ATTITUDE FORMATION AND CHANGE

Christine Swales & Bob McClelland

INTRODUCTION

In this unit, we explore how attitudes are formed and the strategies used by
marketers to attempt to change attitudes. Why are marketers interested in attitude?
While we cannot establish a direct causal relationship between attitude and
behaviour, we do know that there is a relationship between these two concepts. The
study of attitude formation and change helps us explain and hopefully predict
consumer purchase behaviour.

We study four basic structural attitude models: the tri-component attitude model,
single-component attitude models, multi-attribute attitude models, and attitude-
towards-the-ad models.

We also review Fishbein’s Theory of Reasoned Action Model in more detail as a

working example of how multi-attribute models are developed and used. Fishbein’s
attitude-towards-object model illustrates attitude measurement techniques
measuring attitudes towards products or specific brands.

We apply learning theories to the learning of attitudes. Remember that ‘learned’

was one of the key words in the definition. We then explore the impact of
experience, personal influence and exposure to media on attitude formation.

If your target consumers have an unfavourable attitude towards your product and the
chances of purchase are therefore quite slim, do you drop the product line or even
close down your business? The answer is . . . no! Just as an unfavourable attitude
was learned, the potential exists that a more favourable attitude can be learned,
leading to an increased chance of purchase. We explore general attitude change
strategies and some specific attitude change strategies involving the Fishbein model.

Two relatively new theories, cognitive dissonance theory and attribution theory,
suggest that behaviour may precede attitude formation and change.

Attitude formation is a continuous process, as knowledge and experience interact

with existing attitudes and modified attitudes emerge. As marketers, we must be
aware of how attitudes are formed, how attitudes translate into behaviour (and
possibly the reverse), and how marketing strategies can affect attitude formation and
behaviour.
OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• define attitude and explain its characteristics
• discuss structural models of attitudes
• explain Fishbein’s attitude-towards-object and Theory of Reasoned Action
models, and evaluate their use in marketing strategies
• apply behaviourist and cognitive learning theories to attitudes
• identify how attitude formation may be influenced by experience, personal
influence and exposure to mass media
• discuss attitude change strategies
• explain cognitive dissonance and attribution theories.

SECTION 1

ATTITUDE

INTRODUCTION

When someone verbalises an attitude, it is called an opinion, and you hear words
such as ‘like’, ‘dislike’, ‘really don’t care’. In your next conversation with a friend
or family member, notice how many times these words, or similar words, are
used. They indicate that an attitude is being expressed. As attitudes are ‘mental
positions’, they cannot be observed directly. Marketers must infer attitudes
through research methods that require consumers to express opinions.

1.1 Defining attitude

There are many different definitions of ‘attitude’, however, that advanced by

Schiffman and Kanuk contains most of the major concepts: a learned predisposition
to behave in a consistently favourable or unfavourable way with respect to a given
object (1996). The main characteristics of attitudes are indicated by the key words in
the definition: learned, predisposition, behave.

Remember that attitudes occur within a situation and that the situation can, and will,
influence the relationship between attitude and behaviour. A consumer can have
different attitudes towards the same product depending on the situation.

The main characteristics of attitudes are:

• Attitudes are learned from personal experience, information provided by

others, and market controlled sources, in particular exposure to mass media.

• Attitudes are predispositions. A predisposition is an inclination or tendency

towards something; attitudes have motivational qualities.

• Attitudes have a relationship with behaviour. For marketers, the behaviour

of primary interest is product purchase. Remember, however, that we are not
suggesting or assuming a causal relationship.

• Attitudes are consistent. However, this does not necessarily mean that they
are permanent; attitudes can change.
• Attitudes are directed towards an object and are very specific reactions to
that object. For example, you like ‘x’ but you don’t like ‘y’. The term ‘object’
includes specific consumption- or marketing-related concepts, such as
product, product category, brand, service, possessions, product use,
advertisement, price, medium, or retailer (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1996).

What is not obvious from the definition is the fact that attitudes may be situationally
determined. For example, you may really like a McDonald's hamburger for lunch, but
you would not want to eat one for breakfast. Similarly, you may really like the food at
Pret a Manger but if you were taking your best friend out for a birthday lunch, you
would probably not choose to go there. The purchase or usage situation may affect
the intensity or change the attitude. .

ACTIVITY 1

1 Is the following an acceptable definition of attitude? Explain your answer.

Attitudes are predispositions to respond in an essentially favourable or

unfavourable manner, depending on the situation.

2 Provide three examples of products towards which you have a positive

attitude, but which you might not purchase or use in a certain situation.

Provide one example of a product towards which you have a negative

attitude, which you might purchase or use in a particular situation.

3 Why are the key words predisposition and consistency in the definition of
attitude significant to a consumer behaviourist?

Commentary

1 Two key words are missing from the definition — learned and consistently.
Attitudes are learned through direct and indirect knowledge and experience.
If attitudes were not learned but rather innate or inborn, they could not be
changed.

Attitudes direct behaviour and lead to consistent responses. ‘If I have an

unfavourable attitude towards meat, I will not order it, eat it or buy it, ever.’
Until the attitude is changed, the behaviour will be consistent — avoidance of
meat.

One positive aspect of this definition though is situation. Attitudes can be

situation specific. For example, you may consider it appropriate to purchase a
low cost item if it is only for personal consumption but may not purchase that
same item if it will be used by others. Even though the attitude may change
between situations, it is still consistent within the situation. ‘I always buy the
low cost item for myself but never for others.’

2 Remember that attitudes occur within situations. For example, you may have
a positive attitude towards Heinz baked beans but you would not serve them
at a dinner party. You may have a negative attitude towards Coke, preferring
Pepsi, but you may purchase Coke if a friend or family member who really
liked Coke was coming to visit.
3 Consumer behaviourists are concerned with attitude because we know there
is a relationship between attitude and behaviour, even though we have not
been able to establish a causal relationship. The fact that attitudes are
predispositions or inclinations implies that they have motivational qualities
and may ‘impel an individual to action’. The concept of predisposition
establishes the relationship between attitude and behaviour. Consistency is
equally important, as once attitudes are formed, they influence behaviour in
the same manner until they are changed. In other words, until there has been
a change in the attitude, perhaps from positive to negative, the positive
attitude will have a positive influence on behaviour, in each behavioural
situation.
1.2 Structural models of attitude

Why do we study different models of attitude? Models assist us in describing

attitudes. Once we have a framework to use in describing attitudes, we are in a
better position, as marketers, to explain, and hopefully predict the attitudes of our
target consumer, and ultimately their purchase behaviour.

Why are there so many different models, all essentially describing attitude?
Obviously each theorist or model creator feels that their model is the ‘best’ and
provides answers to all the questions. Each model takes a different view of the
number of component parts of an attitude, of how they are arranged, and how the
component parts interrelate. No one model provides all the answers to our question
‘What is an attitude and how is it formed’. At best, models can just help.

Before we look at different structural models, let’s review a basic model of the
process of attitude formation and the implications for the purchase decision. The
basic model shown in Figure 1 provides a starting point and provides some context
for reviewing the other models, in particular Fishbein’s Theory of Reasoned Action.

Figure 1: How attitudes are formed: a basic model.

Internal and external information sources

Information about a specific product class or brand is gathered from a variety of

sources. Some information is already stored in our memory as a result of past
cognitions or experiences. Other information we gather ourselves, either through
conscious information gathering, for example, reading consumer magazines,
attending trade shows, talking to industry or government experts; or by more passive
means, such as watching television, or reading a poster on the London Underground.
We also receive information from those around us and by observing their actions,
especially our families in their daily consumption routines. Marketers, through
advertising, packaging and point of purchase displays, are constantly providing
consumers with information about their own and their competitors’ products.

Belief base

All this information forms our belief base — called cognitions — about the particular
product. Marketing researchers are constantly amazed by the volume of information
consumers have about different products, from price variability, to product packaging
details, to store shelf position.

As an experiment, list all the things you know about Coke; it doesn’t matter how
insignificant it may seem. Ask two friends to make comparable lists. When you
compare the three lists, you may be surprised at the volume of knowledge you have
about an everyday item. For example, did you or your friends point out that Diet
Coke cans have red lettering on a white base while Coke Classic cans have white
lettering on a red base?

