Chapter 7

Attitudes
By Michael R. Solomon

Consumer Behavior
Buying, Having, and Being
Sixth Edition
7-1
 Opening Vignette: Soccer

• How do Jan and Terri differ in their

attitudes toward soccer?
• Jan and Nancy are both soccer fans. How
are they different?
• Which one of the three is the most likely
target for ads promoting soccer?
• Is Nancy likely to convert to become a
soccer fan?
7-2
WUSA Soccer

7-3
 The Power of Attitudes

• Attitude:
– A lasting, general evaluation of people (including
oneself), objects, advertisements, or issues
– Anything toward which one has an attitude is
called an object (Ao).
– Attitudes are lasting because they tend to endure
over time.

7-4
 The Functions of Attitudes
• Functional Theory of Attitudes:
– Attitudes exist because they serve some function
for the person (i.e., they are determined by a
person’s motives)
• Katz’s Attitude Functions
– Utilitarian function
– Value-expressive function
– Ego-defensive function
– Knowledge function

7-5
 Addressing Smoking Attitudes

• This Norwegian ad addresses young people’s smoking

attitudes by arousing strong negative feelings. The ad reads
(left panel) “Smokers are more sociable than others.” (Right
panel): “While it lasts.”
7-6
 The ABC Model of Attitudes
• Affect:
– The way a consumer feels about an attitude object
• Behavior:
– Involves the person’s intentions to do something
with regard to an attitude object
• Cognition:
– The beliefs a consumer has about an attitude object
• Hierarchy of Effects:
– A fixed sequence of steps that occur en route to an
attitude
7-7
Three Hierarchies of Effects

Figure 7.1 7-8

 Attitude Hierarchies
• The Standard Learning Hierarchy:
– Consumer approaches a product decision as a
problem-solving process
• The Low-Involvement Hierarchy:
– Consumer does not have strong initial preference
– Consumer acts on limited knowledge
– Consumer forms an evaluation only after product trial
• The Experiential Hierarchy:
– Consumers act on the basis of their emotional
reactions
7-9
 Experiential Hierarchy
• Emotional Contagion:
– Emotions expressed by the communicator of a
marketing message affect the attitude toward the
product
• Cognitive-Affective Model:
– Argues that an affective judgment is the last step in
a series of cognitive processes
• Independence Hypothesis:
– Takes the position that affect and cognition
involve two separate, independent systems
7 - 10
Smith and Wollensky
• This ad for New York’s
famous Smith &
Wollensky restaurant
emphasizes that
marketers and others
associated with a
product or service are
often more involved
with it than are their
consumers.

7 - 11
 Product Attitudes Don’t
Tell the Whole Story
• Attitude Toward the Advertisement (Aad):
– A predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable
manner to a particular advertising stimulus during a
particular exposure occasion
• Ads Have Feelings Too:
– Three emotional dimensions:
• Pleasure, arousal, and intimidation
– Specific types of feelings that can be generated by an ad
• Upbeat feelings: Amused, delighted, playful
• Warm feelings: Affectionate, contemplative, hopeful
• Negative feelings: Critical, defiant, offended

7 - 12
Discussion Question
• Sexually suggestive
scenes like the one
depicted in this ad for
Union Bay clothing can
generate feelings that
affect brand attitudes.
• What specific types of
feelings or responses
can this type of
advertisement elicit?
How will this scene
affect the attitude
toward the ad?

7 - 13
 Forming Attitudes
• Not All Attitudes are Created Equal:
– Levels of Commitment to an Attitude: The degree of
commitment is related to the level of involvement
with an attitude object
• Compliance
• Identification
• Internalization
– The Consistency Principle:
• Principle of Cognitive Consistency: Consumers value
harmony among their thoughts, feelings or behaviors
to be consistent with other experiences
7 - 14
Levels of Attitudinal Commitment

• By describing Cadillac as “my company,” the

woman in this ad exhibits a high level of attitudinal
commitment to her employer. 7 - 15
 Forming Attitudes (cont.)
• Cognitive Dissonance and Harmony among Attitudes:
– Theory of Cognitive Dissonance: When a person is
confronted with inconsistencies among attitudes or behaviors,
he or she will take action to reduce the dissonance by
changing an attitude or modifying a behavior.
• Self-Perception Theory:
– People maintain consistency by inferring that they must
maintain a positive attitude toward a product they have
bought or consumed
• Foot-in-the-door technique:
– Sales strategy based on the observation that consumers will
comply with a request if they have first agreed to comply
with a smaller request

7 - 16
 Attitudinal Commitment

• This ad for a magazine illustrates that consumers

often distort information so that it fits with what they
already believe or think they know. 7 - 17
 Social Judgment Theory
• Social Judgment Theory:
– People assimilate new information about Ao’s
based on what they already know or feel.
– Attitudes of Acceptance and Rejection: People
differ in the information they find acceptable or
unacceptable.
• Assimilation effect: Messages that fall within the
latitude of acceptance tend to be seen as more
consistent with one’s position than they actually are
• Contrast effect: Messages falling within the latitude of
rejection tend to be seen as being farther from one’s
position than they actually are
7 - 18
 Balance Theory
• Triad:
– An attitude structure consisting of three elements
• (1) A person and his/her perceptions of
• (2) an attitude object, and
• (3) some other person or object
• Unit relation:
– An element is seen as belonging to or being part of the
other
• Sentiment relation:
– Two elements are linked because one has expressed a
preference for the other
• Marketing Applications of Balance Theory
– Celebrity endorsements

7 - 19
 Alternative Routes to
Restoring Balance in a Triad

Figure 7.2 7 - 20
 Discussion Question
• Consumer researchers
understand that
consumers like to “bask
in the reflected glory” of
successful college
athletic programs by
wearing merchandise
adorned with logos like
the ones on the right.
• How do the different
attitude theories explain
this consumer
phenomenon?

