Attitudes

Knowledge of attitudes is very crucial to a marketer. Attitudes

provide information that can be used to evaluate marketing
actions i.e. how to choose and segment markets?

Objectives

At the end of the session you should be able to:

1. Understand attitude formation.
2. Attitude behaviour relationship
3. Attitude measurement
Key ideas:

An attitude can be defined as a

predisposition to respond in a consistently
favourable or unfavourable manner with
respect to a given object.
Four main elements emerge from this definition:

Attitudes are learned: They are not innate we develop them as

we grow up.

Predisposition to respond: Attitudes cannot be seen. The

existence of attitudes is indicated by the manner in which we
behave.

Consistently favourable or unfavourable: Attitudes can be seen

as an organising mechanism within us that help us to respond to
a given situation/s consistently (either favourably or
unfavourably) over a period of time.

Attitudes are aimed towards an object.

There are three components of Attitudes:

Cognitive or knowledge

Affective

Conative

These components can be directly linked to adoption

models. There are a number of such models but we are
considering two that have been frequently used.
There are three components of Attitudes:

AIDA model Hierarchy of

Effects models

Attention Cognitive Awareness

Interest Affective Liking

Desire Preference
Conviction

Action Conative Purchase

There are three components of Attitudes:

Cognitive stage also known as the knowledge component is the

phase when consumers learn about new products; their
characteristics, their functions and so on. Followed by this stage is
the evaluative phase. After learning about a product, consumers in
this component evaluate products and form an opinion about them
i.e. either a liking or a disliking. The last component is where a
definitive action is taken by consumers either an act of purchase or
rejection.
Functions of Attitudes:

Adjustive function:
People act in a way as to maximise their reward and
minimise their discomfort. Products that offer
satisfaction after use are repurchased and products that
do not offer any satisfaction are discarded.

Knowledge function:
This function is based on an individuals desire to learn
and understand his/her environment.
 Value expressive function:
This function allows individuals to express
themselves by projecting their self-values.
Ego defensive function:

This function allows individuals to protect

themselves from their environment by
hiding their basic desires that may be
socially unacceptable.
Theoretical orientations

There are mainly two theoretical orientations.

1. Tripartite view of attitudes
2. The unidimensionalist approach

Tripartite viewpoint: Attitudes are seen as a combination of

three components, Cognitive, Affective and Conative.

Unidemsionalist viewpoint: The three basic components

mentioned above are also relevant but not in the same
manner. Affect component is seen as the actual attitude.
Cognitive element is viewed as a precursor and Conative
element is a consequence.
Theories of Attitudes formation:

Learning theory: The principle of Classical and Operant

learning may be used to explain this theory.

Consistency theory: This is based on the principle that we all

strive for consistency in life. Inconsistencies cause stress and
therefore we all aim to eliminate stress by trying to balance our
attitudes.

Development of theories:
As stated earlier attitudes are not innate they are formed as a
part of growing up. There are several factors that determine their
formation
 The Balance theory
Milk

Daniel Beckham
 The Balance theory
An Illustration
Parental influences: The first and foremost influence
therefore, comes from our parents. Followed by Peer
influences i.e. our friends. Information that we may
collect using other sources such as television, radio etc
may also influence attitudes. Education is another
significant factor in attitude formation. Studies indicate
that educated people tend to be more liberal.
Attitude change:

Can attitudes be changed?

Some attitudes are very strongly rooted and stay stable over a
period of time and therefore are difficult to change whereas
others are more weakly held and may be changeable using various
techniques

Sources of the message:

Credibility, Attractiveness, Power of the person delivering the
message will strongly affect attitudes. For instance; if a dentist
instructs a group of children the significance of brushing twice a
day at least they would respond to this suggestion more than
those made by their mother.
Because a dentist is seen as being more credible than a mum.

Another example that provides some evidence towards this comes

from advertisements that use celebrities to convey their message.
This is based on the understanding that if people like the source
(i.e. the celebrity) they may like the product that he/she is
promoting. Similarly a person who is seen as being in power will be
in a position to change or influence attitudes of people around
him/her.
The message
Message contents can also influence attitudes. Messages
indicating some sort of suggestion, appeals to fear, one-sided vs.
two-sided message etc.