Salient beliefs
Only a small number of beliefs are significant enough to an individual consumer to be
used in forming the attitude. These are referred to as salient beliefs. Imagine the
potential information overload if all the beliefs about a product had to be internally
evaluated before an attitude was formed! It is important to recognise that those
beliefs considered salient can change over time and are individual in nature. What
one consumer considers to be a salient belief may not be considered as such by
another. Many marketing strategies are designed to introduce new salient beliefs or
change the importance of existing salient beliefs.

For example: you may know that Colgate toothpaste prevents cavities, contains
calcium, is manufactured by the Colgate-Palmolive Company, is available at Boots,
Safeways, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, has tartar control, comes in a gel or paste, is in a
red, white and blue package, comes in a tube or pump, comes in mint and regular
flavours, gets teeth clean, and is used by your mother and father. However, you may
consider only the fact that it fights cavities, and comes in a gel format in a pump to
be significant or of importance. Only these three beliefs would become considered as
salient beliefs.

Attitude

Salient beliefs are evaluated as either positive or negative, and then bundled
together to form the attitude. Obviously, some weighting occurs. Even though you
may be evaluating five salient beliefs, perhaps you consider one of them to be more
important, and therefore, your evaluation of that salient belief will carry more weight
in the ultimate attitude.

Set placement

Overall attitude determines set placement within the awareness set. Products we
have a favourable attitude towards form the evoked set, from which purchase
decisions are made. For truly brand loyal consumers, often there is only one product
in the evoked set, or possibly a backup, in case of emergencies like stock-outs. Other
consumers may have a number of products in the evoked set which are prioritised
depending on availability — first, second and third choice, or on situational variables.
For example, when you have visitors you buy Haagen Dazs Chocolate Chip Ice
Cream; but just for yourself, you generally buy whatever is on special offer at Tesco.

Products we neither like nor dislike — that is we are ambivalent towards but are still
aware of them — fall into the inert set. Products towards which we have a negative
attitude fall into the inept set. Negative attitudes are usually, but not always, based
on actual product usage. For example, if an advertisement creates a certain set of
expectations that the consumer believes the product cannot or will not deliver, a
negative attitude may be developed towards the product. Products in the inept set
are not considered for purchase. Not only do we not consider the product for
purchase, but we may actively discourage others from trying or continuing to
purchase the product.

Post-purchase evaluation

Once products are purchased and used, post-purchase evaluation is conducted by the
consumer. Did the product measure up to my expectations? Did it have all the
features I expected or wanted? Did it satisfy my needs?
The results of the post-purchase evaluation act as feedback to all components of the
attitude formation model. You may find that the product has a feature you did not
know about (your belief base is increased); a feature that you find quite significant or
important (this belief now becomes a salient belief); and now you like the product
even more (attitude —> set placement —> purchase behaviour). Feedback is a
continual process, as new information and experiences are assimilated. Remember
from our discussion of defense mechanisms that you may also distort information to
make it consistent with your prior expectations.

This model presents a one way flow with feedback loops, which assumes that
attitudes are initiated from beliefs. However, many would argue that behaviour can
precede attitude. For example, you buy a new brand of shampoo because of a
special coupon promotion, you like its built-in conditioner, and thus develop a
positive attitude towards it. You might find it useful to review this model again after
you have studied cognitive dissonance and attribution theory, which hypothesise that
behaviour can precede attitude.

1.3 Attitude models

We will review four different attitude models:

• Tri-component attitude model: which portrays attitudes as having three

component parts: cognitive (I think/know/believe), affective (I feel), and
conative (I do/intend to do).

• Single-component attitude model: which focuses primarily on the

affective component, with the cognitive and conative components playing, at
best, a secondary role.

• Multi-attribute attitude model: which focuses on selected product

attributes or beliefs. We will discuss the Fishbein Theory of Reasoned Action
Model.

• Attitude-towards-the-ad model: which focuses on the influence of

advertising on attitudes.

Note especially how each model views the cognitive, affective and conative
components. No single model can be the ‘right’ or ‘absolute’ model; whichever
model you choose, you must use it with caution, and always watch the model’s
limitations. Remember that models do not provide answers; they provide insight.

The tri-component attitude model considers all three components to be present in an

attitude, with each component playing an important role in attitude formation and
having the potential to influence the overall attitude.

Single-component attitude models focus almost exclusively on the affective

component. While the modified single-component models do include the cognitive
and conative components, these are only viewed as playing a supportive or
secondary role. The affective component is still judged to be the prime determinant
of attitude or the ‘essence of the attitude’. These models have their limitations and
cannot provide insight into ‘why’ a consumer has a particular attitude, as they ignore
the cognitive component which addresses consumer knowledge and beliefs about a
product. Nor can they measure behavioural intent — just because a consumer has
favourable feelings or emotions towards a product does not guarantee purchase.
Despite these limitations, there has been a significant amount of interest by
researchers and academics.

The difficulty in measuring behavioural intent is not just a limitation of the single-
component attitude models, it is a limitation of all models. We have not yet
established a causal relationship between attitude and behaviour. Favourable
attitude does not guarantee purchase behaviour. Why? You may have a favourable
attitude towards Jaguar and Porsche cars, but unless you have the financial
resources, you cannot translate this favourable attitude into purchase behaviour.
Also, remember the competition. While you may have a favourable attitude towards
Jaguars, perhaps you have a more favourable attitude towards Porsches, even though
you can afford neither! Researchers in the USA studying scanner data from cash
registers at supermarkets noted that (Marketing News, 7 June 1993):

• Consumers who stated that they had a favourable attitude towards ‘green
products’ (environmentally friendly products and packaging) and were willing
to pay 7–22% more for these products did not actually purchase the products.

• Consumers with the highest positive attitude towards healthy living and diet
were the ones who bought fattening desserts.

Some researchers, including Martin Fishbein whose models you will study later,
believe that an attitude is only related to behaviour if they are both on the same level
of specificity in terms of time, object, scope and circumstances. For example, if your
attitude is ‘I really like eating Mars bars while I’m studying’, there is a greater chance
that you will buy Mars bars than if you attitude is ‘I like chocolate bars’. In other
words, unless attitudes are grounded in a reality of time, place, ability to act on them,
or core values, these attitudes can be academically interesting, but deceptive for a
marketer.

The multi-attribute attitude models, in particular the models advanced by Martin

Fishbein (1973), consider all three components. The attitude-towards-object
model looks at both the cognitive and affective components: with the b or belief
variable representing the consumer’s cognition, and the e variable representing the
affective component. The attitude-towards-behaviour model looks at
behavioural intent, the conative component, as well as the affective component.
Fishbein’s Theory of Reasoned Action Model combines all three components
(1973).

Attitude-towards-the-ad models are based on the belief that consumers develop

attitudes towards the advertisement in addition to their attitude towards the product.
These models focus primarily on the influence of advertising, cognitive and affective
components are addressed. Behavioural intent, the conative component, is not
formally addressed in these models.

ACTIVITY 2

A major competitor has just introduced a new model of VCR that is easier to
programme, and the engineering department at Sharp is contemplating a redesign of
its multi-system VCR. Before starting the redesign, the marketing department has
been asked to determine consumer attitudes towards selected product features and
overall attitude towards the model and the competitor’s offering. The marketing
manager has asked you to review the tri-component model, single-component model
and multi-attribute model and to recommend one of these of models as the basis for
the attitude research. How would you respond?

Commentary

In the case of a product redesign, the engineering department would want to ensure
that it changed those features that consumers rated negatively while keeping or
improving those features rated positively. Quite specific information about product
attributes and their evaluation is required.

The tri-component attitude model views overall attitude as consisting of the

cognitive, affective and conative components. Using this model would provide you
with information about the knowledge consumers have about both products, based
on direct experience and related information sources: the cognitive component. The
affective component would provide information about the consumer’s emotions or
feelings about the products: their overall assessment. The conative component
would allow you to test whether consumers intend to purchase the competitor’s
model and compare their intentions relative to the existing and redesigned Sharp
offerings.

The single-component attitude model focuses primarily on the affective component.

You would be able to determine consumers’ overall attitudes towards the two
products which would provide some basis for comparison. However, you would not
be able to determine ‘why’ consumers have the attitudes they do.

