CHAPTER 7
ATTITUDES AND ATTITUDE CHANGE
WHAT DO YOU THINK POLLING QUESTION
It’s pretty hard to change my attitude about products that I dislike.
Strongly disagree 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly agree
Have students access www.cengagebrain.com to answer the polling questions for each chapter of
CB. Ask them to take the online poll to see how their answers compare with other students taking
a consumer behavior course across the country. Then turn to the last page of the chapter to find
the What Others Have Thought box feature. This graph is a snapshot of how other consumer
behavior students have answered this polling question thus far.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
L01 Define attitudes and describe attitude components.
L02 Describe the functions of attitudes.
L03 Understand how the hierarchy of effects concept applies to attitude theory.
L04 Comprehend the major consumer attitude models.
L05 Describe attitude change theories and their role in persuasion.
L06 Understand how message and source effects influence persuasion.
SUGGESTED LECTURE OPENER
Marketers know that consumers’ attitudes and beliefs can play a strong role in their buying
behaviors. In this country, one of the most powerful of these is the ever elusive American
Dream. While difficult to define, most people would include owning their own home as part of
their idea of “making it.” And this seems to be holding true, even in this current economic
downturn. What developers and marketers need to respond to here, is not the belief that home
ownership is a powerful testament to success, but to American’s changing attitudes about what
they need and are willing to spend when purchasing a home. The years of maxing out
qualification budgets and flipping houses into luxury palaces are no longer present. According to
a recent Coldwell Banker Real Estate survey, 68% of buyers paid less for a home than the
amount for which they qualified, while 53% reported that they purchased a home because it was
more economical than renting. [Source: Michael Lerner, “Buying Home Still American Dream,”
The Washington Times, July 22, 2010, http://www.washingtontimes.com.]
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LECTURE OUTLINE WITH POWERPOINT® SLIDES
Slide 1
Slide 2
LO1. Define attitudes and describe attitude components.
Attitudes and Attitude Components
Slide 3
Attitudes are relatively enduring overall evaluations of objects, products, services, issues, or
people. It is therefore not surprising that the attitude concept is one of the most researched topics
in the entire field of consumer research.
Slide 4
Components of Attitudes
Attitudes possess three important components, as evidenced in the ABC approach to attitudes:
1. Affect  “I really like my iPad.”
2. Behavior  “I always buy Apple products.”
3. Cognitions (or beliefs)  “My iPad helps me to study.”
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Slide 5
Q: Ask students to provide another example besides the iPad to illustrate the
ABC concept of attitudes.
A: Answers will vary. It might be easier for students to use their favorite
products such as cell phones, makeup, and brands of clothing.
LO2. Describe the functions of attitudes.
Functions of Attitudes
Slide 6
According to the functional theory of attitudes, attitudes perform four functions. The four types
of functions are summarized in Exhibit 7.1.
1. Utilitarian  Based on the concept of reward and punishment.
2. Knowledge  Allows consumers to simplify their decision-making processes.
3. Value-expressive  Found in a number of consumer settings and enable consumers to
express their core values, self-concept, and beliefs to others.
4. Ego-defensive  Works as a defense mechanism for consumers. There are several ways
in which this function works. First, the ego-defensive function enables consumers to
protect themselves from information that may be threatening. Another example is when
consumers develop positive attitudes toward products that enhance their self-image.
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Slide 7
Have students provide examples of each of the four functions of attitudes.
Exhibit 7.1 is a source of examples, but push students to come up with new
examples while working in pairs.
LO3. Understand how the hierarchy of effects concept applies to attitude theory.
Hierarchy of Effects
Slide 8
The attitude approach that suggests that affect, behavior, and cognitions form in a sequential
order is known as the hierarchy of effects approach. They may form in one of the following four
levels or “hierarchies.” These hierarchies are presented in Exhibit 7.2.
1. High-Involvement Hierarchy  This “standard learning” hierarchy of effects occurs
when a consumer faces a high-involvement decision, such as purchasing a new gaming
system like Wii or Xbox.
2. Low-Involvement Hierarchy  Many purchases can be considered routine, even boring.
Popular examples include items found on a grocery list, such as paper towels.
3. Experiential Hierarchy  Consumers purchase products or perform behaviors simply
because it “feels good” or “feels right.” For example, when a waiter brings around the
dessert tray, many people are tempted to purchase the item on impulse.
4. Behavioral Influence Hierarchy  This hierarchy suggests that consumer behavior can
occur without either beliefs or affect being strongly formed beforehand. An example is
that people are influenced to relax at a restaurant by listening to the soft, slow music
playing. Restaurant managers hope it entices them to buy more drinks.
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Slide 9
Have students pay attention to the music playing in their favorite store or
restaurant. Do they usually hear it? What does it influence them to do? The
right choice of music can be a critical factor in retail success.
LO4. Comprehend the major consumer attitude models.
Consumer Attitude Models
Slide 10
Attitude-Toward-the-Object Model
In this section, some of the major approaches to measuring consumer attitudes are presented;
beginning with a well-known approach advanced by Martin Fishbein and Icek Azjen named the
attitude-toward-the-object (ATO) model. This model proposes that three key elements must be
assessed to understand and predict a consumer’s attitude.
1. Beliefs  Consumers have beliefs about the attributes or features that a product or choice
possesses.
2. Strength of the belief  How strongly does a person feel that a certain brand does indeed
have the desired feature?
3. Evaluation of the attribute in question  These elements are combined to form the
overall attitude toward the object (referred to as “Ao”, or “attitude toward the object”).
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Slide 11
Using the ATO Approach
To understand this model, first consider how the various elements are measured. To begin, note
that belief ratings can be measured on a 10-point scale, such as the following:
How likely is it that the Sony television will give you a clear picture?
1
2
3
4
5
6
Extremely unlikely
7
8
9
10
Extremely likely
An example may help to clarify the use of this formula. Think of the situation that Brooke is
facing concerning the selection of a fitness center. How could you predict her attitude? This
information is presented in Exhibit 7.3.
