1. Chapter 11 Attitude and Attitude Change
What are attitudes?
Main components of attitudes
Strategies that can be used to change attitudes
Effect of marketing communication on attitudes
Strategic implications of attitudes
In this lecture we will discuss exactly what an attitude is, discuss the components that make up an attitude, look at ways we can change attitudes, and discuss the use of marketing communications in changing attitudes.
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

2. Attitudes Attitude components Component consistency
cognitive
affective
behavioural
Component consistency
Measurement of attitude components
To understand attitudes, we must study the components of attitude, namely cognitive, affective and behavioural components.
There tends to be a consistency between these components and this has implications for strategy formulation.
If we need to change attitudes, then we need to know how we can measure them to guide our marketing efforts. (See page 333.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

3. Definition of Attitude
An attitude is a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently positive or negative way to a given object or event.
Attitudes can be defined as the way consumers think and feel about and act towards some aspect of their environment. As a result of all the influences discussed so far in the text, attitudes influence, as well as reflect, the lifestyles individuals pursue. Attitudes, therefore, are the focal point of a great deal of marketing strategy. (See page 333.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

4. Terminology
Favourability: the positive or negative evaluation of the object or event
Intensity: the strength with which the consumer can hold an attitude
Confidence: the degree to which the consumer believes their attitude is ‘right’
When discussing terminology relating to attitudes, we need to be familiar with these terms.
Attitudes can be positive or negative, strong or weak, and the degree of confidence has been shown to reinforce the link between attitude and behaviour. This is important if the marketer is attempting to change an attitude with the marketing strategy.
(See page 333.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

5. Components of an Attitude
Cognitive
Affective
Behavioural
The understanding and use of attitudes is clearer when they are perceived as having three component parts: cognitive, affective and behavioural. The cognitive component consists of the individual’s beliefs or knowledge about the object: it is generally assessed by using a version of the multi-attribute attitude model. Feelings about, or emotional reactions to, an object represent the affective component of the attitude. The behavioural component reflects overt actions and statements of behavioural intentions with respect to specific attributes of the object, or the overall object. (See pages 334ff.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

6. Attitude Components and Manifestations
We will discuss these in more detail. Simply, however, the marketing stimuli can be directed at one or more of the attitude components.
This can induce changes in the affective component, changes in beliefs or a change in the behavioural intentions of the recipient. These changes can then produce a change in the overall attitude about the object under discussion. (See page 334.)

7. Cognitive Component
Consists of the consumer’s beliefs and knowledge about the attributes of a particular brand, product or outlet
many beliefs relate to the evaluation of attributes
the cognitive component represents the summation of evaluations
multi-attribute model
The cognitive component consists of the consumer’s beliefs and knowledge about the attributes of a particular brand, product or outlet. These may not be ‘true’ but they exist and are the individual’s beliefs.
Many beliefs relate to the evaluation of attributes, for example the consumer may believe that Diet Coke has almost no calories, contains caffeine, and is competitively priced.
These components may be positive beliefs and are the basis of the multi-attribute model.
The importance of each attribute puts a weighting on the attributes.
Thus, it is possible to ‘measure’ how consumers perceive this product.
If it is less than ‘ideal’ then the marketers can assess the attributes they need to address to bring this product closer the segment’s ‘ideal’ point. (See pages 334ff.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

8. Affective Component
Represents the consumer’s ‘feelings’ or emotional reaction to a product
Based on experience or cognitive information
Response is person-situation specific
Cultural influence
Consumers can express a ‘feeling’ about a product, for example ‘I like Coke’ or ‘I don’t like Coke’. These feelings can be based on previous experience or they may be based on assessment of the cognitive attributes: for example, they may feel that it is too strong and prefer a milder taste.
Individuals, because of their unique experiences, will react differently and this may be either a positive reaction or a negative reaction.
Some feelings may have a cultural basis: for example, that the caffeine in Coke is bad for children and they should only have it on very few occasions. A campaign conducted several years ago managed to change the feeling that sugar was ‘bad’ so that now individuals felt that sugar was natural and good for you. (See page 336.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

