Chapter: 7

Consumer Attitude Formation

and Change

Consumer Behavior

8-1
 Chapter Outline
• What Are Attitudes?
• Structural Models of Attitudes
• Attitude Formation
• Strategies of Attitude Changes
• Behavior Can Precede or Follow Attitude
Formation

8-2
 A learned
predisposition to
behave in a
consistently
Attitude
favorable or
unfavorable manner
with respect to a
given object.

8-3
 What Are Attitudes?
• The attitude toward “object”
• Personality factors/ traits affect attitude
(need for Cognition high vs low)
• Attitudes are a learned predisposition/
tendency
• Attitudes are consistent with behavior
• Attitudes occur within a situation

8-4
 Attitudes are learnt from
• Direct Experience
• Word of Mouth
• Exposure to Mass media
• Other information sources
• Family and friends
• Social media
• Internet
• Etc.
8-5
Attitude Towards the Products
Whether we like
or dislike the
product?
It may be toward
services, persons,
places and so on…

8-6
 Consumers form new attitudes and also change existing
attitudes

This attempts to
change the
attitude toward
calcium in a soft
drink situation.

8-7
8-8
 Structural Models of Attitudes
• Tricomponent Attitude Model
• Multiattribute Attitude Model
• The Trying-to-Consume Model
• Attitude-Toward-the-Ad Model

8-9
A Simple Representation of the Tri-
component Attitude Model
Figure

Cognition

8 - 10
 Attitudes
Evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people,
or events.
Three components of an attitude:

The emotional
or feeling
segment of an
The opinion or attitude
belief segment
of an attitude
An intention to
behave in a certain
way toward someone
or something

3-11
8 - 11
 The Tricomponent Model

Components
The knowledge and
• Cognitive perceptions that are
acquired by a
• Affective combination of direct
• Conative experience with the
attitude object and
related information
from various sources
8 - 12
 The Tricomponent Model

Components

• Cognitive A consumer’s
• Affective emotions or feelings
about a particular
• Conative product or brand

Starbucks Coffee
8 - 13
 The Tricomponent Model

Components

• Cognitive The likelihood or

• Affective tendency that an
individual will
• Conative undertake a specific
action or behave in a
particular way with
regard to the attitude
object 8 - 14
8 - 15
8 - 16
8 - 17
 Discussion Question
• Explain your attitude toward your
college/university based on the
tricomponent attribute model.
Be sure to isolate the cognitive, affective,
and conative elements

8 - 18
Broadband Internet Access
Figure

8 - 19
 Attitude models that
examine the
Multiattribute composition of
Attitude consumer attitudes
Models in terms of selected
product attributes or
beliefs.

8 - 20
 Multiattribute Attitude Models

Types
• The attitude-toward- • Attitude is function of
object model evaluation of product-
• The attitude-toward- specific beliefs and
behavior model evaluations
• Theory-of- • Useful to measure
reasoned-action attitudes toward
model brands

8 - 21
 Positive
attitudes
toward brands
help with
brand
extensions

8 - 22
 Multiattribute Attitude Models

Types
• The attitude-toward- • Is the attitude toward
object model behaving or acting
• The attitude-toward- with respect to an
behavior model object, rather than the
• Theory-of-reasoned- attitude toward the
action model object itself
• Corresponds closely
to actual behavior
8 - 23
 Multiattribute Attitude Models

Types
• The attitude-toward- • Includes cognitive,
object model affective, and
• The attitude-toward- conative components
behavior model • Includes subjective
norms in addition to
• Theory-of-
attitude
reasoned-action
model

8 - 24
A Simplified Version of the Theory
of Reasoned Action - Figure 8.5

8 - 25
 Discussion Question
• Now use the theory of reasoned action to
describe your attitude toward your
college/university when deciding on which
school to attend.

8 - 26
 Multiattribute Attitude Models
Models Assume That a Consumer’s Attitude (Evaluation) of an Attitude Object Will
Depend on the Beliefs He or She Has About Several or Many Attributes of the
Object.

