This document discusses key concepts related to attitudes and persuasion in consumer behavior. It begins by defining attitudes and explaining their power and complexity. It describes several ways that attitudes are formed, including classical and instrumental conditioning as well as complex cognitive processes. The chapter then discusses theories for how attitudes are structured and maintained, including consistency theories like cognitive dissonance theory. It also covers multi-attribute attitude models for predicting consumer attitudes based on beliefs about product attributes. The chapter concludes by examining how marketers can attempt to change consumer attitudes through persuasive communications, focusing on source credibility and attractiveness as well as message-related factors.

1. 7-1
Chapter 7
Attitudes and Persuasion
CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR, 9e
Michael R. Solomon

2. 7-2
Chapter Objectives
When you finish this chapter, you should
understand why:
• It’s important for consumer researchers to
understand the nature and power of
attitudes.
• Attitudes are more complex than they first
appear.
• We form attitudes in several ways.

3. 7-3
Chapter Objectives (continued)
When you finish this chapter, you should
understand why:
• A need to maintain consistency among all of
our attitudinal components motivates us to
alter one or more of them.
• We use attitude models to identify specific
components and combine them to predict a
consumer’s overall attitude toward a product
or brand.

4. 7-4
Chapter Objectives (continued)
When you finish this chapter, you should
understand why:
• The communications model identifies several
important components for marketers when
they try to change consumers’ attitudes
toward products and services.
• The consumer who processes such a
message is not necessarily the passive
receiver of information marketers once
believed him to be.

5. 7-5
Chapter Objectives (continued)
When you finish this chapter, you should
understand why:
• Several factors influence a message source’s
effectiveness.
• The way a marketer structures his message
determines how persuasive it will be.
• Audience characteristics help to determine
whether the nature of the source or the
message itself will be relatively more effective.

6. The Power Of Attitudes
One of the most interesting studies in consumer behavior is
the study of attitudes
7-6

7. 7-7
The Power of Attitudes
• Attitude: a lasting, general evaluation of
people, objects, advertisements, or issues
• Attitude object (AO): anything toward which
one has an attitude

8. The Power of Attitudes
• An attitude is lasting because it tends to
endure over time.
• An attitude is general because it applies to
more than a momentary event (such as a
loud noise).
• Attitudes help us to make all forms of
choices (some important and some minor).
7-8

9. Functional Theory of Attitudes
• was initially developed by psychologist Daniel Katz
to explain how attitudes facilitate social behavior.
• According to this pragmatic approach, attitudes
exist because they serve some function for the
person.
• Consumers who expect to deal with similar
situations at a future time will be more likely to start
to form an attitude in anticipation
• It is helpful for marketers to know why an attitude is
held before they tray to change it
7-9

10. Attitudes Functions
7-10

11. ABC Model of Attitudes
7-11
the way a consumer feels
about an attitude object
(feeling)
person’s intentions to
do something with
regard to an attitude
object – dose not
always result in an
actual behavior-
(doing
“Intention to take
an action”)
beliefs a consumer
has about an
attitude object
(knowing)
An attitude has three components:

12. Attitude Components
Attitude Components
Stimuli:
Stimuli:
Products,
Products,
situations,
situations,
retail outlets,
retail outlets,
sales
sales
personnel,
personnel,
advertisement
advertisement
s, and other
s, and other
attitude
attitude
objects
objects
Overall
Overall
orientati
orientati
on
on
toward
toward
object
object
Affective
Affective
Behavioral
Behavioral
Cognitive
Cognitive
Emotions or feelings
about specific attributes
or overall object
Beliefs about specific
attributes or overall
object
Behavioral intentions
with respect to specific
attributes or overall
object
Initiator Component Component manifestation Attitude
7-12

13. Hierarchies of Effects
Which Comes First: Knowing, Feeling, or Doing?
• Explain the relative impact of the three components
• The three hierarchies are:
1. The Standard Learning Hierarchy—
this is a problem-solving process. (high involvement purchasing decision)
• First forms beliefs based on knowledge (beliefs) , then evaluates the
beliefs and forms feelings about the product (affect). then engages in
relevant behavior.
2. The Low-involvement Hierarchy—
based on good or bad experiences.
• Assumes the consumer initially does not have strong preferences for
one brand over another and instead forms an evaluation only after she
has bought the product.
3. The Experiential Hierarchy—
an emotional response.
• we act on our emotional reactions
7-13
Feel
Think Do
Feel Think
Do
Feel Think
Do

14. How Do We Form Attitudes?
7-14

15. 7-15
Forming Attitudes
• Attitudes can be formed through:
• Classical conditioning—using a jingle.
• Instrumental conditioning—the attitude
object is reinforced.
• Leaning through complex cognitive
processes—one learning what to do in
social situations

16. 7-16
Attitude Commitment
All Attitudes Are Not Created Equal
Consumers vary in their commitment to an attitude; the degree of
commitment is related to their level of involvement with the attitude
object.
The lowest level,
we form an attitude
because it helps us
gain rewards or
avoid punishment
we form an
attitude to
conform to
another
person’s or
group’s
expectations.
the highest level of
involvement, called
internalization, our
attitudes become a deep
part of our value system.
attitudes are difficult to
change because they are
important to us.

