Defining attitude

Schiffman and Kanuk defined attitude as “a learned

predisposition to behave in a consistently favourable or
unfavourable way with respect to a given object “.

The main characteristics of attitudes are indicated by the key

words in the definition: learned, predisposition, behave.

As attitudes are ‘mental positions’, they cannot be observed

directly. Marketers must infer attitudes through research
methods that require consumers to express opinions

Attitudes occur within a situation and that the situation can,

and will, influence the relationship between attitude and
behaviour. A consumer can have different attitudes towards the
same product depending on the situation.
The main characteristics of attitudes are:

• Attitudes are learned from personal experience,

information provided by others, and market controlled sources,
in particular exposure to mass media.

• Attitudes are predispositions. A predisposition is an

inclination or tendency towards something; attitudes have
motivational qualities.

• Attitudes have a relationship with behaviour. For

marketers, the behaviour of primary interest is product
purchase.

For example. When kellog’s was introduced in India they had to

study the behavioural patters of the Indians so as to change
the attitude of people towards cornflakes.

• Attitudes are consistent. However, this does not

necessarily mean that they are permanent; attitudes can
change.

For example when Maagi was launched the attitude of Indians

towards noodles was negative but with a strong strategy Maagi
created a very strong base and made a mark for itself by
changing the attitude of the consumers.
• Attitudes are directed towards an object(product,
advertisement, media, retailer, product category, features etc)
and are very specific reactions to that object.

For example : one may have a positive attitude to buy a pizza

but one may have a negative attitude towards Domino’s Pizza in
which case the attitude toward the retailer is negative.

one may like ‘Nike’ but don’t like ‘Adidas’. The term ‘object’
includes specific consumption- or marketing-related concepts,
such as product, product category, brand, service, possessions,
product use, advertisement, price, medium, or retailer.

• Attitudes may be situationally determined.

For example, one may really like a McDonald's hamburger for

lunch, but one may not want to eat one for breakfast.
Similarly, one may have a positive approach towards the brand
Nike but may go in for Bata shoes due to the price. The
purchase or usage situation may affect the intensity or change
the attitude. .

.
• Internal and external information sources
Information about a specific product class or brand is
gathered from a variety of sources. Some information is
already stored in our memory as a result of past cognitions or
experiences. Other information we gather ourselves, either
through conscious information gathering.

For example, reading consumer magazines, attending trade

shows, talking to industry or government experts; or by more
passive means, such as watching television, or reading a poster
on the wall or flyover.

We also receive information from those around us and by

observing their actions, especially our families in their daily
consumption routines. Marketers, through advertising,
packaging and point of purchase displays, are constantly
providing consumers with information about their own and their
competitors’ products.

• Belief base
All this information forms our belief base — called cognitions —
about the particular product. Marketing researchers are
constantly amazed by the volume of information consumers have
about different products, from price variability, to product
packaging details, to store shelf position.
• Salient beliefs
Only a small number of beliefs are significant enough to an
individual consumer to be used in forming the attitude. These are
referred to as salient beliefs. Imagine the potential information
overload if all the beliefs about a product had to be internally
evaluated before an attitude was formed! It is important to
recognise that those beliefs considered salient can change over
time and are individual in nature. What one consumer considers to
be a salient belief may not be considered as such by another.
Many marketing strategies are designed to introduce new salient
beliefs or change the importance of existing salient beliefs.

For example: one may know that Colgate toothpaste prevents

cavities, contains calcium, is manufactured by the Colgate-
Palmolive Company, , has tartar control, comes in a gel or paste, is
in a red, white and blue package, comes in a tube or pump, comes
in mint and regular flavours, gets teeth clean, and is used by your
mother and father. However, you may consider only the fact that
it fights cavities, and comes in a gel format in a pump to be
significant or of importance. Only these three beliefs would
become considered as salient beliefs.

• Attitude
Salient beliefs are evaluated as either positive or negative, and
then bundled together to form the attitude. Obviously, some
weighting occurs. Even though you may be evaluating five
salient beliefs, perhaps you consider one of them to be more
important, and therefore, your evaluation of that salient belief
will carry more weight in the ultimate attitude.

