Chapter 7

Consumer Attitude Formation

and Change

Consumer Behaviour
Canadian Edition
Schiffman/Kanuk/Das

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education

Canada Inc.
 Opening Vignette
 The impact of SARS on tourism
- real risk was low, but perceived risk was high
- led to negative attitude towards Canada,
especially Toronto
 Attitude change through
- value-expressive appeals
- use of celebrities

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-2

 Attitudes

 A learned predisposition to behave in a

consistently favorable or unfavorable
manner with respect to a given object
 A positive attitude is generally a necessary,
but not sufficient, condition for purchase
– Mercedes seen as ‘top of class’ but intention to
purchase was low

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-3

 Characteristics of Attitudes
 Attitudes have an “object”
 Attitudes are learned
– Can ‘unlearn’
 Attitudes have behavioural, evaluative and
affective components
– Predisposition to act
– Overall evaluation
– Positive or negative feelings
» continued
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-4
 Characteristics of Attitudes

 Attitudes have consistency

 Attitudes have direction, degree, strength
and centrality
– Positive or negative
– Extent of positive or negative feelings
– Strength of feelings
– Closeness to core cultural values
 Attitudes occur within a situation
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-5
 How are attitudes learned?
 Classical conditioning - through past
associations
 Operant conditioning - through trial and
reinforcement
 Cognitive learning – through information
processing
– Cognitive dissonance theory
– Attribution theory

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-6

 Attitude Models
 Structural Models of Attitudes
– Tri-component Attitude Model
– Multi-attribute Attitude Model
– Both assume a rational model of human
behaviour
 Other models of attitude formation
– Cognitive dissonance model
– Attribution theory

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-7

 The Tri-component Model
 Cognitive Component
– knowledge and perceptions acquired
– through direct experience and information from
various sources.
 Affective component
– Emotions and feelings about the object
 Conative or Behavioural Component
– Action tendencies toward the object

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 Conation

Affect
Cognition

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 Multi-attribute Attitude Models

 Attitude models that examine the

composition of consumer attitudes in terms
of selected product attributes or beliefs.
 Examples
– Attitude-toward-object Model
– Attitude-toward-behaviour Model
– Theory-of-Reasoned-Action Model

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-10

 Attitude-toward-object model
 Attitude is function of evaluation of product-
specific beliefs and evaluations
n
– Ao= WiXib
i=1
– Where:
Ao= Attitude towards the object O
Wi = importance of attribute i
Xib = belief that brand b has a certain level of
attribute I
continued

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 Theory of Reasoned Action

– A comprehensive theory of the interrelationship

among attitudes, intentions, and behaviour

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Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-13
 Attitude-Toward-Behaviour
Model
 A consumer’s attitude toward a specific
behaviour is a function of how strongly he
or she believes that the action will lead to a
specific outcome (either favorable or
unfavorable).

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-14

 Cognitive Dissonance Theory

 Holds that discomfort or dissonance occurs

when a consumer holds conflicting
thoughts about a belief or an attitude object.
 Post-purchase Dissonance
– Cognitive dissonance that occurs after a
consumer has made a purchase commitment

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 Why Might Behaviour Precede
Attitude Formation?
 Cognitive
Dissonance Behave (Purchase)
Theory
 Attribution
Theory
Form Attitude Form Attitude

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 Attribution Theory
 Examines how people assign casualty to
events and form or alter their attitudes as an
outcome of assessing their own or other
people’s behavior.
 Examples
– Self-perception Theory
– Attribution toward others

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 Self-Perception Theory

 Attitudes developed by reflecting on

their own behaviour
 Judgments about own behaviour
 Internal and external attributions

» Continued

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 Self-Perception Theory

 Consumers are likely to accept credit for

successful outcomes (internal attribution)
and to blame other persons or products for
failure (external attribution).
 Foot-In-The-Door Technique

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-19

Attitudes and Marketing Strategy

 Appeal to motivational functions of

attitudes
 Associate product with a special group,
cause or event
 Resolve conflicts among attitudes
 Influence consumer attributions
» Continued

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-20

Attitudes and Marketing Strategy

 Alter components of the attitude

– Change relative evaluation of attributes
– Change brand beliefs
– Add an attribute
– Change overall brand evaluation
 Change beliefs about competitors’ brands
» Continued

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Attitudes and Marketing Strategy

 Change affect first through classical

conditioning
 Change behaviour first through operant
conditioning

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc. 7-22