Module 3 Flashcards
Attitude
Attitudes are evaluations (positive or negative) of objects, people, or ideas.
Functions of Attitudes
~ Knowledge Function: Helps us make sense of the world.
~ Utilitarian Function: Helps predict pleasure or pain, rewards or punishments.
~ Value-Expressive Function: Expresses personal values or self-concept.
~ Ego-Defensive Function: Protects self-image or justifies behaviors.
The ABC Model of Attitudes
- Affect: Feelings about an attitude object (I love this brand).
- Behavior: Behavioral intentions or actions (I will buy this product).
- Cognition: Beliefs or thoughts about the attitude object (This product is high quality).
Hierarchies of Attitude Formation
- High-Involvement Hierarchy
- Low-Involvement Hierarchy
- Zajonc’s Model of Hedonic Consumption (Experiential Hierarchy)
High-Involvement Hierarchy
Involves cognitive processing first, leading to affect (feelings), then resulting in behavior (action). For example, buying a laptop, you gather information (cognition), form an opinion (affect), then make a purchase decision (behavior).
Low-Involvement Hierarchy
Minimal information is needed before behavior occurs, then affect (feelings) form after consumption. For example, buying a product at Costco after sampling - no in-depth research beforehand.
Experiential Hierarchy
Attitudes form based on emotional reactions, driven by experiences or hedonic (pleasure seeking needs). For example, buying limited edition lipstick based on the excitement of the product’s design.
Levels of Commitment
- Compliance (Lowest): Attitudes are formed for rewards or to avoid punishment.
- Identification (Moderate): Attitudes are formed to be like someone else or belong to a group.
- Internalization (Highest): Attitudes are deeply rooted and align with personal values, making them hard to change.
Theories of Attitude Formation
- Cognitive Consistency
- Cognitive Dissonance
- Self-Perception Theory
- Social Judgement Theory
- Balance Theory
Cognitive Consistency
Consumers seek harmony between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and will adjust them to maintain consistency.
Cognitive Dissonance
The discomfort caused by holding conflicting attitudes or behaviors (loving a brand but believing it’s unhealthy).
Self-Perception Theory
Consumers infer their attitudes by observing their own behaviors (If you always go to ESSO, you might include that you like it, even if it’s just the closest station).
Social Judgment Theory
Consumers evaluate new information based on their existing attitudes (Hilary Clinton supporters may support a policy just because it’s described as hers, regardless of the content).
Balance Theory
Involves relationships between a person, another person, and an attitude object (product or brand). For example, if you want to buy a Mini but your friend dislikes it, you might either change your attitude, your friend’s attitude, or your friendship to restore balance.
Challenge & Approach Content
Challenge: Consumers are more active and goal oriented today, drawing on media for entertainment, fun and self-affirmation.
Approach: Marketers must refine messages based on consumer feedback and focus on the source and content of the message to persuade effectively.
Source Credibility & Source Attractiveness
~ Source Credibility: Trustworthiness and expertise of the communicator (health advice from the WHO is seen as more credible than advice from a friend).
~ Source Attractiveness: Social value (physical appearance, status).
Halo Effect & Non-Human Endorsers
• Halo Effect: Attractive people are assumed to be good at other things as well, making them persuasive.
• Non-Human Endorsers: Brand mascots (Ronald McDonald) are effective because they don’t age, don’t have scandals, and can be constantly updated.
Forked-Tailed Effect
Sometimes, less attractive sources can be more persuasive, especially for causes needing help (charity ads featuring less attractive children).
Visual & Verbal Stimuli
~ Verbal: Useful for communicating utilitarian product benefits, especially with high involvement.
~ Visual: Influences emotional and aesthetic reactions, helpful in forming inferences about a product.
Two-Sided Message
~ Presents both positive and negative information. Effective for educated or skeptical audiences (Buckley’s “It tastes awful, but it works”).
Drawing a Conclusion
~ Research suggests direct conclusions are more effective when arguments are complex or the audience is less motivated (best coffee shop).
Comparative Advertising
~ Compares brands directly. Can grab attention but may seem offensive or unprofessional. Legal restrictions (avoiding superlatives or competitor logos in Canada).
Types of Message Appeals
• Emotional vs. Rational Appeals
~ Emotional: Aims to influence feelings (Coca-Cola).
~ Rational: Provides useful information, often in functional or utility-driven categories.
• Sex Appeals
~ Can attract but not always effective.
• Humorous Appeals
~ Create positive feelings, get attention, and ease tension. However, humor is subjective, and some ads may offend.
• Fear Appeals
~ Use negative consequences to discourage behaviors (anti-smoking ads).
The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
• Central Route (High Involvement)
~ Consumers actively process information, evaluate arguments, and form beliefs/attitudes that guide behavior. For example, researching a product’s features and making a well-informed decision.
• Peripheral Route (Low Involvement)
~ Consumers use simple cues like source attractiveness or brand image without actively thinking about the message content. For example, choosing a product because it has an attractive package or is endorsed by a celebrity.
Types of Consumer Decisions
• Habitual Decision Making
• Limited Problem Solving
• Extended Problem Solving
Habitual Decision Making
Low cost, frequent purchases made with little to no effort (toothpaste, coffee). Consumers are low involved and familiar with the product.
