Consumer Behavior

Consumer Attitude Formation

and Change

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Attitude
Defined
A learned predisposition to behave in a consistently
favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given
object.
• Attitudes are learned from direct experience with the
product, word-of-mouth, exposure to mass media and
other information sources.
• Attitudes reflect favorable or unfavorable evaluations of
the attitude object.
• Eg Bajaj Bikes
Human beings hold attitudes because they are useful. Particularly, our
attitudes enable us to determine, often very quickly and effortlessly,
which behaviours to engage in, which people to approach or avoid, and
even which products to buy (Duckworth, Bargh, Garcia, & Chaiken,
2002; Maio & Olson, 2000). You can imagine that making quick
decisions about what to avoid or approach has had substantial value in
our evolutionary experience.
Attitude Formation
• Consumers learn attitudes
• Sources of attitude formation
• Experience
• Family and friends
• Media/Internet/Social Media
Role of Personality Factors
• Need for cognition
• Innovativeness
To understand the tri-component attitude model.
Cognitive Component
• Cognitions are knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by a
combination of direct experience with the attitude object and related
information from various sources.
• This previous knowledge and perceptions commonly take the form of beliefs
• The consumer believes that the attitude object possesses various attributes and that
specific behavior will lead to specific outcomes.
Affective Component
• The affective component of an attitude consists of the consumer’s emotions
or feelings which are considered evaluations.
• Affect-laden experiences manifest themselves as emotionally charged states (such as
happiness or sadness).
• These states may enhance positive or negative experiences (and recollections of those
experiences) for the consumer.
• A Likert scale measures respondents’ levels of agreement or disagreement with a series
of statements about the object.
• A semantic differential scale, which has bi-polar adjectives as anchors and asks the
respondent to rate on a continuum, is often used to measure affect.
Conative Component
• Conation, the final component of the tri-component attitude model, 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.
• 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.
• Intention to buy scales are used to assess the likelihood of a consumer purchasing a
product or behaving in a certain way.
• Chocolate Vs Toothpaste Vs Taking notes
• Politics
• High Involvement Vs Low involvement Vs Impulse
The Cognitive Component
Table 6.2 Beliefs about Two Smart Speakers

Product Attribute Google Home Amazon Echo

Responds to Voice Commands Yes Yes
Prompt Word “OK Google” or “Hey Google” “Alexa,” “Echo,” “Amazon,” or
“Computer”
Works with my Smart Home No Yes
(Ecobee)
Customizable Appearance Yes No
Personal Assistant Search Google, daily briefing, check Add items to calendar, make
traffic, calendar, flights, make shopping and to-do lists, check
shopping list, track packages flights, track a package
Works with my Music Streaming Yes No
Preference (YouTube Music)

Source: Adapted from: Andrew Gebhart, “Google Home v s Amazon Echo: Round 2—Google
ersu

strikes back,” CNET.com, 28, 2017.

The Affective Component
For the past 30 days, you have been using Dapper Dan
Aftershave Balm. Please tell us how your skin felt after using the
product. Please indicate your level of agreement or
disagreement with each of the statements listed here.

Blank Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
Dapper Dan Balm refreshed my skin. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Dapper Dan Balm tightened my skin. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Dapper Dan Balm smoothed my skin. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Dapper Dan Balm suppled my skin. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Dapper Dan Balm revived my skin. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Likert Scale
Defined
The most popular form of attitude scale, where consumers
are asked to check numbers corresponding to their level of
“agreement” or “disagreement” with a series of statements
about the studied object.
Semantic Differential Scale
For the past 30 days, you have been using HI Lipgloss. Please tell
us how your lips felt after using the product. For each of the
adjectives listed here, please mark an “X” in the box
corresponding to how your lips felt after using HI Lipgloss.

Refreshed [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Not refreshed

Refreshed [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Not tight
Refreshed [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Not smooth
Supple [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Not supple
Revived [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Not revived
The Conative Component
Which of the following statements best describes the chance that you would
buy Dapper Dan Aftershave Balm the next time you purchase an aftershave
product?
I definitely will buy it.
Fill in the blank

I probably will buy it.

