ATTITUDES Attitudes are learned predispositions that project a positive or negative behaviour consistently toward various objects of the world. Attitudes influence the way we think and behave and are therefore important for the marketers who study them to understand how a consumer behaves.

Attitudes have certain characteristics. - Attitudes are formed as we grow up, based on the environment in which we grow up. - Attitudes can be either of a high or low degree and the intensity depends on the strength of conviction with which the person believes in them. - Attitudes serve various functions such as utilitarian function, value expressive function, Ego-defense function, and knowledge function.

Attitude models were developed by psychiatrists to understand the relationship between attitudes a human being and behaviour These models help the marketer in understanding how attitudes influence a person's behaviour as a consumer. These models are: Tri-component model, Multi-attribute model, Theory of trying to consume, and Attitude toward the ad model. Attitudes are formed through classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, and cognitive theory.

Attitudes are measured using the Semantic differential scale and Likert's scale to understand how the consumer might behave toward a particular product. While it is generally accepted that attitudes influence behaviour, there are some theories that state that behaviour precedes attitudes. Such theories are cognitive dissonance theory, self- perception theory, social judgment theory, and balance theory.

Attitudes toward a product can be changed by highlighting new functions of the product, or by associating them with celebrities, by changing the beliefs a consumer has regarding the products, or by getting the consumer more involved in the product.

Structural Models of Attitudes Motivated by a desire to understand the relationship between attitudes and behavior, psychologists have sought to construct models that capture the underlying dimensions of an attitude.

Multiattribute Attitude Models Multiattribute attitude models portray consumers’ attitudes with regard to an attitude object (e.g., a product, service, direct-mail catalog, or cause or an issue) as a function of consumers’ perception and assessment of the key attributes or belief held with regard to the particular attitude object. three of the main multiattribute models are the attitude-toward-object model, the attitude-toward-behavior model, and the theory-of reasoned-action model.

The attitude towards objects model This model deals with the attitude of consumers towards a product (or service) category or specific brands. 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.

Consumers generally have favorable attitudes toward those brands that they believe have an adequate level of attributes that they evaluate as positive, and they have unfavorable attitude toward those brands they feel do not have an adequate level of desired attributes or have too many negative or undesired attributes.

The Attitude-Toward-Behavior Model The attitude-toward-behavior model is designed to capture the individual’s attitude toward behaving or acting with respect to an object rather than the attitude toward the object itself. The appeal of the attitude-toward-behavior model is that it seems to correspond somewhat more closely to actual behavior than does the attitude-toward-object model.

Theory-of-Reasoned-Action Model The theory-of-reasoned-action (TRA) studies intention. To understand intention we also need to measure the subjective norms that influence an individual’s intention to act. A subjective norm can be measured directly by assessing a consumer’s feelings as to what relevant others (family, friends, roommates, coworkers) would think of the action being contemplated; that is, would they look favorably or unfavorably on the anticipated action?

Theory of Trying-To-Consume Model The theory of try-to consume is designed to account for the many cases in which the action or outcome is not certain but instead reflects the consumer’s attempts to consume (i.e., purchase). A consumer may sometimes buy a tie just to make it go with a newly purchased suit.

Attitude-Toward-The-AD Models In an effort to understand the impact of advertising or some other promotional vehicle (e.g., a catalog) on consumer attitudes toward particular products or brand, considerable attention has been paid to developing what has been referred to as attitude- toward-the-ad models. These feelings and judgments in turn affect the consumer’s attitude toward the ad and beliefs about the brand secured 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.

Attitude Formation How Attitudes are Learned When we speak of the formation of an attitude, we refer to the shift from having no attitude toward a given object to having some attitude toward it. The shift from no attitude to an attitude (i.e., the attitude formation) is a result of learning. Sources of Influence on Attitude Formation The formation of consumer attitudes is strongly influenced by personal experience, the influence of family and friends, direct marketing, mass media, and the Internet.

Personality Factors Personality also plays a critical role in attitude formation. For example, individuals with a high need for cognition (i.e., those who crave information and enjoy thinking) are likely to form positive attitudes in response to ads or direct mail that are rich in product-related information. On the other hand, consumers who are relatively low in need for cognition are more likely to form positive attitudes in response to ads that feature an attractive model or well-known celebrity.

Strategies of Attitude Change Changing the Basic Motivational Function An effective strategy for changing consumer attitudes toward a product or brand is to make particular needs prominent. One method for changing motivation is known as the functional approach. According to this approach, attitudes can be classified in terms of four functions the utilitarian function, the ego-defensive function, the value-expressive function, and the knowledge function.

