Consumer Attitude Formation
and Change
Attitudes
• A learned predisposition to behave in a
consistently favorable or unfavorable
manner with respect to a given object.
• It is said Attitudes are not directly
observable but must be inferred from what
people say or what they do.
Conti….
• Attitudes can be form for the product,
brand, service, advertisement, Internet
site, price, medium or retailer.
• Attitudes relevant to purchase behavior
are formed as a result of direct experience
with the product, word-of-mouth
information acquired from others, or
exposure to mass-media advertising or
internet.
For eg;
• There has been very rapid growth in the
sales of natural ingredient bath, body, and
cosmetic products throughout the world.
• This trend seems linked to the currently
popular attitude that things “ natural” are
good and things “synthethic” are bad
What are Attitudes?
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The attitude “object”
Attitudes are a learned predisposition
Attitudes have consistency
Attitudes occur within a situation
Structural Models of Attitudes
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Tricomponent Attitude Model
Muliattribute Attitude Model
The Trying-to-Consume Model
Attitude-toward-the-Ad Model
Figure 8.2 A Simple Representation of
the Tricomponent Attitude Model
Conation
Cognition
Affect
The Tricomponent Model
• Cognitive Component
– The knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by
a combination of direct experience with the attitude
object and related information from various sources.
• Affective Component
– A consumer’s emotions or feelings about a particular
product or brand.
• Conative Component
– The likelihood or tendency that an individual will
undertake a specific action or behave in a particular
way with regard to the attitude object.
Selected Evaluative Scale Used to Gauge Consumers
Attitudes Toward Old Spice Afershave
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Refreshing
Positive
Pleasant
Appealing to others
Measuring Consumer’s Feelings and Emotions
with Regard to using Spice Aftershave
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Relaxed
Attractive looking
Tight
Smooth
Supple
Clean
Refreshed
Younger
Revived
Renewed
Multiattribute Attitude Models
Attitude models that examine the composition
of consumer attitudes in terms of selected
product attributes or beliefs.
Multiattribute Attitude Models
• The attitude-toward-object model
– Attitude is function of evaluation of product-specific
beliefs and evaluations
• The attitude-toward-behavior model
– Is the attitude toward behaving or acting with respect
to an object, rather than the attitude toward the object
itself
• Theory-of-reasoned-action model
– A comprehensive, integrative model of attitudes
Attitude-Toward-Behavior Model
A model that proposes that a consumer’s
attitude toward a specific behavior is a
function of how strongly he or she believes
that the action will lead to a specific
outcome (either favorable or unfavorable).
Theory of Reasoned Action
A comprehensive theory of the
interrelationship among
attitudes,intentions, and behavior.
(Diagram)
Theory of Trying to Consume
An attitude theory designed to account for
the many cases where the action or
outcome is not certain but instead reflects
the consumer’s attempt to consume (or
purchase).
Attitude-Toward-the-Ad Model
A model that proposes that a consumer
forms various feelings (affects) and
judgments (cognitions) as the result of
exposure to an advertisement, which, in
turn, affect the consumer’s attitude toward
the ad and attitude toward the brand.
Issues in Attitude Formation
• How attitudes are learned
• Sources of influence on attitude formation
• Personality factors
How Attitudes are learned?
• When we speak of the formation of an
attitude, we refer to the shift from having
no attitude toward a given object to having
some attitude toward it, which comes to
learning.
Conti…
• Consumers often purchase new products that
are associated with a favorably viewed brand
name. Their favorable attitude towards the brand
name is frequently the result of repeated
satisfaction with other products produced by the
same company.
• In terms of classical conditioning, an established
brand name is an unconditioned stimulus that
through past positive reinforcement resulted in
favourable brand attitude.
Conti…
• Sometimes attitudes follow the purchase
and consumption of a product.
• In situations in which consumers seek to
solve a problem or satisfy a need, they are
likely to form attitudes (either positive or
negative) about products on the basis of
information exposure and their cognition.
Sources of Influence on Attitude
Formation
• The formation of consumer attitudes is
strongly influenced by personal
experience, the influence of family and
friends, direct marketing, & Internet.
Personality Factors
• For eg: Personality also plays a critical
role in attitude formation. Individuals with a
high need for cognition (i.e., those who
crave information and enjoy thinking) are
likely to form positive attitudes in response
to ads or direct mail that are rich in
product-related information.
Strategies of Attitude Change
• Changing the Basic Motivational Function
• Associating the Product With an Admired
Group or Event
• Resolving Two Conflicting Attitudes
• Altering Components of the Multiattribute
Model
• Changing Beliefs About Competitors’
Brands
Four Basic Attitude Functions
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The Utilitarian Function
The Ego-defensive Function
The Value-expressive Function
The Knowledge Function
The Utilitarian Function
• We hold certain brand attitudes partly
because of a brand’s utility. When a
person has been useful or helped us in the
past, our attitude toward it tends to be
favourable.
• For eg; The ad for Lysol points out that this
product kills harmful germs.
The Ego-defensive Function
• Most people want to protect their selfimages from inner feelings of doubt-they
want to replace their uncertainity with a
sense of security and personal confidence.
• For eg: Ads of cosmetics and fashion
clothing.
The Value-expressive Function
• Attitudes are an expression or reflection of
the consumers general values, lifestyle,
and outlook.
• If a consumer segment generally holds a
positive attitude toward owning the latest
designer jeans, then their attitudes toward
new brands of designer jeans are likely to
reflect that orientation.
The Knowledge Function
• Individuals generally have a strong need
to know and understand the people and
things they encounter. The consumer’s,
“need to know”, a cognitive need, is
important to marketers concerned with
product positioning.
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
A theory that suggests that a person’s level of
involvement during message processing is a
critical factor in determining which route to
persuasion is likely to be effective.
Why Might Behavior Precede
Attitude Formation?
• Cognitive Dissonance Theory
• Attribution Theory
Behave (Purchase)
Form Attitude
Form Attitude
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Holds that discomfort or dissonance
occurs when a consumer holds conflicting
thoughts about a belief or an attitude
object.
Postpurchase Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance that occurs after a
consumer has made a purchase
commitment. Consumers resolve this
dissonance through a variety of strategies
designed to confirm the wisdom of their
choice.
Attribution Theory
A theory concerned with how people
assign casualty to events and form or alter
their attitudes as an outcome of assessing
their own or other people’s behavior.
Issues in Attribution Theory
• Self-perception Theory
– Foot-In-The-Door Technique
• Attributions Toward Others
• Attributions Toward Things
• How We Test Our Attributions
Self-Perception Theory
A theory that suggests that consumers
develop attitudes by reflecting on their own
behavior.
Defensive Attribution
A theory that suggests consumers are
likely to accept credit for successful
outcomes (internal attribution) and to
blame other persons or products for failure
(external attribution).
Criteria for Causal Attributions
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Distinctiveness
Consistency Over Time
Consistency Over Modality
Consensus