Slide 12
Q: Have students think about a health club that they want to join, but in this
scenario, they are the marketer for the club. How do members of their target
segment feel about the amenities offered in health clubs? How do they feel
about circuit training? How do they feel about the variety of class offerings?
A: Answers will vary. If managers were to discover that the target segment
does not realize the degree of variety offered in the club, this information
would be something to emphasize in advertising campaigns. The focus of
this exercise is to bring the discussion to a close about the ATO approach.
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The ATO approach is known as a compensatory model. With compensatory models, attitudes are
formed holistically across a number of attributes, with poor ratings on one attribute being
compensated for by higher ratings on another attribute.
Implications of the ATO Approach
Information obtained from this model has important marketing implications. First, note that
attitude research is most often performed on entire market segments rather than on individuals.
Overall, the attitude-toward-the-object model has value from both an academic and practical
viewpoint.
Do Attitudes Always Predict Behavior?
Just because a consumer has a positive attitude toward a product does not mean that this
consumer will always purchase the product.
Attitude-behavior consistency refers to the extent to which a strong relationship exists
between attitudes and actual behavior. Because attitudes don’t always predict behavior, other
approaches have been developed to improve upon the ATO approach, such as the behavioral
intentions model.
Behavioral Intentions Model
The behavioral intentions model, sometimes referred to as the theory of reasoned action, has
been offered as an improvement over the attitude-toward-the-object model. This model differs
from the ATO model in a number of important ways:
1. Rather than focusing explicitly on attitudes, the model focuses on intentions to act in
some way.
2. The model adds a component that assesses the consumer’s perceptions of what other
people think they should do.
3. The model explicitly focuses on the consumer’s attitude toward the behavior of buying
rather than the attitude toward the object.
The aspects of the behavioral intentions model are presented in Exhibit 7.4.
Slide 13
Factors That Weaken Attitude–Behavior Relationship
Although attitude models are very popular in consumer research, researchers note
that a number of factors can detract from the accuracy of this approach. Strong environmental
pressures can also keep consumers from performing intended behaviors. For example, when
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consumers feel rushed, decisions are often made in haste. Finally, attitude–behavior models tend
to not perform very well in impulse-buying situations.
1. Time – As the length of time between attitude measurement and overt behavior grows,
the predictive ability of attitudinal models weakens.
2. Specificity of attitude measured – Has an impact on accuracy.
3. Environment – Strong environmental pressures can keep consumers from performing
intended behaviors.
4. Impulse situations – Attitude–behavior models tend to not perform very well in impulsebuying situations.
Slide 14
Alternative Approaches to Attitude
The theory of planned action expands upon the behavioral intentions model by including a
perceived control component.
Slide 15
Expanding the Attitude Object
Research has shown that there is generally a positive relationship between a consumer’s attitude
toward an advertisement and their attitude toward a particular product. Another area of growing
research interest has also focused on a consumer’s attitude toward the company. The study of
consumer beliefs toward companies (typically referred to as corporate associations) is therefore
gaining considerable attention from consumer researchers. A specific area of interest is the
corporate social responsibility of companies.
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Have students compile a list of companies that would fit the example of
alternative approaches to attitude. Examples might include Southwest
Airlines, Patagonia, and Google.
Attitude Tracking
Attitude tracking refers to the extent to which a company actively monitors their customers’
attitudes over time. While attitudes are relatively enduring evaluations of objects, products,
services, issues, or people, these attitudes should be monitored over time to gauge changes that
may occur.
LO5. Describe attitude change theories and their role in persuasion.
Attitude Change Theories and Persuasion
Slide 16
An important issue in the study of consumer behavior is how attitudes are changed.
The term persuasion refers to specific attempts to change attitudes. There are many different
persuasive techniques, and the following discussion presents the theoretical mechanisms through
which persuasion may occur.
Slide 17
Attitude-Toward-the-Object Approach
To change attitudes according to this approach, marketers can attempt to change beliefs, create
new beliefs about product features, or change evaluations of product attributes.
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


Changing Beliefs – As discussed in our fitness center example, marketers may attempt to
change consumers’ beliefs.
Adding Beliefs about New Attributes – Another strategy for changing attitudes under
the ATO approach is adding a salient attribute to the product or service, which may
require a physical change to the product itself.
Changing Evaluations – The marketer would try to convince consumers that an attribute
is not as positive (or negative) as they may think. For example, a fitness center may
attempt to convince consumers that location is not always a positive thing.
Slide 18
Behavioral Influence Approach
Another strategy commonly applied by marketers is to directly change behaviors without first
attempting to change either beliefs or attitudes. For example, changing a retail store’s design or
atmospherics can have a direct influence on behavior.
The U.S. government wanted to change the way residents thought about the census and
make sure people responded to the survey so they created the 2010 Census campaign, “We Can’t
Move Forward Until You Mail it Back.” Creating more positive consumer attitudes toward the
census was an important first step in collecting the information.
Slide 19
Q: Ask students how much they heard about the U.S. Census campaign. Did
they fill out a form themselves or with their families? Do they think the
government changed people’s attitudes toward the census? Did they learn
anything they didn’t know through the census campaign?
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A: Answers will vary.
Changing Schema-Based Affect
From an attitude perspective, this means that a schema contains affective and/or emotional
meanings. If the affect found in a schema can be changed, then the attitude toward a brand or
product will change as well.
Slide 20
The Elaboration Likelihood Model
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) illustrates how attitudes are changed based on differing
levels of consumer involvement. According to the ELM, a consumer begins to process a message
as soon as it is received (see Exhibit 7.5).
The Central Route
If consumers find that the incoming message is particularly relevant to their situation (thus
making them highly involved), then they will likely expend considerable effort in
comprehending the message. Contradicting thoughts are known as counter arguments, and
thoughts that support the main argument presented are known as support arguments.
In the central route, the consumers rely on central cues. Central cues refer specifically to
information found in the message that pertains directly to the product, its attributes, its
advantages, or the consequences of its use.
The Peripheral Route
If consumers are not involved with a message or they lack either the motivation or
the ability to process information, the peripheral route to persuasion will be followed.
