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Chapter 7

Attitudes

By Michael R. Solomon

Consumer BehaviorBuying, Having, and Being

Sixth Edition

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• How do Jan and Terri differ in their attitudes toward soccer?

• Jan and Nancy are both soccer fans. How are they different?

• Which one of the three is the most likely target for ads promoting soccer?

• Is Nancy likely to convert to become a soccer fan?

Opening Vignette: Soccer

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WUSA Soccer

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The Power of Attitudes

• Attitude:– A lasting, general evaluation of people (including

oneself), objects, advertisements, or issues– Anything toward which one has an attitude is

called an object (Ao).

– Attitudes are lasting because they tend to endure over time.

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The Functions of Attitudes

• Functional Theory of Attitudes:– Attitudes exist because they serve some function

for the person (i.e., they are determined by a person’s motives)

• Katz’s Attitude Functions– Utilitarian function– Value-expressive function– Ego-defensive function– Knowledge function

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Addressing Smoking Attitudes

• This Norwegian ad addresses young people’s smoking attitudes by arousing strong negative feelings. The ad reads (left panel) “Smokers are more sociable than others.” (Right panel): “While it lasts.”

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The ABC Model of Attitudes

• Affect:– The way a consumer feels about an attitude object

• Behavior:– Involves the person’s intentions to do something

with regard to an attitude object

• Cognition:– The beliefs a consumer has about an attitude object

• Hierarchy of Effects:– A fixed sequence of steps that occur en route to an

attitude

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Three Hierarchies of Effects

Figure 7.1

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Attitude Hierarchies

• The Standard Learning Hierarchy:– Consumer approaches a product decision as a

problem-solving process

• The Low-Involvement Hierarchy:– Consumer does not have strong initial preference– Consumer acts on limited knowledge– Consumer forms an evaluation only after product trial

• The Experiential Hierarchy:– Consumers act on the basis of their emotional

reactions

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Experiential Hierarchy

• Emotional Contagion:– Emotions expressed by the communicator of a

marketing message affect the attitude toward the product

• Cognitive-Affective Model:– Argues that an affective judgment is the last step in

a series of cognitive processes

• Independence Hypothesis:– Takes the position that affect and cognition

involve two separate, independent systems

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Smith and Wollensky

• This ad for New York’s famous Smith & Wollensky restaurant emphasizes that marketers and others associated with a product or service are often more involved with it than are their consumers.

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Product Attitudes Don’t Tell the Whole Story

• Attitude Toward the Advertisement (Aad):– A predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable

manner to a particular advertising stimulus during a particular exposure occasion

• Ads Have Feelings Too:– Three emotional dimensions:

• Pleasure, arousal, and intimidation

– Specific types of feelings that can be generated by an ad• Upbeat feelings: Amused, delighted, playful

• Warm feelings: Affectionate, contemplative, hopeful

• Negative feelings: Critical, defiant, offended

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• Sexually suggestive scenes like the one depicted in this ad for Union Bay clothing can generate feelings that affect brand attitudes.

• What specific types of feelings or responses can this type of advertisement elicit? How will this scene affect the attitude toward the ad?

Discussion Question

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Forming Attitudes

• Not All Attitudes are Created Equal:– Levels of Commitment to an Attitude: The degree of

commitment is related to the level of involvement with an attitude object

• Compliance

• Identification

• Internalization

– The Consistency Principle:• Principle of Cognitive Consistency: Consumers value

harmony among their thoughts, feelings or behaviors to be consistent with other experiences

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Levels of Attitudinal Commitment

• By describing Cadillac as “my company,” the woman in this ad exhibits a high level of attitudinal commitment to her employer.

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Forming Attitudes (cont.)

• Cognitive Dissonance and Harmony among Attitudes:– Theory of Cognitive Dissonance: When a person is

confronted with inconsistencies among attitudes or behaviors, he or she will take action to reduce the dissonance by changing an attitude or modifying a behavior.

• Self-Perception Theory:– People maintain consistency by inferring that they must

maintain a positive attitude toward a product they have bought or consumed

• Foot-in-the-door technique:– Sales strategy based on the observation that consumers will

comply with a request if they have first agreed to comply with a smaller request

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Attitudinal Commitment

• This ad for a magazine illustrates that consumers often distort information so that it fits with what they already believe or think they know.

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Social Judgment Theory

• Social Judgment Theory:– People assimilate new information about Ao’s

based on what they already know or feel.– Attitudes of Acceptance and Rejection: People

differ in the information they find acceptable or unacceptable.

