1. Chapter 7
Consumer Attitude Formation
and Change
Consumer Behaviour
Canadian Edition
Schiffman/Kanuk/Das
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

2. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-2

3. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-3

4. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-4

5. 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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6. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-6

7. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-7

8. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-8

9. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-9

10. Conation
Cognition
Affect
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7-10

11. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-11

12. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-12

13. Theory of Reasoned Action
– A comprehensive theory of the interrelationship
among attitudes, intentions, and behaviour
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7-13

14. Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-14

15. 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).
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-15

16. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
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17. Why Might Behaviour Precede
Attitude Formation?
 Cognitive
Dissonance
Theory
 Attribution
Theory
Behave (Purchase)
Form Attitude
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
Form Attitude
7-17

18. 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
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education
7-18

19. Self-Perception Theory
 Attitudes
developed by reflecting on
their own behaviour
 Judgments about own behaviour
 Internal and external attributions
» Continued
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7-19

20. 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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7-20

21. How We Test Our Attributions
 Distinctiveness
 Consistency
over time
 Consistency over modality
 Consensus
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22. 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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23. 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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24. Attitudes and Marketing Strategy
 Change
affect first through classical
conditioning
 Change behaviour first through operant
conditioning
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