9/17/2016

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
SESSION: IX a

Attitudes are important to marketers for one simple

reason:

CONSUMER ATTITUDES

A consumer with a positive attitude toward a product

is more likely to buy that product.

Instructor:
Dr. S. Sahney
Visiting Faculty, IIM Raipur
Source: Schiffman and , Kanuk, Wells and Prensky, Peter and
Olson, Loudon and Bitta
1

In a consumer behavior context, an attitude is:

What are attitudes?

-a learned predisposition to behave in a consistently

favorable or unfavorable way based on feelings and
opinions that result from an evaluation of knowledge
about the object.

Attitudes are an expression of inner feelings that reflect

whether a person is favorably or unfavorably predisposed
to some "object" (e.g., a brand, a service, or a retail
establishment).

-The word object would be interpreted broadly to include

specific consumption or marketing-related concepts, such
as:
- product, product category, brand, service, possessions,
product use, causes or issues, people, advertisement,
price, medium, or retailer.

Attitude formation, in turn, is the process by which

individuals form feelings or opinions toward other people,
products, ideas, activities, and other objects in their
environment.

1. Attitudes are a Learned Predisposition:

A person's attitude toward an object is composed of three

factors:

In the context of consumer behavior, this implies that:

-attitudes are formed as a result of direct experience with the
product, information acquired from others, or exposure to mass
media advertising and various forms of direct marketing.

(1) learned knowledge from the individual's own

experiences with the object, as well as information
gathered from others;

Consumers form attitudes about products based on:

- the needs they have recognized through the motivation
process
- the knowledge they have gathered through perception and
organized through learning.

(2) an evaluation of the object based on the individual's

knowledge of it; and ,
(3) a predisposition to act based on that evaluation.

9/17/2016

2. Attitudes have Consistency:

-Another characteristic of attitudes is that they are
relatively consistent with the behavior they reflect.

It is important to remember that while attitudes may result

from behavior, they are not synonymous with behavior.

-However, despite their consistency, attitudes are not

necessarily permanent; they do change.

Instead, they reflect either a favorable or an unfavorable

evaluation of the attitude object.

-The fact that attitudes are learned means that they can
be affected by new information and experience.
-There are some attitudes that remain very resistant to
change, however, regardless of incoming information.
7

Functions of attitudes:
-Attitudes

help apply ones knowledge to an evaluation of

alternative products and, consequently, make purchase
decisions faster, easier, and less risky.

3. Attitudes occur within a Situation:

-Events or circumstances at a particular point in time
influence the relationship between an attitude and
behavior.

Attitudes help individuals in four primary ways. Attitudes

reflect an individual's motivation to:

-A specific situation can cause consumers to behave in

ways seemingly inconsistent with their attitudes.

(1) gain utilitarian benefits;

(2) express his or her values and lifestyle;

-Indeed, individuals can have a variety of attitudes toward

a particular behavior, each corresponding to a particular
situation.

(3) defend the ego or self-concept; and,

(4) organize knowledge about objects in his or her
environment.
9

10

3. Ego-Defensive Function:
-Consumers

form some attitudes to protect themselves

from external threats or internal feelings.
-These ego-defensive attitudes are long-lasting, deep
rooted and difficult to change because they go to the very
heart of a persons self concept.

1. The Utilitarian Function:

An individual develops attitudes toward certain objects
because they offer utility.

2. The Value-Expressive Function:

4. The Knowledge Function:

Consumers typically develop a positive attitude toward

those objects that allow them to illustrate their values,
personality, lifestyle and psychographics.

-In

some cases, consumers form attitudes to help them

organize and simplify knowledge to simplify decision
making.
-They allow consumers to feel less risk when making
purchase decisions.
11

12

9/17/2016

Function

Objects of the
Attitude

Examples

Utilitarian

Products that provide

utilitarian benefits

Fluoride prevents cavities

Pepsodent Fluoride dental
rinse will keep teeth
strong

The four functions are not mutually exclusive.

Value-expressive

Products that illustrate

values,
personality,
lifestyle,
and
psychographics

Indian-made cars
good for
the Indian economy

Rather, many consumer attitudes reflect a combination of

the functions.

Ego-defensive

Products that
self-concept

Knowledge

Products that structure

knowledge and provide
certainty

Dandruff
is
an
embarrassing
problem
Head & Shoulders is an
effective
anti-dandruff shampoo
Acetaminophen is gentler
on the
stomach than aspirin

support

The Relationship among Functions:

are

An individual's values and lifestyles (value-expressive

function) are often consistent with his or her self-concept
(ego defensive).
Similarly, utilitarian and knowledge functions often result
in attitudes about a product's functional attributes and
benefits that are based on the analysis of information.
13

14

I. Tricomponent Attitude Model:

STRUCTURAL MODELS OF ATTITUDES:

According to the tricomponent attitude model, attitudes

consist of three major components:

1.The tricomponent attitude model.

2.The multiattribute attitude models.

-a knowledge component (cognitive),

3.The trying-to-consume model.