17. 7-17

18. 7-18
Consistency Principle
• principle of cognitive consistency:
consumers value harmony among their
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and
they are motivated to maintain uniformity
among these elements.
• People will change to remain consistent with
prior experiences.

19. 7-19
Consistency Principle
• The theory of cognitive dissonance
• when a person is confronted with
inconsistencies among attitudes or
behaviors, he or she will take some action to
resolve this “dissonance,” perhaps by
changing an attitude or modifying a behavior.
• A cognitive element can be something a
person believes about himself, a behavior he
performs, or an observation about his
surroundings (smoking and cancer)

20. 7-20
Consistency Principle
• People seek to reduce dissonant behavior or feelings. This can
be done by
• eliminating, “reduce the importance of the dissonant
beliefs”
• adding, “add more consonant beliefs that outweigh the
dissonant beliefs“
• changing elements. “ change the dissonant beliefs so
that they are no longer inconsistent“
• Dissonance theory can help to explain why evaluations of a
product tend to increase after we buy the product
• Since consumers actively seek support for their decision so
they can justify them; therefor, marketers should supply their
customers with additional reinforcement after they purchase.
(the augmented level of the product)

21. 7-21
Social Judgment Theory
• We adapt new information about attitude objects in light of
what we already know/feel
• The initial attitude acts as a frame of reference, and new
information is categorized in terms of this existing
standard.
• Initial attitude = frame of reference
• People differ in term of information they will find
acceptable or unacceptable
• They form what is known as latitudes of acceptance and
rejection around the attitude standard.
• Ideas that fall within the latitude are deemed favorable
but others are not (loyalty)

22. 7-22
Balance Theory
• Considers how a person might perceive relations
among different attitude objects and how he might alter
attitudes to maintain consistency
• Triad attitude structures:
• Person & his perception
• An attitude object
• Some other person/object
• The theory specifies that we want relations among
elements in a triad to be harmonious. If they are
unbalanced, this creates tension that we are motivated
to reduce by changing our perceptions in order to
restore balance.

23. Figure 7.2 Balance Theory
• We link elements together in
one of two ways:
• Unit relation: where we
think a person is
somehow connected to
an attitude object
(something like a belief)
• Sentiment relation: where
a person express liking
or disliking for an
attitude object
• Balance theory accounts for
the widespread use of
celebrities in advertising.
7-23

24. 7-24

25. Attitude Models
• Attitude Models
• Attitude models have been developed to
specify and explore the different elements
that affect attitudes.
7-25

26. 7-26
Multi-Attribute Attitude Models
• Consumer’s attitudes toward an attitude object depend on
beliefs she has about object attributes
“the model assumes that a consumer’s attitude (evaluation) of an
attitude object (Ao) will depend on beliefs he or she has about
several or many attributes of the object.”
• Basic multi-attribute models specify three elements
• Attributes of Ao - characteristics of the attitude object.
• Beliefs about Ao - cognitions about the specific attitude object
(the extent to which the consumer perceives that a brand
possess a particular attribute)
• Importance weights - reflects the relative priority of an attribute
to the consumers (people might consider an Ao on a number of
attribute, but some are likely to be more important than others)

27. The Fishbein Model
• The most influential of the multi-attribute models is
the Fishbein model.
• This model measures:
• Salient beliefs—those beliefs about the object
that are considered during evaluation.
• Object-attitude linkages—the probability that a
particular object has an important attribute.
• Evaluation of each of the important attributes.
• Using these components, we can compute a
consumer’s overall attitude toward an object.
7-27

28. The Fishbein Model
Ajk = ß
Ʃ ijkIik
Where
i = attribute
j = brand
k = consumer
I =the importance weight given attribute i by consumer k
ß = consumer k’s belief regarding the extent to which brand j
possesses attribute i
A = a particular consumer (k’s) attitude score for brand j
7-28

29. 7-29
Table 7.1 Saundra’s College Decision
Attribute
Import. (I)
Beliefs (β)
Smith Princeton Rutgers Northland
Academic reputation 6 8 9 6 3
All women 7 9 3 3 3
Cost 4 2 2 6 9
Proximity to home 3 2 2 6 9
Athletics 1 1 2 5 1
Party atmosphere 2 1 3 7 9
Library facilities 5 7 9 7 2
Attitude Score 163 142 153 131

