ATTITUDES AND ATTITUDE FORMATION IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR combined

ATTITUDESThe topic attitude is the most researched and theorized

sub-subject of the science of consumer behavior.

Due to its non-salient nature, attitude of a person always demanded probing studies.

Social psychologists all over the world have been doing extensive research to identify and explain attitude formation (Raju, 2005).

ATTITUDE – DEFINED AND EXPLANED

Attitude is commonly used in English language and has different interpretations in different contexts.

Attitude means posture or orientation in which an object, including the abstract mind, is placed.

All these meanings are not related to the science of the consumer behavior (Raju, 2005).

ATTITUDE – DEFINED AND EXPLANED (cont’d)

“In consumer behavior, attitude is defined as an enduring predisposition of the consumer to behave consistently in favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object. This enduring disposition is not inborn but is learned by the consumer depending on his/her cognitive process (Raju, 2005).”

ATTITUDES ARISE OUT OF BELIEFS AND LIE DORMANT

All individuals during the formative years of their lives collect beliefs depending on their backgrounds, upbringing, cultural exposure and several other factors.

These beliefs are stored in the person’s mind with a conferred status of facts and truths.

Individuals usually make no efforts to apply rationale or to verify these beliefs (Raju, 2005).

ATTITUDES ARISE OUT OF BELIEFS AND LIE DORMANT (cont’d)

For example, if an individual has a belief that all multi-national companies are colonial in nature and are exploiters.

These beliefs might have been implanted in him during his early years.

The attitude that can be developed out of such a belief is that all the products of such companies are undesirable.

INFLUNECE OF ATTITUDES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

All the beliefs in the human mind may not give birth to attitudes.

Attitudes can be compared to offsprings and beliefs to their parents.

Attitudes unlike beliefs are not neutral but are either positive or negative.

They influence the consumer to act in a certain way under their direction.

INFLUNECE OF ATTITUDES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (cont’d)

For example, when a consumer faces a decision-making situation, attitudes influence him/her to act in such a situation regarding the product or a service.

CONSISTENCY OF ATTITUDES

As attitudes are the enduring predispositions of the consumers to act consistently in a favorable or unfavorable manner towards a given object.

Consistency is the most important characteristic of an attitude.For example, if a person has a belief that imported goods are more reliable than the local goods, then he will develop a consistent attitude of preferring imported brands instead of local brands (Foxall, Goldsmith & Brown, 1998).

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ATTITUDES

All the attitudes, whether positive or negative are undesirable.

Positive attitude means the person has a fixed notion that the product is good.

Negative attitude means the person has fixed notion that the product is not good (Raju, 2005).

MARKETER’S CONCERN WITH ATTITUDES

Attitudes influence the purchase behaviors of the consumers.

Discovery, Understanding, Analysis, Erasing and Abetting of attitudes are the prime functions of marketing.

Marketers need to evaluate the response behaviors of their consumers in actual as well as simulated situations (Raju, 2005).

FORMATION OF ATTITUDES

Attitudes are not inborn characteristics but are leaned by the consumer depending on his/her cognitive process.

The process of learning involves direct experience of the consumer with the product or service, which can be carried out through;Observation Information Obtained and Influence ReceivedExposure to Media andReflections of Own Beliefs (Raju, 2005).

ATTITUDES MOTIVATE

Attitudes are not neutral by standers but they influence the consumer in decision-making situation regarding the product of service.

If they remain in a person’s mind for a long time, they may become consistent. For example, if a consumer has an attitude that French products are elegant but the German products are more sturdy, he/she will prefer the German products of an unknown brand especially in the case of machinery items.

ECLIPSING OF AN ATTITUDE

If the attitude remains in the consumer’s mind for a long time, it may be set aside and is overridden by the consumer (Raju, 2005).For example, if the preferred product is unavailable or unaffordable, the consumer will prefer the competing items. Here the attitude has not changed but only a temporary eclipse has occurred.

Attitudes are Die-Hard but can ChangeAttitudes can change and get erased altogether by

new learning.

Attitudes can change for a number of reasons.

Attitudes most commonly change in response to social influence.

What other people do or say can have a huge effect on our own cognitions.

Role of Influences in Attitude ChangeAttitudes learned by the individual are stored

and manifested when the occasions arise.

An individual’s attitude is driven or influenced by his family, peers, groups,

his personality and media.

Each of this influence is discussed

Role of Influences in Attitude ChangeInfluence of Family

The family is considered major factor that influence consumer behavior. It is important to analyze family habits and influences to

explain the origins of a consumer attitude.

Family influence is also important in brand loyalty and or brand preferences.

Role of Influences in Attitude ChangeInfluence of Family

Once young adults leave their homes, they face new situations of consumptions such as buying certain product for first time. In such condition, they usually recognize a certain brand because they have already seen it at their parents’ home

Example: A newly married girl goes to a grocery market for grocery shopping. She does not have much knowledge about grocery products. She will pick those brands which have been used by her mother. Such as, washing detergents like Ariel or Tide, cooking oils like Habeeb or Sufi etc.

