Attitude Formation and Change

What is an attitude?
A learned predisposition to respond to an
object or a class of objects in a consistently
favorable or unfavorable way.

Attitudes are relatively enduring.

Attitudes are situation-related.
Functions of Attitudes
Utilitarian function

Ego-defensive function

Knowledge function

Value-expressive function
How do we form attitudes?
Three different paths to attitude formation:

Attitudes are created by first creating beliefs.
Consumer beliefs are the knowledge that a consumer
has about objects, their attributes, and the benefits
provided by the objects.
Consumer beliefs are created by processing
information--cognitive learning.
Forming Attitudes, continued
Attitudes are created directly.
Behavioral learning
Mere exposure

Attitudes are created by first creating behaviors.
Consumers respond to strong situational or
environmental forces, and after engaging in the
behavior, form attitudes about the experience.

Structural Model of Attitude
Tricomponent Attitude Model
Tricomponent Model
Cognitive component
The knowledge and perceptions that are acquired
by a combination of direct experience with the
attitude object and related information from
various sources.
Affective component
The emotions or feelings associate with a
particular product or brand.
Conative component
The likelihood or tendency that an individual will
undertake a specific action or behave in a
particular way with regard to the attitude object.
Measurement Models of Attitude
Multiattribute model
Fishbein and Azjen
Measures attitude score using consumers beliefs
and evaluations about attributes of the attitude
object.
Several different contexts in which attitude scores are
measured.
Attitude-toward-the-object model
Attitude-toward-the-behavior model
Multiattribute Model
A
j
= B
ij
I
i

Where:
i = attribute or product characteristic
j= brand
Such that:
A = the consumers attitude score for brand j
I = the importance weight given to attribute i by the
consumer
B = the consumers belief as to the extent to which a
satisfactory level of attribute i is offered by brand j
Understanding the Multiattribute
Model
All relevant product attributes, based on
consumers perceptions, need to be included
in the model to provide dimensionality.

Even though there may be several relevant
attributes, they are not generally equally
important. The importance weight of the
formula allows adjustment of the importance
of each attribute individually.
Understanding the Multiattribute
Model...
Beliefs represent the extent to which each
product offers satisfaction for the attribute in
question.

Compensatory model.
Advantages of Multiattribute
Model
Clearly shows what is important to consumers
about a given product.
Shows how well brands do relative to each
other.
Shows how well a specific brand does with
respect to attributes perceived as important to
consumers.
Weakness of
Multiattribute Model
Not a perfect predictor of consumer behavior
Lots of variables determine behavior in
addition to attitude:
Involvement
Friends
Family
Financial resources
Availability of product
Theory of Reasoned Action
Extends multiattribute model; tries to
compensate for the inability of the
multiattribute model to predict behavior.
Assumes that consumers consciously
consider the consequences of alternative
behaviors under consideration and choose the
one that leads to the most desirable
consequences.
The outcomes of this reasoned choice process
is an intention to engage in a selected
behavior--behavioral intention.
Theory of Reasoned Action
B
~
BI = A
act
(w
1
) + SN(w
2
)
Where:
B = a specific behavior
BI = consumers intention to engage in that
behavior
A
act
= consumers attitude toward engaging in that
behavior
SN = subjective norm regarding whether other
people want the consumer to engage in that
behavior
w
1
& w
2
= weights that reflect the relative influence of
the A
act
and SN components on BI
Simplified Version
Beliefs that
the behavior
leads to
certain
outcomes
Motivation
to comply
with the
specific
referents
Beliefs that
specific
referents think
I should or
should not
perform the
behavior
Evaluation
of the
outcomes
Attitude toward
the behavior
Subjective Norm
Intention
Behavior
Comparing A vs. A
act

Car (A) Buying a New Car this
Year (A
act
)
Moderately priced (+) Gives me a mode of transportation (+)
Ordinary (-) Will put me in financial difficulty (-)
Well-built (+) Will lead to high upkeep costs (-)
Dependable (+) Will cost more now than later (-)
Easily serviced (+) Will lead to high insurance rates (-)
Attitude-toward-the-Ad Model
Very specific to understanding the impact of
advertising on consumer attitudes about a
particular product or brand.

Exposure to advertising affects attitude-
toward-the ad and attitude-toward-the brand.
Attitude-toward-the-Ad Model
Very specific to understanding the impact of
advertising on consumer attitudes about a
particular product or brand.
Exposure to advertising directly affects
beliefs about the ad and brand, and feelings
about the ad.
Exposure to advertising indirectly affects
attitude toward the brand and attitude toward
the ad.
Exposure to ad
Attitude toward
the brand
Attitude toward
the ad
Feelings from
the ad (affect)
Beliefs about
the brand
Judgments about
the ad (cognition)
How Can Marketers
Change Attitudes?
Alter components of multiattribute model
Increase belief ratings for the brand
Increase the importance of a key attribute
Decrease the importance of a weak attribute
Add an entirely new attribute
Decrease belief ratings for competitive brands
Changing attitudes.
Change beliefs and attitudes through
persuasion

Elaboration likelihood model of persuasion
(ELM)
Motivation
to
Elaborate
Peripheral
Route to
Persuasion
Central
Route to
Persuasion
Ability
to
Elaborate
Amount
of
Elaboration
Message
Arguments
Determine
persuasion
Peripheral
Cues
Determine
persuasion
High
Low
Communication
(source,message,
channel)
Low-involvement
processing
High-involvement
processing
Attention and
comprehension
Cognitive
responses
Belief
change
Belief and
attitude
change
Behavior
change
Behavior
change
Attitude
change
Central
route
Peripheral
route
Changing attitudes...
Changing attitudes directly though behavior

Cognitive Dissonance Theories
Balance Theory
Social Judgment Theory

Attribution Theory

Balance Theory
Consumers strive for consistency between
interconnected attitudes.

Marketers can influence attitudes by creating
imbalance within the target of persuasion--
motivates consumer to change one or more of
the interconnected attitudes to restore balance.
Social Judgment Theory
Consumers use attitudes as a frame of
reference to judge new information.
If high involvement:
Narrow latitude of acceptance
Wide latitude of rejection
Assimilation effect
Contrast effect
If low involvement:
Wide latitude of acceptance
Wide latitude of noncommitment
Attribution Theory
Consumers make inferences about behaviors,
assign causality--blame or credit--to events on
the basis of their or others behaviors.
In the process of assigning causality, form
attitudes.
Marketing implications:
Offer high quality products
Advertising should emphasize quality.
Moderate-sized incentives.