30. 7-30
Marketing Applications
of the Multiattribute Model

31. Do Attitudes Predict Behavior?
• You can’t always predict from knowledge of
attitudes.
• A consumer can love a commercial but not
buy the product.
• A person’s attitude is not a very good
predictor of behavior.
7-31

32. 7-32
The Extended Fishbein Model:
The Theory of Reasoned Action
• Intentions versus behavior:
• Measure behavioral intentions, not just intentions
• A person who holds an attitude with greater conviction is more
likely to act on it
• past behavior is a better predictor than intentions.
• The theory recognizes that certain uncontrollable factors limit our
ability to predict the future with 100 percent accuracy
• Social pressure:
• Maybe the most important
• acknowledge the power of other people in purchasing decision
• Attitude toward buying:
• measure attitude toward the act of buying, not just the product
• focuses on perceived consequences of purchase.

33. Social pressure
7-33
This ad
employs social
pressure to
address
people's
attitude toward
wearing
helmets

34. How Do Marketers Change
Attitudes?
Persuasion: involves an active attempt to change attitudes
The marketer can attempt to change attitudes through
persuasive and interactive communications.
7-34

35. How Do Marketers Change Attitudes?
• Basic
psychological
principles that
influence
people to
change their
minds or
comply with a
request
7-35

36. 7-36
Tactical Communications Options
To craft persuasive messages that
might persuade someone to buy
one brand over another, we
should address several questions
• Who will be source of message?
• How should message be
constructed?
• What media will transmit
message?
• What target market characteristics
will influence ad’s acceptance?

37. 7-37
Figure 7.4
The Traditional Communications Model

38. 7-38
Figure 7.5
An Updated Communications Model

39. 7-39
New Message Formats
• M-commerce - marketers promote goods and
services via wireless devices
• New social media platforms
• Blogging
• Video blogging (vlogging)
• Podcasting
• Tweeting
• Virtual worlds
• Widgets

40. The source (who)
7-40

41. 7-41
The Source
• Source effects: mean the same words by
different people can have very different
meanings
• A “source” may be chosen due to expertise,
fame, attractiveness, or similarity
• Two very important source characteristics are
credibility and attractiveness
• Source attractiveness refers to the perceived social
value the message receivers associate with the
source. It is related to appearance, personality, social
status, and similarity to the receiver.

42. The Source
How do marketers decide whether to stress credibility or
attractiveness?
Credibility Attractiveness
Match between the
need of the
recipient and the
potential rewards
the source offer
- More powerful when
speaks to internally
oriented people
- More effective for receiver
who tend to be sensitive
about social acceptance
and others’ opinions
The type of
product
- Experts excel when we
want to change attitudes
toward utilitarian products
with high performance risk
(vacuums)
- Celebrities work better
when they focus on
products that have high
social risk (jewelry –
furniture)
“typical” consumers who are appealing source because
of their similarity to the recipient are both likable and
trustworthy, are most effective when they provide real-
life endorsements for everyday products that are low risk
7-42

43. Source Credibility
• Source credibility: a source’s perceived expertise, objectivity, or
trustworthiness
• A credible source can be particularly persuasive when the consumer has
not yet learned much about a product or formed an opinion of it.
• What factors affect credibility
• Credibility can be enhanced if the source’s qualifications are perceived as
somehow relevant to the product being endorsed
• What is credible to one consumer segment may be a turnoff to anther.
• A consumer’s beliefs about a product’s attributes can be weakened if the
source is perceived to be bias
• Knowledge bias: implies that a source’s knowledge about a topic is
not accurate.
• Reporting bias: occurs where a source has the required knowledge,
but his or her willingness to convey it accurately is compromised
• In contrast, buzz generated by word of mouth is viewed as authentic and
credible
7-43

44. Source Attractiveness
“What Is Beautiful Is Good”
• Source attractiveness: refers to the source’s perceived social
value.
• This quality can emanate from the person’s physical
appearance, personality, social status, or similarity to the
receiver (we like to listen to people who are like us).
• A halo effect often occurs when persons of high rank on one
dimension are assumed to excel on others as well
• We’re more likely to notice an ad with beautiful person in it, but
we won’t necessarily read it..
• A physically attractive source, however, tends to facilitate
attitude change, spicily where attractive is relevant (perfume
ads)
7-44

45. Source Attractiveness
7-45

46. Star Power: Celebrities As
Communication Source
• Customers pay more attention to famous
faces.
• Celebrities embody cultural meanings to the
general society – they symbolize important
categories like a status and social class
• The match-up hypothesis says that
celebrities that match the product are the
most successful endorsers.
7-46

47. 7-47

48. 7-48
Star Power

49. Nonhuman Endorsers
• At times, the image of celebrity endorsers
can damage the image of a company or
brand. For this reason companies may seek
animated characters or fictitious mascots as
endorsers. (spokes-characters)
7-49

50. The Message (how, and what)
7-50

51. 7-51
Decisions to Make About the Message
• Characteristics of the message itself have an impact on
attitudes. Issues facing marketers include:
• Should the marketer convey the message in words or
pictures?
• How often should the marketer repeat the message?
• Should the message draw a conclusion or should this be
left up to the listener?
• Should the message present both sides of an argument?
• Should the message explicitly compare the product to
competitors?
• Should the message include a blatant sexual appeal?
• Should the message arouse negative emotions such as
fear?
• How concrete or vivid should the arguments and imagery
be?
• Should the message be funny?