Multi-attribute models, such as the Fishbein attitude-towards-object model, would

allow you to determine what consumers judge to be important product attributes
(salient beliefs) for the product class (VCRs), whether consumers feel that each
product has these attributes, and how these attributes are evaluated. Overall
attitude scores can be compared and individual b/e multiples analysed. Specific
information can be provided to the engineering department about those features
that should be kept and those that should be changed. The attitude-towards-
behaviour and Theory of Reasoned Action models give information about
behavioural intent. Again, you could test intent relative to the competition’s
model and the Sharp original and redesigned model. Remember though that the
Theory of Reasoned Action includes the subjective norm that tests the impact of
the opinions of significant others on the behaviour. You would have to determine
who, if anyone, would be considered as significant others in the purchase of a
VCR.

Based on the above, you would probably recommend using multi-attribute models
as the basis for your attitude research as they provide you with the majority of
the information that you need. A case could be made, however, for using the tri-
component model. Note that the affective component tends to be an overall
assessment of good versus bad, favourable versus unfavourable. This may not
provide you with the detailed information that you need.

1.4 Fishbein’s models

We use the attitude-towards-object model to investigate how attitude models are

created, how they are used as a marketing tool to measure attitudes, and how the
resulting information can be used in marketing strategies. This model can also help
in particular attitude change strategies. We will also review the Fishbein Model of
Reasoned Action.
First, we need to understand attitude measurement techniques. If attitude and
behaviour are related, then marketers are interested in determining the attitudes of
current and potential target markets towards their products. Once the attitudes are
known, set placement can be determined, and marketers have some indication about
potential behaviour. Marketing strategies can be developed accordingly.

However, if marketers are to determine attitudes, they must develop measurement

scales and testing instruments. Suppose we wanted to determine your attitude
towards Mars bars. We could ask you simply: ‘Do you like Mars bars, yes or no?’ This
is a rudimentary attitude measurement. Our testing instrument was a verbal
question. While this question would allow us to determine your attitude towards Mars
bars — either you like or don’t like them — it does not tell us how much you like or
don’t like them, or why. It also gives no indication regarding your behavioural
intentions. So the results of this ‘survey’ do not provide much information for use in
a marketing strategy.

We could ask you to rank Mars bars, relative to Kit Kat, Snickers, Crunchy, and Yorkie
from 1 to 5, based on your preferences, with a score of 5 being the highest. This
would give us more information, especially as the other four chocolate bars are direct
competitors. But from this we still do not know what you like (or don’t like) about
Mars bars, or why.

We could ask you to indicate on the scale below whether or not you like Mars bars.

Dislike -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 Like

This scale would give us a better idea of how much you like or dislike Mars bars. We
can even roughly equate your answer to set placement. If you answered 2 or 3, we
would assume that Mars bars are in your evoked set; -3 and -2 would indicate the
inept set; and -1, 0, and 1 would roughly indicate the inert set.

However, we still do not know why you feel like you do, we have no indication of your
attitude towards the competition, and, most importantly, we do not know if you
intend to buy Mars bars.

Marketers who wish to measure attitudes have quickly realised that these simple
measurement scales will not produce the information required for marketing
strategies. They turned to psychology and sociology for attitude scales and testing
instruments that could be adapted for marketing purposes. While there are many
attitude models, scales and testing instruments, the ones that we focus on are
Fishbein’s attitude-towards-object and Theory of Reasoned Action.

Fishbein developed his models from a learning perspective. As people learn about
objects or behaviours, in particular the use or consumption of products, they develop
beliefs that are combined to influence attitudes. We discussed this process in the
simple model of attitude formation earlier.

In the attitude-towards-object model, an attitude towards an object is considered as a

function of the absence or presence of particular product attributes and the
consumer’s evaluation of the importance or desirability of those attributes.
The attitude-towards-behaviour model is the individual’s attitude towards behaving
or acting with respect to an object (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1996). This model focuses
on behaviours or outcomes of behaviours. Note that the equation for both the
attitude-towards-object and attitude-towards-behaviour are the same:

Attitude = biei

Do not let this confuse you. Fishbein has used the b variable to refer to product
attributes or features in the attitude-towards-object model, and the use of the
product leading to a specific outcome in the attitude-towards-behaviour model. The
e variable refers to the favourableness of either the product attribute or outcome.

The Theory of Reasoned Action expands on the attitude-towards-behaviour model by

adding in the subjective norm component. We do not study the attitude-towards-
behaviour model separately but focus on the expanded Theory of Reasoned Action
Model.

The subjective norm influences the individual’s intention to act or behave. In this
component, the consumer’s perception of the opinions of others is considered as well
as the individual’s motivation to comply with the wishes of others. The subjective
norm component comes from the belief that consumers are more likely to engage in
behaviour which they feel is viewed favourably by others, depending on their own
motivation to comply levels.

Attitude-towards-object model

Fishbein’s attitude-towards-object model, while simple, can be used by marketers to

measure consumer attitudes towards products or specific brands. The model allows
marketers to determine the positive or negative nature of the individual salient
beliefs which form the consumer’s attitude towards both their product and the
competition. This information is particularly useful for product
formulation/reformulation decisions and gives direction to promotional strategies.

First, let’s review the formula.

n
Ao = bi ei
i=1

Ao = This is the composite attitude-towards-object. Remember from our

definition of attitude that the term ‘object’ can refer to more than just
products or services. This simple model has many applications.
 = This mathematical symbol means the sum.

n = Number of attributes being tested. Note that only the salient beliefs
are used as they are the beliefs (in this case product attributes) which are
evaluated in the formation of the attitude.
Typically there are 7–9 salient beliefs for a high involvement product and
1–3 for a low involvement product. For our purposes, at this point,
involvement means importance.
 George Miller, a psychologist from Harvard University in the USA, found
that people remember about 7 items in any class (for example, a product
class). This may explain why usually 7–9 salient beliefs are used in
determining the attitude for a high involvement product.

These salient beliefs are determined through prior research such as focus
groups, unstructured lists of all knowledge of the product, and consumer
rankings of pre-determined attributes. If we are attempting to determine
attitudes towards competing brands, we might ask generic questions
about the product class. What do you know about toothpaste? However,
if we are only testing attitudes towards a specific product, we would ask
questions specifically about that brand. What do you know about Crest
toothpaste?

b = belief that the product has the attribute being tested. This establishes
the linkage consumers perceive between the product and the attribute:
the degree to which consumers believe that the product has the attribute
(salient belief).
e = evaluation of the attribute. This determines if the consumers believe
that having the attribute is favourable or unfavourable, good or bad.
Now, let’s determine how we can use this formula to test consumer attitudes.
Obviously we need to first determine the salient beliefs (attributes) to be tested.
Next, we have to develop questions to determine whether consumers believe that
our product (or the competitor’s) has the attribute — the b variable — and then
whether they feel that having that particular attribute is good or bad — the e
variable.

Let’s assume that we are attempting to determine consumer attitudes towards Crest
and Colgate toothpaste, two competing brands in the toothpaste product class. Our
initial research determined that the salient beliefs that target consumers have about
toothpaste are: plaque control, reduces cavities and freshens breath.

We now can develop b and e questions.

• Questions testing b

These questions are designed to test the strength of the linkage between the
product and the attribute/outcome. To what extent does the consumer think
that the product has the attribute?

The simplest way to phrase a b question is to ask:

How likely is it that (brand) has (salient belief/attribute) ?

For example:

How likely is it that Crest controls plaque?

How likely is it that Colgate controls plaque?

A 10 point Likert scale is used to measure b: the probability of association

(Likert, 1932).
 Extremely Neither Likely
Extremely
Unlikely Nor Unlikely
Likely

The overall effect of the salient belief on the attitude is proportional to the
strength of the link between the product and the attribute. Obviously, if the
consumer feels strongly that the product has the attribute (a score of 7 or
higher), the attribute has a greater positive or negative impact on the overall
attitude.

Marketers have found that the salient beliefs tend to be stronger if they are
based on actual use. Salient beliefs that flow from advertising or from the
information given by others tend to be weaker. So marketers need consumers
to try the product, by in-store demonstrations and free samples and trial sizes.

• Questions testing e

These questions determine how the consumer feels about the attribute. Is it
good or bad? Do they evaluate it positively or negatively?

Only one e question is required per salient belief. The overall evaluation of
the attribute or outcome is product class specific, not brand specific. For
example, if consumers feel that controlling plaque in their toothpaste is
important, they will feel this regardless of whether the brand in question is
Colgate or Crest.

