Chapter 7 Consumer Attitude Formation and Change Consumer Behaviour

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
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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
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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
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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
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Four Basic Functions of
Attitudes

The Utilitarian Function
– How well it performs

The Ego-defensive Function
– To protect one’s self-concept

The Value-expressive Function
– To convey one’s values and lifestyles

The Knowledge Function
– A way to gain knowledge
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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
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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
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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
Cognition
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Affect
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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
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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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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).
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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
Theory
 Attribution
Theory
Behave (Purchase)
Form Attitude
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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 behaviour.
 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
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How We Test Our Attributions
 Distinctiveness
 Consistency
over time
 Consistency over modality
 Consensus
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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
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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
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