Consumer Behaviour
Topic 6
Attitudes
One of the most interesting studies in consumer behaviour is the study
of attitudes. An attitude is a lasting, general evaluation of people
(including oneself), objects, advertisements, or issues. These evaluations
can be positive or negative.
A functional theory of attitudes (developed by Daniel Katz) indicates that
attitudes have the following functions: utilitarian, value-expressive, egodefensive, and knowledge. Attitudes also relate to a person’s relationship
to his or her social environment.
Most researchers agree that an attitude has three basic components:
affect (how someone feels), behaviour (what someone does—intentions),
and cognition (what someone believes). Although all three components of
attitudes are important, their relative importance will vary depending on
a consumer’s level of motivation with regard to the attitude object (Ao).
Attitude researchers traditionally assumed that attitudes were learned in
a fixed sequence, consisting first of the formation of beliefs (cognitions)
regarding an attitude object, followed by some evaluation of that object
(affect), and then some action (behaviour). Depending on the consumer’s
level of involvement and circumstances, however, attitudes can result
from other hierarchies of effects as well. These different hierarchies can
be used to predict the outcome of a variety of attitude situations. Several
hierarchy formats are described in the chapter.
Consumers vary in their commitment to an attitude; the degree of
commitment is related to their level of involvement with the attitude
object. The degrees can be described as being compliance, identification,
or internalization.
One organizing principle of attitude formation is the importance of
consistency among attitudinal components—that is, some parts of an
attitude may be altered to be in line with others. Such theoretical
approaches to attitudes as cognitive dissonance theory, self-perception
theory, social judgment theory, and balance theory stress the vital role of
the need for consistency.
The complexity of attitudes is underscored by multi-attribute attitude
models, where a set of beliefs and evaluations is identified and combined
to predict an overall attitude. Factors such as subjective norms and the
specificity of attitude scales have been integrated into attitude measures
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to improve predictability. Marketers now attempt to track attitudes over
time to better understand how consumers change with respect to their
feelings about their environment, products, and services.
Lecture Overview
1. The Power of Attitudes
a. The term attitude is widely used in popular culture. For our
purposes, an attitude is a lasting, general evaluation of people (including
oneself), objects, advertisements, or issues.
1) Anything that one has an attitude toward is called an attitude
object (Ao).
2) An attitude is lasting because it tends to endure over time.
3) An attitude is general because it applies to more than a
momentary event (such as a loud noise).
4) Attitudes help us to make all forms of choices (some important
and some minor).
The Functions of Attitudes
b. The functional theory of attitudes was initially developed by
psychologist Daniel Katz to explain how attitudes facilitate social
behaviour. According to this pragmatic approach, attitudes exist because
they serve some function for the person. That is, they are determined by
a person’s motives.
c. The following attitude functions were identified by Katz:
1) Utilitarian function—based on reward and punishment.
2) Value-expressive function—goes to the consumer’s central
values or self- concept.
3) Ego-defensive function—protects the person from threats or
internal feelings.
4) Knowledge function—the need for order, meaning, and
structure.
The ABC Model of Attitudes
d. Most researchers agree that an attitude has three components
that can be remembered as the ABC model of attitudes:
1) Affect refers to the way a consumer feels about an attitude
object.
2) Behaviour involves the person’s intentions to do something
with regard to an attitude object (this intention always results in
behaviour).
3) Cognition refers to the beliefs a consumer has about an
attitude object.
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e. The relative importance of the components of an attitude vary
depending on the level of motivation.
1) Attitude researchers have developed the concept of a hierarchy
of effects to explain the relative impact of the three components (see ABC
model discussed earlier).
2) The three hierarchies are:
a) The Standard of Living Hierarchy—this is a problemsolving process.
b) The Low-Involvement Hierarchy—based on good or bad
experiences.
c) The Experiential Hierarchy—an emotional response.
1. The subdivision of this model could include the
cognitive-affective model where affective judgment is the last step in a
series of cognitive processes.
2. The independence hypothesis says that affect and
cognition are separate, partially independent systems.
Product Attitudes Don’t Tell the Whole Story
f. Marketers must understand that in decision-making situations
people form attitudes toward objects other than the product itself that
can influence their ultimate selections.
1) People’s attitudes can be influenced by advertising.
2) One special type of attitude object is the marketing message
itself.
3) The attitude toward the advertisement (Aad) is defined as a
predisposition to respond in a favourable or unfavourable manner to a
particular advertising stimulus during a particular exposure occasion.
Determinates include:
a) Attitude toward the advertiser.
b) Evaluations of the ad execution itself.
c) The mood evoked by the ad.
d) The degree to which the ad affects viewers’ arousal levels.
4) The ad also has an entertainment value.
5) Feelings are generated by an ad. Emotional responses can be
varied.
g. At least three emotional dimensions have been identified in
commercials.
1) Pleasure
2) Arousal
3) Intimidation
h. Special feelings that can be generated are:
1) Upbeat feelings—amused, delighted, or playful.
2) Warm feelings—affectionate, contemplative, or hopeful.
3) Negative feelings—critical, defiant, or offended.
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2. Forming Attitudes
a. Attitudes can form through:
1) Classical conditioning—using a jingle.
2) Instrumental conditioning—the attitude object is reinforced.
