional public
service campaigns ineffective?
By comparison, how effective was the truth campaign? What
accounts for its success? What are the benchmarks you are using to
evaluate its success?
Why did Legacy decide to build a truth “brand” rather than stay with
the traditional PSA paradigm? From Legacy’s perspective, was the
difference simply semantic, or was it more significant than that? In
what ways is truth brand the same/different as other well-known
brands, like Nike, Disney, or Mercedes-Benz?
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors (2008) (c) Stowe Shoemaker, Ph.D.
195