Chapter 6:

Attitudes & Intentions

Attitude

• Is an overall evaluation of an object.

• It is an affective response of low physiological arousal/intensity.

• The object can be:– An ad– A product– A brand– A consumption situation– A spokesperson– An idea etc.

When Attitudes Play a Role

• When they are accessible, i.e., the likelihood of their activation is high.

• Accessibility depends on:– Self-relevance of attitude

– Frequency of prior activation

– The strength of association between the attitude concept and the attitude.

Extremely Unfavorable -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Extremely Favorable

McDonald’s French Fries

Dislike Very Much -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Like Very Much

Very Bad -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Very Good

Measuring Attitudes

Attitudes are measured using “semantic differentials” – rating scales that are anchored by two opposing descriptions on either side of the scale.

Absolut vodka’s clever ads have created positive attitudes.

Another Absolut Ad

A Model of Consumer Decision Making

Information in the environment

InterpretationExposure,attention, and comprehension

Knowledge, meanings and beliefs

IntegrationAttitudes and

intentions

Behavior

Consumer decision making

MemoryProduct

knowledge and involvement

Variations in Level of Attitude ConceptLevels of

attitude concept Example – Fast Food

Pizza restaurants

Fast-food restaurants

Burger King

Hamburger restaurants

Elgin McDonald’s

McDonald’s

McDonald’s at the Galleria

Lunch mostly alone Dinner with kids and family

Eating lunch with to get a quick bite between classes

Eating dinner with kids at the Galleria while

shopping

Product class

Product form

Brand

Model

Brand/model/ general situation

Brand/model/ specific situation

Variations in Level of Attitude ConceptLevels of

attitude concept Example -- Coffee

Instant

Coffee

Starbucks

Fresh Ground Filtered

Taster’s Choice

100% Colombian

At home Away from home

After lunch alone, watching TV, or with friends on weekends

Usually on a whim, often unplanned. “Sugar in the

Raw” a must.

Product class

Product form

Brand

Model

Brand/model/ general situation

Brand/model/ specific situation

Gourmet Roast

Bristol Myers Squibb has built considerable brand equity – the overall evaluation of a brand

in the market place.

Brand equity =

1. Reluctance to substitute

2. Repeat purchase

3. Differential demand elasticity (?)

• Crest has fluoride• Crest is approved by the American Dental Association• Crest has mint flavor• Crest comes in a gel• Crest is made by Procter & Gamble• Crest has a red, white, and blue package• Crest prevents cavities• Crest freshens breath• Crest gets teeth clean• Crest comes in tubes• Crest comes in a pump container• Crest is more expensive than store brands• Crest is what my parents use• Crest has a tartar-control formula

• Crest has fluoride• Crest has mint flavor• Crest comes in a gel• Crest comes in a pump container• Crest has a tartar-control formula

All beliefs about Crest Salient beliefs about Crest

Attitude toward Crest

Salient beliefs and Attitude

• Crest has fluoride• Crest has mint flavor• Crest comes in a gel• Crest comes in a pump container• Crest has a tartar-control formula

Comes in a pump

Has a tartar-control formula

Has fluoride

Has mint flavor

Comes in a gel

Crest

Salient beliefs and Attitude

Comes in a pump

Gets teeth cleanIs more expensive than store brands

Has a red, white, and blue package

Freshens breath

Has a tartar-control formula

Has fluoride

Prevents cavities

Is made by Procter & Gamble

Approved by the American Dental

Association

Is what my parents use

Has mint flavor

Comes in a gel

Crest

Comes in tubes

No mess

Tastes good

Salient beliefs and Attitude

Understanding Attitudes

• Attitudes depend on two things:

– The strength of salient beliefs

– The evaluation of the salient beliefs

The Multi-attribute Model

• It is a mathematical way of expressing the concept of attitudes.

• Multiply the strength of each salient belief with the corresponding evaluation.

• Add it all up. You now have a numerical representation of attitude.

7up

Ao = 27 Lemon-lime flavor

e3 = -1

All natural ingredients

e2 = +1

No caffeine

e1 = +3

Multi-attribute Attitude Model

b2 = 5

b1 = 10

b3 = 8

Diet Pepsi

Ao = 4 Cola flavor

e3 = +1

Caffeinee2 = -3

No calories

e1 = +2

Multi-attribute Attitude Model

b2 = 6

b1 = 6

b3 = 10

Changing Attitudes

• Increase strength of positive salient belief– Decrease strength of negative salient belief

• Make a less-salient positive belief more salient

• Improve the evaluation of strong salient belief– Changing negative to positive is hard.

• Add a new salient belief that will be positively evaluated.

Measuring Evaluation Component

“Sodas that have no caffeine”

“Sodas with cola flavor”

Very Bad -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Very Good

Very Bad -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Very Good

Measuring Belief Component

“Diet Pepsi has no caffeine”

“Diet Pepsi has cola flavor”

Strongly Disagree 1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9--10 Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree 1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9--10 Strongly Agree

Attitude – Behavior Link

• Does a positive attitude mean favorable behavior.

• No.

• This relationship is examined in the Theory of Reasoned Action – a model of behavior that explains how attitudes link to behavior.

Attitude toward Pizza HutAo

Feedback

Beliefs about Pizza Hut

Behaviors toward Pizza Hut

• Has pan pizzas• Has super supreme pizzas• Has a salad bar• Serves beer• Is more expensive than Domino’s• Has convenient location• Has free parking• Has pleasant employees• Has nice atmosphere

• Go to Pizza Hut on Friday night• Order a large pan pizza• Complain to manager• Ignore Pizza Hut ad on TV• Use a Pizza Hut coupon for a free soft drink• Recommend Pizza Hut to boss• Read Pizza Hut menu

Beliefs, Attitude, and Behaviors

The Theory of Reasoned Action

Attitude toward

behavior B Aact

Beliefs that behavior B

leads to salient consequences

Beliefs that relevant others think I should perform the behavior B

Motivation to comply with

relevant others

Relative weighting

for importance

Intention to

perform behavior

B

Behavior B

Evaluation of salient

consequences

Subjective norm about behavior B

SN

Behavioral Intention Rating Scale

Extremely unlikely -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Extremely likely

“All things considered, how likely are you to use newspaper coupons when buying

groceries this week or next?

Factors that weaken the relationship between intention and behavior

New Information

Instability of Intentions

Unforeseen Changes in

Environmental Context

Intervening Time

Degree of Voluntary Control

Unforeseen Intermediate Consumption

Events

Different Levels of

Specificity