Consumer attitudes
Patrizia de Luca
University of Trieste (Italy)
2015
Agenda
 Definition and nature of consumer attitudes
 Relationship among attitudes, beliefs, intentions and behaviour
 Explicit and implicit attitudes
 Measurements of attitudes
 Attitude change
 Some examples and applications
Page  2
Defining attitudes
“Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond to an object or
class of objects in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way”
(Allport G, 1935).
• Attitude is a predisposition to evaluate a
specific concept positively or negatively.
• Attitude is lasting because it tends to endure over
time.
• Attitude is general because it applies to more than a
momentary event.
• ... But Attitudes can change.
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Neutral response
Sometimes consumers do not have either a positive or
negative attitude, due to:
 Indifference
which is a truly neutral response
 Ambivalence
which is a consequence of conflict (between positive and
negative evaluation).
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Attitude Towards
Objects:
Actions:
•Product (carbonated drinks)
•Brand (Coke)
•Company (Coca-Cola)
•Product attributes (sugar content)
•Retailer (Wal Mart)
•Store format (hard discount)
•…
•Buying
•Renting
•Using
•Eating
•Stealing,
•Saving
•Downloading
•…
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Why do we study attitudes?
Because attitudes should be strongly
connected with behaviour…
ATTITUDE
INTENTION
BEHAVIOUR
… but sometimes the relationship is weak.
Page  6
Attitude Components: ABC Model
how a
consumer feels
about an
attitude object
Affect
Behaviour
the consumer’s
intention to do
something with
regard to an
attitude object.
Cognition
the beliefs a consumer has about an attitude
object: how he/she explains his/her attitude
The model emphasises the interrelationships between
Page  7
knowing, feeling, and doing.
What do you think about oranges?
Cognitive component:
Affect component:
Oranges contain a lot of
I like them. I like their taste
vitamin C: they are healthy
…
Behaviour component:…
I try to eat at least one daily …
Page  8
The Cognitive Component (Beliefs) 1/2
 A consumer belief is a psychological association between a product or
brand and an attribute or feature of that product or brand.
 Beliefs are cognitive (based on knowledge).
 The stronger the association of features or attributes with the product or
brand, the stronger the consumer’s belief.
 Note that beliefs that consumers hold need not be accurate.
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The Cognitive Component (Beliefs) 2/2
 A consumer may hold both positive or negative beliefs toward an
object.
 Some beliefs may be neutral (coffee is black)
 Some beliefs may be differ in depending:
– on the person (the same coffee could be hot for a
person and cold for another);
– on the situation (coffee is hot and stimulates good on a
cold morning but not good on a hot summer evening)
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The Cognitive Component:
Vocabulary of brand beliefs for a soft drink product (an example)
Product Attributes
Consumer Benefits
 Caloric content
 Restores energy
 Vitamin content
 Nutritional
 Natural ingredients
 Good for the whole family
 Sweetness
 Gives a lift
 Aftertaste
 Good at mealtimes
 Carbonation
 Thirst quenching
Page  11
The Affective component
 Purchase decisions are continually influenced by affective response.
 Affect – the way in which we feel in response to marketplace stimuli.
 It is emotive rather than cognitive (beliefs)
 It is comprised of both our knowledge of stimuli and our evaluation of
them.
 Affective responses can be very general or very specific.
Page  12
The Hierarchy of Effects (Mower, Minor, 2001)
The relationship between the three components of attitudes (responses) is known
as the hierarchy of effects
Type of
hierarchy
Sequence
HighInvolvement
Beliefs
LowInvolvement
Beliefs
Behavior
Affect
Affective,
Experiential
Affect
Behavior
Beliefs
Attitude based on hedonic
consumption
Behavioral
Behavior
Beliefs
Affect
Attitude based on behavioral
learning process
Page  13
Affect
Nature of information
processing
Behavior
Attitude based on cognitive
information processing
(Mower, Minor, 2001)
Cognitive Hierarchy
A “think before you act” process
But we have to distinguish between…
High-involvement hierarchy:
–Active, purchase-specific processing
Low-involvement hierarchy:
–Passive, purchase-specific processing
(often, an “act before you think” process)
Page  14
The low-involvement, passive consumer vs the
high-involvement, active consumer (1/2)
Low-Involvement View of a
Passive Consumer
High-Involvement View of an
Active Consumer
Consumers learn information at
random.
Consumers are information
processors.
Consumers are information
gatherers.
Consumers are information
seekers.
Consumers represent a passive
audience for advertising. As a
result, the effect of advertising on
the consumers is strong.