In this route, consumers are unlikely to develop cognitive responses to the message (either
supporting arguments or counter arguments). They are instead more likely to pay attention to the
attractiveness of the person delivering the message, the number of arguments presented, the
expertise of the spokesperson, and the imagery or music presented along with the message.
These elements of the message (that is, nonproduct-related information) are referred to as
peripheral cues.
A popular ad campaign for Corona beer illustrates peripheral processing. The campaign
includes a series of advertisements that show a man and woman relaxing on a beach.
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Slide 21
Low-Involvement Processing in the Consumer Environment
It is important to note that the vast majority of advertisements to which consumers are exposed
are processed with low-involvement processing.
Balance Theory
The balance theory approach was introduced by social psychologist Fritz Heider. The basic
premise of balance theory is that consumers are motivated to maintain perceived consistency in
the relations found in mental systems. This approach is based on the consistency principle, which
states that human beings prefer consistency among their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. An
example is shown in Exhibit 7.6.
Slide 22
Social Judgment Theory
This theory proposes that consumers compare incoming information with their existing attitudes
about a particular object or issue. These aspects of the theory are presented in Exhibit 7.7.
Slide 23
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LO6. Understand how message and source effects influence persuasion.
Message and Source Effects and Persuasion
Slide 24
An important part of understanding persuasion is comprehending the many ways in which
communication occurs. For this reason, it is important to consider the roles of message effects
and source effects in persuasion.
A message effect is a term used to describe how the appeal of a message and its
construction affects persuasion. Source effects refer to the characteristics of the person or
character delivering a message that influence persuasion. To understand how message and source
effects work, we can follow the basic communication model in Exhibit 7.8.
Slide 25
A basic communication model is also referred to as a “one-to-many” approach because it
illustrates how a marketer may attempt to communicate with numerous consumers. The six areas
of a communication model are as follows:
1. Source – The source encodes a message and delivers the message through some medium.
2. Message – The message is the advertisement.
3. Medium – The medium could be personal (one consumer talks to another or a
salesperson speaks with a customer) or impersonal (a company places an ad on television,
radio, or a web page).
4. Receiver – The consumer decodes the message and responds to it in some way.
5. Feedback – Feedback consists of the responses that the receiver sends back to the source.
6. Noise – Noise represents all of the stimuli that are present in the environment that
disrupts the communication process.
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Slide 26
Interactive Communications
Interactive communications—including the Internet, cell phones, text messaging,
e-commerce, and smartphones—have radically changed the communication paradigm. Twentyseven percent of the world’s population is using the Internet (more than 1.8 billion consumers).
The interactivity that the Internet provides creates major changes for the traditional
communication conceptualization. A newer conceptualization is presented in Exhibit 7.9.
Slide 27
Message Appeal
A number of appeals are used by advertisers to impact the persuasiveness of an advertisement.
1. Sex Appeals  Use of sexual imagery in advertisements certainly is popular in many
parts of the world.
2. Humor Appeals – Humor attracts attention, creates a positive mood, and enhances the
credibility of a source. However, the overall effectiveness of a humorous ad depends on
the individual consumer.
3. Fear Appeals – Fear appeals evoke some level of fear in the target audience as a means
of changing attitudes and behaviors. Popular examples include the truth campaigns aimed
at teenagers. Fear appeals appear to be effective when they:
a. Introduce the severity of a threat.
b. Present the probability of occurrence.
c. Explain the effectiveness of a coping strategy.
d. Show how easy it is to implement the desired response.
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Message Construction
Advertisers must consider a number of issues when constructing a message. Potential questions
to consider include the following:
 Should an ad present a conclusion, or should the consumer be allowed to reach his own
conclusion?
 Should comparative ads that directly compare one brand against another be developed?
 Where should important information be placed?
 Should the message be straightforward and simple, or complex?
Slide 28
Source Effects
The source of a message also influences consumer attitudes.
1. Source Credibility – Plays an important role in advertising effectiveness. In general,
credible sources tend to be more persuasive than less credible sources.
2. Source Attractiveness – Another quality that has received a great deal of attention.
3. Source Likeability – Also affects a spokesperson’s effectiveness. Likeable sources tend
to be persuasive.
4. Source Meaningfulness – Refers to matching product characteristics to the dominant
characteristics of a source.
Slide 29
Q: Have students name celebrities that would be credible, attractive, and
likeable. What products should they represent? Why? What products
should they avoid?
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A: The instructor may want to mention past celebrity blunders to spark the
conversation. Examples could include Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Charlie
Sheen, and Lindsey Lohan.
VIDEO CLIP
PowerPoint Clip from Southwest Airlines
Run time 1:41 minutes
Slide 30
Founded on the basic principle of simple, no-fuss flying with a high-level of staff positive
attitude, Southwest Airlines (SWA) remains one of this country’s highest rated businesses in
terms of both work culture and customer service. However, in the current economic downturn,
and the particularly negative effect it has had on the commuter industry, SWA has to carefully
consider the implications of its marketing and pricing efforts. While most airlines are increasing
fees and cutting services in order to protect revenues, SWA has responded by keeping a oneprice per flight experience policy. This concept is intended to reinforce consumer’s positive
attitudes towards the airlines customer service and product delivery.
Ask your students:
1. How does SWAs approach to no-fee flying (offering the entire flight experience for one price)
reinforce consumers’ positive attitudes towards the airline?
Answer: While many airlines are unbundling their product and charging fees for traditionally
free or included services in an effort to raise revenues, SWAs approach of a single price—even if
it is higher than previously—avoids leaving consumers with a sense of being “nickled and
dimed.”
2. How does the Business Select option specifically accomplish this goal?
Answer: For a higher price than the same non-Business Select flight, but without fees,
consumers gain extra services they feel are important enough to pay for, such as early boarding
and extra mileage points.
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END OF CHAPTER MATERIAL
PART 2 CASE ANSWERS
Case 2-1 Are Three Wheels Better than Two?: The Can-Am Spyder
Questions:
1. Do purchasers of the Can-Am Spyder have utilitarian motivations? Hedonics ones?
Both?
