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Attitudes

Chapter 7

Chapter Objectives

• Understand that it is important for consumer researchers to understand the nature and power of attitudes.

• Understand that attitudes are more complex than they first appear. • Understand that attitudes are made up of three components: affect,

behaviour, and cognition. • Understand that we form attitudes in several ways. • Understand that a need to maintain consistency among all of our attitudinal

components often motivates us to alter one or more of them. • Understand that we use attitude models to identify specific components and

combine them to predict a consumer’s overall attitude toward a product or brand.

• Understand that social norms can impact the degree to which consumer attitudes will influence their behaviours.

The Power of Attitudes Attitude

Lasting, general evaluation of people, objects, advertisements, or issues • Attitude object (AO) • Help to determine a number of preferences and

actions

Functional Theory of Attitudes • Katz: Attitudes exist because they serve some

function • Determined by a person’s motives

• Attitude functions: • Utilitarian • Value-expressive • Ego-defensive • Knowledge

• Marketers emphasize the function a product serves for consumers (what benefits it provides)

Functional Theory of Attitudes • Marketers emphasize the function a product serves

for consumers (what benefits it provides)

Functional Theory of Attitudes • Katz: attitudes exist because they serve some

function

UTILITARIAN FUNCTION:

Relates to rewards and punishments

VALUE-EXPRESSIVE FUNCTION:

Expresses consumer’s values or self-concept

EGO-DEFENSIVE FUNCTION:

Protect ourselves from external threats or internal

feelings

KNOWLEDGE FUNCTION:

Need for order, structure, or meaning

Functional Theory of Attitudes cont’d • Marketers emphasize the benefits a product serves

for consumers • Example: Study of football fans identified three

clusters:

Cluster Sports Marketer’s Strategy

Die-hard team fans Provide greater sports knowledge Relate attendance to personal values

Those who enjoy cheering for winning team

Publicize aspects of visiting teams, such as sports stars

Those who look for camaraderie

Provide improved peripheral benefits (e.g., improved parking)

The ABC Model of Attitudes

Attitude has three components: • Affect: The way a consumer feels about an attitude

object. • Behaviour: Person’s intentions to do something with

regard to an attitude object. • Cognition: Beliefs a consumer has about an attitude

object.

Hierarchies of Effects • Impact/importance of attitude components depends

on consumer’s motivation toward attitude object

Hierarchy of Effects • High-Involvement Hierarchy

• Consumer “bonds” with the product over time and is not easily persuaded to experiment with other brands.

• Seeks out a lot of information, carefully weigh alternatives, and come to a thoughtful decision.

• Low-Involvement Hierarchy • Consumer does not have strong brand preference • Consumers swayed by simple stimulus-response

connections

ZAJONC’S MODEL OF HEDONIC CONSUMPTION

According to the experiential hierarchy of effects, we act on the basis of our emotional reactions.

• hedonic motivations • emotional contagion • cognitive-affective model • independence hypothesis does not eliminate the role

of cognition in experience

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Product Attitudes Don’t Tell the Whole Story Attitude Toward the Advertisement

• We form attitudes toward objects other than the product; acn influence product selections.

• We often form product attitudes from ads • Aad: Attitude toward advertiser + evaluations of ad

execution + ad evoked mood + ad arousal effects on consumer + viewing context

• Think about it: When you read a pleasant ad are you interested in the product or the atmosphere?

Ads Can Create Powerful Feelings Commercials evoke

emotion • Upbeat feelings:

amused, delighted, playful

• Warm feelings: affectionate, contemplative, hopeful

• Negative feelings: critical, defiant, offended

Forming Attitudes • Classical conditioning: Repeated often • Instrumental conditioning: Reinforcement, modeling

Attitude Commitment Degree of commitment is related to level of

involvement with attitude object

COMPLIANCE Lowest level: consumer forms attitude because it

gains rewards or avoids punishments

IDENTIFICATION Mid-level: attitudes formed in order to conform to

another person or group

INTERNALIZATION Highest level: deep-seeded attitudes become part

of consumer’s value system

Consistency Principle

Principle of cognitive consistency: • We value/seek harmony among thoughts, feelings,

and behaviours • We will change components to make them

consistent

• Think about it: Do you ever make choices that your know are unhealthy, but do it anyway? Why?

