Attitude
You learn to behave in a particular way to a
particular object in a particular situation.
A learned predisposition to behave in a
consistently favorable or unfavorable manner
with respect to a given object.
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What are Attitudes?
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The attitude “object”
Attitudes are a learned predisposition
Attitudes have consistency
Attitudes occur within a situation
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The Attitude “Object”
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Object refers to such things as: product,
product category, brand, service, possessions,
product use, advertisement price, or retailer.
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This attempts to
change the
attitude toward
calcium in a soft
drink situation.
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Attitudes Are a Learned Predisposition
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Attitudes are learned.
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They are formed as a result of direct
experience with the product, information
acquired from others, and exposure to mass
media.
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Attitudes Have Consistency
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Attitudes are relatively consistent with the
behavior they reflect.
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Attitudes are not necessarily permanent; they
do change.
Always consider situational influences on
consumer attitudes and behavior.
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Attitudes Occur Within a Situation
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Consumer attitudes occur within, and are affected by, the situation - events
or circumstances that, at a particular time, influence the relationship
between an attitude and a behavior.
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Individuals can have a variety of attitudes toward a particular behavior, each
tied to a specific situation.
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This can cause consumers to behave in ways seemingly inconsistent
with their attitudes. (The Dhoni Effect)
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It is important when measuring attitudes that we consider the situation in
which the behavior takes place, or the relationship between attitudes and
behavior could be misinterpreted.
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you may feel OK about having fast food for lunch, but want something
"better" for dinner.
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STRUCTURAL MODELS OF ATTITUDES
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Psychologists have developed a number of
models in order to understand consumer
attitudes.
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Tricomponent Attitude Model
Multiattribute Attitude Models
The Trying-to-Consume Model
Attitude-toward-the-ad Model
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Tricomponent Attitude Model
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According to the tricomponent attitude
model, attitudes consist of three major
components: cognition, affect, and conation.
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A Simple Representation of the
Tricomponent Attitude Model
Conation
Affect
Cognition
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The Cognitive Component
• Cognitions are previous knowledge or
experiences with or about the object.
– This previous knowledge/experience allows the
consumer to form perceptions or beliefs about
the product.
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The Affective Component
• The affective component of an attitude consists of the
consumer’s emotions or feelings.
• Affect-laden experiences manifest themselves as
emotionally charged states (such as happiness or
sadness).
– These states may enhance positive or negative
experiences for the consumer.
– The Hesh-Lee effect
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The Conative Component
• Conation is the likelihood or tendency that an individual will
undertake a specific action or behave in a particular way with regard to
the attitude object.
– The conative component may include the actual behavior itself.
• In marketing and consumer research, the conative component is
frequently treated as an expression of the consumer’s intention to buy.
– Intention-to-buy scales are used to assess the likelihood of a
consumer purchasing a product or behaving in a certain way.
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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
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Multi-Attribute Attitude Models
• Multi-attribute attitude models examine
attitudes in terms of selected product attributes
or beliefs.
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The Attitude-Toward-Object Model
• Consumer’s attitude toward a product is a
function of the presence (or absence) of certain
product-specific beliefs and/or attributes.
• What consumers will purchase is a function of
how much they know, what they feel are the
important features for them, and their
awareness as to whether particular brands
possess (or lack) these valued attributes.
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Positive attitudes
toward brands
help with brand
extensions
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The Attitude-Toward-Behavior Model
• Individual’s attitude toward behaving or acting with
respect to an object, rather than the attitude toward the
object itself.
• The appeal of this model is that it seems to correspond
somewhat more closely to actual behavior than does the
attitude-toward-object model.
• you may like BMWs but you are not ready to buy/drive one
because you believe that you are too young/old to do so
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Theory-of-Reasoned-Action Model
• A comprehensive integration of attitude components into a
structure that is designed to lead to both better explanation and
better predictions of behavior.
• Like the basic tricomponent attitude model, the theory-of-reasonedaction model incorporates a cognitive component, an affective
component, and a conative component; however, these are
arranged in a pattern different from that of the tricomponent model.
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Reasoned action
• To understand intention we also need to
measure the subjective norms that influence an
individual’s intention to act.
– A subjective norm can be measured directly by
assessing a consumer’s feelings as to what
relevant others (family, friends, roommates, coworkers) would think of the action being
contemplated.
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A Simplified Version of the Theory of
Reasoned Action
Beliefs that
the behavior
leads to
certain
outcomes
Evaluation of the
outcomes
Beliefs that
specific
referents
think I should
or should not
perform the
behavior
Attitude toward
the behavior
Motivation to
comply with
the specific
referents
Subjective
norm
Intention
Behavior
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Theory of Trying-to-Consume
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Accounts for cases where the action or outcome is not certain but
reflects the consumer’s efforts to consume.
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Sometimes personal impediments or environmental
impediments prevent the desired outcome.
Researchers have recently extended this inquiry by examining
those situations where consumers do not try to consume—that is,
fail to try to consume.
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In this case, consumers appear to fail to see or are too ignorant
of their options.
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Consumers appear to make a conscious effort not to consume.
the focus is the "trying" or seeking part, rather than the
outcome (consumption)
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Ad illustrating the
theory of trying to
consume
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Attitude-Toward-the-Ad Models
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Consumer forms various feelings (affects) and judgments (cognitions) as the
result of exposure to an ad.
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These feelings and judgments in turn affect the consumer’s attitude toward
the ad and beliefs about the brand acquired from exposure to the ad.
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Finally, the consumer’s attitude toward the ad and beliefs about the brand
influence his or her attitude toward the brand.
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It appears that for a novel product (e.g., “contact lenses for pets”), the
consumer’s attitude toward the ad has a stronger impact on brand attitude
and purchase intention than for a familiar product (e.g., pet food).
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A Conception of the Relationship among
Elements in an Attitude-Toward-the-Ad Model
Exposure to an Ad
Judgments about
the Ad (Cognition)
Feelings from the
Ad (Affect)
Beliefs about the
Brand
Attitude toward
the Ad
Attitude toward
the Brand
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Multiattribute Attitude Models
• The attitude-toward-object model
– Attitude is function of evaluation of productspecific 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
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Try this…
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A local pizza restaurant is having a hard time
attracting customers due to a poor image. Explain
how they can change people’s attitudes by using three
of the following:
– 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
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