Suggestion:
Advertisers may use some sort of suggestion (for instance,
prestige) in their message based on the hope that people would
accept it and change accordingly.
Appeals to fear:
This method relies on generating fear amongst their customers
and provide them with a way out of a potentially scary situation.
For instance, you should brush your teeth twice a day otherwise
you may risk loosing them. Brushed everyday with Colgate, Signal
(or any brand-name) would avoid that situation.

One Vs. two-sided appeals:

One sided appeals refer to advertisers concentrating on positive
aspects of their products only whereas two sided appeals involve
presenting both aspects: positive and negative. A general rule,
however, fairly summarises the findings: A one-sided approach is
effective when people are either neutral or already favourable to
the message; a two-sided approach is likely to win converts from
opposing point of view (1979 Morgan, King and Robinson).
 A solution
Brush your teeth with Colgate.
 Fear appeals and Smoking
The nature of fear appals and how they have
evolved
Appeals used by Volvo
Safety of their cars
 Appeals used by Volvo
The first one is without any explicit use of words and reminds
consumers of consequences of getting involved in an
accident, thereby creating a fear in their minds.

The latter indicates Volvos confidence in the safety of their

cars by explicitly expressing how safe the Volvo X90 is The
2008 Volvo X90 has once again been awarded the top safety
by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. So we asked
ourselves, have we come so far that weve made the issue of
crash test safety obsolete? Define obsolete.
 Appeals used by Volvo

Here, Volvo have not just stated their position

but reassured consumers that they provide a
safer alternative. But ingeniously they also
increased public involvement by posing an
open ended question. This serious message
has been delivered by using humour which
depicts the dummy being out of work and
begging12.
 Emotional Vs,. Rational Appeals

Advertisement eliciting an emotional response

Sophie Dahl and Opium perfume

A priest kissing a nun, generating religious and
sexual controversy

Advertisement eliciting a rational response

More reasons to shop at Morrisons
Factors related to Consumers:

These could be significant force in changing attitudes such as needs,

selective perception/ avoidance of information and susceptibility.

Needs, Selective perception/Avoidance of information:

How effective a message is will depend on what peoples needs are.
If people have a need for a particular message they will choose to
respond to it (selective perception) and evaluate it. In this case, as
mentioned earlier consideration of one and two-sided approaches
becomes very crucial. But it may be possible that people decide to
ignore the incoming message that they have no need for or does not
agree with their attitudes.
Susceptibility:
Some people are easier to influence than others therefore are
more likely to be persuaded thereby resulting in an attitude
change.

Attitude Measurement:

Self Report Method: People are required to answer questions.

A number of attitude scales are available such as semantic

differential, likert scale where people are given alternatives and
they are asked to choose their position on a continuum.
For example:

A semantic differential scale would use the following format:

What do you think of product A?

Expensive __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Inexpensive
Tastes nice __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Does not taste nice
Creamy __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Not creamy
Light __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Not light
A likert scale would use the following format:
-a series of statements related to the attitude in question would be
presented to the respondents such as

Product A is expensive
Product A is tastes nice
Product A has real creamy flavour
Product A is light and fluffy

Respondent will be expected to indicate their position regarding these

statements on a five point scale such as
- Strongly agree
- Agree
- Neither agree or disagree
- Disagree
-- Strongly disagree.
Observational Method:
Observing behaviour of people of interest. This could be done using
mechanical instruments that measure changes in diameter of the
pupil of the eye or sweating of hand.
 Self Test Questions

1. What key elements of attitudes are highlighted in the

definition.

2. What are the main components of attitudes?

3. What factors influence change?

4. What are theories of attitudes?

 Discussion Questions
Attitudes

1)
Consider advertisements from the print or broadcast media. To what extent
do the following appear to be used,
a) two-sided appeals
b) fear appeals
c) methods to generate credibility
d) comparative appeals
How effectively do you think these are being accomplished?
2)
Discuss the relationship between Attitudes and Behaviour.

3)Because attitudes are a predisposition to respond, Why dont Marketers

and Consumer researchers just measure purchase behaviour and forget
attitudes.

4) Explain a persons attitude towards visiting Disney World in terms of the

tripartite attitudinal model.