7 - 21
 Attitude Models
• Attitude Models:
– Specify the different elements that might work together to
influence people’s evaluations of Ao’s
• Multiattribute Models:
– Model that assumes a consumer’s Ao will depend on the
beliefs he or she has about several attributes toward the
object
• Multiattribute Models Specify 3 Elements:
– Attributes
– Beliefs
– Importance Weights

7 - 22
 Attitude Models
• Choosing products:
– We often choose products because of their
association with a certain lifestyle.
• Goal of Lifestyle Marketing:
– To allow consumers to pursue their chosen ways to
enjoy life and express their social identities.
• Adopting Lifestyle Marketing:
– Implies that we must look at patterns of behavior to
understand consumers
7 - 23
 The Fishbein Model
• Measures 3 components of attitude:
– (1) Salient Beliefs
– (2) Object-attribute linkages
– (3) Evaluation
• Assumptions of the Fishbein Model:
– Ability to specify all relevant choice attributes
– Identification, weight, and summing of attributes
• Affect referral:
– A process by which a consumer’s overall attitude is
formed by an overall affective response
7 - 24
 The Fishbein Equation
• The Basic Formula:
Aijk = ΣβijkIik
– Where:
• i = attribute
• j = brand
• k = consumer
• I = the importance weight given attribute I by consumer k
• β = consumer k’s belief regarding the extent to which
brand j possesses attribute I
• A = a particular consumer’s (k’s) attitude score for brand j

7 - 25
The Basic Multiattribute Model

7 - 26
 Strategic Applications of the
Multiattribute Model

• Capitalize on Relative Advantage

• Strengthen Perceived Product/Attribute
Linkages
• Add a New Attribute
• Influence Competitors’ Ratings

7 - 27
 Using Attitudes to Predict Behavior
• In many cases, knowledge of a person’s
attitude is not a very good predictor of
behavior
• Questionable link between attitude and
behavior
– Consumers love a commercial, but don’t buy the product
• The Extended Fishbein Model
– Called the Theory of Reasoned Action
– Contains several important additions to the original, which
improve its ability to predict behavior

7 - 28
 The Theory of Reasoned Action
• Intentions Versus Behavior
• Social Pressure:
– Subjective Norm (SN)
• Normative Belief (NB): Belief that others believe an
action should or should not be taken
• Motivation to Comply (MC): Degree to which
consumers take into account anticipated reactions
• Attitude Toward Buying:
– Attitude toward the act of buying (Aact):
• How someone feels about buying due to the perceived
consequences of a purchase
7 - 29
 Obstacles to Predicting Behavior in the
Theory of Reasoned Action
• Model is misapplied
• Other obstacles:
– Model deals with actual behavior, not outcomes
– Some outcomes are beyond the consumer’s control
– The assumption of behavior as intentional may be invalid in
some cases
– Attitude measures don’t correspond to the behavior they are
supposed to predict
– Too large a time frame between attitude measure and
behavior measure
– Attitude accessibility perspective:
• Behavior is a function of the person’s immediate perceptions of
the Ao
7 - 30
 Cultural Roadblocks to the
Theory of Reasoned Action
• Roadblocks that diminish the
universality of the theory
– Model was designed to predict voluntary acts
– The relative impact of subject norms varies across
cultures
– The model assumes that consumers are actively
thinking ahead and planning behaviors
– A consumer that forms an intention claims that he or
she is in control of his or her actions

7 - 31
 Trying to Consume
• Theory of Trying to Consume
– States that the criterion of behavior in the reasoned action
model should be replaced with trying to reach a goal
• Sample issues that might be addressed:
– Past frequency
– Recency
– Beliefs
– Evaluations of consequences
– The process
– Expectations of success and failure
– Subjective norms toward trying

7 - 32
Theory of Trying (TT)

Figure 7.3 7 - 33
 Tracking Attitudes over Time
• Attitude-tracking program:
– An single-attitude survey is a snapshot in time
– A program allows researchers to analyze attitude
trends during an extended period of time
• Ongoing Tracking Studies
– Attitude tracking involves administration of a survey
at regular intervals (e.g. Gallup Poll, Yankelovich
Monitor)
– This activity is valuable for making strategic
decisions

7 - 34
Gallup Poll

7 - 35
 Attitude Changes over Time
• Changes to Look for over Time:
– Changes in different age groups:
• Attitudes change with age
• Historical effects
– Scenarios about the future:
• Consumers tracked in terms of future plans,
confidence in economy, and so on
– Identification of change agents:
• Social phenomena can alter people’s attitudes

7 - 36
 Changing Attitudes

Percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds who agree “We must take radical

action to cut down on how we use our cars.”

Figure 7.4 7 - 37