The e score for the product class is used to calculate the b/e multiples for all
brands being tested.

The simplest way to phrase an e question is to ask:

Having (salient belief/attribute) in (product class) is _______?

A 7 point Bipolar Semantic Differential scale is used to measure e. The scale

should be anchored with two adjectives which are opposites, e.g. good and
bad.

Plaque control in the toothpaste I buy is _______.

INSERT SCALE

As you gain more experience developing attitude survey instruments, your ability to
phrase more sophisticated questions will improve. You will also be able to ‘disguise’
your questions so that the responses you want are not obvious to consumers. If
consumers can easily determine the desired responses, they tend to provide them,
introducing bias into your research.

It is important, whenever possible, to give respondents a fully labelled scale, like the
semantic differential scale above. You should at least provide them with the two
ends and the mid point, like the Likert scale. Often, respondents do not know the
difference between -1 and +1 without the labels. If fully labelled scales are not used,
the responses tend to cluster around the middle points (4 to 6 on a Likert scale and
-1 to +1 on a semantic differential scale), reducing the validity of the results. Which
of the two scales presented did you find easier to understand? The fully labelled
semantic differential scale is probably the easiest.

In order to reduce the size of the attitude instrument, many researchers have fully
labelled scales only on the first page, for the respondents to use throughout the
survey. Here’s an example of a fully labelled 5 point Likert scale:

1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree Uncertain/ Agree Strongly
Disagree Neutral Agree

b/e multiples

We develop b and e questions for all three salient beliefs/attributes: controls plaque,
reduces cavities and freshens breath. Each attribute/salient belief is tested for both
b and e and then the responses are multiplied. The b/e multiples for the three
individual attributes (salient beliefs) are then added together to form the overall
attitude-towards-object.

The highest possible b/e multiple for the attribute contro;s plaque is +30, consisting
of:

• b score of 10, indicating a tight linkage in the consumer’s mind between the
product, Crest, and the attribute. A score of 10 would indicate that the
consumer strongly believes that Crest controls plaque.

• e score of +3, meaning that the consumer feels controlling plaque in

toothpaste is very important or good. Remember that the evaluation of
plaque control is product class specific — it applies to all toothpastes — rather
than brand specific.

The lowest possible score is -30, consisting of:

• b score of 10, indicating that the consumer feels that Crest controls plaque.

• e score of -3, indicating that the consumer feels that it is very bad or highly
undesirable for a toothpaste to control plaque. As you can see, the b score
has a great impact on the attitude. For example, if the b score was 1, then
the b/e multiple would be -3 rather than -30.

Once all attributes have been tested and the b/e multiples summed, we can then
compare overall attitude scores for the two products, Crest and Colgate. We can also
compare the overall attitude scores for both products with the highest and lowest
overall attitude scores possible, that is +90 and -90. Remember that we have tested
three salient beliefs/attributes. Even though consumers may have a more favourable
attitude towards Crest than Colgate, the attitude towards Crest may, in fact, be
ambivalent or negative.
Overall, if the product is strongly perceived to have attributes valued by the
consumer, the overall attitude towards the product will be positive. In other words,
high b scores coupled with positive e scores.

If the product is strongly perceived as having attributes which the consumer feels are
unfavourable, the overall attitude will be negative. In this case, high b scores
coupled with negative e scores.

Negatively perceived attributes that are tightly linked with the product have the
greatest negative impact on overall attitude. Positively perceived attributes that are
tightly linked with the product have the greatest positive impact on attitude.

Example

Let’s look at a worked example. Recognise that this example is quite simple and is
designed to illustrate the process only. The questions used are straightforward and
undisguised. Actual attitude research using the Fishbein attitude-towards-object
model would be more involved, with more complex, disguised questions.

You have been asked to determine consumer attitudes towards three brands of
toothpaste: Colgate, Crest, and Closeup. Assume that your research has identified
three salient beliefs for the product class ‘toothpaste’:

• Attribute 1 — minty taste

• Attribute 2 — freshens breath

• Attribute 3 — prevents cavities

Based on these salient beliefs you have developed the following b and e questions.

b questions

Attribute 1: How likely is it that (brand) has a minty taste?

Attribute 2: How likely is it that (brand) freshens breath?

Attribute 3: How likely is it that (brand) prevents cavities?

Each brand is tested on all three attributes using a 10 point Likert scale, like the one
illustrated earlier. For example, respondents are asked:

How likely is it that Colgate has a minty taste?

How likely is it that Colgate freshens breath?

How likely is it that Colgate prevents cavities?

The same three questions are asked about Crest and Closeup toothpaste. As you get
more sophisticated in questionnaire design, you will mix up all the b and e questions
to eliminate bias.
e questions

Attribute 1: Having a minty taste in toothpaste is ________ .

Attribute 2: Having a toothpaste that freshens breath is ________ .

Attribute 3: Having a toothpaste that prevents cavities is _________ .

Remember that you only have to ask the e questions about the product class,
toothpaste, not each brand being researched. A 7 point semantic differential scale is
used. In this case, it would be anchored with the adjectives ‘very bad’ and ‘very
good’ as shown in the scale earlier.

You then administer your questionnaire to a sample from the actual or potential
target market. Assume that you asked three respondents to fill in your questionnaire,
resulting in the following data.

Attribute 1: Minty taste

Respondent Colgate Crest Closeup

b e b/e b e b/e b e b/e
1 6 +1 +6 5 +1 +5 7 +1 +7
2 5 +2 +10 5 +2 +10 6 +2 +12
3 4 +1 +4 5 +1 +5 5 +1 +5

Attribute 2: Freshens breath

Respondent Colgate Crest Closeup

b e b/e b e b/e b e b/e
1 5 +1 +5 5 +1 +5 8 +1 +8
2 6 +2 +12 5 +2 +10 9 +2 +18
3 6 0 0 5 0 0 8 0 0

Attribute 3: Prevents cavities

Respondent Colgate Crest Closeup

b e b/e b e b/e b e b/e
1 8 +2 +16 7 +2 +14 5 +2 +10
2 7 +2 +14 7 +2 +14 4 +2 +8
3 8 +3 +24 7 +3 +21 4 +3 +12

Notice how only one e score is used per attribute per respondent. For example, if
Respondent 2 feels that having the attribute ‘freshens breath’ in a toothpaste was
‘good’ (a score of +2) then they would feel that way regardless of the specific brand.
You can then use the +2 score in calculating the b/e multiples for all brands on that
attribute.
Note that the b/e multiple is calculated by multiplying the b score with the e score.
Note whether the e score was positive (+) or negative (-), and ensure that the b/e
multiple corresponds. In this example, all e scores are positive so all your b/e
multiples are positive (+).

Now you have some data, so you can begin your analysis. You have many options:

Attribute scores

First you might decide to look at each attribute individually. Let’s do some analysis
on the third attribute, ‘prevents cavities’.

Attribute 3: Prevents cavities

Respondent Colgate Crest Closeup

b e b/e b e b/e b e b/e
1 8 +2 +16 7 +2 +14 5 +2 +10
2 7 +2 +14 7 +2 +14 4 +2 +8
3 8 +3 +24 7 +3 +21 4 +3 +12

You could look at each respondent individually. For example, Respondent 1 gave the
highest score to Colgate (b/e multiple +16), with the lowest score to Crest (+10). You
might calculate the average score for Respondent 1 by first adding all the b/e
multiples for the three brands and then dividing by 3. In this case, for Attribute 3:
Prevents Cavities, Respondent 1 gave an average score of +13.3 ([16+14+10]/3).

You can then compare the three brands, relative to this average. When analysing the
data, we 'crunch' the numbers in as many different ways as possible. Often, the
resulting information is of no use to us. But sometimes, it helps.

You could look at each brand individually. For example, Colgate received b/e scores
of +16, +14, and +24 for a total of +54, or an average score of +18 (divide total
score by three respondents). Crest received b/e scores of +14, +14, and +21 for a
total of +49, or an average score of +16.3. Closeup received b/e scores of +10, +8
and +12 for a total of +30, or an average score of +10.

In this case, Colgate clearly has the highest score. Respondents believe that there is
the tightest linkage between Colgate and the attribute. Colgate does prevent
cavities. And they feel that having that particular attribute is ‘good to very good’.
Notice that Closeup does not score well on this attribute. The respondents do not see
a tight linkage between Closeup and the attribute, giving b scores of 4 or 5. They are
not sure if Closeup prevents cavities.

