1. Attitudes
7-1

2. The Power of Attitudes
• Attitude:
– A lasting, general evaluation of people (including
oneself), objects, advertisements, or issues
– Anything toward which one has an attitude is
called an object (Ao).
– Attitudes are lasting because they tend to endure
over time.
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3. The Functions of Attitudes
• Functional Theory of
Attitudes:
Attitudes exist
because they serve
some function for
the person (i.e.,
they are
determined by a
person’s motives)
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4. Katz’s Attitude Functions
– Katz believes there is an adjustive function of
motivation.
– He says people adjust attitudes to minimize
harm and maximize happiness.
– This serves an ego-defensive function because it
helps protect one's self respect.
Example: Toyota Car and Toyota Prado
SUV
7-4

5. The ABC Model of Attitudes
• Affect:
– The way a consumer feels about an attitude object
• Behavior:
– Involves the person’s intentions to do something
with regard to an attitude object
• Cognition:
– The beliefs a consumer has about an attitude object
• Hierarchy of Effects:
– A fixed sequence of steps that occur en route to an
attitude
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6. Three Hierarchies of Effects
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7. Attitude Hierarchies
• The Standard Learning Hierarchy:
– Consumer approaches a product decision as a
problem-solving process
• The Low-Involvement Hierarchy:
– Consumer does not have strong initial preference
– Consumer acts on limited knowledge
– Consumer forms an evaluation only after product trial
• The Experiential Hierarchy:
– Consumers act on the basis of their emotional
reactions
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8. Experiential Hierarchy
• Emotional Contagion:
– Emotions expressed by the communicator of a
marketing message affect the attitude toward the
product
• Cognitive-Affective Model:
– Argues that an affective judgment is the last step in
a series of cognitive processes
• Independence Hypothesis:
– Takes the position that affect and cognition
involve two separate, independent systems
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9. Smith and Wollensky
• This ad for New York’s
famous Smith &
Wollensky restaurant
emphasizes that
marketers and others
associated with a
product or service are
often more involved
with it than are their
consumers.
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10. Product Attitudes Don’t
Tell the Whole Story
• Attitude Toward the Advertisement (Aad):
– A predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable
manner to a particular advertising stimulus during a
particular exposure occasion
• Ads Have Feelings Too:
– Three emotional dimensions:
• Pleasure, arousal, and intimidation
– Specific types of feelings that can be generated by an ad
• Upbeat feelings: Amused, delighted, playful
• Warm feelings: Affectionate, contemplative, hopeful
• Negative feelings: Critical, defiant, offended
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11. Forming Attitudes
• Not All Attitudes are Created Equal:
– Levels of Commitment to an Attitude: The degree of
commitment is related to the level of involvement
with an attitude object
• Compliance
• Identification
• Internalization
– The Consistency Principle:
• Principle of Cognitive Consistency: Consumers value
harmony among their thoughts, feelings or behaviors
to be consistent with other experiences
7 - 11

12. Levels of Attitudinal Commitment
• By describing Cadillac as “my company,” the woman
in this ad exhibits a high level of attitudinal
commitment to her employer. 7 - 12

13. Forming Attitudes (cont.)
• Cognitive Dissonance and Harmony among
Attitudes:
– Theory of Cognitive Dissonance: When a person is
confronted with inconsistencies among attitudes or
behaviors, he or she will take action to reduce the
dissonance by changing an attitude or modifying a
behavior.
• Self-Perception Theory:
– People maintain consistency by inferring that they must
maintain a positive attitude toward a product they have
bought or consumed
• Foot-in-the-door technique:
– Sales strategy based on the observation that consumers will
comply with a request if they have first agreed to comply
with a smaller request 7 - 13

14. Attitudinal Commitment
• This ad for a magazine illustrates that consumers
often distort information so that it fits with what they
already believe or think they know. 7 - 14

15. Social Judgment Theory
• Social Judgment Theory:
– People assimilate new information about Ao’s
based on what they already know or feel.
– Attitudes of Acceptance and Rejection: People
differ in the information they find acceptable or
unacceptable.
• Assimilation effect: Messages that fall within the
latitude of acceptance tend to be seen as more
consistent with one’s position than they actually are
• Contrast effect: Messages falling within the latitude of
rejection tend to be seen as being farther from one’s
position than they actually are
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16. Balance Theory
• Triad:
– An attitude structure consisting of three elements
• (1) A person and his/her perceptions of
• (2) an attitude object, and
• (3) some other person or object
• Unit relation:
– An element is seen as belonging to or being part of the
other
• Sentiment relation:
– Two elements are linked because one has expressed a
preference for the other
• Marketing Applications of Balance Theory
– Celebrity endorsements
7 - 16

17. Alternative Routes to
Restoring Balance in a Triad
Figure 7.2 7 - 17