Consumers represent an active
audience for advertising. As a
result, the effect of advertising on
the consumer is weak.
Consumers buy first. If they do
evaluate brands, it is done after
the purchase.
Consumers evaluate brands
before buying.
Source: Assael, 1998; p. 155
Page  15
The low-involvement, passive consumer vs the
high-involvement, active consumer (2/2)
Low-Involvement View of a
Passive Consumer
High-Involvement View of an
Active Consumer
Consumers seek some acceptable
level of satisfaction. As a result,
consumers buy the brand least likely to
give them problems and buy based on
a few attributes. Familiarity is the key.
Consumers seek to maximize expected
satisfaction. As a result, consumers
compare brands to see which provide
the most benefits related to needs and
buy based on multi-attribute
comparisons of brands
Personality and lifestyle characteristics
are not related to consumer behavior
because the product is not closely tied
to the consumer’s identity and belief
system.
Personality and lifestyle characteristics
are related to consumer behaviour
because the product is closely tied to
the consumer’s identity and belief
system.
Reference groups exert little influence
on product choice because products
are unlikely to be related to group
norms and values.
Reference groups influence consumer
behavior because of the importance of
the product to group norms and values.
Page  16
The Experiential Hierarchy (1/2)
 It is based primarily on a consumer’s emotional response to a
brand or product.
 Consumers first evaluate an object on an overall bases by relying
on thier feelings, emotions, and fantasies and then act on this
basis.
 The consumer’s primary purchase motive is the anticipated
experience of enjoying the object, not the projected performace
of the object based on evaluative product criteria.
Page  17
The Experiential Hierarchy (2/2)
 Beliefs about the attributes and characteristics of an object
may be formed after the fact.
 It shows that when a product is perceived as pleasurable or
expressive, cognitive processes do not have to be central.
 As a result, marketers can directly appeal to brand evaluations
- without necessarily influencing beliefs - using symbols and
imagery to evoke positive feelings and emotions about the
brand.
Page  18
The Behavioural Hierarchy
–An “act before you think” process.
–In some cases, consumers evaluate
brands or products after buying.
Page  19
Can you find any examples?
Page  20
 Just because consumers prefer brand A, doesn’t mean they will
necessarily buy brand A.
 Having a favorable attitude toward a product is not the same as having
Do
positive attitudes translate into purchase and
a favorable attitude toward its purchase or consumption.
consumption? It depends…
– For example, consumers may think that eating
fish is good for their health, but that does not
mean that they will eat fish rather than red meat!
WHY?
Try to find the reason why!
Page  21
Factors inhibiting the relationship between
beliefs, attitudes, and behavior
Lack of involvement
Lack of purchase feasibility
Lack of direct product experience
Lack of relation between values and beliefs
Changing market conditions
Page  22
LET US PLAY:
FIND OUT YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THE OBJECT/ACTION…
You can use a “short” in-depth interview to know
(defining your main questions):
- Do you like/dislike …?
- Why? (Use abc model)
- Do you usually buy or use …?
- Would you like to buy/use/do…?
- And so on!
… AND THEN EXPLAIN IT TO OTHERS.
Page  23
Measuring the Attitudinal Components
 Using colas as an example, the following table* shows one or more
rating scales° to measure the attitudinal components°:
– Brand Beliefs
– Attribute Evaluations
– Overall Brand Evaluation
– Intention to Buy
°Scales for brand beliefs and attribute evaluations are developed for a
number of characteristics such as sweet, carbonated, good to serve
guests, and so forth.
* Source: Assael, 1998, p. 290
Page  24
Measures of attitudinal components (1/4)
Brand Beliefs
How likely is it that I will get a highly carbonated cola if I buy Brand A?
Very likely
- - - - - - Very unlikely
Rate Brand A by the following characteristics:
Highly carbonated - - - - - - - Not at all carbonated
Indicate how well Brand A is described by the following characteristics:
Highly carbonated
Describes very well - - - - - - - Does not describe at all
Page  25
Measures of attitudinal components (2/4)
Attribute Evaluations
How important is buying a cola that is highly carbonated?