For example : A Sony Ericsson phone may have a 3.2mega pixel

camera , 2gb memory and a music player which are all features
 likes by one. but if one has a tight budget then cost may
become a very important criteria or a salient belief.

• Set placement
Overall attitude determines set placement within the awareness
set. Products we have a favourable attitude towards form the
evoked set, from which purchase decisions are made. For truly
brand loyal consumers, often there is only one product in the
evoked set, or possibly a backup, in case of emergencies like
stock-outs. Other consumers may have a number of products in
the evoked set which are prioritised depending on availability —
first, second and third choice, or on situational variables.

For example, one may buy a Cadbury Dairy Milk for eating a
chocolate on regular basis but for giving someone one may buy a
bar of Lintz chocolates..

 Products we neither like nor dislike — that is we are ambivalent

towards but are still aware of them — fall into the inert set.

 Products towards which we have a negative attitude fall into

the inept set. Negative attitudes are usually, but not always,
based on actual product usage.

For example, if an advertisement creates a certain set of

expectations that the consumer believes the product cannot or
will not deliver, a negative attitude may be developed towards the
product. Products in the inept set are not considered for
purchase. Not only do we not consider the product for purchase,
but we may actively discourage others from trying or continuing
to purchase the product.
• Post-purchase evaluation
Once products are purchased and used, post-purchase
evaluation is conducted by the consumer.

 Did the product measure up to my expectations?

 Did it have all the features I expected or wanted?

 Did it satisfy my needs?

For example : one may buy Dove due to its its ¼

moisturiser but after purchase felt it dissolves easily and
stopped purchasing. In this case the Dove did not match
up to the expectations of the consumer. It may also
happen that it did not make the sikn soft as promised in
the ads in this case the need of the consumer is not
fulfilled.

The results of the post-purchase evaluation act as feedback to all

components of the attitude formation model. One may find that
the product has a feature you did not know about (your belief
base is increased); a feature that you find quite significant or
important (this belief now becomes a salient belief); and now you
like the product even more (attitude —> set placement —>
purchase behaviour).

Feedback is a continual process, as new information and

experiences are assimilated. Remember from our discussion of
defense mechanisms that you may also distort information to
make it consistent with your prior expectations.

This model presents a one way flow with feedback loops, which
assumes that attitudes are initiated from beliefs. However, many
would argue that behaviour can precede attitude.
For example, one may buy a new brand of shampoo because of a
special coupon promotion; one may like its built-in conditioner, and
thus develop a positive attitude towards it.
Models assist us in describing attitudes. Once we have a
framework to use in describing attitudes, we are in a better
position, as marketers, to explain, and hopefully predict the
attitudes of our target consumer, and ultimately their purchase
behaviour.

Each model takes a different view of the number of component

parts of an attitude, of how they are arranged, and how the
component parts interrelate. No one model provides all the
answers to our question ‘What is an attitude and how is it formed’.
At best, models can just help.
We will review four different attitude models:

• Tri-component attitude model:

It portrays attitudes as having three component parts: cognitive
(I think/know/believe), affective (I feel), and conative (I
do/intend to do).

The tri-component attitude model considers all three components

T
to be present in an attitude, with each component playing an
important role in attitude formation and having the potential
to influence the overall attitude

•
• Single-component attitude model:

which focuses primarily on the affective component, with the

cognitive and conative components playing, at best, a secondary
role.

Single-component attitude models focus almost exclusively on the

affective component. While the modified single-component
models do include the cognitive and conative components, these
are only viewed as playing a supportive or secondary role. The
affective component is still judged to be the prime determinant
of attitude or the ‘essence of the attitude’. These models have
their limitations and cannot provide insight into ‘why’ a consumer
has a particular attitude, as they ignore the cognitive component
which addresses consumer knowledge and beliefs about a product.
Nor can they measure behavioural intent — just because a
consumer has favourable feelings or emotions towards a product
does not guarantee purchase. Despite these limitations, there
has been a significant amount of interest by researchers and
academics.

• Multi-attribute attitude model:

It focuses on selected product attributes or beliefs. We will
discuss the Fishbein Theory of Reasoned Action Model.