Role of Influences in Attitude ChangeInfluence of Groups and Peers

Individuals in a society have to fall into or associated with a group, when they work outside of the family.

An individual fit into a group according to his place of study, his work or play.

In a group, an individual is exposed to some attitudes that are exhibited by other members of the group (Raju, 2005).

Role of Influences in Attitude ChangeInfluence of Groups and Peers

Larger groups like religions impose certain beliefs and traditions which are unquestioningly learned by the individuals. These beliefs later translate into attitudes (Raju, 2005).

Example: Individuals brought up in Hindu may find consumption of beef distasteful because of their religion belief that it is a sin to kill a cow that gives milk.

Role of Influences in Attitude ChangeInfluence of Personality

Personality is sum total of those inner characteristics of a person that direct and dictate the person’s responses to environment.

Personality is highly individualized. Even when two individuals receive identical experiences, information or influences, there is no certainty that both form the same attitudes.

Personality plays a large role in making an individual accessible.


Milton Rokeach has stated that there are two different types of human beings: the pragmatic open-minded and the dogmatic closed-minded.

The open-minded personalities are in majority and there proportion is increasing day by day due to the flow of information

whereas closed minded show rejection of opposing beliefs and resist the change (Raju, 2005).

Role of Influences in Attitude Change

Influence of Personality

Individuals with high cognition needs are likely to form positive attitudes in response to the ads that are rich in product related information.

Whereas the individual with low cognition needs are likely to form positive attitudes that feature an attractive model or celebrity


Example:

Such as, the ad of Kellogg’s chocos ad An individual who is high in cognition needs will response to

this brand because it will be giving more nutrients related information.

Whereas, an individual with low cognition needs will respond positively to this ad because it is advertised by Karishma Kapoor.

Role of Influences in Attitude ChangeInfluence of Mass Media:The influence of mass media on attitudes is most

influential.

Today, people have easy access to newspapers and special interest in magazines and television channels.

As a result, consumers are constantly exposed to new ideas, products, opinions and advertisements (Raju, 2005).

Role of Influences in Attitude ChangeThese mass media communication provide an important

source of information that influences the formation of consumer attitudes

The one advantage is that it is changing with time and there is no danger of its leading to permanent beliefs and attitudes (Raju, 2005).

Correcting of AttitudesMarketers identify the attitudes and their causative factors

first and

then they address them in several ways to attract consumers towards their products.

Correcting of AttitudesFor example:

There are two competing companies.

The brand (Brand A) of first company is in market for last five years and is favored by consumer attitudes

Whereas the other company is a new in market and wants to promote its brand (Brand B). Its brand quality and price is comparable but is suffering because of attitudes of consumers.

Correcting of Attitudes

Strategies:

They can use different strategies to attract consumers.

These strategies are following:


1. Consumer’s attitude:Brand A is made by a company which is very large and

therefore it is good.

Strategy:Company should create awareness among the consumers that

the size of the manufacturer has nothing to do with the quality of the product.

In fact B’s quality is equal or better and the company I small enough to devote greater attention.


2. Consumer’s attitude

Brand A has been giving good services for many years and why should I use anything else.

Strategy:

The advertiser should advertise some specific advantages of Brand B. They should compel people to try something new.



Brand A is a tried product.

Strategy:

They should highlight the latest techniques or innovations that have been used in making Brand B.



Brand A is the most popular one in our market. It must be good.

Strategy:

They should highlight that Brand B is equally popular in other states’s markets and many people are changing to it.



Brand A claims that it is the best brand in the market.

Strategy:

They should make consumers aware that claims and counter claims are not to be taken at face value.

POST-BEHAVIORAL ATTITUDESPOST-BEHAVIORAL ATTITUDES

Attitudes and beliefs are first formed and in turn affect the behavior of an individual.

However, there are situations where an individual first exhibits a behavior and later tries to justify it by forming an attitude in self-justification (Raju, 2005).

POST-BEHAVIORAL ATTITUDESPOST-BEHAVIORAL ATTITUDES

Two well-known phenomenon that help to study formation of attitude in self-justification are:

Cognitive Dissonance

Attribution

Attitude Following Cognitive DissonanceAttitude Following Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance theory was developed by Leon Festinger in 1957.

It states that a discomfort or dissonance arises in the mind of the consumer when he has already taken a purchase decision and later on is confronted with new evidence. The new evidence indicates there are reasons to doubt the wisdom of the purchase decision (Raju, 2005).

Attitude Following Cognitive Dissonance Attitude Following Cognitive Dissonance (Cont…)(Cont…)

For example, a consumer decides to buy a LCD of Samsung company. He makes a down payment and is waiting for delivery of LCD.

Subsequent to this decision the consumer comes across advertisements, new information or opinions that point out that there are better products in market which he did not consider while making decision (Raju, 2005).

