Chapter 7 Attitudes

1. Chapter 7Attitudes By Michael R. Solomon Consumer Behavior Buying, Having, and Being Sixth Edition

2. Opening Vignette: Soccer • 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?

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.”

6. 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

7. affect beliefs beliefs affect beliefs affect Attitudes as ABC ATTITUDE BASED ON : cognitive information processing behavior behavioral learning process behavior hedonic consumption behavior

8. Three Hierarchies of Effects Figure 7.1

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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

13. Discussion Question • 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?

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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.

18. 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

19. 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

20. Alternative Routes to Restoring Balance in a Triad Figure 7.2

21. Discussion Question • 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?

22. 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

23. 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

24. The Fishbein Model (Theory of Planned Behavior) • 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

25. 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

26. The Basic Multiattribute Model

27. Strategic Applications of the Multiattribute Model • Capitalize on Relative Advantage • Strengthen Perceived Product/Attribute Linkages • Add a New Attribute • Influence Competitors’ Ratings

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. Theory of Trying (TT) Figure 7.3

34. 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

35. 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

36. Changing Attitudes Percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds who agree “We must take radical action to cut down on how we use our cars.” Figure 7.4