These results can provide information to the marketers of these two toothpastes. For
example, if Closeup really does prevent cavities, their advertising is going to have to
stress that fact, as consumers are not aware that it does prevent cavities.
You could ‘massage’ the data further by calculating the average b score per brand,
the average e score per brand, and then the average b/e multiple per brand. Again,
you could crunch the numbers in an attempt to gain insight.

Overall attitude scores

Again, there are many possible ways to ‘crunch’ the numbers. You could calculate
the overall attitude towards Colgate for Respondent 1 by adding together the b/e
scores for all three attributes: 6+5+16= +27. You could then compare that to the
overall attitude scores given by Respondent 1 to Crest (+24) and Closeup (+25).
Again, make sure you note the (+) and (-) signs and calculate the overall scores
accordingly.

If you calculated the overall attitude scores for the three respondents for the three
brands, you would get the following data:

Overall Attitude Scores

Respondent Colgate Crest Closeup

1 +27 +24 +25
2 +36 +34 +38
3 +28 +26 +17

Notice that the scores given by Respondent 2 are the highest, and Respondent 3 the
lowest. You would go into each brand’s attitude score to determine how they were
calculated. Why? Respondent 2 felt that Attributes 1 and 2 were ‘good’, giving them
e scores of +2. Notice the impact on the overall attitude score. Respondent 3 gave
an e score of 0 for Attribute 2 but a +3 for Attribute 3. Notice the impact on the
overall attitude score.

In your example, you only have three respondents. However, if you were doing this
research in the marketplace, you would have a minimum of 125 respondents. This is
the minimum number needed for a normal distribution. You can then determine how
the majority of respondents felt relative to each attribute and each brand, providing
insight for your marketing strategies.

You can also compare these scores to the highest and lowest scores possible. If there
are three attributes, the highest score possible is +90: b of 10 and e of +3 for each
attribute. The lowest score would be -90.

You could also calculate the average attitude score per brand. In this case, you would
add all overall attitude scores and divide each sum by the number of respondents.
Colgate would receive an average attitude score of +30.3 ([27+36+28]/3), Crest an
average attitude score of +28; and Closeup an average attitude score of +26.6.

All possible ways of ‘crunching’ the numbers should be explored and all resulting
data analysed for possible use.

Theory of Reasoned Action Model

The Theory of Reasoned Action Model has two components: the attitude-towards-
behaviour and the subjective norm. These two components are calculated separately
and then added together. It is also possible to assign weights to each of the
components. For example, your research may indicate that the subjective norm
component is more important in the development of the attitude of your target
consumers. You could then assign a weight of, say, 2 to that component so that it
would influence the overall attitude twice as much as the attitude-towards-behaviour
component.

Let’s look at each component separately first.

As you saw earlier, the formula for the attitude-towards-behaviour is the same as the
formula for the attitude-towards-object.

In the attitude-towards-behaviour model, the b component refers to the consumer’s

belief about whether the use or consumption of the product will lead to the outcome.
You determine the desired outcomes in the same way as you determine the salient
beliefs. In this case, the simplest way to phrase a b question is to ask: How likely is it
that using Crest (product) leads to having healthier gums (outcome)? The e
component determines how favourably consumers view the outcome. The simplest
way to phrase the e questions is: Having healthier gums (outcome) is . . . . The
process for calculating the b/e multiples and the overall attitude score is the same as
for the attitude-towards-object model.

The second component, subjective norm (SN), is based on the belief that attitudes
are often influenced by the expectations of others as well as the individual
consumer’s desire to engage in actions that are favourably viewed by ‘significant
others’.

Consumers tend to perform behaviour that is evaluated favourably and is popular

with significant others (family, friends, reference groups). By choosing these
behaviours, perceived sociological risk is reduced. For example, if you purchase the
products that your family or friends want you to, you have effectively reduced any
social risk inherent in the purchase of those products

The formula for the subjective norm is:

m
SN =  NB x MC
j=1

SN = Subjective norm is the attitude towards the behaviour.

j = Number of individual behaviours/‘significant others’

being tested.

Most purchase behaviours are composed of several individual behaviours

or decision subsets, for example, where to buy and when to buy.
However, it is possible to test just one behaviour or, especially in
preliminary attitude survey research, to consider the composite purchase
behaviour as one behaviour. This model can also be used to test the
influence of multiple ‘significant others’. For example, you might want to
 test for mother, father, siblings, and friends separately rather than as one
unit.

NB = Normative beliefs refer to what the consumer perceives significant

others want them to do

MC = Motivation to comply is the extent to which the consumer will do what

others want.
Motivation to comply is influenced by the level of perceived social risk as
well as personality factors such as the self-image constructs we discussed.
The gaps in the self-concept, then motivation to comply measures the
desire for a reduction in the gap between the social and actual self, and
the behaviour that the individual will engage in to reduce this gap.

Once you have determined the normative beliefs and the significant others to be
tested by your initial research, you can develop NB and MC questions, following the
same process that you followed in the attitude-towards-object model.

Questions testing NB

Again, the simplest way to phrase an NB question is to ask:

How likely is it that (significant others) would like you to engage in (behaviour)?

For example:

How likely is it that family members would ask you to purchase Crest toothpaste?

INSERT SCALE

A 10 point Likert scale is used to measure normative beliefs.

Questions testing MC

Often you find that motivation to comply bridges many behaviours. In other words,
someone with a high motivation to comply will often exhibit this by engaging in any
behaviour, or group of behaviours, that is requested. In other cases, motivation to
comply may be product specific. A person with a high motivation to comply may
purchase all the items as requested, or perhaps only certain classes of items that are
requested, such as food.

This means that often only one motivation to comply question may be required. The
MC score can then be used with the individual NB scores, in the same way that you
used the common e score in the attitude-towards-object model.

For example:
How important is it to you to do what your family wants?

A 7 point Bipolar Semantic Differential scale is used to measure motivation to

comply.

INSERT SCALE

NB/MC multiples

The individual NB and MC components are multiplied together. These NB/MC

multiples are then summed into the overall attitude-towards-behaviour.

As with attitude-towards-object, for each individual behaviour the scores range from
a low of -30 to a high of + 30. For example, if your family is very much in favour of
you purchasing Crest (high NB score), and you want to do things to please your
family (high MC score), it is likely that you will purchase Crest. However, even if your
family is in favour (high NB score) of you buying Crest, if the motivation to comply is
low (low MC score) — you think that Colgate is better, or that all toothpastes are the
same and buy the cheapest — it is less likely that you will purchase Crest.

Theory of Reasoned Action Formula

The attitude-towards-behaviour (Ao) and subjective norm (SN) are added together.

Attitude = Ao + SN

The two components can be weighted, if appropriate. If weighting is applied, the

formula is amended to:

Attitude = (Ao) w1 + (SN) w2

w1 = weight attached to attitude-towards-behaviour

w2 = weight attached to subjective norm

These weights are derived from independent attitude research, and their
use/applicability varies by product. For example, your attitude towards purchasing
Body Shop products might be affected by what others, depending on their view of
animal testing, might think about you buying these products; but people may have
no views about what brand of toilet bowl deodoriser blocks you should buy.

Composite attitude scores for an individual brand can be ranked relative to the
highest and lowest possible score, and may also be compared to competitors’ scores.

The process for collecting and analysing the attitude data would be similar to the
worked example in the attitude-towards-object model.

The Theory of Reasoned Action Model seeks both to explain and predict consumer
behaviour. As with the tri-component attitude model, it contains cognitive (will using
the product lead to the outcome?), affective (is the outcome desired?) and conative
(do I intend to purchase?) components.
We can analyse the model by working backwards from behaviour and by working
forwards from beliefs. It appears that:

• beliefs about outcomes and the evaluation of those outcomes precede

attitude.

Those outcomes judged salient bundle together to form the attitude towards
the behaviour.

• normative beliefs precede the subjective norm.

The opinions and desires of others are coupled with the individual’s motivation
to comply to determine their attitude to engaging in the behaviour.

• attitude and subjective norm precede intent.

Once the individual has determined that use of the product would produce
desirable outcomes and that the purchase of the product would be favourably
received, a decision is made about their intention to purchase some time in
the future.

• intent precedes behaviour.

