Consumer Behavior: Attitudes

• Attitudes are learned predispositions to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way with respect to a given object in a consumer behavior context.

Attitudes and Objects

• Objects researched regarding American attitudes toward European car brands, like Volkswagen, Volvo, Mercedes, and BMW, are considered objects.

Attitude Shifts

• The shift from no attitude to an attitude results from learning.

Attitude Strength and Origin

• Attitudes stemming from product usage are more confidently held, enduring, and resistant to competitors' messages compared to attitudes from promotional messages.

Attitudes and Behavior

• Actions are anticipated to align with attitudes when one can act freely.

Attitude Formation

• Marketers use coupons and free samples to entice consumers, understanding the importance of direct experience in attitude formation.

Direct vs. Indirect Experience

• Attitudes developed through direct experience are more confidently held, enduring, and resistant to attack than those developed via indirect experience.

Consumers and Cognition

• Consumers with a high need for cognition form positive attitudes in response to product-related information in ads or direct mail.

Tri-Component Attitude Model

• Attitudes comprise cognitive (knowledge and perceptions), affective (emotions and feelings), and conative (likelihood of action) components.
• Cognitions include knowledge and perceptions acquired through direct experience and related information.
• The affective component includes a consumer's emotions or feelings about a particular product or brand.
• Conation is concerned with the likelihood or tendency that an individual will undertake a specific action or behave in a particular way with regard to the attitude object, and is frequently treated as an expression of the consumer's intention to buy.

Multiattribute Attitude Models

• Multiattribute attitude models portray attitudes as a function of consumers' perceptions and assessments of key attributes or beliefs.
• Attitude-toward-object, attitude-toward-behavior, and theory of reasoned action models are all multiattribute attitude models.

Attitude-toward-object model

• In the attitude-toward-object model, a consumer's attitude toward a product is a function of the presence or absence of certain product-specific beliefs or attitudes.
• The attitude-toward-object model is suitable for Microsoft to use to measure public attitudes towards the default media-playing software included in its Windows operating system.

Attitude-toward-behavior model

• The attitude-toward-behavior model captures an individual's attitude toward acting with respect to an object rather than the attitude toward the object itself.
• The attitude that shopping in thrift shops shows a lack of class and sophistication would be captured by the attitude-toward-behavior model.

Theory of Reasoned Action Model

• The theory of reasoned action model states that to understand consumers' intentions, we also need to measure the subjective norms that influence an individual's intention to act.
• Subjective norms involve beliefs attributed to relevant others and the motivation to comply with those beliefs.
• If considering getting a tattoo, an undergraduate student reflecting on what her parents would think of such behavior would constitute her subjective norm.
• Normative beliefs and motivation to comply with relevant others are underlying factors for producing a subjective norm.

Theory of Planned Behavior Model

• An extension of the theory of reasoned action model is the theory of planned behavior, which adds the construct of perceived behavioral control.

Trying-to-Consume Model

• The trying-to-consume model accounts for cases where the action or outcome is desired but not certain, reflecting attempts to consume.
• In the theory of trying to consume, attempts may result from personal or environmental impediments.

Attitude-toward-the-ad Model

• According to the attitude-toward-the-ad model, consumers form feelings and judgments from ad exposure; liking the ad can increase the likelihood of buying the product.

Altering Consumer Attitudes

• Marketers adding a new attribute include emphasizing a yogurt brand's potassium content relative to bananas.
• Attitudes toward online shopping are a function of purchase convenience, information abundance, service quality, and homepage design.

Functional Approach

• Changing attitudes according to applicable consumer motivations is known as the functional approach.
• The tuna marketers' task in the "tunathewonderfish.com" website and related campaign was to turn an avoidance object into an approach object.
• The objective of the "tunathewonderfish.com" website and related campaign was to communicate that tuna is good for your heart, tuna is part of a healthy diet, tuna is great on the go, and restore consumer confidence in tuna.
• The attitude that Nova Hiking Gear provide support during long hikes is based on the boots' utilitarian function for a consumer.
• Ads for dentures that tell consumers that they can feel secure, smile, and eat because their brand of denture cream will not let their dentures fall out is trying to attract customers by emphasizing the brand's ego-defensive function.
• Ads for cosmetics and personal care products acknowledge the fact that people want to protect their self-images from inner feelings of doubt, this is consistent with the ego-defensive function.
• An ad for a new allergy medication includes a bar graph which demonstrates the product's superiority by contrasting its allergy symptom relief abilities with other allergy medications, which is consistent with the knowledge function.
• If a consumer segment generally holds a positive attitude toward owning the latest designer jeans and values having the latest and greatest in designer jeans, then that segment's attitude toward new brands of designer jeans are likely to reflect that orientation, which is an example of the value-expressive function of attitude.
• Pointing out that its new toothbrush is superior to all other toothbrushes in controlling gum disease by removing more plaque is an example of the knowledge function of motivation for Crest.
• Promoting its association with the American Heart Association, which generates goodwill is associating the product with a special group, event or cause for Diet Coke.

Elaboration Likelihood Model

• Consumers frequently resist evidence that challenges strongly held attitudes or beliefs.
• The Elaboration Likelihood Model states that attitudes change via central (rational) or peripheral routes.
• Consumers exert effort to comprehend, learn, or evaluate information about the attitude object as learning and attitude change occur via the central route to persuasion.
• When a consumer's motivation or assessment skills are low, learning and attitude change tend to occur via the peripheral route to persuasion.
• Central brand claims that are critical to the evaluation of the product's utilitarian attributes are most likely processed via the central route.
• Recent research has found that largely cognitive processing, via the central route, has an emotional core.
• Attitude change via the peripheral route may be an outcome of like cents-off coupons, free samples, beautiful background scenery, great packaging, or a celebrity endorsement.
• As a non-expert celebrity endorser, her presence in communications about the cellular phone company's service is likely to be processed via the peripheral route.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

• According to cognitive dissonance theory, discomfort occurs when conflicting thoughts are held about a belief or attitude object.