52. How Do We Send The Message
Visual message
• Affect visual evaluation
• Visual messages result in a
stronger memory trace that
aids retrieval over time
Verbal message
• Verbal messages are
stronger in high-involvement
situations such as print
context
• Affects rating on the
utilitarian aspects
• Decay more rapidly so these
messages require more
frequent exposure
7-52
Both elements used together are especially strong.

53. 7-53

54. How Do We Send The Message
• Elements:
• the concrete discussion of a product attribute in ad copy influences
the importance of that attribute because it drove more attention
• Vividness—powerful descriptions and graphics help us remember.
• Repetition—repetition helps us remember, but ads “wear out.” Too
much repetition creates habituation.
• The two-factor theory:
• proposes that two separate psychological processes are operating
when a person is repeatedly exposed to an ad.
• The positive side increases familiarity and reduces uncertainty.
• The negative side breeds boredom over time, at some point
boredom exceed.
Advertisers have to watch too much repetition. Provide variety in
the basic message.
7-54
YouTube-McDonald's-2006~07collection-Singapore.fv

55. 7-55
Two-Factor Theory

56. Visual Message
7-56
This clothing ad uses vivid imagery to communicate

57. 7-57
How Do We Structure Arguments?
• One-sided:
• Present one or more positive attributes about the product
• supportive arguments
• most often used
• Two-sided:
• both positive and negative information
• Refutational argument: negative issue is raised, then
dismissed
• The typical refutational strategy discusses relatively minor
attributes that may present a problem or fall short when the
customers compares a product to competitors.
• Positive attributes should refute presented negative attributes
• Effective with well-educated and not-yet-loyal audiences

58. Refutational Advertisement
7-58

59. 7-59
Comparative Advertising
• Comparative advertising: message compares
two+ recognizable brands on specific
attributes
• More effective for products that already
have positive brand image
• Negative outcomes include source
derogation spicily if it was in a bad way
audi-1.WMV

60. 7-60
Types of Message Appeals

61. Rational Appeals
7-61
The Crest Pro-Health campaign
emphasizes information over emotions
as it focuses on the toothpaste’s health
benefits

62. Sex Appeal
7-62

63. Humorous Appeals
7-63

64. Fear Appeals
7-64
drink driving awareness campaign
The World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF), they work on issues
related to the conservation,
research and restoration of the
environment. With the mission”
to halt and reverse the
destruction of our environment”,

65. The Source Versus the Message
• Variations in a consumer’s level of involvement result in the
activation of very different cognitive processes when a message
is received
• The Elaboration Likelihood Model
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) assumes that once a
consumer receives a message he or she begins to process it.
Depending on the personal relevance of this information, one of
two routes to persuasion will be followed. The routes are:
• Central route to persuasion
• Peripheral route to persuasion
• The basic idea of ELM is that:
• Highly involved consumers look for strong, rational arguments
• Less involved consumers go for the colors and images in packaging or
famous people's endorsements
7-65

66. The Elaboration Likelihood Model
• Central route to persuasion
• Under conditions of high involvement
• The consumer will determine if the message is relevant.
• The person will actively think about the arguments presented
(cognitive responses) and generate either positive or
negative (counterarguments) responses.
• Peripheral route to persuasion
• Under conditions of low involvement
• The consumer is not motivated to think about the argument
• Uses other cues in deciding on the suitability of the message
7-66

67. 7-67
Figure 7.7 Elaboration Likelihood Model

68. 7-68
08/26/22
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Assignment (20 marks)
• Imagine that you work for the marketing department of your
school (school of continues education, AUC) and have
segmented students into four different clusters, each
representing one of the four functions identified by Katz.
• Develop a marketing strategy based on each of the four
functions to motivate students to stay in school and complete
their certificate.
Focus on the coming points
• The Message
• The Medium
• The Source
• And the appeals.
7-68

69. 7-69
Chapter Summary
• Attitudes are very powerful, and they are
formed in several ways.
• People try to maintain consistency among
their attitudinal components and their
attitudes and behaviors.
• The communications model includes several
important components which can be
influenced by marketers to enhance the
persuasiveness of the message.