If the individual intends to purchase, the chances are that the product will be
actually purchased when the need is identified.

The link directly between beliefs and behaviour is quite loose or weak. The best
predictor of behaviour appears to be intent. Intention to buy is influenced by attitude
towards the product and attitude towards the behaviour. If both are high, the
chances are good that the product will be purchased.

Example

I purchase Diet Coke now because I intended to buy Diet Coke the next time we
needed soft drinks (attitude-towards-behaviour). I intended to buy Diet Coke
because, on the one hand, I think significant others would want me to (normative
beliefs) — they always write Diet Coke on the shopping list and order it in restaurants
— and I want to please them (motivation to comply). On the other hand, drinking
Diet Coke reduces calorie intake, which I think is really important (attitude-towards-
behaviour).

Obviously, the Theory of Reasoned Action Model is more complex than the attitude-
towards-object model. The Theory of Reasoned Action Model is especially
appropriate for researching behaviour that is judged to be of some importance to the
consumer. It is, however, too elaborate to be used with many routine purchase
decisions. The data generated, however, does provide direction for the development
of promotional strategies, in particular the role played by significant others.

How marketers can use the Fishbein numbers

The numbers that are provided by using these models during the marketing research
phase give strategic direction to marketers and advertisers. They also provide help
in understanding a brand’s competitive strengths and weaknesses. If the same
questions are asked about competing brands, marketers can analyse the resulting
data looking for attributes where one or more brand is particularly strong or weak,
and how the brands compare on a relative basis.

Here are some examples of how data generated by using the attitude-towards-object
model can be used. Remember though that we have not established a causal
relationship between attitude and behaviour.

• Suppose an attribute is viewed favourably — high e score — but your target

consumers do not believe that your product has the attribute — low b score.
A possible strategy might be to link the product tightly with the attribute if
your product does have the attribute, or consider a product change if the
product does not have the attribute.

Sample advertising copy might be: ‘Did you know that Brand X has 20% fewer
calories?’

• Suppose an attribute is viewed unfavourably — low e score — and your target

consumers believe that your product has the attribute — high b score. In this
case, you may want to consider a product change to eliminate the attribute,
stress some of the more positive attributes, or attempt to change the
evaluation of the attribute.

Sample advertising copy might be: ‘It’s more expensive, but I’m worth it!’. A
negative attribute, high price, is being balanced against self-esteem.

• You are trying to determine whether to add a new ingredient or feature. You
could test existing attitudes towards your product, and perhaps the
competition. You could then retest using a ‘hypothetical’ product — your
product, with the new ingredient. The two sets of attitude data could then be
compared to determine if adding the new ingredient has an impact — positive
or negative — on consumers’ attitudes.

• Your competition has just launched a new product or they have added a new
ingredient or feature to their existing product. Do you do the same? The data
generated by using this model will tell you consumers’ attitudes towards yours
and the competitor’s products. You can review the data specific to the new
ingredient to determine if it has a positive impact on the attitude towards the
competitor’s product and whether the absence of that ingredient has a
negative impact on attitudes towards your product.

Here are some examples of how the data generated by using the Theory of Reasoned
Action can be used.

• Suppose the motivation to comply is high — high MC score — but significant

others are not asking for the product — low NB score. In this case, you may
decide to gear your advertising towards the influences, knowing that if the
significant others ask for the product, the consumer will purchase it. Sample
advertising copy might be: ‘Ask Mum to get you Brand X’. In this case, you
know if Mum is asked to buy a particular brand, she is likely to buy it as her
motivation to comply with the wishes of others is high.
• Suppose significant others are asking for the product — high NB score — but
the motivation to comply is low — low MC score. In this case, you might
redirect your strategy away from the influencers and towards the purchaser.
Sample advertising copy might be: ‘It’s up to you, Mum!’ In other words, the
fact that Mum is in control, and isn’t affected by the wishes of others, is
reinforced.

Weaknesses of multi-attribute models

Consumer behaviour research, like most social sciences research, is not a precise
science. All models have strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses of multi-
attribute models apply equally to the Fishbein Theory of Reasoned Action Model.
Consequently, you should use all multi-attribute models, including Fishbein, carefully,
and analyse and interpret the results with caution. Let’s look at some of the
limitations of these models:

• Remember that consumption occurs in situations. Just because you have a

positive attitude towards chocolate, does not mean that you purchase it and
eat it every day. You may buy chocolate only as a treat or as a gift. ‘Situation’
questions should be a part of most attitude sets of questions.

• While some fundamental, strongly held attitudes change very little, if at all,
over time — for example, attitudes towards murder and war — other attitudes
are more susceptible to change — for example, fashion and art. The longer
the time between the measurement of the attitude and the time of anticipated
behaviour, the more difficult it becomes to predict behaviour. Often, by the
time attitude surveys are conducted, analysed and strategies developed, the
original attitudes have changed.

• Much behaviour is situationally determined. Stock-outs and price deals,

especially by competitors, and the full range of marketing efforts have an
impact on behaviour. You may not buy Crest toothpaste because it was
unavailable, or Colgate toothpaste was on special offer. Also, purchases are
often determined by situation, for example, the food you buy for your own
consumption may be quite different from the food you buy for a dinner party.

• Attitude models cannot be used in isolation. They should be used as part of a

market segmentation strategy where attitudes of homogeneous groups, not
disparate individuals, are studied.

• Remember that positive attitudes do not always lead to purchase behaviour.

Often there are constraints, the most common being financial resources.
Favourable attitudes can be exhibited in ways other than behaviour, for
example, recommending the product, wishing for it, and attending to the
advertising.

• As with all mathematical constructs, figures are often misleading. Don't use
overall composite attitude scores alone. Analyse each individual component
of the score. For example, analyse each b/e multiple for strategic insight
rather than using only the summed Ao score. For example, a negative attitude
score may result largely from one negative b/e multiple (a -30 score) rather
than from negative evaluations of all or most k/e multiples.
REVIEW ACTIVITY 1

1 The marketing research division of SunFlower Company has conducted some

attitude research using the Fishbein models and has provided the following
data. As the advertising director, analyse the data and determine which
strategies to adopt. Explain your decisions.

Product: Facial tissue

Attribute tested: environmentally friendly packaging

b question: How likely is it that SunFlower Facial Tissue uses environmentally

friendly packaging?

e question: I think using environmentally friendly packaging is . . . (the bipolar

adjectives used were ‘good’ and ‘bad’)

Responses:

b e

25%—3.0 20%—+1.5

45%—3.5 40%—+2.0

30%—4.0 40%—+2.5

Interpret the numbers as follows: 25% of the sample gave a response of 3 to

the b question; 20% of the sample gave a response of +1.5 to the e question)

Additional information: Articles have just appeared in the national newspapers

accusing your company of overpackaging. Your major competitor has recently
introduced a new line of toilet and facial tissues using 65% recycled material.
You have just received a ‘confidential’ report from your marketing research
division indicating the results from a comparable survey they conducted about
the competition. The average b score was 7 and the average e score was
+2.0.

2 As a marketing research officer you have been asked to determine whether or

not consumers will purchase your brand of bottled water if you were to add
cherry or strawberry flavourings. Your boss has reviewed your preliminary
questionnaire design based on Fishbein's Theory of Reasoned Action and
attitude-towards-object, and has remarked, ‘We need to know whether
consumers will buy the product and the best predictor of behaviour is
behavioural intent. Why have you not simply designed a questionnaire using
intention to act scales?’

How would you respond?

SECTION 2

FORMING AND CHANGING ATTITUDE

INTRODUCTION

Knowing how attitudes are formed is the first step. However, in developing
marketing strategies, more information is required. We review classical and operant
conditioning and cognitive learning theories to determine how the process of learning
attitudes can be applied to attitude formation and change in our marketing
strategies. We then look at various general attitude change strategies and some
specific to the Fishbein attitude-towards-object model.

2.1 Learning theories applied to attitude

One of the key characteristics of attitude is ‘learned’. If attitudes are learned, then
obviously marketers are interested in how attitudes are learned. Again, you can see
the interdisciplinary nature of the study of consumer behaviour as marketers use the
information gained from psychologists and educators, and apply the learning theories
to the learning of attitudes. A consumer moves from having no attitude — possibly
because they have no knowledge of or experience with the product — to having an
attitude, regardless of whether it is positive, negative or ambivalent. However,
learning is not a finite process, it is continuous. The same learning theories that are
applied to the learning of an attitude can be applied to attitude change. Let’s briefly
review the three main learning theories and consider how they can be applied to the
learning of attitudes.