Fill in the blank

I am uncertain whether I will buy it or not.

Fill in the blank

I probably will not buy it.

Fill in the blank

I definitely will not buy it.

Fill in the blank

How likely are you to buy Dapper Dan Aftershave Balm during the next three
months?
Very likely
Fill in the blank

Likely
Fill in the blank

Uncertain
Fill in the blank

Unlikely
Fill in the blank

Very unlikely
Fill in the blank
Altering Consumer Attitudes
• Changing beliefs about
products
• Changing brand image
• Changing beliefs about
competing brands

Source: Avocados From Mexico, Mexican Hass

Avocado Importers Association
Attitude-Toward-Object Model
• Used to change attitudes
• Ways
– Add an attribute
– Change perceived
importance of an
attribute
– Develop new products

Source: The Kraft Heinz Company

The attitude-toward-object model maintains that a consumer’s evaluation of a product is a function of:

1. The extent to which the product has (or lacks) each of a given set of attributes.

2. The importance of each of these attributes to the consumer.

In other words, consumers generally have favorable attitudes toward those brands that they believe have better performance on
the attributes that they view as important than other brands, and unfavorable attitudes toward those brands that they feel do not
meet these criteria.
– Attitudes can be changed by
▪ Adding a previously ignored attribute or adding an attribute that reflects an actual product or technological
innovation.
▪ Changing the perceived importance of attributes
▪ Developing new products
Multiattribute Models
Theory of Reasoned Action
• Tri-component attitude model
• Subjective Norms
1. Two factors underlie subjective norms: normative beliefs that the
individual attributes to relevant
2. others, and the individual’s motivation to comply with the
preferences of the relevant others.

Normative beliefs are individuals' beliefs about the extent to which

other people who are important to them think they should or should
not perform particular behaviors.
Functional Approach
• Utilitarian function – When a product has been useful or helped us n the past,
our attitude toward it tends to be favorable. One way of changing attitudes in favor
of a product is by showing people that it can serve a utilitarian purpose they may
not have considered. Changing through demonstration
• Ego-defensive function - maintains that people want to protect their
self-images from inner feelings of doubt – they want to replace their uncertainty
with a sense of security and personal confidence.
• Knowledge function - The knowledge function holds that individuals generally
have a strong need to know and understand the people and things they encounter.
• Value-expressive function - The value-expressive function suggests attitudes
are an expression or reflection of the consumer’s values and beliefs.
• Associate brands with worthy causes and events
Example: Utilitarian Function

Source: LYSOL is a registered trademark of Reckitt Benckiser L LC.

Elaboration Likelihood Model
Defined
The proposition that attitudes can be changed by either one
of two different routes to persuasion – a central route or a
peripheral route – and that the cognitive elaboration related
to the processing of information received via each route is
different
Central Route
The central route to persuasion is particularly relevant to attitude change when a consumer’s motivation
or ability to assess the attitude object is high due to high involvement purchase
When consumers are willing to exert the effort to comprehend, learn, or evaluate the available
information about the attitude object, learning and attitude change occur via the central route.

Comparative ads
Objective knowledge
Peripheral Route
• Low involvement

• Little thought and little information processing

• Learning through
• Repetition
• Passive processing of visual cues
• Holistic processing

• Non-comparative ads

• Subjective knowledge
attitude change often is an outcome of secondary inducements such as cents-off
coupons, free samples, beautiful background scenery, great packaging, or the
encouragement of a celebrity endorsement.
Dissonance
• Cognitive dissonance occurs when a consumer holds conflicting thoughts about a
belief or an attitude object. Uneasy feeling
After purchasing thinking of the unique, positive qualities of the alternatives not
selected (“left behind”).
Post-purchase dissonance occurs due to compromise and choice amongst alternatives
Implication Attitude has to be changed post behaviour
• Ways to reduce post-purchase dissonance
• 1. Rationalize decision
• 2. Seek advertisements that support choices (avoid competitive ads).
• 3. “Sell” friends on the positive features of the purchase.
• 4. Seek reassurance from satisfied owners