Chapter 08

Consumer Attitude Formation and Change

Essay Questions: 101. Discuss the three components of the tricomponent attitude model. The first component of the model is the cognitive componentthe 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, the affective component, is the consumers emotions or feelings about a product or brand. These emotions capture the consumers global assessment of the attitude object. The third component is the conative component. It 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. (Difficulty 3, p. 256)

102. One of the multiattribute models is the attitude toward behavior model. Explain the model and give an example. This model tells about the individuals attitude toward behaving or acting with respect to an object rather than the attitude toward the object itself. For example, Toms attitude about the act of purchasing a BMW reveals more about the potential act of purchasing than does simply knowing his attitude toward BMWs. Tom may have a positive attitude toward BMWs but a negative attitude toward the act of purchasing one. (Difficulty 2, p. 259)

108. How is it possible for marketers to persuade regular cola drinkers to become diet cola drinkers? Marketers can try to change the relative evaluation of attributes. When a product category is divided according to distinct product features or benefits, in this case, taste and calorie differences, marketers should take the opportunity to persuade consumers to cross over, or prefer the one version of the product, the diet cola, over the other version by bringing out the new features and benefits of that product choice. 134