9. Behavioural Component
Represents the consumer’s tendency (intention) to respond in a particular way towards the object or event
Behaviour
Intention
Situational influence
There are two aspects of behaviour to discuss: firstly the actual or observed behaviour, and then the intended behaviour.
One method of assessing the behavioural component of attitude is to measure the intention to behave in a certain way. The actual behaviour is modified by the situational influence. (See page 337.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

10. Component Consistency
The three components of an attitude (cognitive, affective and behavioural) have a tendency to be consistent.
A change in one component will have a flow-on effect on the other components.
In general, all three components of an attitude tend to be consistent with each other. Hence, if marketing managers can influence one component, the other components may also be influenced. (See page 337.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

11. Attitude-Component Consistency
This shows diagrammatically that all three components are consistent with each other: a change in one attitude component tends to produce related changes in the other components. This tendency is the basis for a substantial amount of marketing strategy. Ultimately marketing managers are interested in changing behaviour—encouraging consumers to buy a certain product. (See page 337.)

12. Measurement of Attitude Components
As components of attitude are an integral part of a marketing strategy, it is important to be able to measure each component.
See page 338 for discussion.
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

13. Measuring Attitude Components
Cognitive Component
(Measuring Beliefs about Specific Attributes Using the Semantic Differential Scale)
Diet Coke
Strong taste ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Mild taste
Low priced ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ High priced
Caffeine free____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ High in caffeine
Distinctive in____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Similar in taste taste to most
An example of using a Semantic Differential Scale to measure the Belief component about specific attributes of a product. (See page 339, Exhibit 11.1.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

14. Measuring Attitude Components (cont.)
Affective Component
(Measuring Feelings about Specific Attributes Using Likert Scales)
Neither Agree Strongly nor Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Disagree Disagree
I like the taste of Diet ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Coke.
Diet Coke is overpriced. ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Caffeine is bad for your ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ health.
I like Diet Coke. ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
An example of using a Likert Scale to measure the Affective component about specific attributes of a product.
(See page 339, Exhibit 11.1.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

15. Measuring Attitude Components (cont.)
Behavioral Component (Measuring Actions or Intended Actions)
Have you ever purchased Diet Coke?
 Yes How often?___
 No
What is the likelihood you will buy Diet Coke the next time you purchase a soft drink?
 Definitely will buy  Probably will buy
 Might buy
 Probably will not buy
 Definitely will not buy
An example of measuring the Behavioural component about Actions or Intended Actions of consumers.
(See page 339, Exhibit 11.1.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

16. Attitude-Change Strategies
Changing or establishing an attitude requires manipulation of one or more of the components of the attitude (i.e. cognitive, affective or behavioural)
Marketing efforts to change attitudes are more likely to produce a change (be successful) if more than one component is manipulated or concentrated on during the campaign. (See page 339.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

17. Strategies Based on Attitudes
Market segmentation
benefit segmentation
Product development
Attitudes, particularly the cognitive component, are the basis for market segmentation strategies such as benefit segmentation, and for new-product development strategies.
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

18. Attitude-Change Strategies
Changing the affective component
classical conditioning
affect towards the advertisement
mere exposure
Changing the behavioural component
Changing the cognitive component
four basic strategies
Attitude-change strategies can focus on affect, behaviour, cognition or some combination of these. Attempts to change affect generally rely on classical conditioning.
Changing cognition usually involves information processing and cognitive learning. (See pages 339–342.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

19. Attitude-Change Strategies (cont.)
Affective component
Classical conditioning
Positive affect towards the advertisement
Mere exposure
Attempts to change Affect generally rely on classical conditioning.
If consumers ‘like’ the ad it will be more likely to change the affective component. (See pages 340–341.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

