CB8_BabinHarris_Ch07

Attitudes and Attitude Change

• Focus on understanding attitudes, their components, functions, and how they can be changed.

Learning Outcomes

• Define attitudes and describe their components.

• Explore the functions of attitudes.

• Understand how the hierarchy of effects concept applies to attitude theory.

• Comprehend major consumer attitude models.

• Describe attitude change theories and their role in persuasion.

• Investigate how message and source effects influence persuasion.

Definition of Attitudes

• Attitudes: Relatively enduring overall evaluations of objects, products, services, issues, and people.

  • Closely related to values.

  • Consumers generally hold positive attitudes towards products that offer value.

ABC Approach to Attitudes

• Attitudes can be analyzed through three components:

  • Affect: Emotional feelings towards an object.

  • Behavior: Actions or responses towards the object.

  • Cognitions: Beliefs or knowledge about the object.

Functional Theory of Attitudes

• Attitudes fulfill different functions:

  • Utilitarian Function: Provides practical benefits.

  • Knowledge Function: Helps organize and interpret information.

  • Value-Expressive Function: Communicates individual values or beliefs.

  • Ego-Defensive Function: Protects self-esteem or defends against negative feelings.

Hierarchy of Effects

• Models describing how affect, behavior, and cognitions occur in a sequence:

  • High-Involvement Hierarchy: Involves significant decisions; emotional responses follow beliefs.

  • Low-Involvement Hierarchy: Basic beliefs without strong feelings; leads to impulse purchases.

  • Experiential Hierarchy: Behaviors can occur without formed beliefs or feelings.

  • Behavioral Influence Hierarchy: Behavior precedes beliefs and feeling formation.

Multiattribute Attitude Model

• Combines various beliefs and evaluations of attributes related to an object.

Attitude-Toward-the-Object (ATO) Model

• Also known as the Fishbein model:

  • Key elements:

    • Salient beliefs about product attributes.

    • Strength of belief in attribute possession.

    • Evaluation of the attractiveness of the attribute.

  • Formula for predicting attitudes:

    • Ao = Attitude toward object in question.

    • bi = Strength of belief for attribute i.

    • ei = Evaluation of attractiveness of attribute i.

    • N = Total number of attributes and beliefs.

  • Compensatory Model: Lower ratings on one attribute can be offset by higher ratings on another.

Consistency in Attitude-Behavior Relationship

• Reviews extent to which attitudes predict actual behaviors.

Behavioral Intentions Model

• Known as the theory of reasoned action:

  • Focuses on behavioral intentions, subjective norms, and attitudes toward behaviors.

  • Formula includes:

    • B = Behavior, BI = Behavioral intention, Abehavior = Attitude toward the behavior.

  • Theory of Planned Action: Expands on this by including perceived control over the behavior.

Persuasive Techniques

• Various approaches for influencing attitudes:

  • ATO approach, Behavioral influence approach, Schema-based affect approach, Elaboration likelihood model, Balance theory, Social judgment theory.

Message Effects & Persuasion

• How the structure of a message impacts its persuading power:

  • Advertisers use appeals (sex, humor, fear) to enhance persuasive power.

  • Considerations include complexity of ad and comparative ads.

Source Effects

• Various factors affecting the effectiveness of the source:

  • Credibility, attractiveness, likeability, and meaningfulness.

Key Terms

• Attitudes, ABC approach, Functional theory, Hierarchy of effects, ATO model, Consistency, Behavioral intentions model, Attitude tracking, Persuasion, Elaboration likelihood model, Balance theory, Social judgment theory, Message effects, Source effects.

Summary

• Components of Attitude: Include affect, behavior, and cognitions.

• Functions of Consumer Attitudes: Include utilitarian, knowledge, value-expressive, and ego-defensive.

• Hierarchy of Effects: High, low involvement, experiential, and behavioral influence.

• Consumer Attitude Models: ATO and behavioral intentions models.

• Persuasion: Affected by the message and source's effectiveness.