Attributes
Attributes Beliefs
Beliefs

Importance
Importance
Weights
Weights

8 - 27
The Fishbein
Model
The Fishbein Model is the Most Influential Multi-
attribute Model and It Measures Three Components
of Attitudes:

Salient Object-Attitude
Object-Attitude
Salient Beliefs
Beliefs Linkages,
About
About Linkages, oror The
The
the Probability
Probability That
That aa
the Object
Object That
That Particular
Are Considered
Are Considered Particular Object
Object Has
Has
During an Important
an Important
During Evaluation
Evaluation Attribute
Attribute

Evaluation of
Evaluation of Each
Each
of
of the
the
Important
Important Attributes
Attributes

8 - 28
Fishbein
Model

• Formed by integrating (summing) the

separate evaluations of the salient
beliefs (ei), weighted by the strength of
each beliefs (bi), to create an overall
evaluation or attitude (Ao).
• Ao = biei

8 - 29
How Beliefs Are
Acquired
• Direct experience with product.
• Information processing
– information from outside sources
(friends)
• Vicarious experience
• Inferences

8 - 30
Belief

8 - 31
Importance/ Evaluation

8 - 32
8 - 33
Subjective Norms Are Extremely
Important for Teensweblink

8 - 34
 An attitude theory
designed to account
for the many cases
Theory of where the action or
Trying to outcome is not certain
Consume but instead reflects
the consumer’s
attempt to consume
(or purchase).

8 - 35
Ad illustrating the
theory of trying
to consume

8 - 36
 A model that proposes
that a consumer forms
various feelings (affects)
and judgments
Attitude- (cognitions) as the result
Toward-the- of exposure to an
Ad Model advertisement, which, in
turn, affect the
consumer’s attitude
toward the ad and attitude
toward the brand.

8 - 37
 This ad
attempts to
build a
positive
attitude
toward the
ad.

8 - 38
A Conception of the Relationship
among Elements in an Attitude-
Toward-the-Ad Model - Figure 8.7

8 - 39
 Issues in Attitude Formation
• How attitudes are learned
– Conditioning and experience
– Knowledge and beliefs
• Sources of influence on attitude formation
– Personal experience
– Influence of family
– Direct marketing and mass media
• Personality factors

8 - 40
Strategies of Attitude Change
1. Changing the Basic Motivational Function
2. Associating the Product with an Admired
Group or Event
3. Resolving Two Conflicting Attitudes
4. Altering Components of the Multiattribute
Model
5. Changing Beliefs about Competitors’
Brands

8 - 41
 Discussion Question
• 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

8 - 42
Changing the Basic Motivational
Function
• Utilitarian
• Ego-defensive
• Value-expressive
• Knowledge

8 - 43
Swiffer Appeals to Utilitarian
Function

weblink

8 - 44
Crest uses
a
knowledge
appeal.

8 - 45
 A theory that suggests
that a person’s level
Elaboration of involvement during
Likelihood message processing is
Model a critical factor in
(ELM) determining which
route to persuasion is
likely to be effective.

8 - 46
 Why Might Behavior Precede
Attitude Formation?
• Cognitive Dissonance
Theory Behave (Purchase)
• Attribution Theory

Form Attitude Form Attitude

8 - 47
 Holds that discomfort or
dissonance occurs when
Cognitive
a consumer holds
Dissonance
conflicting thoughts
Theory
about a belief or an
attitude object.

8 - 48
 A theory concerned
with how people assign
causalty to events and
Attribution form or alter their
Theory attitudes as an outcome
of assessing their own
or other people’s
behavior.

8 - 49
Issues in Attribution Theory
• Self-perception Theory
– Foot-in-the-Door Technique
• Attributions toward Others
• Attributions toward Things
• How We Test Our Attributions
– Distinctiveness
– Consistency over time
– Consistency over modality
– Consensus
weblink

8 - 50