Lecture Unit 8: Consumer Attitudes and Influencing Attitudes

Question 1

What is attitude?

Answer 1

• It is a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object
• Thus, an attitude is the way one thinks, feels and acts toward some aspect of his or her environment, such as a retail store, television program or product

Question 2

What is consumer attitude?

Answer 2

=is a predisposition consumers have toward a product or service

Question 3

What are some cosumer attitude examples?

Answer 3

Examples:
- consumers might be skeptical about the value of a new type of technology

• they might hold a negative opinion about a particular brand due to past experiences

Question 4

What are the two types of attitutdes?

Answer 4

• Explicit attitudes are conscious beliefs that can guide decisions and behavior
• Implicit attitudes are unconscious beliefs that can still influence decisions and behavior

Question 5

What are the 3 dimensions of attitudes?

Answer 5

• Attitude strength: Strong attitudes are those that are firmly held and that highly influence behavior
• Attitude accessibility: refers to the ease with which it comes to mind
• Attitude ambivalence: refers to the ratio of positive and negative evaluations that make up that attitude.

Question 6

Define the 3 attitude components and their manifestation

Answer 6

Affective:
- Emotion or feelings about specic attributes or overall object (>Manifestations)

Cognitive:
- Beliefs I about specific attributes or overall object (>Manifestations)

Behavioral:
- Behavioral intentions with respect to specific attributes or overall object (>Manifestations)

Question 7

What are multiattribute attitude models?

Answer 7

= Models that examine the composition of consumer attitudes in terms of selected product attributes or beliefs:

• attitude-toward object model
• attitutde-toward behavior model
• theory of reasoned action model

Question 8

What is attitude-toward object model?

Answer 8

• attitude is a function of the presence of certain beliefs or attributes
• useful to measure attitudes toward product and service categories or specific brands

Question 9

What is attitude-toward behavior model?

Answer 9

• the attitude toward behaving or acting with respect to an object (rather than the attitude toward the object itself)
• corresponds closely to actual behavior

Question 10

What is the theory of reasoned-action model?

Answer 10

• includes cognitive, affective and conative components
• includes subjective norms in addition to attitude

Question 11

What is affective component?

Answer 11

• Feelings or emotional reactions to an object
• increasingly used by marketers to provide a richer understanding of attitudes than that based solely on the cognitive or “thinking” component

Question 12

Why are marketers increasingly turning their attention to the affective component of attitudes?

Answer 12

To provide a richer understanding of attitudes than that based solely on the cognitive or “thinking” component.

Question 13

What are the two types of benefits and attitudesof affective component

Answer 13

• Utilitarian/functional benefits and attitudes
• hedonic/emotional benefits and attitudes.

Question 14

Affective component: What is the impact of aestheically pleasing product design`?

Answer 14

• Aesthetically pleasing or interesting product designs can evoke powerful emotional responses
• that are such a critical aspect of the affective component of attitudes

Question 15

What are the three components of an overall attitude?

Answer 15

• Affective Component (feelings),
• Cognitive Component (beliefs),
• Behavioral Component (response tendencies).

Question 16

What are factors that may account for inconsistencies? (Attitude components)

Answer 16

• Lack of need
• Lack of ability
• Relative attitudes
• Attitude ambivalence
• Measurement
• Situational factors
• Weak beliefs and affect
• Interpersonal influence

Question 17

What are the different attitutde change strategies?

Answer 17

• Change the Cognitive Component
• Change the Affective Component
• Change the Behavioral Component

Question 18

How to change the Affective component? (Attitude change strategies)

Answer 18

• Classical Conditioning
• Affect toward the ad or website
• Mere Exposure

Question 19

How to change the Cognitive component? (Attitude change strategies)

Answer 19

• Change Beliefs
• Shift Importance
• Add Beliefs
• Change Ideal

Question 20

How to change the behavior component? (Attitude change strategies)

Answer 20

• Behavior may precede the development of cognition and affect
• It may also occur in contrast to cognitive and affective components

Question 21

What is the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) about?

Answer 21

= is a theory about how attitudes are formed and changed under varying conditions of involvement

Question 22

What are the core tentants of the elaboration likelihood model (ELM)?

Answer 22

= Compared to attitudes formed under the peripheral route,

attitudes formed under the central route tend to be

• stronger
• more resistant to counter-persuasion attempts
• more accessible from memory, and
• more predictive of behaviors

Question 23

What are the two routes to persuasion in the Elaboration Likelihood Model?