The multi-attribute attitude models, in particular the models

advanced by Martin Fishbein (1973), consider all three
components. The attitude-towards-object model looks at
both the cognitive and affective components: with the b or
belief variable representing the consumer’s cognition, and
the e variable representing the affective component. The
attitude-towards-behaviour model looks at behavioural
intent, the conative component, as well as the affective
component. Fishbein’s Theory of Reasoned Action Model
combines all three components (1973).
• Attitude-towards-the-ad model: which focuses on the
influence of advertising on attitudes.

Rel
models are based on the belief that consumers develop attitudes

A
towards the advertisement in addition to their attitude towards
the product. These models focus primarily on the influence of
advertising, cognitive and affective components are addressed.
Behavioural intent, the conative component, is not formally
addressed in these models.
Knowing how attitudes are formed is the first step. However, in
developing marketing strategies, more information is required.
We review classical and operant conditioning and cognitive
learning theories to determine how the process of learning
attitudes can be applied to attitude formation and change in our
marketing strategies. We then look at various general attitude
change strategies and some specific to the Fishbein attitude-
towards-object model.
One of the key characteristics of attitude is ‘learned’. If
attitudes are learned, then obviously marketers are interested in
how attitudes are learned. Again, you can see the
interdisciplinary nature of the study of consumer behaviour as
marketers use the information gained from psychologists and
educators, and apply the learning theories to the learning of
attitudes.

A consumer moves from having no attitude — possibly because

they have no knowledge of or experience with the product — to
having an attitude, regardless of whether it is positive, negative
or ambivalent. However, learning is not a finite process, it is
continuous. The same learning theories that are applied to the
learning of an attitude can be applied to attitude change. Let’s
briefly review the three main learning theories and consider how
they can be applied to the learning of attitudes.

•
• Classical conditioning
Marketers use this learning theory when they associate their
product with a stimulus which elicits a favourable response with
their target market. They hope for a positive attitude towards
the product, increasing the chance of purchase.

In terms of attitude creation, the

 ‘stimulus’ could be a brand name.

For example in the case of family branding and line extensions,

the new product is linked to the favourable attitude consumers
have towards the company’s existing products or brand name. Like
in case of Dove the premium image of the brand is maintained.
similarly for Maagi the taste factor is mainted even in the ‘dal
atta noodles’.

 The ‘stimulus’ can also be a person.

By using celebrities, marketers attempt to associate the product

with the positive characteristics, recognition and goodwill of the
celebrity. This can be especially useful in new product
introductions where, at best, consumers have an ambivalent or
neutral attitude. However, marketers must use classical
conditioning, especially the use of celebrity endorsers, with
caution.

For example Lux has always used renounced celebrities to assure

its consumers of its benefits. Similarly Olay is advertised by
Sushmita Sen .
• Instrumental conditioning
We ‘learn’ positive attitudes by receiving positive reinforcement
from use of the product. Consumers may purchase a product
towards which they have a neutral attitude. Perhaps it was the
only product available; they were enticed by a price reduction or
premium offer; or they were curious about a new product. In this
case, the reinforcement received through using the product
determines their attitude. If the reinforcement is positive —
they liked the product — their attitude will probably move from
neutral to positive.

For example when livon was introduced many consumers bought

its because it was a new product and many just wanted to try it.

• Cognitive learning theory

Earlier we studied the concept of involvement, that is, the
importance of the product to the consumer. For high involvement
products, knowledge and beliefs are extremely important in the
formation of attitudes.

Cognitive learning theory suggests that the more information a

consumer has about a product, the more likely they are to form an
opinion, either positive or negative. This is a clear message to
marketers: provide consumers with information about product
features and benefits. Remember though that consumers can,
and do, suffer from information overload; marketers must ensure
that they provide information about salient beliefs. The three
most important salient beliefs tend to dominate in formation of
attitude.
All marketers are concerned with maintaining positive attitudes in
their current consumers; changing the neutral attitudes of
ambivalent consumers to positive attitudes, hoping to increase
market share; and, if necessary, changing negative attitudes to at
least neutral ones.

Marketers have found that weakly held attitudes are easier to

change than strongly held attitudes.