As with other forms of transportation, the Spyder provides satisfaction of a basic
utilitarian motivation to be able to travel with ease, getting from point A to point B.
However, it is likely that most purchasers do so primarily to satisfy hedonic motivations.
‘Weekend warrior’-types are likely to consider this vehicle a ‘toy’ that they use mostly
for excitement and personal gratification.
2. BRS states that it delivers “paradigm-shifting vehicles that push the envelope”.1
Considering a prospective customer’s existing product schema for a motorbike, discuss
the implications for cognitive organization, comprehension and acceptance of this
vehicle by motorcycle enthusiasts.
A typical motorcycle owner may have a schema about a bike that includes concepts such
as “two-wheeled”, “exciting”, “cool” and even maybe “risky”. The Spyder is not
considered a true member of the motorcycle class, probably because it does not share all
of these characteristics in the minds of the consumer. This may make it harder for the
consumer to automatically accept this new vehicle, and makes its introduction more risky
for BRS. It may make interpretation and comprehension of the Spyder difficult initially,
resulting in an accommodation or even a contrast reaction during attempts to categorize
it. BRS is counting on the fact that incongruencies are just enough to induce curiosity but
not dislike.
3. At introduction of this vehicle, would an attitude change strategy be necessary to convert
the curious into customers? If so, what might be effective?
Those who are intrigued by the Spyder may still have misconceptions about it. Among
motorcycle riders, it may be important to change existing beliefs that the thrill of the ride
can exist even with enhanced stability factors, or that safety is of more importance now in
their lives. In the ELM method, potential customers are likely to spend much effort in
comprehending messages about the vehicle, so the central route to persuasion is likely to
be activated. Central cues will be effective, including arguments about various safety and
styling attributes.
1
BRP adds a Touring model to its Can-Am Spyder Roadster line-up. (2009, September 2). PR Newswire, pNA.
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4. Visit the website spyder.brp.com as if you were a potential customer for this product. Is
the typical site visitor likely to learn about the product intentionally or unintentionally?
Do you think the website has been created to maximize the learning that can occur there?
Learning will be especially important for BRS’s Can-Am Spyder since it is so unique.
Consumers often learn about products unintentionally through personal contacts,
experiences and even advertising. The vehicle is still relatively new, distribution is
limited and advertising has been minimal, meaning that the website may be of relative
importance for the education of the customer. Website visitors are likely to be learning
intentionally there, through their own effort and cognitive processes, as they seek specific
information about the Spyder. The site has a great deal of information about the models,
gear and accessories, as well as dealerships and the online community. But nothing is
likely to replace the learning that would occur through experience, such as a test drive. A
major function of the site is to drive customers to local events where that is possible.
Case 2- 2 Shanghai Advertisements
Questions:
1. What function or functions does Mei Li’s attitude toward the advertisements that line the
street where she lives play?
First of all, her attitude adopted from her father—that the ads will corrupt her education
and family responsibility—plays a utilitarian function in that maximizes familial rewards
and minimizes any punishment. It keeps her in good favor with her father. In some
ways, it also acts as an ego-defensive function. The attitude protects Mei Li from any of
the potential problems associated with the ads in terms of self-concept and self-esteem.
However, the last ad, Mei Li’s favorite, may actually serve a value-expressive function
for the girl. She believes the makeup is glamorous and sophisticated, something that she
wants to be, and her attitude toward the brand expresses that set of values.
2. Using the psychoanalytic approach to motivation, how does Mei Li deal with the
advertisements that surround her?
Psychoanalytically speaking, the personality consists of the id, ego, and superego. The id
is all-about “if it feels good, do it” in the sense that it acts under the pleasure principle.
The superego matches societal norms and expectations as a “civilizing” element. Both of
these are managed by the ego which resolves conflicts between the two. The ads are
attempting to work on Mei Li’s id, urging her to be herself and the like. But she has her
father’s voice in her head, the superego, that is telling her to ignore the ads and their
corruptive influence. Her ego, on the other hand, is resolving that conflict, particularly
with the last ad concerning the make-up. It’s here ego, most likely, that has told her to
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wait until she was old enough to purchase make-up that allows her to manage the ad as
part of her everyday scenery.
3. What effect do these Western ads appear to be having on the self-concept of Chinese
consumers?
The self-concept involves all the thoughts and feelings that one has about him or herself
which plays a huge part in self-esteem. The more positive one feels about him or herself,
the higher or more positive the self-esteem. When individuals are subjected to a myriad
of advertisements that feature glamour and sophistication in the form of someone who
looks different than the self, this could potentially lead someone to begin to think
negatively about the self. Instead of a Chinese girl like Mei Li2 comparing herself to
other Chinese girls that she looks like, she may now be comparing herself to Western
models who she does not look like. Since they are glamorous and, by contrast, she may
think she is not, then the way to look like the Western model is to get the plastic surgery,
modifying her look so that she is now comparable.
4. What part does the perception process play in Mei Li’s reaction to the make-up
advertisement?
First of all, she has to sense the ad to be able to make sense of it, which she does each
time she leaves her apartment. Then, she has to organize the image into meaningful and
recognizable categories. She does so by breaking the ad down to glamorous woman,
evening dress, cute guy, checking out, and make-up. In doing so, she begins to
comprehend or interpret the meaning of the ad through an act of assimilation. She readily
recognizes the different parts and what they mean when put together into the
advertisement. Finally, she reacts by liking the ad and vowing to buy the brand when she
is allowed to purchase and wear make-up.
Case 2-3 Thrill-Seekers Unite
Questions:
1.
Develop a psychographic profile of a consumer who identifies himself/herself as a “thrill
seeker”. Identify three personality traits that you think would be associated with a
consumer who would attend the ESPN Summer or Winter X Games. How might
consumers with differing amounts of thrill seeking (very low versus very high) have
different attitudes about a reverse mortgage?