Attitude Following Cognitive Dissonance Attitude Following Cognitive Dissonance (Cont…)(Cont…)

A cognitive dissonance occurs due to the conflict between the belief the consumer held while making the decision and the dissonant information he is receiving about the product.

At this point, the consumer can get some relief by any bits of information favorable to the product he has chosen. Relief is also obtained by forming an attitude that the competing product is not good (Raju, 2005).

Attitude Arising out of the AttributionAttitude Arising out of the Attribution

According to attribution theory consumer can attribute his/her own behavior to certain imagined causative factors.

The consumer here is justifying his/her own decision and attributing it to a cause (Raju, 2005).

Attitude Arising out of the Attribution Attitude Arising out of the Attribution (Cont…)(Cont…)

For instance, a lady routinely buys expensive suits of Gul Ahmed. She tends to conclude that she is a quality and economy conscious individual and gets better durability only from Gul Ahmed.

This will develop, into an attitude that other brands, which she has not even tried, are inferior.

Attitude Arising out of the Attribution Attitude Arising out of the Attribution (Cont…)(Cont…)

Sometimes the attribution is external.

For instance, the consumer routinely goes to Al-Fatah and shops there even for minor purchases. He ignores the neighborhood stores though feels guilty in doing so. He attributes that the neighborhood stores person is too talkative and will not allow him to shop and select in peace. He develops an attitude that neighborhood shops are only for senior citizens and kids.

ATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIPATTITUDE-BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIP

Motivated by a desire to understand the relationship between attitudes and behavior, psychologists have sought to construct models that capture the underlying dimensions of an attitude.

The focus has been on specifying the composition of an attitude to better explain or predict behavior. There are several important attitude models among which tri-component attitude model is most popular (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010).

Tri-component Attitude ModelTri-component Attitude Model

Tri-component attitude model postulates that attitudes consist of three major components:

a cognitive component, an affective componenta conative component.

This model is also known as the CAC model

A Simple Representation of the Tri-component Attitude Model

The Cognitive ComponentThe Cognitive Component

The first part consists of a person's cognitions, that is, the knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by a combination of direct experiences with the attitude object and related information from various sources.

The knowledge and resulting perceptions commonly take the form of beliefs; that specific behavior will lead to specific outcomes (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010).

The Affective ComponentThe Affective Component

A person's emotions and feelings about a particular object constitute the affective component of an attitude.

These emotions and feeling are frequently treated by consumer researchers as primarily evaluative in nature; they capture an individual’s direct or global assessment of an attitude object (i.e. the extent to which the individual rates the attitude object as "favorable" or "unfavorable" , "good" or "bad") (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010).

The Conation ComponentThe Conation Component

Conation is concerned with the likelihood or tendency that the individual will undertake a specific action or behave in particular way in regard to the attitude object.

The conative component may include the actual behavior itself (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010).

Case StudyCase Study

Noel Soyza, a Sri Lankan citizen was posted to work at India for five years. During this time he joined the part-time course at the Indian Institute of Advanced Management (IIAM) and obtained a postgraduate diploma in Management (PGDM).

Later he returned to Colombo and started his own business. Over a period of time he realized that among his competitors he was the most successful. He started attributing his success to the diploma he had obtained and this attribution led to a mild and positive attitude towards IIAM.

Time came when Noel's son Vikram had to choose a career and the father strongly recommended that the son also should seek admission to the PGDM course of IIAM. When admission opened early Vikram was one of the first students to get enrolled.

This story illustrates an ideal Cognition Affect Conation

(CAC) model. There was a cognitive component in the experience of Noel; an affective component due to his pleasant experience and good feeling towards IIAM. Both these components being positive resulted in a strongly positive conative component that dictated Noel's behavior.

SHOULD I NAME MY COMPETITOR?SHOULD I NAME MY COMPETITOR?

A question faced by a marketer who has to introduce corrective advertisement for his product is should I name my competitor?

On occasions marketer may find that the competitor is making false claims and enjoying an unfair advantage. On other occasions he finds that certain favorable information of his own product is not reaching the consumer (Raju, 2005).

For corrective advertisements the marketer has to present a multisided or at least a two-sided picture making a comparison of brand with the competing brands.

Marketer has to address to the strengths of the competing brand. In the first place highlight strengths of own brand which are going unnoticed (Raju, 2005).

Researchers have conducted experiments to assess the effect of corrective advertisement and some points that come out are:

Two-sided communications are noticed more by all consumers irrespective of their brand loyalties.

Even if the communication does not name the competitor, the consumers will make an intelligent guess.

If communicator names the competitor, it may invite him for fight, but it does not make the consumer hostile to him.

Ad-wars do not cause loss of existing consumers.

Communicators should expect only small scale changes in behavior and not automatic switchovers whatever may be the facts presented in the communication (Raju, 2005).

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ATTITUDES AND ATTITUDE FORMATION IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR combined