Classical conditioning

Marketers use this learning theory when they associate their product with a stimulus
which elicits a favourable response with their target market. They hope for a positive
attitude towards the product, increasing the chance of purchase.

In terms of attitude creation, the ‘stimulus’ could be a brand name. For example, in
the case of family branding and line extensions, the new product is linked to the
favourable attitude consumers have towards the company’s existing products or
brand name. Next time you are in a supermarket, notice how many products have
the family brand name. When you see a new product on the shelves, check to see
whether classical conditioning has been used. Is there any association with an
existing brand or product?

The ‘stimulus’ can also be a person. By using celebrities, marketers attempt to

associate the product with the positive characteristics, recognition and goodwill of
the celebrity. This can be especially useful in new product introductions where, at
best, consumers have an ambivalent or neutral attitude. However, marketers must
use classical conditioning, especially the use of celebrity endorsers, with caution.

Instrumental conditioning

We ‘learn’ positive attitudes by receiving positive reinforcement from use of the

product. Consumers may purchase a product towards which they have a neutral
attitude. Perhaps it was the only product available; they were enticed by a price
reduction or premium offer; or they were curious about a new product. In this case,
the reinforcement received through using the product determines their attitude. If
the reinforcement is positive — they liked the product — their attitude will probably
move from neutral to positive.

Cognitive learning theory

Earlier we studied the concept of involvement, that is, the importance of the product
to the consumer. For high involvement products, knowledge and beliefs are
extremely important in the formation of attitudes. Cognitive learning theory suggests
that the more information a consumer has about a product, the more likely they are
to form an opinion, either positive or negative. This is a clear message to marketers:
provide consumers with information about product features and benefits. Remember
though that consumers can, and do, suffer from information overload; marketers
must ensure that they provide information about salient beliefs. The three most
important salient beliefs tend to dominate in formation of attitude. You could test
this by using the Fishbein attitude-towards-object model and analysing the individual
b/e multiples. Their b/e multiples, either positive or negative, would have the
greatest impact on overall attitude scores.

ACTIVITY 3

Attitudes are ‘learned’. In the following situations, indicate which learning theory is
being applied. Explain your reasoning.

1 You are given a coupon for a free sample of a new perfume called Passion
Flower in a magazine. The next time you are in Boots and pass the perfume
counter, you remember the coupon and redeem it. The first time you use the
perfume sample, your friend comments that it smells nice. The next time you
are in Boots, you purchase a bottle of Passion Flower perfume.

2 You are a first time computer buyer and have limited knowledge and
experience with computers. Before you even walk into a computer store, you
read every magazine your local library has on different types of computers.

Commentary

1 This is an example of instrumental (operant) conditioning. You tried a product

towards which you had no pre-existing attitude (induced by the free sample),
received positive reinforcement (the compliment from your friend), and
developed a favourable enough attitude to purchase the product.

2 This is an example of cognitive learning theory. For most people, a computer

is a high involvement product, with inherent financial and performance risks.
In such situations, consumers will search out information concerning the
product or product category, as you did when you read all the computer
magazines. This information becomes the belief base, and is instrumental in
the determination of salient beliefs.

2.2 Influences on attitude formation

Where do consumers get the information they need to form attitudes? If marketers
can determine the main sources of information that consumers use in the formation
of attitudes, they can adjust their strategies accordingly, especially the dissemination
of product information. Three principal sources of information are used in the
formation of attitudes: direct and past experience, personal influence, and exposure
to mass media. Note that personality can have an impact on the formation of
attitudes. Depending on the individual, the product, and the situation, one or more of
the principal sources of information may be used in formation of the consumer’s
attitude.

You learn from a magazine advertisement that Colgate has a product called Plax. It is
designed as an anti-plaque, pre-brushing dental rinse. The advertisement mentions
that plaque can cause dental problems, and this concerns you. When you mention
your concern to a friend, she tells you that she is also concerned about plaque; she
has tried both Plax and Reach, a competing brand, and she finds that Plax has a more
pleasant taste. On your next visit to your dentist, he shows you examples of the
damage plaque can do to teeth. The dentist suggests that you should pay more
attention to removing plaque, and advises that brushing your teeth twice a day is not
enough. You then have to sit through a one-hour session with a dental hygienist
where the plaque is removed from your teeth.

Attitudes are learned through knowledge and experience gained either directly or
indirectly. Either you have direct experience with a product (you have used Plax), or,
those around you have and have provided you with the information (the opinions and
information provided by both your friend and the dentist). Did you notice the impact
of the media? You initially learned about Plax, the product, and that plaque is
harmful from a magazine advertisement. Bits of information — beliefs such as the
harmful effects of plaque, and your friend’s comments about the pleasant taste —
are bundled together to form attitudes. You are now favourably disposed towards
Plax. This positive attitude might have an impact on behaviour. You may now buy
Plax. If you find you like the product and on your next trip to the dentist you do not
have as much plaque removed, you may consistently purchase Plax in response to a
direct experience.

ACTIVITY 4

In the following examples, indicate the main source of influence on attitude formation
or change.

a Once you start using your new computer, you find that it does not live up to
your expectations that it would be user-friendly and that someone with no
computer background could easily use it. All the information you have
gathered before the purchase showed that you should not have any problems.
You are now forced to waste valuable time reading and rereading manuals and
asking friends and colleagues for assistance, both of which you resent.

b You usually buy Heinz tomato ketchup. Your friend mentions that she prefers
the Crosse and Blackwell brand. You remember that this is the brand your
mother uses most of the time. The next time you are in the supermarket, you
notice that Crosse and Blackwell is on special offer and so you decide to try it.
You don't really notice any difference in the taste, but your family seems to
like it better.

2 Your company is about to launch a new very expensive hand and body lotion,
containing a revolutionary skin softening ingredient. You have conducted
 product tests with a small group which indicated that consumers could notice
a difference in skin softness immediately and that it became even more
apparent after the second application of the lotion. You have indicated in your
marketing strategy that you intend to distribute free samples through in-store
promotions, and with selected magazines. The finance manager doesn't
agree with your strategy, citing the cost of producing and distributing the
samples. How would you respond?

Commentary

1 a In this case, initially your attitude was positive. You had a set of
expectations for the computer which it did not deliver in practice. Your direct
experience with the computer led you to change your initially positive attitude
to a negative attitude.

b In this case, while your attitude towards Heinz tomato ketchup has not
changed, due to the influence of family and friends, you decided to try Crosse
and Blackwell brand. Notice that you observed the consumption behaviour of
your mother. Even though you did not notice a difference, the opinions of your
family (their attitudes) may encourage you to purchase Crosse and Blackwell
brand. If that happens, then personal influence would be stronger than your
own direct experience in the formation of your attitude towards Crosse and
Blackwell.

2 The finance manager has a real concern. The costs to both produce and
distribute free samples is quite high. However, in this case, the cost appears
to be warranted. In your response, you would want to stress the importance
of direct experience to attitude formation, reminding the finance manager that
the lotion is a new product towards which consumers will, at best, have a
neutral attitude. Remember from our discussion of Fishbein’s attitude-
towards-object that salient beliefs tend to be stronger if they are based on
direct experience, in this case, the use of the product. Consumers may not be
convinced that the lotion is better than the competition solely through
advertising. Your tests have confirmed that consumers do realise the benefit
of the special ingredient after usage. Your tests also indicated that the
benefits became more apparent following the second application of the lotion.
If your test results were really compelling, you might decide that it would be
better to give out a large enough sample for two applications in the initial
sample.

2.3 Attitude change strategies

If your brand is clearly the market leader, your goal would be to solidify and maintain
the positive attitudes of your current customers. Would this mean that only
marketers of secondary brands are concerned about attitude change? Obviously not.
All marketers are concerned with maintaining positive attitudes in their current
consumers; changing the neutral attitudes of ambivalent consumers to positive
attitudes, hoping to increase market share; and, if necessary, changing negative
attitudes to at least neutral ones.