Students may answer this question individually or in teams. Students should compile a
list the personality traits of a “thrill-seeker”. Examples of personality traits include but
2
By the way, Mei Li means “beautiful” in Chinese
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are not limited to; extroversion, innovativeness, self-consciousness, need for excitement,
competitiveness, and impulsiveness. Students may also reference VALS in their answer.
Instructors may generate class discussion by asking students to explain the various ways
psychographic profiles may be used by marketers. Consumers use a reverse mortgage to
get access to other things – this it offers high utilitarian value. The other things – like
extreme supports for retired consumers – provide hedonic value. But, a consumer low in
thrill seeking may not see so much value in a reverse mortgage because they are likely to
see it as more risky.
2.
Choose an extreme sports event and describe its brand personality.
Answers to this question will vary depending on the choice of the sporting event.
Students should be allowed to review the definition of brand personality. Instructors may
facilitate class discussion by asking students to comment on whether or not they think
brand personality is related to product positioning.
Instructors wishing to offer more guidance to students may provide student teams with
examples of extreme sports products (i.e. Burton snowboards or a Gary Fisher mountain
bike). Teams could then be instructed to research these products online and describe
their brand personalities to the rest of the class.
This question may also be useful to demonstrate to students how individual student
personality traits may impact the overall group’s description of their product’s brand
personality.
3.
Describe three ways you think the personality of an extreme sports consumer affects their
shopping decisions. How does your personality have an impact on the product/services
you purchase?
Answers to this question will vary. An extreme sports consumer will most likely be
highly involved and require central routes to persuasion. This consumer would also be
very knowledgeable about alternative brands. Students should state whether or not they
feel the personality traits of thrill-seekers correlate with their purchases. To facilitate
class discussion, the instructor may also explain the concept of self-product congruence.
Case 2-4 Do zipped commercials influence you?
Questions:
1. Why do you think zipped commercials can still impact a viewer?
The most common explanation is perceptual fluency and the mere exposure effect. The
more you are exposed to a stimulus, be it a person, object, etc. the more familiar it will
seen to you and the most a person will like it. Although people may not recall zipped
commercials, they have been exposed to certain brand names. These brand names may
be or at least seem, more familiar and thus, the viewer will like/prefer them over others.
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2. How should once judge the effectiveness of television commercials? Is recognition and
recall of the brand name enough? What other measures would you suggest?
Using both explicit (recall and recognition) and implicit measures (see reference 7 for an
in depth discussion) would be prudent to help measure the effectiveness of zipped
commercials.
3. What are ways advertisers could counteract the effects of zipping? How could you
encourage consumers to watch commercials in real time?
There are many possible answers students may come up with. One technique advertisers
can use is to hire actors from the show one is watching. Zippers may confuse the
commercial for the actual show and play it in real time. Although this could lead to
mixed attitudes toward the commercial that in effect, tricked the viewer into playing it.
In 2006, Sprite have inserted messages into ads and explicitly told viewers that if they
used their DVRs to slow down the commercial they could see special messages one
would not otherwise be able to see.
ONLINE CASE ANSWERS
Visit www.login.cengage.com to access the online case studies for CB.
1. If you are in charge of the marketing strategy for Coca-Cola BlãK in America, who should
be your target consumers? Why?
Answer: It all depends. One of the target age ranges could be 18-25. This group really
enjoys caffeinated beverages. Because Coca-Cola has such a great reputation, a low-calorie
beverage (45 calories/serving) that offers the great taste of Coca-Cola and coffee all in one
(Coca-Cola BlãK, 2007) may be appealing.
2. What kinds of advertising messages would appeal to the target consumer to cause an
attitude change toward Coca-Cola BlãK?
Answer: While acknowledging the classic aspect of Coca-Cola, it is also very important to
show that the company is being innovative. Focusing on the innovative idea of combining
coffee with the classic cola beverage will appeal to a wider range of the market, not just
Starbucks consumers. Packaging can be a means to accomplish the task of overcoming the
price justification issue. Coke bottles BlãK in glass bottles, thus giving the perception of
value a boost. The shape of the bottle is sleek, slightly shaped like the contours of a
woman’s body, thereby adding sex appeal. Also, the lettering is gold against the dark bottle
color, adding to the sophisticated look of BlãK. Promotion is another way that Coca-Cola
can add to the perceived value to overcome the issue of price justification. The
advertisements for BlãK use slow, jazzy music and dark muted colors. The imagery
includes snapshots of the bottle with “sweat” beads clinging onto its contours, again adding
to its sex appeal. Also, the wording cues use terms such as “sophisticated” to convey the
mature, chic perception of BlãK. All of these promotional elements should add to the
perception of value to shift consumer attitudes favorably toward BlãK and allow Coca-Cola
access to a part of the coffee beverage market.
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3. Compared to ordinary Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola BlãK is expensive ($1.99). How should
Coca-Cola BlãK be positioned?
Answer: If Coca-Cola BlãK positions itself with the other soft drinks, it will not succeed
because most soft drinks are priced at or under $1.00 for a bottle of the same size. By
placing Coca-Cola BlãK in the category with specialty coffee and energy drinks, Coca-Cola
will create the value needed to sell their product at that price. Comparing the $1.99 cost of
Coca-Cola BlãK with the $4.39 that is spent on a Starbucks beverage, consumers could get
very close to the same taste and energy for less money—a better value.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
(*) Indicates material on prep cards.
1. [LO1] Define consumer attitudes.
Answer: Consumer attitudes are relatively enduring overall evaluations of objects,
products, services, issues, or people.
2. *[LO1] What are the various components to attitude? How are they different from each
other?
Answer: According to the ABC approach, attitudes have three components: affect,
behavior, and cognition. Affect refers to the feelings that a consumer has about an object.
Behavior encompasses how a consumer acts or intends to act toward particular objects.
Cognition refers to the beliefs that a consumer has about a particular object. The three
components are distinct in that they refer to different elements.
3. [LO2] Using your own examples, explain the four functions of attitudes that are presented
in this chapter.