Very important - - - - - - - Not at all important
Indicate the degree of satisfaction you would get from the following:
Highly carbonated
Very satisfying
- - - - - - - Not at all satisfying
Think of your ideal brand of cola and rate it on the characteristics listed
below:
Highly carbonated - - - - - - - Not at all carbonated
Page  26
Measures of attitudinal components (3/4)
Overall Brand Evaluations (Affective Component)
Rate Brand A as follows:
I like it very much - - - - - - -
I don’t like it at all
Which of the following brands do you prefer most? Which of the brands do
you prefer second, third (and so forth)? (Key brands of cola would you be
listed)
Rate Brand A as follows:
Very favourable - - - - - - -
Very unfavourable
Suppose you could pick ten free cans of cola and had the choice of any
combination of brands. Which brands would you pick? How many of each
brand? (Make sure the total adds up to ten cans).(Key brands would be listed and
respondents instructed to place any number of cans next to each brand so the total
allocated equal ten).
Page  27
Measures of attitudinal components (4/4)
Intention to Buy
What is the likelihood you would buy Brand A the next time you
purchase cola?
•Definitely will buy
•Probably will buy
•Might buy
•Probably will not buy
•Definitely will not buy
(Key cola brands will be listed and respondents asked their intention to
buy)
Page  28
Attitude Development
Attitudes develop over time through a learning process affected by:
Family influences
Peer group influences
Information
Experience
Personality
Page  29
Family Influences
 The family is an important influence factor on purchase
decisions.
 Regardless of their tendency to rebel in teenage years,
many studies have shown a high correlation between
children’s attitudes and those of their parents towards
numerous objects/actions (personal hygiene, preferences
for food items, boiled vegetables or fried food, and so on)
 The influence is demonstrated in some advertising theme.
Page  30
Peer Group Influences
Many studies have shown pervasive group
influence on purchasing behaviour.
Peer groups seem to be much more likely than
advertising to influence attitudes and purchasing
behaviour.
Page  31
Information and Experience
Information is an important attitude determinant.
Consumers’ past experiences also influence their
brand attitudes.
Such experiences condition future behaviour.
Page  32
Personality
Consumers’ personalities affect their attitudes:
– Aggression
– Extroversion
– Submissiveness
– Authoritarianism
– ...
These traits may influence attitudes toward brands
and products.
Page  33
Functions of Attitudes
Understanding the funcions of attitudes means
understanding how they serve the individual.
Attitudes can fulfill more than one function.
A classification of attitude functions (Katz, 1960):
– Utilitarian function
– Value-expressive function
– Ego-defensive function
– Knowledge function
Page  34
Utilitarian Function
 The utilitarian function of attitudes guides consumers in achieving
desired benefits.
 An example: auto advertising reflects the utilitarian function of
attitudes when it features performance characteristics.
Page  35
Value-Expressive Function
 Attitudes can express consumers’ self-images and value systems,
particularly for a high-involvement product.
Page  36
Ego-Defensive Function
 Attitudes protect the ego from anxieties and threats.
 Consumers purchase many product to avoid anxiety-producing
situations.
 Consumers develop positive attitudes toward products and brands
associated with social acceptance, confidence and desirability.
Contact lens
Page  37
Knowledge Function
 Attitudes help consumers organize the mass of information they are
exposed to daily.
 Consumers sort all of the messages, ignoring the less relevant
information.
 The knowledge function also reduces uncertainty and confusion.
Page  38
Forming attitudes
Attitudes can form in different ways:
– Classical conditioning
– Instrumental conditioning
– Complex cognitive process
Page  39
Relationship of Behavior to Attitudes
Not only do consumer attitudes influence behavior, but behavior can
also influence attitudes:
– Cognitive Dissonance
– Passive Learning
– Disconfirmation of Expectations
Page  40
Cognitive Dissonance
 According to dissonance theory, consumer attitudes sometimes change
to conform to previous behavior, thus reducing post-purchase conflict.
 Individuals tend to reinforce their decision after the fact by changing
their attitudes in favor of the chosen brand.
Page  41
Passive Learning
 Under conditions of low involvement, a change in attitude is not
necessary to influence a change in behavior.
 The awareness of a new brand may be sufficient reason for consumers
to switch in a search for variety, and consumers may form attitudes
toward the new brand after using it.
Page  42
Disconfirmation of Expectations
 When expectations regarding product performance are not met
(disconfirmation of expectations), consumers may have more negative
attitudes toward the product after the purchase.
 When consumers are very disappointed, a negative change in attitudes
is likely to occur after the purchase, and they may exaggerate this
change (negative word of mouth).
Page  43
Attitude Reinforcement and Change
 Beliefs are easier to change than desired benefits
 Brand beliefs are easier to change than brand attitudes
 For hedonic products, attitudes are a more relevant vehicle for change
than beliefs.
 Attitudes are easier to change when there is a low level of involvement
with the product.
 Weak attitudes are easier to change than strong ones.
 Attitudes held by consumers who have less confidence in their brand
evaluations are easier to change.