Consumers tend to develop strongly held attitudes in areas they

consider to be of great personal importance, that is, of high
involvement. Strongly held attitudes can be either positive or
negative, with the product falling in the evoked or the inept set.
In areas of limited or questionable importance, consumers tend to
be ambivalent or neutral, or have weakly held attitudes that are
susceptible to change. These products would fall in the inert set.
There are six categories of attitude
change strategies:

Changing the basic motivational function.

These strategies are based on the theory that attitudes serve
four basic functions:

 Utilitarian

This function deals with obtaining a reward in order to avoid

punishment i.e changing attitudes in favour of a product by
showing people the utility benefit of the product or service .

For Example:
 Clorex disinfecting spray works for 24hrs and kills
99.99%bacteria.

 Ego-defensive:

Many people want to protect their self image and want to replace
their uncertainty with a sense of security and personal
confidence.

For example:

Ads for cosmetics and personal care products come under this
category.
 value-expressive
It is an expression of the consumers general values , culture
lifestyle and outlook. It reflects their orientation.

For example: Santro (Santro Wale)

 knowledge.

It simplifies decision making by making the consumer aware of the

product features benefits and its edge over competitors.

For example: A tooth brush with tongue cleaner , Colgate tooth

paste with active salt, Garnier moisturiser with spf 15.
By changing the basic motivational function, the attitude towards
the product can be changed.

• Associating the product with a special group, event or

cause. Attitudes can be altered by indicating to consumers
the product’s relationship to particular groups, events or
causes. Concern for the environment has been one cause
used recently.

For example: Whisper is associated with project ‘DRISHTI’

where Re 1 on purchase of ever pack of Whisper or Ariel
goes to the National Association for the Blind.

• Relating to conflicting attitudes. Consumers like harmony

— they do not like conflict. If they can be shown that their
attitude towards a product is in conflict with another attitude,
they may be induced to change one of the attitudes.

For example : Nike shoes are very expensive but also durable and
effective if this two attitude were to compete in a
consumers mind and the durability factor would be a
concern for the consumer the it is possible to change his
attitude towards the brand from negative to positive.

• Altering components in the multi-attribute model. In

these strategies, marketers attempt to change the evaluation
of attributes by upgrading or downgrading significant
attributes; change brand beliefs by introducing new
information; and by adding an attribute, or by changing the
overall brand rating.

For example : Rin Bar becomes Surf Excel Bar

• Changing beliefs about competing brands. In this strategy,
we directly compare our product with the competition in an
attempt to change consumer beliefs about both products.

For example: Sprite compares itself to Mountain Dew.

• The elaboration likelihood model.

This model suggests that consumer attitudes can be changed by

either central or peripheral routes to persuasion. In the
central route, attitude change occurs because the consumer
seeks and evaluates additional information about the
product. In this case, motivation levels are high and the
consumer is willing to invest the time and effort to gather
and evaluate the information, indicating a high level of
involvement. Multi-attribute models are based on the
central route to persuasion as attitudes are believed to be
formed on the basis of important product
attributes/features and brand beliefs. In the peripheral
route, consumers are either unwilling or unable to seek
additional product information. Involvement is low, so
marketers must offer secondary inducements such as price
reductions or premiums in an attempt to induce attitude
change. More attention is paid in advertisement design to
the credibility of the message source (spokesperson or
endorser) and his or her attractiveness.

For example : Aishwarya Rai ex brand ambassador for Nakshatra

Diamonds, Free Tazoos given in cheetos pack,

All of these strategies take the traditional view that attitude

precedes behaviour and use the relationship between attitude and
behaviour to effect attitude change.
When faced with negative market research numbers, stagnant or
slipping market share, or active competitors, marketers develop
strategies that attempt to change or intensify attitudes.
Marketers must realise that attitudes change not only in response
to their efforts but also in response to the introduction of new or
improved products by themselves or the competition; the addition
of new consumer experiences, either direct or indirect; the
marketing efforts of the competition; and how the product
performs after purchase.