Answer: There are many ways in which students may answer this question. The utilitarian
function is based on the concept of reward and punishment. As the text indicates, attitudes
can be used to gain acceptance from others. Perhaps a student has expressed a liking for a
particular rock band in order to appear more favorable to another person. The knowledge
function allows consumers to simplify decision-making processes. Perhaps a student doesn’t
like to drink alcohol. If she hears about an upcoming big campus party, she may decide not to
attend simply because she doesn’t like being in situations where drinking will be encouraged.
The value-expressive function enables the consumer to use attitudes as expressions of their
true values. In the political season, consumers often express their support for a candidate
because of deeply held values. The ego-defensive function serves as a defensive mechanism.
Perhaps a student chooses to ignore warnings about drinking and driving because they have
positive attitudes about drinking.
4. [LO2] Do you think you have personally used each of the four functions of attitudes?
Provide examples of the ways in which you have used each function.
Answer: Responses here will generally match those found in Question #3.
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5. [LO3] What is meant by the hierarchy of effects? Differentiate between the highinvolvement, low-involvement, experiential, and behavioral influence hierarchies.
In what situations are you most likely to observe each hierarchy at work?
Answer: The hierarchy of effects suggests that there is a sequential ordering to how beliefs,
affect, and behavior are formed. The purchase context influences which hierarchy will
come into play. The high-involvement (or standard learning) hierarchy occurs when
consumers first develop thoughts about a product, followed by affect, and then by behavior.
This hierarchy generally works in situations in which products under consideration involve
some kind of risk. The low-involvement hierarchy is at work when the purchase context
does not involve significant risk. Here, behavior simply follows beliefs that the consumer
has about a product. Any affect that is developed toward the product generally occurs after
behavior has occurred. The experiential hierarchy is at work when a consumer acts on
strong feelings toward some product. Impulse purchases are often based on the experiential
hierarchy. Finally, the behavioral influence hierarchy comes into play when strong
environmental forces influence behavior in the absence of any strong feelings or thoughts.
Consumers are conditioned to act in various ways in different contexts. For example, fast
food restaurants often play pop music that encourages consumers to hurry through their
meal and be on their way.
6. [LO3] Describe ways in which you think the hierarchy of effects approach applies to recent
purchases you have made.
Answer: Responses to this question will vary. The focus here is to prompt students to
consider how the different hierarchies relate to their everyday lives. If the student gives this
question any thought, they should be able to come up with several examples of how the
hierarchies apply to their lives.
7. *[LO4] What are the components of the attitude-toward-the-object model? What are the
components of the theory of reasoned action?
Answer: There are three components in the attitude-toward-the-object model. These
include beliefs about relevant attributes, the strength of the beliefs that a focal product
possesses these attributes, and evaluation of the attributes in question. The theory of
reasoned action includes attitudes toward performing some behavior and subjective norms.
8. [LO4] How does the theory of reasoned action approach differ from the attitude-towardthe-object approach?
Answer: There are several ways in which these approaches differ. The theory of reasoned
action focuses on behavioral intentions and attitudes toward behaviors. The attitude-towardthe-behavior approach includes beliefs about the consequences of performing a behavior as
well as feelings about the consequences. It also includes normative pressures from others.
9. [LO4] Think of a recent high-involvement purchase that you have made such as buying a
car, buying a television, or selecting an apartment. How did the attitude-toward-the-object
model apply?
Answer: Responses to this question will vary. It should not be difficult for students to come
up with ways to apply the attitude-toward-the-object approach to their daily lives. The
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23
examples provided in the question (cars, television, apartments) apply very well to this
approach. The important issue here is to ensure that students can list relevant attributes,
discuss how they believe each alternative rates on the attributes of the product, and provide
their overall evaluation of the attributes. Of course, it is also important to ensure that
students can combine all of this information according to the model when arriving at an
overall attitude score.
10. [LO5] What are the major attitude change theories?
Answer: Marketers can focus on the various elements of the ATO approach (relevant
attributes, strength of beliefs, evaluation of attributes) when attempting to change consumer
attitudes toward their products. By focusing on the environment and the “servicescape,”
managers can attempt to change behaviors through the behavioral influence approach. The
schema-based affect approach suggests that managers can attempt to add a positive affect to
the product schemas that consumers hold about products and product categories. The
Elaboration Likelihood Model suggests that attitude change will occur either through a
central or peripheral route depending on the consumer’s attention, comprehension, and
involvement. The Balance Theory approach suggests that marketers should pay close
attention to how well celebrity endorsers are liked by their target markets. The Social
Judgment Theory approach suggests that managers should have knowledge of how
consumers feel about their products when they develop marketing messages. To persuade
consumers, messages should fall within the latitude of acceptance and avoid the latitude of
rejection.
11. [LO5] In what ways do you think the Elaboration Likelihood Model applies to a recent ad
that you have seen? If you are highly involved with a particular product, do you care about
the expertise of who is delivering a message? Would you have the same attitude if you are
not involved with the product? What elements of the message are most persuasive then?
Answer: Student responses to this question will vary. Just because consumers are highly
involved does not mean that they do not care about the expertise of the person delivering a
message. Rather, they are more likely to be impacted by the message itself. If they are not
involved with the product, however, they are more likely to pay attention to the expertise of
the person delivering the message. They are also more likely to be impacted by other
peripheral cues that are presented. The focus of this question is to prompt students to think
about the differences between central and peripheral routes to persuasion and how these
routes are present in their daily lives.
12. [LO6] Summarize the major types of message appeals and source effects. Describe
products that are often advertised using the various message appeals.
Answer: Message appeals include sex appeals, fear appeals, and humor appeals. Intimate
apparel is often promoted with a degree of sex appeal. Promoting the idea of “Don’t Drink
and Drive” often follows fear appeals. Humor appeals are used when promoting all types of
products and services. In fact, humor appeals are often used to increase the involvement of
consumers with otherwise mundane products. Many examples may apply here. Source
effects include issues such as credibility, attractiveness, likeability, and source
meaningfulness.
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13. *[LO6] Q-score ratings are used to describe the favorableness of celebrity endorsers. Who
are your favorite celebrities? What products do you think they would be most effective in
endorsing? What source characteristics do they possess?