20. Attitude-Change Strategies (cont.)
Change affective component
Involves changing the consumer’s ‘feel’ about a product, without necessarily directly influencing their beliefs or behaviour
Positive feelings about the product will not necessarily induce a change in buying habits. (See page 340.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

21. Attitude Change in Ads
See page 340.

22. Attitude Change in Ads (cont.)
See page 340.

23. Attitude-Change Strategies
Change behavioural component
Alter the purchase behaviour or consumption behaviour directly, which may in turn lead to a change in belief or affect
Change in beliefs or improved knowledge base will have subsequent influence on affect and behaviour
Sometimes consumers buy or consume first, and then review whether they ‘like’ the product or not. After consuming the product, they are more knowledgeable about the product and have an improved knowledge base. This, in turn, is likely to result in an overall attitude change. (See page 342.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

24. Attitude-Change Strategies (cont.)
Change behavioural component
Operant conditioning
Sampling (trialing)
Change strategies focusing on behaviour rely more on operant conditioning: they allow consumers to trial, or taste, the product.
(See page 342.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

25. Strategies Used for Altering the Cognitive Component
Change in beliefs or improved knowledge base will have a subsequent influence on affect and behaviour
Change the beliefs about the attributes of the brand
Change the relative importance of these beliefs
Add new beliefs
Change the beliefs about the attributes of the ‘ideal’ brand
There are four basic strategies for influencing attitudes by altering the cognitive structure of a consumer’s attitude.
Firstly, it is possible to change the beliefs about the attributes of the brand.
Second, one might change the relative importance of these beliefs.
Third, new beliefs could be added to the present attitude.
And finally, beliefs about the attributes of the ideal brand could be changed. (See page 343.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

26. Adding a New Belief
See page 344.

27. Communication and Attitude Change
Source characteristics
source credibility—trustworthiness and expertise
celebrity sources
Source credibility influences attitudes. It appears to be composed of two basic dimensions: trustworthiness and expertise. Influencing attitudes is much easier when the source of the message is viewed as highly credible by the target market.
Celebrities are widely used as product or company spokespersons. They are most effective when their image matches the personality of the product and the actual or desired self-concept of the target market. (See page 347.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

28. Matching Endorser with Product and Target Audience
There needs to be a match between the target audience, the product image and the image of the endorser to increase the likelihood that this inducement will sway the audience. (See page 348.)

29. Communication and Attitude Change
Appeal Characteristics
Fear (unpleasant consequences if attitude and/or behaviour is not altered)
Humour
Comparative advertisement (comparing attributes of focus brand to those of competitor)
Emotional (message is constructed to elicit a positive response/feeling rather than provide information)
Fear appeals make use of the threat of negative consequences if attitudes or behaviours are not altered. They are useful in persuasive messages for certain types of products. While fear appeals have been studied primarily in terms of physical fear, social fears are also used in advertising.
Humorous appeals can also be effective in influencing attitudes. However, the humorous message must remain focused on the brand or main selling point in order to be effective. It is not clear yet what causes comparative ads to succeed or fail. They therefore require extensive pretesting.
Emotional appeals have been found to have a strong effect on attitudes towards both the advertisement and the product.
(See pages 349–352. Other advertisements could be introduced at this stage to add interest to the lecture.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

30. Ad Seeking an Emotional Response
See pages 351–352.

31. Communication and Attitude Change
Message-structure characteristics
one-sided versus two-sided messages
non-verbal components
The effectiveness of one- versus two-sided messages depends largely on the situation and the characteristics of the target audience. Two-sided messages are more likely to change a strongly-held attitude. One-sided messages tend to be used to maintain existing attitudes: keep on using the product.
Non-verbal aspects of the advertisement, such as pictures, surrealism and music, also affect attitudes. (See page 352.)
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

32. Chapter 12: Australasian Society: Demographics and Lifestyles
Next Lecture…
Chapter 12: Australasian Society: Demographics and Lifestyles
Copyright  2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins