1. ATTITUDE FORMATION AND CHANGEBY
DR S SENA
SENIOR LECTURER
BUSINESS STUDIES DEPT

2. What is an attitude?
A learned predisposition to respond to an object or a class of objects in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way.
Attitudes are relatively enduring.
Attitudes are situation-related.

3. Functions of Attitudes
Utilitarian function
Ego-defensive function
Knowledge function
Value-expressive function

4. How do we form attitudes?
Three different paths to attitude formation:
Attitudes are created by first creating beliefs.
Consumer beliefs are the knowledge that a consumer has about objects, their attributes, and the benefits provided by the objects.
Consumer beliefs are created by processing information--cognitive learning.

5. Forming Attitudes, continued
Attitudes are created directly.
Behavioral learning
Mere exposure
Attitudes are created by first creating behaviors.
Consumers respond to strong situational or environmental forces, and after engaging in the behavior, form attitudes about the experience.

6. Structural Model of Attitude
Tricomponent Attitude Model

7. Tricomponent Model Cognitive component Affective component
The knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by a combination of direct experience with the attitude object and related information from various sources.
Affective component
The emotions or feelings associate with a particular product or brand.
Conative component
The likelihood or tendency that an individual will undertake a specific action or behave in a particular way with regard to the attitude object.

8. Measurement Models of Attitude
Multiattribute model
Fishbein and Azjen
Measures attitude score using consumers’ beliefs and evaluations about attributes of the attitude object.
Several different contexts in which attitude scores are measured.
Attitude-toward-the-object model
Attitude-toward-the-behavior model

9. Understanding the Multiattribute Model
All relevant product attributes, based on consumers’ perceptions, need to be included in the model to provide dimensionality.
Even though there may be several relevant attributes, they are not generally equally important. The importance weight of the formula allows adjustment of the importance of each attribute individually.

10. Understanding the Multiattribute Model...
Beliefs represent the extent to which each product offers satisfaction for the attribute in question.
Compensatory model.

11. Advantages of Multiattribute Model
Clearly shows what is important to consumers about a given product.
Shows how well brands do relative to each other.
Shows how well a specific brand does with respect to attributes perceived as important to consumers.

12. Weakness of Multiattribute Model
Not a perfect predictor of consumer behavior
Lots of variables determine behavior in addition to attitude:
Involvement
Friends
Family
Financial resources
Availability of product

13. Theory of Reasoned Action
Extends multiattribute model; tries to compensate for the inability of the multiattribute model to predict behavior.
Assumes that consumers consciously consider the consequences of alternative behaviors under consideration and choose the one that leads to the most desirable consequences.
The outcomes of this reasoned choice process is an intention to engage in a selected behavior--behavioral intention.

14. Attitude-toward-the-Ad Model
Very specific to understanding the impact of advertising on consumer attitudes about a particular product or brand.
Exposure to advertising affects attitude-toward-the ad and attitude-toward-the brand.

15. Attitude-toward-the-Ad Model
Very specific to understanding the impact of advertising on consumer attitudes about a particular product or brand.
Exposure to advertising directly affects beliefs about the ad and brand, and feelings about the ad.
Exposure to advertising indirectly affects attitude toward the brand and attitude toward the ad.

16. Exposure to ad
Judgments about
the ad (cognition)
Feelings from
the ad (affect)
Beliefs about
the brand
Attitude toward
the ad
Attitude toward
the brand

17. How Can Marketers Change Attitudes?
Alter components of multiattribute model
Increase belief ratings for the brand
Increase the importance of a key attribute
Decrease the importance of a weak attribute
Add an entirely new attribute
Decrease belief ratings for competitive brands

18. Changing attitudes…. Change beliefs and attitudes through persuasion
Elaboration likelihood model of persuasion (ELM)

19. Motivation to
Elaborate
Ability to
Elaborate
Amount of
Elaboration
High
Low
Central
Route to
Persuasion
Peripheral
Route to
Persuasion
Message
Arguments
Determine
persuasion
Peripheral
Cues
Determine
persuasion

20. High-involvement
processing
Cognitive
responses
Belief and
attitude
change
Behavior
change
Central
route
Communication
(source,message,
channel)
Attention and
comprehension
Peripheral
route
Low-involvement
processing
Belief
change
Behavior
change
Attitude
change

21. Changing attitudes... Changing attitudes directly though behavior
Cognitive Dissonance Theories
Balance Theory
Social Judgment Theory
Attribution Theory

22. Balance Theory
Consumers strive for consistency between interconnected attitudes.
Marketers can influence attitudes by creating imbalance within the target of persuasion--motivates consumer to change one or more of the interconnected attitudes to restore balance.

23. Social Judgment Theory
Consumers use attitudes as a frame of reference to judge new information.
If high involvement:
Narrow latitude of acceptance
Wide latitude of rejection
Assimilation effect
Contrast effect
If low involvement:
Wide latitude of acceptance
Wide latitude of noncommitment

24. Attribution Theory
Consumers make inferences about behaviors, assign causality--blame or credit--to events on the basis of their or others’ behaviors.
In the process of assigning causality, form attitudes.
Marketing implications:
Offer high quality products
Advertising should emphasize quality.
Moderate-sized incentives.