Chapter 7
Consumer Attitude Formation
and Change
Consumer Behaviour
Canadian Edition
Schiffman/Kanuk/Das
Copyright © 2006 Pearson
Education Canada Inc.
Opening Vignette
❑
The impact of SARS on tourism
- real risk was low, but perceived risk was high
- led to negative attitude towards Canada,
especially Toronto
❑
Attitude change through
- value-expressive appeals
- use of celebrities
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Attitudes
◼ A learned predisposition to behave in a
consistently favorable or unfavorable
manner with respect to a given object
◼ A positive attitude is generally a necessary,
but not sufficient, condition for purchase
– Mercedes seen as ‘top of class’ but intention to
purchase was low
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7-3
Characteristics of Attitudes
Attitudes have an “object”
◼ Attitudes are learned
◼
– Can ‘unlearn’
◼
Attitudes have behavioural, evaluative and
affective components
– Predisposition to act
– Overall evaluation
– Positive or negative feelings
» continued
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
7-4
Characteristics of Attitudes
◼
Attitudes have consistency
◼ Attitudes have direction, degree, strength
and centrality
–
–
–
–
◼
Positive or negative
Extent of positive or negative feelings
Strength of feelings
Closeness to core cultural values
Attitudes occur within a situation
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7-5
Four Basic Functions of
Attitudes
◼
The Utilitarian Function
– How well it performs
◼
The Ego-defensive Function
– To protect one’s self-concept
◼
The Value-expressive Function
– To convey one’s values and lifestyles
◼
The Knowledge Function
– A way to gain knowledge
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7-6
How are attitudes learned?
◼
Classical conditioning - through past
associations
◼ Operant conditioning - through trial and
reinforcement
◼ Cognitive learning – through information
processing
– Cognitive dissonance theory
– Attribution theory
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7-7
Attitude Models
◼
Structural Models of Attitudes
– Tri-component Attitude Model
– Multi-attribute Attitude Model
– Both assume a rational model of human
behaviour
◼
Other models of attitude formation
– Cognitive dissonance model
– Attribution theory
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7-8
The Tri-component Model
◼
Cognitive Component
– knowledge and perceptions acquired
– through direct experience and information from
various sources.
◼
Affective component
– Emotions and feelings about the object
◼
Conative or Behavioural Component
– Action tendencies toward the object
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7-9
Conation
Cognition
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Affect
7-10
Multi-attribute Attitude Models
◼
Attitude models that examine the
composition of consumer attitudes in terms
of selected product attributes or beliefs.
◼ Examples
– Attitude-toward-object Model
– Attitude-toward-behaviour Model
– Theory-of-Reasoned-Action Model
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7-11
Attitude-toward-object model
◼
Attitude is function of evaluation of
product-specific
beliefs
and
evaluations
n
– Ao=
WiXib
i=1
– Where:
Ao= Attitude towards the object O
Wi = importance of attribute i
Xib = belief that brand b has a certain level of
attribute I
continued
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.
7-12
Theory of Reasoned Action
– A comprehensive theory of the interrelationship
among attitudes, intentions, and behaviour
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7-14
Attitude-Toward-Behaviour
Model
◼
A consumer’s attitude toward a specific
behaviour is a function of how strongly he
or she believes that the action will lead to a
specific outcome (either favorable or
unfavorable).
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7-15
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
◼
Holds that discomfort or dissonance occurs
when a consumer holds conflicting thoughts
about a belief or an attitude object.
◼ Post-purchase Dissonance
– Cognitive dissonance that occurs after a
consumer has made a purchase commitment
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Why Might Behaviour Precede
Attitude Formation?
◼
Cognitive
Dissonance
Theory
◼ Attribution
Theory
Behave (Purchase)
Form Attitude
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Form Attitude
7-17
Attribution Theory
◼ Examines how people assign casualty to
events and form or alter their attitudes as an
outcome of assessing their own or other
people’s behaviour.
◼ Examples
– Self-perception Theory
– Attribution toward others
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7-18
Self-Perception Theory
◼ Attitudes
developed by reflecting on
their own behaviour
◼ Judgments about own behaviour
◼ Internal and external attributions
» Continued
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7-19
Self-Perception Theory
◼
Consumers are likely to accept credit for
successful outcomes (internal attribution)
and to blame other persons or products for
failure (external attribution).
◼ Foot-In-The-Door Technique
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How We Test Our Attributions
◼ Distinctiveness
◼ Consistency
over time
◼ Consistency over modality
◼ Consensus
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Attitudes and Marketing Strategy
◼ Appeal
to motivational functions of
attitudes
◼ Associate product with a special group,
cause or event
◼ Resolve conflicts among attitudes
◼ Influence consumer attributions
» Continued
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Attitudes and Marketing Strategy
◼
Alter components of the attitude
–
–
–
–
◼
Change relative evaluation of attributes
Change brand beliefs
Add an attribute
Change overall brand evaluation
Change beliefs about competitors’ brands
» Continued
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Attitudes and Marketing Strategy
◼ Change
affect first through classical
conditioning
◼ Change behaviour first through operant
conditioning
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7-24