The models of attitude formation and attitude change strategies

we have used so far have been based on the traditional view that
attitude precedes behaviour: we develop attitudes towards the
products from a variety of sources (past and direct experience,
personal influence and exposure to mass media), and that this
attitude determines behaviour or purchase. In this section, we
review theories which suggest that behaviour can precede
attitude formation and actually cause the formation of new
attitudes or change in existing attitudes.
• Cognitive dissonance theory
suggests that consumers experience discomfort, called
dissonance, when they are confronted with new information about
a belief or attitude that is in conflict with the original
information. This often happens after a purchase, when it is
called post-purchase dissonance. The product was purchased with
a set of expectations (beliefs). Following the actual use of the
product, the consumer may find that the initial set of
expectations was not met, or the consumer may question whether
they made the right choice given the features and benefits of the
products not chosen. In either case, the consumer is faced with
new information that is in conflict with the original beliefs. In an
effort to reduce the discomfort or dissonance, the original
attitude may be changed. If that happens, then behaviour —
purchase, use and evaluation — has led to a change in attitude.
Critics of cognitive dissonance theory would suggest that beliefs
and performance expectations about the product formed an
attitude, which prompted the purchase. Attitude preceded
behaviour. This is a ‘chicken and egg’ debate. However, the fact
that we cannot determine which one is ‘right’ does not mean that
we dismiss both. In this case, the traditional theories of attitude
formation and cognitive dissonance theory can actually be
combined. These theories provide information about how the
original attitude, which prompts purchase, was formed. Cognitive
dissonance theory shows how post-purchase evaluation and use of
the product (behaviour) can act as feedback to the original
attitude, often causing the original attitude to change.
• Attribution theory
suggests that attitudes are formed and changed based on the
consumer’s interpretation of their own behaviour and experiences.
Consumers make inferences about their own behaviour and that of
others in an attempt to determine ‘why’ they behaved the way
they did. One of the meanings of the word ‘attribute’ is ‘caused
by’. Attribution theory suggests that attitudes are caused by
behaviour.

Attribution theory suggests that consumers form or change their

attitudes based on their assessment of their own behaviour, the
behaviour of others, or the performance of a product. Self-
perception theory, a component of attribution theory, discusses
internal and external attributes. ‘Who or what is responsible for
a successful outcome?’ Consumer research indicates whether the
target market attributes success to internal factors (the
consumer, their skill, competence and hard work) or external
factors (the ingredients, environment and ‘luck’). This information
provides direction for marketing strategies.

Consumers often gather additional information in an attempt to

confirm attributes they have made about products or people.
They might use the criteria of distinctiveness, consistency over
time, consistency over modality, and consensus in determining
whether their attributes are correct.
• Self-perception theory
suggests that consumers develop attitudes as they review and
make judgements about their own behaviour. ‘I always choose
chocolate for dessert, so I must really like chocolate.’ However,
attribution theory suggests that we also review and make
judgements about the behaviour of others, called attributions
towards others. This has particular significance to the role of
salespeople in the purchase decision. If a consumer attributes
sincerity to the salesperson’s comments, their attitude towards
the product will be positive: ‘The product must have superior
features like the salesperson says.’ However, if they view the
salesperson as only being interested in their sales commission — a
negative attribute — this might negatively influence their
attitude towards the product. ‘The salesperson is only
recommending that product because it is more expensive and
their commission will be higher.’

UNIT SUMMARY

In this unit we studied attitude, one of the internal influences on

the consumer's mind. We determined the main characteristics of
attitudes and investigated a basic model of attitude formation
that looked at how information from internal and external sources
form the overall belief base, how salient beliefs are determined
from this belief base, how salient beliefs and their evaluation
form the attitude, how the attitude determines set placement,
which influences purchase behaviour. Post-purchase evaluation
acts as feedback to all stages in the process.

We then reviewed some specific structural models of attitude

formation: the single-component, tri-component, multi-attribute,
and attitude-towards-the-ad models of attitude formation that
are built on the premise that attitude precedes behaviour. We
also reviewed models that view behaviour as preceding attitude,
cognitive dissonance and attribution theory.

Knowing how attitudes are formed is the first step. However, in

developing marketing strategies, more information is required.
We reviewed classical and operant conditioning and cognitive
learning theories to determine how the process of learning
attitudes can be applied to attitude formation and change in our
marketing strategies.
 SUBMITTED BY

MANSI MATHUR

RN 26