• Assimilation effect: Messages that fall within the latitude of acceptance tend to be seen as more consistent with one’s position than they actually are

• Contrast effect: Messages falling within the latitude of rejection tend to be seen as being farther from one’s position than they actually are

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Balance Theory

• Triad:– An attitude structure consisting of three elements

• (1) A person and his/her perceptions of• (2) an attitude object, and• (3) some other person or object

• Unit relation:– An element is seen as belonging to or being part of the

other• Sentiment relation:

– Two elements are linked because one has expressed a preference for the other

• Marketing Applications of Balance Theory– Celebrity endorsements

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Alternative Routes to Restoring Balance in a Triad

Figure 7.2

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• Consumer researchers understand that consumers like to “bask in the reflected glory” of successful college athletic programs by wearing merchandise adorned with logos like the ones on the right.

• How do the different attitude theories explain this consumer phenomenon?

Discussion Question

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Attitude Models

• Attitude Models:– Specify the different elements that might work together to

influence people’s evaluations of Ao’s

• Multiattribute Models:– Model that assumes a consumer’s Ao will depend on the

beliefs he or she has about several attributes toward the object

• Multiattribute Models Specify 3 Elements:– Attributes– Beliefs– Importance Weights

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Attitude Models

• Choosing products:– We often choose products because of their

association with a certain lifestyle.

• Goal of Lifestyle Marketing:– To allow consumers to pursue their chosen ways to

enjoy life and express their social identities.

• Adopting Lifestyle Marketing:– Implies that we must look at patterns of behavior to

understand consumers

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The Fishbein Model

• Measures 3 components of attitude:– (1) Salient Beliefs– (2) Object-attribute linkages– (3) Evaluation

• Assumptions of the Fishbein Model:– Ability to specify all relevant choice attributes– Identification, weight, and summing of attributes

• Affect referral:– A process by which a consumer’s overall attitude is

formed by an overall affective response

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The Fishbein Equation

• The Basic Formula:

Aijk = ΣβijkIik– Where:

• i = attribute• j = brand• k = consumer• I = the importance weight given attribute I by consumer k• β = consumer k’s belief regarding the extent to which

brand j possesses attribute I• A = a particular consumer’s (k’s) attitude score for brand j

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The Basic Multiattribute Model

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Strategic Applications of the Multiattribute Model

• Capitalize on Relative Advantage

• Strengthen Perceived Product/Attribute Linkages

• Add a New Attribute

• Influence Competitors’ Ratings

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Using Attitudes to Predict Behavior

• In many cases, knowledge of a person’s attitude is not a very good predictor of behavior

• Questionable link between attitude and behavior– Consumers love a commercial, but don’t buy the product

• The Extended Fishbein Model– Called the Theory of Reasoned Action

– Contains several important additions to the original, which improve its ability to predict behavior

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The Theory of Reasoned Action

• Intentions Versus Behavior

• Social Pressure:– Subjective Norm (SN)

• Normative Belief (NB): Belief that others believe an action should or should not be taken

• Motivation to Comply (MC): Degree to which consumers take into account anticipated reactions

• Attitude Toward Buying:– Attitude toward the act of buying (Aact):

• How someone feels about buying due to the perceived consequences of a purchase

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Obstacles to Predicting Behavior in the Theory of Reasoned Action

• Model is misapplied• Other obstacles:

– Model deals with actual behavior, not outcomes– Some outcomes are beyond the consumer’s control– The assumption of behavior as intentional may be invalid in

some cases– Attitude measures don’t correspond to the behavior they are

supposed to predict– Too large a time frame between attitude measure and

behavior measure– Attitude accessibility perspective:

• Behavior is a function of the person’s immediate perceptions of the Ao

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Cultural Roadblocks to the Theory of Reasoned Action

• Roadblocks that diminish the universality of the theory– Model was designed to predict voluntary acts– The relative impact of subject norms varies across

cultures– The model assumes that consumers are actively

thinking ahead and planning behaviors– A consumer that forms an intention claims that he or

she is in control of his or her actions

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Trying to Consume

• Theory of Trying to Consume– States that the criterion of behavior in the reasoned action

model should be replaced with trying to reach a goal

• Sample issues that might be addressed:– Past frequency– Recency– Beliefs– Evaluations of consequences– The process– Expectations of success and failure– Subjective norms toward trying

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Theory of Trying (TT)

Figure 7.3

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Tracking Attitudes over Time

• Attitude-tracking program:– An single-attitude survey is a snapshot in time– A program allows researchers to analyze attitude

trends during an extended period of time

• Ongoing Tracking Studies– Attitude tracking involves administration of a survey

at regular intervals (e.g. Gallup Poll, Yankelovich Monitor)

– This activity is valuable for making strategic decisions

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Gallup Poll

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Attitude Changes over Time

• Changes to Look for over Time:– Changes in different age groups:

• Attitudes change with age

• Historical effects

– Scenarios about the future:• Consumers tracked in terms of future plans,

confidence in economy, and so on

– Identification of change agents:• Social phenomena can alter people’s attitudes

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Changing Attitudes

Figure 7.4

Percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds who agree “We must take radical action to cut down on how we use our cars.”