The Ego-Defensive Function Most people want to protect their self-images from inner feelings of doubt-they want to replace their uncertainly with a sense of security and personal confidence. Ads for cosmetics and fashion clothing, by acknowledging this need, increase both their relevance to the consumer and the likelihood of a favorable attitude change by offering reassurance to the consumer’s self-concept. It is important for a brand attempting this approach to use appropriate imagery in the execution of an advertisement.

The Value-Expressive Function Attitudes are an expression or reflection of the consumer’s general values, lifestyle, and outlook. If a consumer segment generally holds a positive attitude toward owning the latest designer jeans, then their attitudes towards a p;air of designer jeans are likely to reflect that orientation. Similarly, if a segment of consumers has a positive attitude toward being “high tech”, then their attitude towards thin wall-mountable HDTV sets are likely to reflect this view point.

The Knowledge Function Individuals generally have a strong need to know and understand the people and things they encounter. The consumer’s “need to know”, a cognitive need, is important to marketers concerned with product positioning. Indeed, many product and brand positioning are attempts to satisfy the need to know and to improve the consumer’s attitude towards the brand by emphasizing its advantages over competitive brands. Targeting this function, marketers can explain the advantages of certain brands to make brands competitive. In a competitive context, brands get associated with several features and benefits. This approach of attitude creation is useful in durable categories like TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines.

Altering Components of the Multiattribute Model Changing the Relative Evaluation of Attributes Changing Brand Beliefs Adding an Attribute Changing the Overall Brand Rating Changing Components of The Multiattribute Model as Needed Changing Beliefs about Competitors’ Brands

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) According to this model the attitude formation or attitude change process depends on the amount and nature of elaboration and or processing of relevant information that occurs in response to a persuasive message. High elaboration means the receiver engages in careful consideration, thinking and evaluation of the information and arguments contained in the message.

Low elaboration occurs when the receiver does not engage in active information processing or thinking but rather makes but makes inferences about the message based on hints. The ELM model depends o two -motivation and ability to process the message. Motivation to process the message depends on such factors as involvement,personal relevance and individuals’ needs and arousal levels.

Ability depends on the individuals’s knowledge, intellectual ability and opportunity to process the message.

ELM model proposes that consumer attitudes are changed by two distinctly different “routes to persuasion”: a central route or a peripheral route. The central route is particularly relevant to attitude change when a consumer’s motivation or ability to assess the attitude object is high; that is, attitude change occurs because the consumer actively seeks out information relevant to the attitude object itself.

The Ideal Point Model (IPM) Given the diversity of segments and preferences in the emerging market (with associated demographics and psychographics), the ideal point model (IPM) is used to explore the different dimensions associated with attitudes toward existing brands. This opens up several possibilities for brand managers to segment the market based on attitudinal aspects. Practicing marketing managers find the IPM model effective in measuring attitudes. The model captures consumer perception on the “ideal” brand (with ideal features) and compares their perception on existing brands.

Cognitive dissonance theory According to this theory, discomfort or dissonance occurs when a consumer holds conflicting thoughts about a belief or an object. For eg. When consumers have made a commitment-made a down payment or placed an order for a product, particularly an expensive one- they often begin to feel cognitive dissonance i.e. doubts whether they have made the right choice or not specially when they think of the products whcih they did not select for buying.

When cognitive dissonance occurs after a purchase, it is called post purchase dissonance. Because purchase decisions often require some amount of compromise, post purchase dissonance is quite normal. Nevertheless, it is likely to leave consumers with an uneasy feeling about their prior beliefs or actions – a feeling that they would seek to resolve by changing their attitude to conform to their behavior.

In the case of post purchase dissonance, attitude change is frequently an outcome of an action or behavior. The conflicting thoughts and dissonant information following a purchase are prime factors that induce consumers to change their attitudes about a particular product.what makes postpurchase dissonance relevant to marketing strategists is the premise that dissonance propels consumers to reduce the unpleasant feelings created by the rival thoughts. Attribution Theory As a group of loosely interrelated social psychological principal, attribution theory attempts to explain how people assign causality (e.g., blame or credit) to events on the basis of either their own behavior or the behavior of others. In other words, a person might say. “I contributed to the CRY because it really helps children in need.”

Foot-In-The-Door Technique Self-perception researchers have explored situations in which consumer compliance with a minor request affects subsequent compliance with more substantial request. This strategy, which is commonly referred to as the foot-in-the- technique.

Self-perception Theory Of the various perspectives on attribution theory that have been proposed, self-perception theory – individuals’ inference or judgments as to the cause of their own behavior – is a good beginning point for a discussion of attribution. In terms of consumer behavior, self-perception theory suggests that attitudes develop as consumers look at and make judgments about their own behavior