 Attitudes are easier to change when they are based on ambiguous
information.
Page  44
Strategies to Change Attitudes
(Repositioning)
 Changing Attitudes of Existing Users
– Companies faced with declining sales often attempt to
reposition their offerings to existing users.
 Changing Attitudes of Nonusers
– In an attempt to appeal to new segments of the market,
companies often attempt to change attitudes among
nonusers. Often these changes are necessary for the
company to ensure future sales.
Page  45
Strategies to change consumer beliefs
Positioning by:
– product attributes,
– intangible attributes,
– consumer benefits,
– price,
– brand user,
– celebrity recognition,
– brand personality,
– product category,
– association with competitors,
– country or geographic area.
Page  46
Every man has reminiscences which he would not
tell to everyone but only his friends. He has other
matters in his mind which he would not reveal
even to his friends, but only to himself, and that in
secret. But there are other things which a man is
afraid to tell even to himself, and every decent
man has a number of such things stored away in
his mind.
(F. Dostoevskij, 1821-1881)
Page  47
Attitude manifestation
Attitude do not have to be consciously accessible to produce
evalutative reaction to an object.
The mere presence of the attitude object is often sufficient to activate
the associated attitude automatically, often without awareness.
In short, attitudes may be implicit as well as explicit.
Explicit Attitude

consciousness
Implicit Attitude

unconsciousness
Page  48
Measurement of explicit attitudes
Multi-attribute models
Theory of Reasoned Action
Page  49
Multi-attribute model
As a simple response does not always provide all the information, we need to
know about why a consumer has certain feelings towards a product or about
what marketers can do to change consumers’ attitudes.
 Fishbein’s multi-attribute model
describes attitude formation as a function of consumer beliefs about the
attributes and benefits of a brand.
 Elements of the models:
– Attributes – characteristics that consumers consider when
evaluating the attitude object.
– Beliefs – cognitions about the specific attitude object.
– Importance weights – these reflect the relatived priority of
an attribute to the consumer.
Page  50
Fishbein’s Multiattribute Model
e
b
A
BI
B
Page  51
• Evaluation of Product Attributes
• Brand Beliefs
• Overall Brand Evaluations
• Intention to Buy
• Behaviour
Ao   bi  ei
Theory of Reasoned Action
 Intentions versus behavior:
– The Fishbein’s theory of reasoned action aims to measure behavioral
intentions, recognising that certain uncontrollable factors inhibit
prediction of actual behavior.
 Social pressure:
– The power of other people in influencing behavior.
 Attitude towards buying:
– Focusing on the perceived consequences of a purchase.
(Ajzen, Fishbein, 1980)
Page  52
Fishbein’s Theory of Reasoned Action
e
b
A
SN
BI
B
Page  53
• Evaluation of Product Attributes
• Brand Beliefs (perceived consequences of actions)
• Overall Evaluation of Action
• Social Norms (Normative Beliefs / Motivation to Comply)
• Intention to Buy
• Behaviour
Measuring social elements
Normative beliefs
My family thinks I
Should buy Brand
- - - - - X
-
Should not buy Brand
X
Motivation to comply
I want to do what
my family thinks I
should do
- - - - - - regarding Brand X
Page  54
I do not want to do
what my family
thinks I should do
regarding Brand X
Problems in predicting behavior
Outcomes beyond consumers’ control.
Behavior is not always intentional.
Measures of attitude often do not really correspond
to the behavior they are supposed to predict.
Page  55
Implicit Attitudes
Many cognitive process that affect behavior are
unconscious in nature and are inaccessible to
observation by the actor.
These implicit processes affect perception,
influence behavior, and color interpretation of past
events.
Page  56
Measurement of Implicit Attitudes
IAT - Implicit Attitude Test:
– It is an experimental method within social psychology
designed to measure the strength of automatic
association between mental representations of objects
(concepts) in memory.
– It requires the rapid categorization of various stimulus
objects, such that easier pairings (and faster responses)
are interpreted as being more strongly associated in
memory than more difficult pairings (slower responses).
Page  57
IAT – Implicit Attitude Test
 The IAT was introduced in 1998 by Anthony Greenwald, Debbie
McGhee, and Jordan Schwartz.
 Project Implicit, a research and educational outreach program that
allows individuals to take the test over the web, is run by social
psychologists (Greenwald, Mahzarin Banaji, and Brian Nosek).
 https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
Page  58
Thank you very much
for your attention
Patrizia de Luca, Ph.D.
E-mail: patrizia.deluca@econ.units.it