Answer: Students responses will vary. Athletes are commonly thought of when
determining favorite celebrities, and they often promote sports-related products. Actors are
also commonly cited, and they promote all types of products. The focus here is to prompt
students to focus on source meaningfulness.
INTERACTIVE/APPLICATION EXERCISES
14. During an evening of television viewing, write down all of the advertisements you see.
Which ones did you like? Which ones did you dislike? Does your attitude toward the
advertisements affect your attitudes toward the products being advertised?
Answer: Student responses to this question will vary greatly, and there are many things that
can be assessed here. Why did the student like or dislike a certain commercial? Also, this is
a good way to consider the attitude-toward-the-object/attitude-toward-the-advertisement
relationship. Students are likely to report that these two issues are not strongly related.
However, some students may report that their attitudes about advertisements do influence
how they feel about products.
15. On another occasion, make a record of all of the advertisements that you see when watching
television, but this time note how many ads can be classified as fear appeals, sex appeals, or
humor appeals. Of these ads that you have classified, which ones do you think are most
persuasive? Why?
Answer: What is being assessed here is how much impact students think can be found in
the various message appeals. Responses will vary. This activity can lead to some very good
classroom discussion.
16. While visiting one of your favorite social networking sites (like Facebook, for example),
keep a log of the number of products that you see being discussed. In what ways do these
discussions influence you?
Answer: Student responses will vary. The point of this question is to get students thinking
about how their attitudes are influenced by social networking sites.
17. *Consider all of the Facebook groups that you belong to, or the tweets that you follow on
Twitter. How do/does this behavior(s) say anything about your attitudes towards brands or
products?
Answer: Responses will once again vary. Students join groups and follow tweets of
people/brands/products that they like, or dislike.
18.
Perform an Internet search of one of your favorite celebrities. Focus on finding the number
of products that he or she endorses. Do you think that these endorsements make sense?
What makes you think that your celebrity would be a good endorser for these items?
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25
Answer: This activity focuses on source meaningfulness and assesses the degree to which
students understand this important concept. Do the endorsements simply “make sense,” and
why?
19. Do a Google search on a product that you really like (e.g., an automobile). How many hits
do you find? How many of these hits would you actually read? How many of them would
impact your attitudes? Why?
Answer: Student responses will vary. There are two reasons for this question. One, the
question allows students to clearly see how much information is available on products that
they may not consider. Also, it helps students to rationalize the types of websites that they
consider to be credible and not credible (or, biased and unbiased).
20.
Find a website that promotes one of your favorite products or hobbies. In what way does
the content of the website influence your attitude toward the product? Does your attitude
toward the website influence your attitude toward the brand?
Answer: Many different hobbies will likely be reported. Do “cool” websites influence how
students feel about the products being advertised? In some cases, they might. In other cases,
they won’t. It would be nice to compare responses across different hobbies and see how
these relationships work. Perhaps snowboarding websites greatly influence product
attitudes, while cooking websites do not. There are many comparisons that can be made
with this activity.
21. Develop a survey that follows the ATO approach to attitudes. Focus on fellow students’
attitudes toward three popular restaurants in your town. Distribute the survey to a group of
friends. What are your findings? Does the model accurately reflect their attitudes toward the
restaurants?
Answer: This activity not only provides students with experience in using the ATO
approach, but it also allows students to see how the approach is used by others. Students
can also comment on the validity of the approach by assessing how well the model predicts
overall attitudes toward the restaurants.
GROUP ACTIVITY
*Based on the opening vignette of the chapter, conduct a discussion about attitudes toward
brands. In the opening story, Keiton purchased an Apple iPad. This is a discussion that tends to
appeal to both sexes in the class. Visit www.google.com, and copy the images of the top ten
brands. (I’ve used Sean John, GE, my university logo, Baskin Robbins, KFC, McDonalds, Tony
the Tiger, Betty Crocker, Marlboro, and the Pillsbury Doughboy). Put the images on a
PowerPoint slide show, and project them to the class. This activity can also be completed on a
sheet of paper. See how many students can name all ten of the top brands. The first student to
name all ten correctly can be awarded extra credit points for participation or on an exam. This
activity can then prompt a discussion about how we shape attitudes and the role that marketers
play. You can refer back to Keiton and his iPad. Why did he buy it? Did his parents own iPads?
Did he do research about it? Did he get advice from family and friends?
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26
CHAPTER VIDEO CASE
To view the video case Targeting and Positioning at Numi Tea, go to the CB companion
website login.cengage.com to select this video.3
Numi Tea founders, siblings Ahmed and Reem Rahim, immigrated to the United States when
they were young children and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Reem became a biomedical engineer,
and Ahmed traveled the world as a photographer, settling for a time in Prague where he opened
two teashops. In 1999, the two reconnected in Oakland, California, and started Numi Tea in
Reem’s apartment.
In recent years, demand for organic and ethically produced products has exploded. At the
same time, economic influences have driven affluent and natural foods consumers to large
discounters, grocery chains, warehouse clubs, and online shops. “In the positioning of our brand
we wanted to target a certain type of customer base, from natural health food stores to fine dining
and hotels, to universities and coffee shops,” says Ahmed, Numi’s CEO. “But what I’ve been
most surprised about in our growth is the mass market consumer.”
According to Jennifer Mullin, vice president of marketing for Numi, the average Numi
consumer is college educated, female, and buys two to three boxes of tea per month—usually
green tea. She also buys organic products whenever possible. Until Mullin joined the team, Numi
had assumed its customers fit the same profile as its young staff. Mullin’s findings proved that
the company needed to put additional energy toward older customers and moms as well as its
target college market.
To reach younger consumers, Numi boosts product awareness on college campuses,
where people are more inclined to be interested in issues of sustainability, fair-trade, and
organics. The big hurdle there is price. Because Numi teas are a premium product, they have a
higher price point than conventionally produced teas. And since college students have limited
cash, Numi determined that it could access college customers best by getting university food
service departments to serve tea as part of prepaid meal plans. The strategy has been a success.