-a feeling component (affective), and

4.The attitude-toward-the-ad model.

-an action component (conative).

15

16

a) The Cognitive Component:

b) The Affective Component:

-the

knowledge and perceptions about the attitude object

and related information from various sources.

-A consumer's emotions or feelings about a particular

product or brand.

-takes the form of beliefs.

- this is primarily evaluative in nature, that is, they capture
an individual's assessment of the attitude-object (i.e., the
extent to which the individual rates the attitude object as
"favorable" or "unfavorable," "good" or "bad").

The cognitive component of the model consists of:

-consumers' knowledge about products, brands, and
marketers.

Affect-laden experiences also manifest themselves as

emotionally churned states (e.g., happiness, sadness,
shame, disgust, anger, distress, guilt, or surprise).

-The knowledge usually takes the form of beliefs about an

object's attributes and the benefits it offers, based on the
consumer's own experiences and information gathered
from marketers and other consumers of the product.
17

18

9/17/2016

c) The Conative Component:

Conation is concerned with the likelihood or tendency
that an individual will undertake a specific action or
behave in a particular way with regard to the attitude
object.
According to some interpretations, the conative
component may include the actual behavior itself.
In marketing and consumer research, the conative
component is frequently treated as an expression of the
consumer's intention to buy or purchase activity itself.

19

II. Multiattribute attitude models:

20

a. The Attitude-toward-Object Model:

Multiattribute attitude models portray consumers'

attitudes with regard to an attitude "object" as a function
of:
- consumers' perception and assessment of the key
attributes or beliefs held with regard to the particular
attitude "object."

According to this model, the consumer's attitude toward a

product or specific brands of a product is a function of the
presence (or absence) and evaluation of certain product-specific
beliefs and/or attributes.

-Many variations of this type of attitude model.

In other words, consumers generally have favorable attitudes

toward those brands that they believe have:
- an adequate level of attributes that they evaluate as positive.

-Those proposed by Martin Fishbein and his associates

have stimulated the greatest amount of research interest.
a) The attitude-toward-object model
b) The attitude-toward-behavior model
c) The theory-of-reasoned-action model.

Consumers have unfavorable attitudes towards those brands

which do not have:
- an adequate level of desired attributes or have too many
negative attributes.
21

22

The Fishbein attitude-toward-object model is usually depicted in

the form of the following equation:
Attitude o =

b. The Attitude-toward-Behavior Model:

where
Attitude o is a separately assessed overall (or global) measure of
affect for or against the attitude object (e.g., a product, brand,
service, or retail establishment);

The focus of Fishbein's attitude-toward-behavior model is

the individual's attitude toward behaving or acting with
respect to an object, rather than the attitude toward the
object itself.

bi , is the strength of the belief that the attitude object contains the
ith attribute (e.g., the likelihood that Complan is a nutritious
health drink with calcium and vitamins");
ei, is the evaluative dimension associated with the ith attribute
(e.g., how "good" or "bad" is a " a nutritious health drink with
calcium and vitamins ");
indicates that there are n salient attributes over which the bi,
and ei, combinations are summated.

The appeal of the attitude-toward-behavior model is that

it seems to correspond more closely to actual behavior
than does the attitude-toward-object model.
Logic: One might have a positive attitude towards a
brand but a negative attitude as to his prospects for
purchasing such an expensive brand.

23

24

9/17/2016

The Fishbein attitude-toward-object model is usually depicted in

the form of the following equation:

c. Theory-of-Reasoned-Action Model:

Attitude(beh) =
Where,
Attitude(beh) is a separately assessed overall measure of affect
for or against carrying out a specific action or behavior (e.g.,
buying and using a Philips Home Theatre);

Like the basic tricomponent attitude model, the theory-ofreasoned-action model incorporates a cognitive
component, an affective component, and a conative
component; however, these are arranged in a pattern
different from that of the tricomponent model.

bi , is the strength of the belief that an ith specific action will lead
to a specific outcome (e.g., that the Philips Home Theatre will
have a bigger screen, better sound effects etc)

The theory-of-reasoned-action model explicitly examines:

ei , is an evaluation of the ith outcome (e.g., the "favorableness"

of a bigger screen, better sound effects); and
indicates that there are n salient attributes over which the bi, and
ei, combinations are summated.

(1) beliefs and attitudes about specific instances of

behavior
(2) the subjective norm that exists in the specific social
context.

25

26

Working backward from behavior (e.g., the act of

purchasing a particular service, product, or brand), the
model suggests that the best predictor of behavior is the
intention to act.
Thus, if consumer researchers were solely interested in
predicting behavior, they would directly measure intention
(i.e., using an intention-to-act scale).
However, if they were also interested in understanding
the underlying factors that contribute to a consumer's
intention to act in a particular situation, they would look
behind intention and consider the factors that led to
intention, that is, the consumer's attitude toward behavior
and the subjective norm.
27

28

III. Theory of trying to Consume:

The theory of reasoned action is a series of interrelated
attitude components (i.e., beliefs precede attitude and
normative beliefs precede subjective norms', attitudes
and subjective norms precede intention; and intention
precedes actual behavior).