Limited Problem Solving
Requires some cognitive effort and decision rules (sorting products by price, rating, popularity). Consumers make decisions with some thought but an extensive search.
Extended Problem Solving
High cognitive effort and time spent on decisions (buying a smartphone). Consumers go through the 5 stages to make a well-informed decision.
Stages of Extended Problem Solving
- Problem Recognition
• Difference between current state and ideal state.
• Opportunity recognition (wanting something better) vs. need recognition (facing a problem, broken phone). - Information Search
• Internal Search: Recalling prior knowledge or experience.
• External Search: Looking for information outside (ads, reviews, friends, search engines).
• Influenced by expertise, perceived risk, and personal factors (educational level).
• Consumers don’t always conduct a full search; many settle for a “good enough” choice. - Evaluation of Alternatives
• Alternatives are categorized into consideration sets (brands actively compared).
• Factors influencing consideration set: Consumer knowledge, category positioning (superordinate/basic/subordinate levels).
• Marketers aim to get into the consideration set through clear brand positioning. - Product Choice
• Determinant Attributes: Key features that influence choice (Toyota’s Sienna’s all-wheel drive).
• Influence of Others: Recommendations from family/friends and online reviews are highly trusted. - Post-Purchase Evaluation
• Evaluation happens after purchase, influence future behavior (satisfaction or regret).
Bounded Rationality
Consumers often don’t search exhaustively and settle for options that are “good enough”.
Framing Effect
• Gain Frame: People avoid risk (saving lives).
• Loss Frame: People seek risk (avoiding deaths).
Sunk-Cost Fallacy
Continuing a behavior due to past investments (continuing tennis with an injury to avoid wasting a membership).
Ownership Effect
People value things they own more than those they don’t (wanting to sell a gift for a higher price than it was bought).
Heuristics
Quick decision rules based on factors like product signals, market beliefs, or country of origin (associating quality with “Made in Japan”.
Habitual vs. Loyalty
Habitual Buying
• Low effort, often driven by routine, which marketers can break using promotions or price changes.
Loyalty
• Emotional commitment, repeat purchases, positive word of mouth, and higher forgiveness of brand faults. Loyal customers are more resistant to switching brands.
Social Surroundings
- Influence of Others: Consumers are influenced by the presence of other shoppers and employees.
• Socially Desirable Choices: People may choose green products, organic products, or make charitable donations when others are watching.
• Crowded Environments: Crowded spaces like theme parks can induce negative feelings, while crowded concerts may increase excitement.
• Tactile Influence: Consumers tend to avoid products that have been touched by others due to perceived contamination, unless the person who touched it is attractive. - Salesperson Influence:
• The appearance and communication skills of salespeople can affect consumer behavior.
• Some retailers avoid hiring employees with visible tattoos for customer facing positions, as tattoos may negatively influence consumer perception (less confidence, lower satisfaction).
Physical Surroundings and Store Image
• Retail Environment: Elements like decor, smells, and temperature impact consumer decisions.
• Supermarket Design: Strategic store layout encourage unplanned purchases.
• Entertainment: Malls now compete with online shopping by offering entertainment (water parks, amusement parks) alongside retail.
Temporal Factors
• Receptivity to Marketing
~ Occasion time, Leisure time, and Time to kill are the best moments for reaching consumers. For example, digital mobile TVs are used in places where people are waiting (buses, subways) to reach consumers during “time to kill”.
• Time Poverty
~ People feel they have less time, which affects their buying behavior. Marketers can reduce actual or psychological wait times by improving service or offering self-service technologies.
~ Psychological Waiting Time: The feel of waiting can be reduced through entertainment or added services (board games, snacks, manicures).
Mood
Emotional Influence
• Mood (pleasure/arousal) greatly impacts consumer behavior or purchases. A positive mood can increase willingness to buy.
• Scent and Mood: Retailers use scents to create a positive mood, which can influence purchases and product evaluation.
E-Commerce
Online Shopping Behavior
• Consumers expect a fast, easy purchasing process online. Online shoppers behave differently from in-store shoppers.
• Website Design: Cultural differences impact online shopping experiences (French websites are bold and energetic, while UK sites are clean and focused on photography).
Post Purchase Satisfaction
• Satisfaction vs. Dissatisfaction
~ A consumer’s satisfaction depends on the expectations of product quality vs. the perception of actual quality.
• Managing Expectations: Marketers need to manage consumer expectations to avoid dissatisfaction (Crest guarantees results after three days).
• Consequences of Dissatisfaction: Consumers can seek refunds, express dissatisfaction to others, boycott the brand, or take legal action. Negative word of mouth can hard a brand’s reputation.
• Dealing with Negative Reviews
~ Brands need strategies to handle negative electronic word of mouth (United Airlines handling a PR crisis).
Product Disposal
Disposal of Products
~ How and when consumers dispose of products (smartphones) is a critical issue.
• Smartphone Lifespan: On average, U.S. consumers kept their phones for 24.7 months in 2018 before upgrading.
• Disposal Options: Consumers may keep, sell, trade-in, or recycle products, but many are reluctant to dispose of old phones.
• Environmental Impact: Improper disposal contributes to environmental problems.
~ Ethical Disposal: Thrift stores promote donating unwanted items to reduce waste and extend life product.
