Chapter 6

Consumer Attitude

Formation and Change

Shamshul Anaz Kassim

Senior Lecturer

Faculty of Business Management

UiTM Perlis

Attitudes

A learned

predisposition to

behave in a

consistently

favorable or

unfavorable manner

with respect to a

given object.

What are Attitudes?

• The attitude “object”

• Attitudes are a learned predisposition

• Attitudes have consistency

• Attitudes occur within a situation

Structural Models of Attitudes

• Tricomponent Attitude Model

• Muliattribute Attitude Model

• The Trying-to-Consume Model

• Attitude-toward-the-Ad Model

Figure 8.2 A Simple Representation of

the Tricomponent Attitude Model

Conation

Affect

Cognition

The 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– A consumer’s emotions or feelings about 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.

Multiattribute

Attitude

Models

Attitude models that

examine the

composition of

consumer attitudes

in terms of selected

product attributes or

beliefs.

Multiattribute Attitude Models

• The attitude-toward-object model

– Attitude is function of evaluation of product-specific beliefs and evaluations

• The attitude-toward-behavior model

– Is the attitude toward behaving or acting with respect to an object, rather than the attitude toward the object itself

• Theory-of-reasoned-action model

– A comprehensive, integrative model of attitudes

Attitude-

Toward-

Behavior

Model

A model that proposes

that a consumer’s

attitude toward a

specific behavior is a

function of how

strongly he or she

believes that the action

will lead to a specific

outcome (either

favorable or

unfavorable).

Theory of

Reasoned

Action

A comprehensive theory

of the interrelationship

among

attitudes,intentions, and

behavior.

Figure 8.4 A Simplified Version of the

Theory of Reasoned Action

Beliefs that

the behavior

leads to

certain

outcomes

Evaluation

of the

outcomes

Beliefs that

specific

referents

think I

should or

should not

perform the

behavior

Motivation

to comply

with the

specific

referents

Subjective

norm

Attitude toward

the behavior

Intention

Behavior

Theory of

Trying to

Consume

An attitude theory

designed to account

for the many cases

where the action or

outcome is not certain

but instead reflects

the consumer’s

attempt to consume

(or purchase).

Table 8.6 Selected Examples of Potential

Impediments That Might Impact TryingPOTENTIAL PERSONAL IMPEDIMENTS

“I wonder whether my fingernails will be longer by the time of my wedding.”

“I want to try to lose fifteen pounds by next summer.”

“I’m going to try to get tickets for a Broadway show for your birthday.”

“I’m going to attempt to give up smoking by my birthday.”

“I am going to increase how often I go to the gym from two to four times a

week.”

“Tonight, I’m not going to have dessert at the restaurant.”

POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPEDIMENTS

“The first ten people to call in will receive a free T-shirt.”

“Sorry, the shoes didn’t come in this shipment from Italy.”

“There are only three bottles of champagne in our stockroom. You better

come in sometime today.”

“I am sorry. We cannot serve you. We are closing the restaurant because of a

problem with the oven.”

Attitude-

Toward-

the-Ad

Model

A model that proposes that

a consumer forms various

feelings (affects) and

judgments (cognitions) as

the result of exposure to

an advertisement, which,

in turn, affect the

consumer’s attitude

toward the ad and attitude

toward the brand.

Figure 8.6 A Conception of the

Relationship among Elements in an

Attitude-Toward-the-Ad Model

Exposure to an Ad

Judgments about

the Ad (Cognition)

Beliefs about the

Brand

Attitude toward

the Brand

Attitude toward

the Ad

Feelings from the

Ad (Affect)

Issues in Attitude Formation

• How attitudes are learned

• Sources of influence on attitude formation

• Personality factors

Strategies of Attitude Change

1. Changing the Basic Motivational Function

2. Associating the Product With an Admired Group or Event

3. Resolving Two Conflicting Attitudes

4. Altering Components of the Multiattribute Model

5. Changing Beliefs About Competitors’ Brands

Four Basic Attitude Functions

• The Utilitarian FunctionWhen a product has been useful or helped us in the past, our attitude toward it

tends to be favorable. (brand equity)

• The Ego-defensive FunctionSuggest that consumer want to protect their self-concepts from inner feelings of

doubt

• The Value-expressive FunctionSuggest that attitudes express consumers’ general values, lifestyles and outlook.

• The Knowledge FunctionSuggests that consumers have a strong need to know and understand the people

and products with which they come into contact.

Elaboration

Likelihood

Model

(ELM)

A theory that suggests

that a person’s level of

involvement during

message processing is

a critical factor in

determining which

route to persuasion is

likely to be effective.

Why Might Behavior Precede

Attitude Formation?

• Cognitive Dissonance Theory

• Attribution Theory

Behave (Purchase)

Form AttitudeForm Attitude

Cognitive

Dissonance

Theory

Holds that discomfort or

dissonance occurs when

a consumer holds

conflicting thoughts

about a belief or an

attitude object.

Postpurchase

Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance

that occurs after a

consumer has made a

purchase

commitment.

Consumers resolve

this dissonance

through a variety of

strategies designed to

confirm the wisdom

of their choice.

Attribution

Theory

A theory concerned

with how people assign

casualty to events and

form or alter their

attitudes as an outcome

of assessing their own

or other people’s

behavior.

Issues in Attribution Theory

• Self-perception Theory

– Foot-In-The-Door Technique

• Attributions Toward Others

• Attributions Toward Things

• How We Test Our Attributions

Self-

Perception

Theory

A theory that suggests

that consumers

develop attitudes by

reflecting on their own

behavior.

Defensive

Attribution

A theory that suggests

consumers are likely

to accept credit for

successful outcomes

(internal attribution)

and to blame other

persons or products for

failure (external

attribution).

Criteria for Causal Attributions

• Distinctiveness

• Consistency Over Time

• Consistency Over Modality

• Consensus