The theory of reasoned action operates fairly well when

an outcome (e.g., the actual purchase of a product) is
closely preceded by deliberation leading up to the
purchase and there is nothing to stop or block the
behavior (e.g., shopping for a television set and buying
one).

Consistent with the theory of reasoned action, an attitude

is not linked to behavior as strongly or as directly as
intention is linked to behavior.

However, Fishbein's model does not specifically account

for those circumstances when a particular action or
behavior is directed towards a goal (i.e., something the
consumer is trying or planning to accomplish).
29

30

9/17/2016

The theory of trying to consume is designed to account

for the many cases where the action or outcome is not
certain but instead reflects the consumer's attempts to
consume (i.e., purchase).
In such cases, there are often personal impediments
and/or environmental impediments that might prevent the
desired action or outcome from occurring.
Again, the key point is that in these cases of trying, the
outcome (e.g., purchase, possession, use, or action) is
not, and cannot be assumed to be, certain.
31

32

The theory of trying recasts Fishbein's theory-of-reasonedaction model by replacing behavior with trying to behave
(consume) as the variable to be explained and/or predicted.

Finally, each of the three attitudes (i.e., toward success,

toward failure, and toward process) are determined by the
summation of the "product" of the:

Also, trying to accomplish a particular goal is preceded by

intention to try, which in turn is determined by attitude toward
trying and social norms toward trying.

a) consequence likelihood (e.g., the chance that a person

anticipates "looking better from dieting")

Still further, attitude toward trying is impacted by the individual

consumer's:
(1) attitude toward success and expectations of success,
(2) attitude toward failure and expectations of failure, and
(3) attitude toward process (e.g., the consumer's assessment
of how the "act" of trying to do something makes him or her
feel, regardless of the outcome).

b) consequence evaluations (e.g., how pleasant it would be

for the person to "look better").
The model proposes that the frequency of past trying (i.e.,
the consumers prior experience with trying) impacts on
both intention-to-try and the act of trying, and that recency
of past trying (i.e., consumers most recent experience with
trying) impacts solely on trying.

33

34

35

36

IV. Attitude-toward-the-Ad Models:

Focuses on the impact of advertising or some other
promotional vehicle (e.g., a catalog) on consumer attitudes
toward particular products or brands.
As the model depicts, the consumer forms various feelings
(affects) and judgments (cognitions) as the result of
exposure to an ad.
These feelings and judgments in turn affect the consumer's
attitude toward the ad and beliefs about the brand acquired
from exposure to the ad.
Finally, the consumer's attitude toward the ad and beliefs
about the brand influence his or her attitude toward the
brand.

9/17/2016

Attitude-toward-the-ad models conclude that Consumers

form feelings and judgments as the result of their
exposure to an ad.

MEASURING ATTITUDES:
Methods of measuring attitudes:
(1) observation of behavior,
(2) qualitative investigations, and
(3) attitude scales.

That is, an advertisement influences not only consumers'

attitudes about the ad itself but also their view of the
product.

37

38

I. OBSERVATION:
II. QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATIONS:

Observation allows researchers to infer attitudes from

behavior.

Qualitative methods include focus groups, depth interviews,

and psychological tests.

When consumers buy large quantities of a particular

product, its marketer may conclude that consumers like
that brand.

The focus of each of these investigative techniques is on

getting consumers to reveal their feelings and opinions
through open discussion.

Observation is usually used to supplement other

research methods and is seldom the sole method of
attitude measurement.

39

40

b) Depth Interviews:

a) Focus Groups:

-A personal interview conducted one-to-one between a

consumer and a trained interviewer; it often lasts for
several hours.

- A focus group is a small group of consumersusually

between 6 and 12 participantswho discuss a number of
questions about a product, brand, or marketer, with the
help of a moderator.

In such situations, consumers are encouraged to talk

openly and in great depth about their feelings and
opinions toward a product.
Researchers encourage consumers to discuss their
feelings and attempt to clarify their statements by asking
probing questions such as "Why do you feel that way?"
or "What do you mean by that?
41

42

9/17/2016

c) Psychological Tests:

III. ATTITUDE SCALES:

The psychological tests consumer researchers employ

include a range of projective techniques.

Researchers often use consumer survey questionnaires to

measure attitudes on quantitative scales.

Examples include asking a consumer to interpret a

picture (the Thematic Apperception Test, or TAT), fill in
the dialog in a cartoon situation, fill in a blank in a
sentence about a product or brand, or offer the first word
that comes to mind when a product is mentioned.

- Likert scale: the scale consists of a statement followed by

degrees of agreement.

In these cases, the freedom to respond to open-ended

questions is intended to stimulate consumers to reveal
their underlying feelings about a product.

- Semantic differential scales: the scale is made up of opposite

adjectives at each extreme.

The consumer simply checks the blank indicating his or her

degree of agreement with that attitude statement.

43

44