Detailed lecture notes with the objective of:
Discuss the structure and functions of attitudes
Discuss the link between attitudes and behaviour
Understand the key theories of attitude change
Understand the concept of attitudinal ambivalence
⮚ Discuss the structure and functions of attitudes
⮚ Discuss the link between attitudes and behaviour
⮚ Understand the key theories of attitude change
⮚ Understand the concept of attitudinal ambivalence
Section I: Attitude Functions and Structure
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.”
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). Consumers who expect that they will need to
deal with similar information in the future will form attitude in anticipation.
■ Katz’s Attitude Functions:
❑ Utilitarian function – we develop attitudes on the basis of whether products provide
a pleasure or a pain.
❑ Value-expressive function – what the product says about consumers as a person to
express a particular social identity e.g environment conscientious behavior
❑ Ego-defensive function – protect the person from external threats or feelings
e.g deodorant, Bath jumper wore by students to defend their identity
❑ Knowledge function – attitudes to express their knowledge about brands/products
to establish their expertise and influence others’ behavior
The ABC Model of Attitudes
♦ Affect/Feeling: 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
The model emphasizes the interrelationships between knowing, feeling and doing
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Three Hierarchies of Effects exhaling impact of the ABC model
Recommendations for coursework?
Attitude Hierarchies
The Standard Learning Hierarchy: consumer approaches a product decision as a
problem-solving process 🡪 more rational
1) Form beliefs by accumulating knowledge
2) Evaluate beliefs and form a feeling about the product
3) Engage in a behaviour (buying)
⇒ Marketing implications: highlight the unique functions of the product to differentiate the
focal brand for the rest e.g buy a ps4 you do research to understand =/= models and
technical specifications. Engage in extensive research to develop beliefs
o The Low-Involvement Hierarchy: based on behavioral learning process
1) Does not have strong initial preference for a brand and act on limited knowledge (beliefs)
2) Form evaluation after the purchase 🡪 behavioural learning
3) Affect
◦ Consumer acts on limited knowledge quick decision or habit purchase
◦ Consumer forms an evaluation only after product trial
⇒ Marketing implications: understand the feeling after purchasing
o The Experiential Hierarchy: Consumers act on the basis of their emotional reactions
1) Act on the basis of emotional reactions
2) Behaviour
3) Form beliefs from their experience 🡪 hedonic/experimental consumption
e.g warm welcome feeling at the entrance of a restaurant to provide pleasure
For retail sites where the consumer has little in the way of knowledge/beliefs:
- Work on the senses
- All attitude formations take place post-purchase
For websites where the consumer is engaged in extensive research to develop beliefs:
- Lots of information
- Grading, ranking
Implications for marketing
• Examining the various hierarchies that underpin attitude formation in different types of
consumer contexts is useful because it provides insight into marketing mix design
• i.e. given we are a low-involvement product (e.g. toilet paper, soap), our focus should be
on be ensuring our products are value for money, and have attractive, eye-catching
product design for the product to stand out. Beliefs could be based on this
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