Cognitive Dissonance and Harmony Among Attitudes

Theory of cognitive dissonance When a consumer is confronted with inconsistencies among attitudes or behaviours, action is required to resolve the “dissonance”

• Example: Two belief statements about smoking: • “I know smoking causes cancer” • “I smoke cigarettes” • Consumer will resolve the

dissonance by either satisfying urge to smoke or stopping the behaviour

Post purchase dissonance • Postpurchase dissonance

can occur in situations where the consumer has a choice between more than one favourable alternative • dissonance resolution to

commit to the chosen object even more after purchase

• Marketers can reaffirm that the consumer made the right choice

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Self-Perception Theory Self-perception theory We use observations of our own behaviour to determine our attitudes • We must have a positive attitude toward a product if we freely purchase it, right?

• Low-involvement hierarchy (after the fact) • Foot-in-the-door technique (start with small

request) • Low-ball technique (ask for small favour) • Door-in-the-face technique (ask for big favour)

Social Judgement Theory Social judgment theory We assimilate new information about attitude objects in light of what we already know/feel

• Initial attitude = frame of reference • Latitudes of acceptance and rejection

• Assimilation and contrast effects • Brand preference

Balance Theory Balance theory Considers relations among elements a consumer might perceive as belonging together • Involves triad attitude structures:

• Person • Perception of

attitude object • Perception of

other person/object • Perception can

be positive or negative

• Balanced/harmonious triad elements • Unit relation and sentiment relation

Restoring Balance in a Triad

Basking in reflected glory • Consumers often like to publicize their connections

with successful people or organizations to enhance their own standing.

• Marketing Applications • Marketers use celebrity endorsers of products to

create positive associations – • Budweiser release of a limited edition “Fan Brew”

beer for Winnipeg Jets fans. • Can backfire if public opinion of celebrity shifts

e.g., Tiger Woods.

Attitude Models

• Attitude assessment can be complex • Product/service may have many attributes • Attitudes are affected by other factors (approval of

others) • Attitude models help identify influencers of

evaluations

Multi-Attribute Attitude Models • Multi-attribute models: Consumer’s attitudes toward

an attitude object depends on beliefs she has about several or many attributes of the object

• Three elements • Attributes of AO (e.g., college)

• Example: scholarly reputation • Beliefs about AO

• Example: University or College is strong academically

• Importance weights • Example: stresses research over athletics

Fishbein Model

Measures three components of attitudes: • Salient beliefs about AO • Object-attribute linkages • Evaluation of each important attribute

Strategic Applications of Multi-Attribute Model

• Capitalize on relative advantage: Convince consumers that product attributes are important in brand choice

• Strengthen perceived product/attribute linkages: If consumers don’t associate certain attributes with the brand, make the relationship stronger

• Add a new attribute: Focus on unique positive attribute that consumer has not considered

• Influence competitors’ ratings: Decrease the attributes of competitors

The Extended Fishbein Model

Theory of reasoned action: Considers other elements of predicting behaviour

• Intentions versus behaviour: measure behavioural intentions, not just intentions

The Extended Fishbein Model

Theory of reasoned action: Considers other elements of predicting behaviour

• Social pressure: Acknowledge the power of other people in purchasing decision

• Subjective norm: What we believe other people think we should do

• Attitude toward buying: Measure attitude toward the act of buying, not just the product

Obstacles to Predicting Behaviour in the Theory of Reasoned Action

Fishbein model’s weaknesses include: • Doesn’t deal with outcomes of behaviour, including

those beyond consumer’s control • Doesn’t consider unintentional behaviour, such as

impulsive acts or novelty seeking • Doesn’t consider that attitudes may not lead to

consumption • Doesn’t consider the time frame between attitude

measurement and behaviour • Doesn’t differentiate between consumer’s direct,

personal experience, and indirect experience

Normative Influences Two types:

• Descriptive norms – norms that convey what others are doing

• Injunctive norms – norms that convey what others think you should do

• Descriptive norms can be very powerful • Cialdini and colleagues reuse of hotel towels

research • Especially combined with feedback - Opower