3) Leaning through complex cognitive processes—one learning
what to do in social situations.
Not all Attitudes are Created Equal
b. All attitudes are not formed in the same way or of equal strength.
c. Consumers vary in their commitment to an attitude; the degree of
commitment is related to their level of involvement with the attitude
object.
1) Compliance—formed to gain reward or avoid punishment.
2) Identification—formed to be similar to others.
3) Internalization—has to become part of a person’s value system
(hard to change once formed)
The Consistency Principle
d. According to the principle of cognitive consistency, consumers
value harmony among their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and they
are motivated to maintain uniformity among these elements. People will
change to remain consistent with prior experiences.
1) The theory of cognitive dissonance states that when a
person is confronted with inconsistencies among attitudes or behaviours,
he or she will take some action to resolve this “dissonance,” perhaps by
changing an attitude or modifying a behaviour.
2) People seek to reduce dissonant behaviour or feelings. This
can be done by eliminating, adding, or changing elements.
e. Do attitudes necessarily change following behaviour because
people are motivated to feel good about their decisions?
1) Self-perception theory provides an alternative explanation of
dissonance effects. It assumes that people use observations of their own
behaviour to determine what their attitudes are.
a) Self-perception theory is relevant to the low-involvement
hierarchy.
b) Can use the foot-in-the-door technique, which is based on
the observation that the consumer is more likely to comply with a
request if he or she has first agreed to comply with a smaller request.
2) Social judgment theory stipulates that (like self-perception
theory) people assimilate information. The initial attitude acts as a frame
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of reference, and new information is categorized in terms of this existing
standard.
a) People find information to be acceptable or unacceptable.
b) They form latitudes of acceptance and rejection around an
attitude standard.
c) Messages that fall within the latitude of acceptance tend to
be seen as more consistent with one’s position than they actually are (the
assimilation effect), and messages within the latitude of rejection tend to
be seen even farther from one’s own position than they actually are (the
contrast effect)
3) Balance theory considers relations among elements a person
might perceive as belonging together. This perspective includes triads.
Each contains:
a) A person and his or her perceptions.
b) An attitude object.
c) Some other person or object.
4) Perceptions (under balance theory) are either positive or
negative. Perceptions are altered to make them consistent.
5) Balance theory accounts for the widespread use of celebrities
in advertising.
3. Attitude Models
a. Attitude models have been developed to specify and explore the
different elements that affect attitu
Multiple-Attribute Attitude Models
b. A consumer’s attitude is affected by an object’s attributes. Multiattribute attitude models have attempted to explore the many attributes
that might impact a consumer’s decision-making process.
1) This type of model assumes that a consumer’s attitude
(evaluation) of an attitude object (Ao) will depend on the beliefs he or she
has about several or many attributes of the object.
2) Basic multi-attribute models specify three elements:
a) Attributes—characteristics of the attitude object.
b) Beliefs—cognitions about the specific attitude object.
c) Importance weights—reflects the priority consumers place
on the object.
c. The most influential of the multi-attribute models is the Fishbein
model. This model measures:
1) Salient beliefs—those beliefs about the object that are
considered during evaluation.
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2) Object-attitude linkages—the probability that a particular
object has an important attribute.
3) Evaluation of each of the important attributes.
d. Strategic applications of the multi-attribute model would include:
1) Capitalize on relative advantage.
2) Strengthen perceived product/attribute linkages.
3) Add a new attribute.
4) Influence competitors’ ratings.
4. Using Attitudes to Predict Behaviour
a. You can’t always predict from knowledge of attitudes. A consumer
can love a commercial but not buy the product. A person’s attitude is not
a very good predictor of behaviour.
The Extended Fishbein Model
b. This newer model is called the theory of reasoned action.
Additions include:
1) Intentions versus behaviour—past behaviour is a better
predictor than intentions.
2) Social pressure—others have a strong influence on behaviour.
3) Attitude toward buying—attitude toward the act of buying
focuses on perceived consequences of purchase.
c. There are certain obstacles to predicting behaviour (the improved
Fishbein model):
1) It was designed to deal with actual behaviour—not outcomes
of behaviour.
2) Some outcomes are beyond the consumer’s control.
3) Behaviour is not always intentional (impulsive actions).
4) Direct personal experience is stronger than indirect exposure
(saw an ad).
5) Measures of attitudes do not always correspond with the
behaviour they are supposed to predict.
6) A problem can exist with respect to the time frame.
7) The problem of personal experiences versus receiving
information such as advertising (attitude accessibility perspective).
d. There is another way of looking at consumers’ goals and trying to
attain them.
The theory of trying states that the criterion of behaviour is the
reasoned action model that should be replaced with trying to reach a
goal. It recognizes barriers that might arise. The theory introduces
several new components:
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1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
Past frequency
Recency
Beliefs
Evaluations of consequences
The process
Expectations of success and failure
Subjective norms toward trying
Tracking Attitudes over Time
e. When researchers attempt to track attitudes over time they must
remember to take many snapshots, not just a few. Develop an attitude
tracking program.
1) Attitude tracking involves the administration of an attitude
survey at regular intervals.
f. Changes to look for when tracking attitudes include:
1) Changes in different age groups (the life-cycle effect).
a) The cohort effect
b) Historical effects
2) Scenarios about the future.
3) Identification of change agents.
End.
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