Attitudes can be defined as the way people think, feel, and
act toward some aspect of their environment. A result of
all the factors discussed so far in the text, attitudes influence,
as well as reflect, the lifestyle individuals pursue.
Attitudes have three components: cognitive, affective,
and behavioral. The cognitive component consists
of the individual's beliefs or knowledge about the object.
It is generally assessed by using a version of the
multiattribute attitude model. Feelings or emotional reactions
to an object represent the affective component of
the attitude and can be assessed in various ways including
adSAM. The behavioral component reflects overt
actions and statements of behavioral intentions with respect
to specific attributes of the object or the overall
object. In general, all three components tend to be consistent
with each other.
Attitude change strategies can focus on affect, behavior,
cognition, or some combination. Attempts to
change affect generally rely on classical conditioning.
Change strategies focusing on behavior rely more on
operant conditioning. Changing cognitions usually
involves information processing and cognitive learning.
Whether affect and emotion influence attitudes under
high involvement depends on their decision relevance.
Source credibility is composed of two dimensions:
trustworthiness and expertise. Persuasion is much easier
when the message source is viewed as highly credible.
Celebrities are widely used as product or company
spokespersons. They are most effective when their
image matches the personality of the product and the actual
or desired self-concept of the target market.
The appeals used to change attitudes are important
and are varied. Fear appeals use threat of negative consequences
if attitudes or behaviors are not altered.
Humorous appeals can also be effective in influencing
attitudes. However, the humorous message must remain
focused on the brand or main selling point to be maximally
effective.
Comparative ads produce mixed results. They are
most effective for unknown brands having a strong
functional advantage.
The decision to use a value-expressive or utilitarian
appeal depends on whether the brand fills value-expressive
or utilitarian needs. However, this is complicated
when the brand fills both types of needs.
Emotional appeals have been found to have a strong
effect on attitudes toward both the ad and the product.
Three aspects of the structure of the message affect
its effectiveness. Two-sided (versus one-sided) messages
can increase trust and message acceptance, but
effects depend on characteristics of the individual and
situation. Message framing effects -- presenting equivalent
value outcomes either in positive (positive framing)
or negative (negative framing) terms -- depend on type
of frame. Positive attribute framing tends to work best
whereas negative goal framing tends to work best. Nonverbal
aspects of the ad, such as pictures, surrealism,
and music, also affect attitudes.
Consumer evaluations, feelings, and beliefs about
specific product features form the basis for market segmentation
strategies, such as benefit segmentation, and
for new-product development strategies.