Answer 23

• Central route to persuasion and
• Peripheral route to persuasion

Question 24

What characterizes the central route to persuasion? (Involvement, attention, thoughts, persuasion)

Answer 24

• High involvement with product, message, or decision
• Strong attention focused on central, product-related features and factual information
• Conscious thoughts about product attributes and use outcomes; considerable elaborative activities
• Persuasion generally alters product beliefs, which influence brand attitude, which influences purchase intentions

Question 25

What characterizes the **peripheral route** to persuasion? (Involvement, attention, information processing, persuasion)

Answer 25

- **Low involvement** with product, message, or decision - **Limited attention focused** on peripheral, nonproduct features and feelings - **Low or nonconscious information processing;** few or no elaborative activities - **Persuasion operates** through **classical conditioning; **affect change, a**ttitude toward the ad**, and **nonconscious belief change**s lead to **behavioral** and **attitude** change

Question 26

What are **peripheral cues and central cues?**

Answer 26

**Peripheral Cues (PCs):** influence **persuasion under LOW involvement** but **not** **high** involvement **Central Cues (CCs):** influence **persuasion under HIGH involvement** but **not low** involvement **BUT**: there **are caveats and exception**s relating to **cue relevance** and competitive situation

Question 27

What is the **cue relevance** in the example of an **attrative model for ads?**

Answer 27

- An **attractive** model (and **her hair**) may be decision **irrelevant (PC)** in an **ad for a car**, - but **decision relevant (CC**) in an ad for **shampoo** - In this case, the **attractive** model would **influence persuasion** under **high involvement** for shampoos but **not** for **cars**

Question 28

When can **PCs influence persuasion** under **high** involvement in **competitive** situations?

Answer 28

= **PCs** can **influence** **persuasion** under **high involvemen**t in **competitive situations when:** - **Central** cues **neutralize** due to **homogeneity** across **competing brands** (PC then becomes tie breaker) - **Attribute** **tradeoffs** across **central** cues engenders **decision** **difficulty** which **PCs help to alleviate**

Question 29

What are the **key points of consumer resistance to persuasion?**

Answer 29

- Consumers are **not passive** to **persuasion** **attempts** - Consumers are **often skeptical** (an individual characteristic) and **resist persuasion** - Consumers **frequently infer** an **advertiser’s intent** and **respond** in **light** of that presumed **selling intent**

Question 30

What are the "**resisting brand attacks"** that consumers use when they f**eel an advertisers intent?** (Atttitude change)

Answer 30

- **Discrediting** - **Discounting** - **Containment**

Question 31

What are the 3 types of communication characteristics?

Answer 31

- **Source** characteristics (**Who** **delivers** message) - **Appeal** characteristics (**How** **message** is communicated) - **Message** **structure** characteristics (**How** message is **presented**)

Question 32

What is important for **source characteristics??** (3)

Answer 32

- **Source credibility:** **persuasion** is **easier** when the **target** market **views the message source** as **highly credible** - **Celebrity sources:** can be **effective** in **enhancing attentio**n, attitude **toward the ad, trustworthiness, expertise** - **Sponsorship**: often **work in much** the **same** manner as **using a celebrit**y endorser

Question 33

When is the **effectiveness of celebrity source improved?**

Answer 33

effectivness is enhanced **when marketers match:** - **Target audienece** actual or **ideaal self-cooncept** - **image** of the **product** - **Image** of the **endorser**

Question 34

What are the **appeal characteristics?**

Answer 34

- **Humorous** appeals - **Emotional** appeals - **Comparative** ads - **Fear** appeals - **Value-expressive vs. utilitarian appeals**

Question 35

**appeal characteristics:** What is **value expressive** vs. utilitarian appeals? and **when is it most effective**?

Answer 35

**Value-expressive appeals** - attempt to **build a personality** for the product or - **create** an **image** of the product **user** - **Most effective for products** designed to **enhance** **self-image** or provide other intangible benefits

Question 36

a**ppeal characteristics:** What is value expressive vs. **utilitarian appeals**? And when **is it most effective**?

Answer 36

**Utilitarian appeals** - **involve** **informing** the consumer of **one or more functional** **benefits** that are **important** to the **target** market - **Most** **effective** for **functional** products

Question 37

What is **important** to consider regarding **"message structure charactteristics?**

Answer 37

- **One-Sided vs. Two-Sided Messages** - **Positive** vs. **Negative** Framing - **Nonverbal** Component

Question 38

Message structure characteristics: **Positive vs. Negative** framing: What is **attribute** framing?

Answer 38

**Attribute Framing**: Only a **single attribute is the focus of the frame** For **example**, describing beef as either - 80% fat free (**positive** frame) or - 20% fat (**negative** frame)

Question 39

Message structure characteristics: **Positive vs. Negative** framing: What is **Goal** framing?

Answer 39

**Goal Framing**: Message **stresses** either **positive** aspect of performing an act or **negative** aspects of **not performing the act**. For **example**, having a y**early mammogram ** - Benefits of having mammogram emphasized (**positive** frame) - Risks of **not having** mammogram emphasized (**negative**)

Question 40

Message structure characteristics: **Positive vs. Negative** framing: What are **non-verbal** components?

Answer 40

- **Nonverbal component** can **influence** **attitudes** through aff**ect, cognition, or both** - **Emotional ads** often **rely primarily or exclusively** on **nonverbal** content to **drive** **emotional** responses - These can include: **pictures, music, surrealism**