Reducing dissonance

• To reduce post-purchase dissonance, consumers can rationalize their purchase decision, seek out ads that support their choice, "sell" friends on the brand, or look to satisfied owners.

Attribution Theory

• Attribution theory attempts to explain how people assign blame or credit to events based on their own or others' behavior.

Assigning Causality

• The statement "I contributed to the American Red Cross because it really helps people in need" is giving action in an example of attribution theory.
• Attitudes develop as consumers look at and make judgments about their own behavior, according to self-perception attributions.
• Attributing her upbeat attitude and alertness to the change in the weather is an example of external attribution.
• Routinely purchasing the Des Moines Register on the way to class is an example of how self-perception theory helps make inferences about one's behavior.
• When consumers give themselves credit for the outcome of a behavior, they are engaging in internal attribution.
• According to the principle of defensive attribution, consumers are likely to accept credit personally for success and to attribute failure to others or to outside events.
• If an MBA alumnus considering donating to the program asks how distinctive his contribution would be and whether he would become part of an elite group, he is trying to seek reinforcement for his initial attributions via distinctiveness.
• An individual donating $10 to Amnesty International being persuaded to donate a much larger amount when properly approached because that person may decide that he or she is the kind of person who makes such charitable donations demonstrates the basic premise of the foot-in-the-door technique.
• The criteria used by consumers to confirm their initial attributions about objects includes consensus.
• The principle of defensive attribution suggests people accept or take credit for success but assign failure to others or outside events.

Car Mini Case

• Carl's reconsideration of brand choice after he buys a Subaru constitutes post-purchase dissonance.

Subaru’s portrayal

• Subaru's portrayal of its station wagon as a car designed for young people who need extra cargo space to accommodate their active lives appeals to Carl because that is how he sees himself so Subaru is appealing to the value-expressive function to change attitudes toward station wagons.

Coffee Mini Case

• Linda's initial resistance to the idea of trying Sunrise Coffee arises from the attitude-toward-behavior model.
• Linda's new attitude toward and repeat patronage of Sunrise Coffee is a function of the affective component of the tri-component attitude model.
• Linda's attitude toward Sunrise changes as a result of direct experience.

Pub Mini Case

• The pub is the attitude object.
• Targeting people with strong attachments to their Irish heritage is taking advantage of the value-expressive function of their target market's attitudes.
• Feeling the pub gives him of connection with his Irish heritage the affective component.

Additional Key Points

• The affective component represents emotions and feelings regarding the attitude object.
• In marketing and consumer research, the conative component of the tri-component attitude model is frequently treated as an expression of the consumer's intention to buy.
• Responding positively to an intention to buy question with regard to a brand will not increase the likelihood of that consumer purchasing the brand.
• Competitors often try to change strong and positive attitudes toward market leaders to get consumers to switch brands.
• Consumers' attitudes toward a particular brand's advertising are NOT independent of their beliefs about the brand and do not influence their attitudes toward the brand itself.
• If consumers like the ad they see, they are more likely to buy the product.
• The purchase and consumption of a product aren't necessary for the formation of attitudes.
• The ego-defensive function maintains that people form attitudes to protect themselves from sensing doubt and replace uncertainty with security and confidence.
• Ads stating a product cleans effectively and is environmentally friendly are using the utilitarian approach to attitude change.
• The knowledge function of functional approach to attitude change doesn't rely on people wanting to protect their self-images from inner feelings of doubt.
• Highly involved consumers use attribute-based information to evaluate brands, versus the less involved who apply simpler decision rules.
• The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) says that attitudes can be changed by either a central or peripheral route.
• Central inducements have greater staying power over time than secondary inducements.
• Jill was recently complemented on her piano playing skills, and she attributed her skill to the quality and skill of her instructor: this is NOT an example of defensive attribution.
• Individuals trying a brand without inducements who repeatedly buy consider that they buy because they like it rather than it being free or on sale.
• The one donating $1,000 for 1st request for alumni contribution, then followed up by donation for the less costly request for $150: this is using door-in-the-face.
• The first component of the tri-component attitude model is the cognitive component, which includes the knowledge and perceptions that are acquired through direct experience with the attitude object. This knowledge takes the form of beliefs about the attitude object.
• The second component of the tri-component attitude model is the affective component, which measures the consumer's emotions or feelings about a product or brand. These emotions capture the consumer's global assessment of the attitude object.
• The third component of the tri-component attitude model is the conative component, and is concerned with the likelihood or tendency that an individual will undertake a specific action or behave in a particular way with regard to the attitude object.
• A model that tells about the individual's attitude toward behaving or acting with respect to an object rather than attitude toward the object itself is the attitude-toward-behavior model.
• The theory of trying to consume is designed to account for the cases in which the action or the outcome is not certain but instead reflects the consumer's attempts to consume.
• The four functions that serve as motivators are the utilitarian function, ego-defensive function, value-expressive function and knowledge function.
• Discomfort from a consumer holding conflicting thoughts about a belief or attitude object is cognitive dissonance.
• The three factors likely to be considered as individuals seek reinforcement for the causality of their attributions include distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus.
• Elaboration likelihood Model suggests there are two routes to persuasion: a central route and a peripheral route.
• Post purchase dissonance commonly occurs because expenses and important purchases often require compromise when choosing among alternatives.
• Central claims that are critical of evaluation of products utilitarian attributes are the product of the central route.