Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Chapter 9 Beliefs, Affect, Attitude, and Intention

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Chapter Spotlights The three component theory of attitude Beliefs: cognitive component of consumer attitude Affect: emotive component of consumer attitude Intention: behavioral intention component of consumer attitude Attitude-behavior consistency

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 The Three Component Theory of Attitude Cognitive component: consumer belief(s) about a brand, outlet, product, action, etc., that is based on personal knowledge, actual experience, the knowledge or experience of others, or perception. Affective component: consumer feelings (e.g. likes, dislikes, or neutrality) about a brand, outlet, product, action, etc. flowing from beliefs.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 The Three Component Theory of Attitude Intention component (“behavior” or “behavioral intention”): consumer’s intention to act positively, negatively, or neutrally toward a brand, outlet, product, action, etc. that is based on his or her affective component stance. This three component theory seems to be more clearly tied to high-involvement brand, outlet, product, action, etc. situations than low- involvement.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Beliefs: Cognitive Component of Consumer Attitude A consumer belief is a psychological association between a product, brand, outlet, action, etc. and an attribute or feature (and associated benefits) of such Beliefs are cognitive (based on knowledge, experience, perception, etc.) The stronger the association of features or attributes (and associated benefits) with the product, brand, outlet, action, etc., the stronger the consumer’s belief Brand equity is a measure of the strength of the association in the marketplace

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Strategies To Change Consumer Beliefs Positioning by Product attributes Consumer benefits Intangible attributes Price Application Brand user Celebrity recognition Brand personality Product category Association with competitors Country or geographic area

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Affect: Emotive Component of Attitude Purchase decisions are typically influenced by affective response Affect—the way in which we feel (e.g. like, dislike, neutral) in response to marketplace stimuli It is emotive rather than cognitive (beliefs) It is comprised of both our knowledge of stimuli and our evaluations of them Affective responses can be very general or very specific “Measures” of the affective component of attitude: the “Functional Theory of Attitude,” the “Fishbein Model,” and the “Belief- importance Model”

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Functional Theory of Attitude Affective responses help consumers reach purchase decisions in four ways: Adjustment: developing affective responses that lead to perceived rewards and avoid perceived punishments Ego defense: means through which people try to realize personal goals and images Value expression: displaying consumers’ own values to the external world Application of prior knowledge: may lead to both positive and negative effects on affective response

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 The Fishbein Model Affective responses to a brand consist of: The strength or weakness of a consumer’s beliefs about the brand and its attributes The consumer’s evaluation of or feelings toward those attributes

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 The Fishbein Model where, A = Attitude towards a brand B i = Belief that the brand possesses attribute i E i = Evaluation or desirability of attribute i I = attribute 1, 2, … m

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 An Application of the Fishbein Model Research Question: What is the listeners’ attitude towards WXYZ radio station? Measurement scales: Beliefs about specific attributes: For example: Do you believe that radio station WXYZ plays lots of music? Yes No Evaluation weights for each attribute: For example: How appealing is it to you when a radio station plays lots of music? Very appealing Not appealing

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 An Application of the Fishbein Model ATTRIBUTEBiBi EiEi B i x E i Plays lots of music+3 +9 Plays lots of commercials Gives news updates+1 Has interesting DJs SUM+7

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 The Fishbein Model—Changing Affective Responses Change B i Change E i Add a new B i /E i combination

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Belief-Importance Model The Fishbein model looks at brands in isolation The B-I model allows the comparison of affective responses toward competing brands Evoked set of brands—a list of brands we consider prior to making a decision

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 The Belief-Importance Model where, A o = Attitude toward brand (o) B io = Belief that brand (o) does well or poorly when its attribute (i) is compared with those of competitors I i = Importance of attribute (i) in selecting the brand i = attribute 1, 2, … m

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Intention: Behavior Component of Consumer Attitude Affect is not closely linked to actual purchase Behavioral intention—attitude toward brand purchase (an action) A better predictor of behavior than either beliefs or affective responses Behavioral intention models: Theory of Reasoned Action Theory of Trying

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Theory of Reasoned Action Behavior is a direct result of intention Two factors involved in behavioral intention: Attitude toward an act Subjective norm

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Attitude toward the Act where, A act = Attitude toward the act of purchasing a particular brand B i = Belief that performance of a certain behavior—brand purchase—will lead to an anticipated outcome E i = Evaluation of an anticipated outcome, either a positive benefit or the avoidance of a negative consequence i = anticipated outcome 1, 2, … m

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Subjective Norm SN refers to the perception of what other people think we should do with respect to a certain behavior, such as brand purchase, and what the response to this pressure will be SN consists of Normative beliefs: the perceived expectations that significant others think the consumer should or should not behave in a certain way (buy the brand) Motivation to comply: the extent to which the consumer considers the possible opinions of significant others when forming an intent to purchase

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Attitude toward the Act where, SN = Subjective norm—the motivation toward an act as determined by the influence of significant others NB j = Normative beliefs—belief that significant others (j) expect the consumer to engage in an action MCj = Motivation to comply—the extent to which the consumer is motivated to realize the expectations of significant others (j) j = significant other 1, 2, … n

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Combining Act and Subjective Norm where, B = Overt behavior, i.e., brand purchase BI= Behavioral intention or purchase intention A act = Attitude toward purchase of brand SN = Subjective norm W1 and w2 =empirically determined evaluation weights

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Applying the Theory of Reasoned Action to Change Intentions It helps to identify those attributes most important in causing consumers to form positive (or negative) attitudes toward the purchase of a product Changing attitude toward purchase It helps to identify and helps to adjust sources of social pressure and their possible role in intention formation Changing subjective norms

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Theory of Trying The “theory of reasoned action” cannot be used to predict behavior in situations in which consumption takes place over an extended period of time The “theory of trying” explores consumption behavior rather than buying behavior

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Theory of Trying—Application Intention to try Frequency of trying Social norms toward trying Attitude toward trying Attitude toward success together with the expectations of success Attitude toward failure together with expectation of failure Attitude toward the process Attitude toward consumption: Beliefs about consequences Evaluation of consequences Frequency of past trying Recency of past trying

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Applying the Theory of Trying to Change Consumption Behavior Understanding consumption behavior is necessary in order to establish long-term relationships with customers Marketers must encourage, support, and reward the consumption act It helps marketers understand: How people consume products and services Why they consume them or not What will make them consume products in the future If they will consume product in the future What they need to stimulate long-term consumption

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2003 Attitude-Behavior Consistency It refers to the extent to which attitude leads to purchase It is influenced by Consumer factors: access to resources, past experiences with a brand, orientation (action- or state-oriented consumers) Situational factors: time passed, message repetition, social influence Measurement factors: specificity, time of measurement