Consumer Behavior,

Eighth Edition

SCHIFFMAN & KANUK

Chapter 8

Consumer Attitude
Formation and Change

8-1
 A learned
predisposition to
behave in a
consistently
Attitudes
favorable or
unfavorable manner
with respect to a
given object.

8-2
 Attitudes
• Attitudes are not directly observable
• Attitude must be inferred from what people
say or what they do
• Example : determining that a consumer is
specifically using a product and even
recommends it to friends. Here the
consumer possesses a positive attitude

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 What are Attitudes?

• The attitude “object”

• Attitudes are a learned predisposition
• Attitudes have consistency
• Attitudes occur within a situation

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 The attitude “OBJECT”
• It include specific consumption-or marketing
related concepts such as product, product category
,brand, service, possessions, product use, causes or
issues, people, ads, internet site, price, medium
• Example: in conducting attitude research we tend
to be object specific. i.e consumer attitude towards
three major brands of cell phones

8-5
 ATTITUDES ARE LEARNED
PREDISPOSITIONS
• Attitudes are always learned
• Attitudes are relevant to purchase behavior
• Attitudes reflect either favorable or an
unfavorable evaluation of the attitude object
• Attitudes have a motivational quality
• Attitudes may repel the consumer away
from a particular behavior

8-6
 ATTITUDES HAVE
CONSISTENCY
• Attitudes are relatively consistent with the
behavior they reflect
• Attitudes are not necessarily permanent
• possible situational influences on consumer
attitudes and behavior must be considered

8-7
 Structural Models of Attitudes

• Tricomponent Attitude Model

• Muliattribute Attitude Model
• The Trying-to-Consume Model
• Attitude-toward-the-Ad Model

8-8
 Figure 8.2 A Simple Representation of
the Tricomponent Attitude Model

Conation

Affect
Cognition

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 The Tricomponent Model
• Cognitive Component
– The knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by a
combination of direct experience with the attitude
object and related information from various sources.
• This knowledge and resulting perceptions
commonly take the form of beliefs.
• The consumer believes that the attitude object
possesses various attributes and that specific
behavior will lead to a specific outcomes.
• Example. A consumer's belief system for two
methods of broad band internet access
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 The Tricomponent Model
• Affective Component
– A consumer’s emotions or feelings about a
particular product or brand.
– The extent to which the individual rates the
attitude object as “favorable or unfavorable”,
“good or bad”

8-11
 The Tricomponent Model
• 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.
– Conative component is an expresssion of
consumer's intention to buy.
– Examples: I definitely/probably/am uncertain
whether will buy it etc

8-12
 Attitude models that
examine the
Multiattribute composition of
Attitude consumer attitudes
Models in terms of selected
product attributes or
beliefs.

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 Multiattribute Attitude Models
• The attitude-toward-object model
– Attitude is function of evaluation of product-
specific beliefs and evaluations.
– Consumers generally have favorable attitudes
towards those brands that they believe have an
adequate level of attributes that they evaluate as
+ive, otherwise -ive.

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 A model that proposes
that a consumer’s
attitude toward a
specific behavior is a
Attitude-
function of how
Toward-
strongly he or she
Behavior
believes that the action
Model
will lead to a specific
outcome (either
favorable or
unfavorable).
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 A model that proposes that
a consumer forms various
feelings (affects) and
Attitude- judgments (cognitions) as
Toward- the result of exposure to
the-Ad an advertisement, which,
Model in turn, affect the
consumer’s attitude
toward the ad and attitude
toward the brand.

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 Figure 8.6 A Conception of the
Relationship among Elements in an
Attitude-Toward-the-Ad Model

Exposure to an Ad

Judgments about Feelings from the

the Ad (Cognition) Ad (Affect)

Beliefs about the Attitude toward

Brand the Ad

Attitude toward
the Brand
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 Issues in Attitude Formation

• How attitudes are learned

• Sources of influence on attitude formation
• Personality factors

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 Strategies of Attitude Change

• Changing the Basic Motivational Function

• Associating the Product With an Admired
Group or Event
• Resolving Two Conflicting Attitudes
• Altering Components of the Multiattribute
Model
• Changing Beliefs About Competitors’
Brands
8-19
 Holds that discomfort or
dissonance occurs when
Cognitive
a consumer holds
Dissonance
conflicting thoughts
Theory
about a belief or an
attitude object.

8-20
 Cognitive dissonance
that occurs after a
consumer has made a
purchase
commitment.
Postpurchase
Consumers resolve
Dissonance
this dissonance
through a variety of
strategies designed to
confirm the wisdom
of their choice.
8-21