Marketing 260 Buyer BehaviourATTITUDES

With Duane Weaver

OUTLINE

• Attitude Defined

• Functional Theory

• ABC Model

• Forming Attitudes

• Attitude Models

• Predicting Behaviour

Attitude Defined

ATTITUDE:…a lasting, general evaluation of people (including oneself), objects or issues.

Attitude Object =anything toward which a person has an attitude, albeit tangible or intangible

Functional Theory

• Attitudes exist because they serve some function for the person; determined by motives.– Utilitarian (reward & punishment)– Value-Expressive (enables outward expression of self)– Ego-Defensive (protects from internal or external

feelings – e.g. Marlboro Man – machismo)– Knowledge (order, structure, and meaning)

• Ads relevant to the prevalent function prompt favorable thoughts about product.

ABC Model

Emphasizes interrelationships among knowing, feeling, and doing.

• Affect– Feelings

• Behaviour– Intention to do something with regard to an attitude object

• Cognition– Beliefs about an attitude object

ABC Model

Hierarchy of Effects – fixed sequence of events occurs on the way to forming an attitude

(Hedonic Consumption)

Problem solving process

Behavioural Learning (through experiences)

Emotional Response based Attitudes – sensory driven

How would we market to these different Attitude formations? What form of advertising would you use?

Forming Attitudes• Classical Conditioning (pairing product with repeated concepts)

• Instrumental Conditioning (reinforcing value of consumption)

• Complex Cognitive Process

IN YOUR TEAMS PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE of how you would use the following theory/concept in your approach to a market segment:

1. Levels of Commitment – Compliance (low), Identification (medium), Internalization (high)

2. Consistency Principle (harmony) and Cognitive Dissonance Theory (congruence)

3. Self-Perception Theory (rationalization?)

4. Social Judgment Theory (social accpetance?)

5. Balance Theory (Triad of attitude structures: person’s perception, attitude object, & other person or object)

Attitude Models• Multi-Attribute

– Assumes attitude of an attitude object depends on person’s beliefs about several or many attributes of the object.

– Attributes, Beliefs, and Importance Weights

• Fishbein Aijk = ∑BijkIik– Where A = Attitude, B= Beliefs, and I = Importance Weight

and i = attribute, j = brand, k = consumer– Provides computable Metric of:

1. Salient Beliefs2. Object-attribute linkages3. Evaluation of attributes

Predicting Behaviour• Issues:

– Low correlation between attitudes and behaviour– Inability to act due to unexpected circumstances

(no banker available when want to get a mortgage) <<wasted marketing energy…get all the ducks in a row!! THIS IS MANAGEABLE!

– Not all behaviour is intentional (impulse?!)

– Timeframe – delay from time of attitude measurement to expected behaviour (attitudes do change over time)

– Personal or environmental barriers between intent and goal

• Extending Fishbein with Theory of Reasoned Action– Direction/degree or attitude (intensity)– Social Pressure (use of engineered theatres)– Attitude towards the actual “act of buying”

• Past purchase behaviour is better predictor

Predicting Behaviour

• Theory of Trying– Past frequency– Recency– Evaluations of consequences– The Process– Expectations of Success or Failure– Subjective norms towards trying

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!