Not only do these food service contracts represent huge accounts for Numi, but they also
encourage trial by students. Sampling is Numi’s most successful marketing activity for attracting
new users, and now students can drink Numi teas essentially for free.
For many organics consumers, the most compelling reason for drinking Numi tea is its
health benefits. But while Numi is organic, the company rarely advertises this aspect of its
business. Some analysts feel that if “organic” and “natural” become mere marketing buzzwords,
a lack of trust may arise among consumers, as some products will inevitably fail to live up to
marketers’ claims. With this in mind, Numi believes it is best to educate consumers about the
product. “We have an in-house PR team that works with editors of women’s magazines to
educate consumers on tea and make sure they understand the healthy properties of tea,” says
Jennifer. The team always follows up by sampling at Whole Foods stores, or at events targeted
toward environmentally conscious customers.
While Numi is still fairly new, the company is expanding rapidly in the U.S. and enjoying
success overseas as well. Whatever the marketing and PR teams do to promote the tea
products—store sampling, environmental events, or partnerships with like-minded companies
3
From Boone & Kurtz. Targeting & Positioning at Numi Tea from Contemporary Marketing 14e, pg. VC-9. Copyright (c) 2010 SouthWestern, a part of Cengage Learning, Inc. Reproduced by permission. www.cengage.com/permissions
©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
27
such as Clif Bar—they always keep an eye on the demographic and psychographic profiles of
their consumers.
Ask your students:
1. Which of the four common bases for segmenting consumer markets does Numi use to
divide up the overall market tea products?
Answer: Many marketers use a combination of the four bases for segmenting markets. In
the video, Numi is shown to segment the market using the following approaches:
Demographic segmentation, including age (Generation X), gender (female), education
(college educated), family lifecycle (moms); Psychographic segmentation, including
principle-motivated altruists (eco-mom movement, green consumers, and cause-driven
consumers); and Product-related segmentation (tea drinkers, and healthful benefits of herbal
tea).
2. Would you classify Numi Tea’s marketing strategy as “concentrated”? If so, what are the
plusses and minuses of using such a strategy in today’s market?
Answer: Numi uses a concentrated marketing strategy. The company offers premium
organic tea products to a single market segment: tea lovers. The primary advantage of a
concentrated marketing strategy is that a small or highly specialized company can
successfully satisfy a niche and expect very little competition from larger companies. The
disadvantage of a concentrated marketing strategy is that companies using this approach
suffer deeply if other small or specialized competitors enter the market and appeal
successfully to the same niche.
3. How does Numi position its tea products against those of its competitors?
Answer: Numi is a premium organic fair-traded tea made of organic leaves and high
quality ingredients. It is a high price, high quality tea product—not a commodity tea like
other teas. Numi teas are sold primarily through fine dining establishments, luxury hotels,
natural foods stores, and other premium accounts.
PART 2 VIDEO CASE
To view the Part 2 video case, go to the CB companion website login.cengage.com to select
this video.
Shopping for a New Apartment
Time: This video is between 5-7 minutes long.
Concepts Illustrated in the Video
 Consumer perception process
 Comprehension
 Message source
 Expectations
 Consumer motivations
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28




Consumer involvement
Personality
Self-concept
Attitudes
Synopsis
Jim works in the finance industry and is getting ready to start school full-time. He’s working
with Linda, a real estate agent and broker to find a new apartment. He has a variety of lifestyle
needs in selecting the right apartment such as location to the library, bus line, work, and most
importantly aesthetics is a major concern. After some time, Linda and Jim struggle to agree on
what’s the right fit for Jim. Jim finally admits that he wasn’t up front about his situation and his
company is paying for his living expenses while going back to school.
Finally, Linda gets Jim to agree to view the smaller studio apartment. After some deliberation,
Jim agrees to move forward with the smaller apartment. Linda points out that her role in this
negotiation is to figure out unrealistic expectations from her clients. However, after thirty years
in the business, she always asks for the order!
Teaching Objectives for the Video Case

Understand the concept of comprehension and the factors that influence what gets
comprehended

Be able to apply the concept of a cognitive “schema,” including exemplars and prototypes, to
understand how consumers react to new products

Understand consumer motivations

Have students explore why lifestyles and psychographics are important in the field of
consumer behavior

Understand the attitude toward object model
Critical Thinking Questions – Suggested Answers
1. What were Jim’s motivations in the video?
Answer: Jim’s motivations for a new apartment were based on his age, lifestyle, living
within his means, outward appearances, and internal motivations.
2. Define perception. What were Jim’s perceptions about the one bedroom apartment versus
the studio apartment?
Answer: Perception refers to a consumer’s awareness and interpretation of reality. In this
case, perception simply doesn’t always match reality. Jim’s perception about the one
bedroom was prestige and that he had made something out of himself though all of his hard
work. The perception of the studio apartment was he hadn’t made it yet and was settling
after working for 10 years in the financial industry and possessing a good credit record
while living within his means.
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29
3. Using the general hierarchy of motivation (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs), where would
Jim’s new apartment fall on the hierarchy? Explain.
Answer: Jim’s new apartment goes beyond physiological, the basic needs for survival
including shelter. In the video example, Jim is trying to meet his esteem needs. The
esteem needs are classified as being recognized as a person of self-worth. Jim used
words such as Hitachi flat screen TV, the leather furniture, and being able to entertain
your friends in a nice place that cued the real estate agent as to his needs.
4. Based on Jim’s personality, describe his traits. Would you consider Jim to possess value
consciousness, materialism, innovativeness, complaint proneness, and competitiveness?
Explain your answer.
Answer: Students’ answers will vary depending on how they perceive Jim. Some will
see Jim as materialistic. The textbook describes these people who are highly materialistic
as consumers who tend to be possessive, non-generous, and envious of other’s
possessions. Other students will see that Jim was actually value consciousness by the end
of the video. The textbook describes these people as consumers who can expect to pay
close attention to the resources that they devote to transactions and to the benefits that
they receive.
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