Can attitudes be changed? If you have ever tried to change a bad habit, or ‘clean up’
your attitude, you know that it is difficult — but not impossible — to change attitudes.
Marketers have found that weakly held attitudes are easier to change than strongly
held attitudes. Consumers tend to develop strongly held attitudes in areas they
consider to be of great personal importance, that is, of high involvement. Strongly
held attitudes can be either positive or negative, with the product falling in the
evoked or the inept set. In areas of limited or questionable importance, consumers
tend to be ambivalent or neutral, or have weakly held attitudes that are susceptible
to change. These products would fall in the inert set.

We identify six categories of attitude change strategies:

• Changing the basic motivational function. These strategies are based on

the theory that attitudes serve four basic functions: utilitarian, ego-defensive,
value-expressive and knowledge. By changing the basic motivational
function, the attitude towards the product can be changed.

• Associating the product with a special group, event or cause.

Attitudes can be altered by indicating to consumers the product’s relationship
to particular groups, events or causes. Concern for the environment has been
one cause used recently.

• Relating to conflicting attitudes. Consumers like harmony — they do not

like conflict. If they can be shown that their attitude towards a product is in
conflict with another attitude, they may be induced to change one of the
attitudes.

• Altering components in the multi-attribute model. In these strategies,

marketers attempt to change the evaluation of attributes by upgrading or
downgrading significant attributes; change brand beliefs by introducing new
information; and by adding an attribute, or by changing the overall brand
rating.

• Changing beliefs about competing brands. In this strategy, we directly

compare our product with the competition in an attempt to change consumer
beliefs about both products, for example, Mercury cpmpares itself to BT.

• The elaboration likelihood model. This model suggests that consumer

attitudes can be changed by either central or peripheral routes to persuasion.
In the central route, attitude change occurs because the consumer seeks and
evaluates additional information about the product. In this case, motivation
levels are high and the consumer is willing to invest the time and effort to
gather and evaluate the information, indicating a high level of involvement.
Multi-attribute models are based on the central route to persuasion as
attitudes are believed to be formed on the basis of important product
attributes/features and brand beliefs. In the peripheral route, consumers are
either unwilling or unable to seek additional product information. Involvement
is low, so marketers must offer secondary inducements such as price
reductions or premiums in an attempt to induce attitude change. More
attention is paid in advertisement design to the credibility of the message
source (spokesperson or endorser) and his or her attractiveness.

Note that all of these strategies take the traditional view that attitude precedes
behaviour and use the relationship between attitude and behaviour to effect attitude
change.
When faced with negative market research numbers, stagnant or slipping market
share, or active competitors, marketers develop strategies that attempt to change or
intensify attitudes. Marketers must realise that attitudes change not only in response
to their efforts but also in response to the introduction of new or improved products
by themselves or the competition; the addition of new consumer experiences, either
direct or indirect; the marketing efforts of the competition; and how the product
performs after purchase.

Let’s look at the way marketers can use the Fishbein attitude-towards-object
model to develop change strategies. We review three ways, alone or in combination,
that a marketer could use this basic model. The resulting attitude research results
could be used to develop strategies to change attitudes.

Add a new b (salient belief/attribute)

In this strategy, marketers would add a new product feature, physical or

psychological, which has been pre-tested with a positive e score. The positive e
score means that consumers favourably evaluate the attribute. This is a commonly
used strategy. It usually entails a real product change, often the addition of a new
ingredient. For example, aloe vera and vitamin E were added to many personal care
products because consumers had evaluated these ingredients positively. In North
America in the 1960s when Procter & Gamble added fluoride to Crest toothpaste,
winning them the seal of approval from the American Dental Association, their
market share jumped from 10% to over 33%. When they added tartar control
ingredients in the 1980s, their share increased to 39%.

Successful attitude change has also been accomplished without physically changing
the product formulation, but through packaging innovations. This is especially the
case if the package has a functional use such as the squeeze bottles used for tomato
ketchup and mustard, or the non-drip spout for products like syrups and sauces.
Marketers have also been successful in introducing new uses for existing products. In
the US, Arm and Hammer convinced consumers to use their baking soda to deodorise
their refrigerators. The increase in sales has been staggering and 97% of American
women now recognise the brand name!

Change the e

With this strategy, the strength of an existing positive salient belief is increased, or
the strength of an existing negative belief reduced. Marketers select an attribute
where they have tested stronger than the competition. They then design a campaign
to convince consumers that this particular attribute deserves a higher weighting in
their view of the product category. In this way, marketers are trying to change the e
component — how consumers evaluate the attribute.

Marketers may also attempt to reduce the strength of a belief viewed negatively by
consumers. Faced with declining sales to calorie conscious consumers, the beef
industry in North America ran ads with the headline ‘There’s strength in numbers’,
listing that each 250 calories of beef also contained 76% protein, 35% niacin and
19% iron. Their aim was to reduce the importance placed on calories (a negative
salient belief) by showing consumers that beef has vitamins, minerals and protein in
addition to the calories. In its classic ‘Think small” strategy, Volkswagen
acknowledged that its ‘Beetle’ car lacked stylish looks and didn’t undergo a yearly
design change but reminded consumers of its quality, dependability and economy of
gas, oil, insurance and repair bills.

Change the evaluative aspect of a salient belief

In this case, marketers attempt to intensify the e score. This is often accomplished
by changing the means-end chain, the way in which consumers link attributes,
consequences and values. Attributes lead to consequences, which satisfy values.
Using a product with certain attributes leads to certain consequences; these
consequences result in the consumer satisfying a particular value.

For example, 7-Up has no caffeine (attribute/salient belief), so drinking it leaves you
calm, not jittery (consequence), and this allows you to relax (value).

No caffeine —> Not jittery —> Relaxation

attribute consequence value

REVIEW ACTIVITY 2

Which of the following are not designed to change attitudes?

1 IBM sends you a letter one month after you have purchased a new personal
computer and printer to thank you for the purchase. The letter advises you
that 60% of all personal computers purchased are IBM’s, and reminds you of
your one-year free warranty.

2 A team of researchers at the Kellogg’s laboratory discover that rats, when

consuming at least 200 mg of oat bran a day, have greater resistance to
urinary tract infections.

3 McDonald’s introduces pizzas in selected outlets in Canada.

SECTION 3

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE AND ATTRIBUTION THEORIES

INTRODUCTION

The models of attitude formation and attitude change strategies we have used so far
have been based on the traditional view that attitude precedes behaviour: we
develop attitudes towards the products from a variety of sources (past and direct
experience, personal influence and exposure to mass media), and that this attitude
determines behaviour or purchase. In this section, we review theories which suggest
that behaviour can precede attitude formation and actually cause the formation of
new attitudes or change in existing attitudes.

3.1 Behaviour preceding attitude?

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that consumers experience discomfort,

called dissonance, when they are confronted with new information about a belief or
attitude that is in conflict with the original information. This often happens after a
purchase, when it is called post-purchase dissonance. The product was purchased
with a set of expectations (beliefs). Following the actual use of the product, the
consumer may find that the initial set of expectations was not met, or the consumer
may question whether they made the right choice given the features and benefits of
the products not chosen. In either case, the consumer is faced with new information
that is in conflict with the original beliefs. In an effort to reduce the discomfort or
dissonance, the original attitude may be changed. If that happens, then behaviour —
purchase, use and evaluation — has led to a change in attitude.

Attribution theory suggests that attitudes are formed and changed based on the
consumer’s interpretation of their own behaviour and experiences. Consumers make
inferences about their own behaviour and that of others in an attempt to determine
‘why’ they behaved the way they did. One of the meanings of the word ‘attribute’ is
‘caused by’. Attribution theory suggests that attitudes are caused by behaviour.

Self-perception theory suggests that consumers develop attitudes as they review

and make judgements about their own behaviour. ‘I always choose chocolate for
dessert, so I must really like chocolate.’ However, attribution theory suggests that
we also review and make judgements about the behaviour of others, called
attributions towards others. This has particular significance to the role of
salespeople in the purchase decision. If a consumer attributes sincerity to the
salesperson’s comments, their attitude towards the product will be positive: ‘The
product must have superior features like the salesperson says.’ However, if they
view the salesperson as only being interested in their sales commission — a negative
attribute — this might negatively influence their attitude towards the product. ‘The
salesperson is only recommending that product because it is more expensive and
their commission will be higher.’

When studying cognitive dissonance theory, we could question what originally

prompted the purchase and how were the expectations of performance determined.
Without the purchase and a set of expectations (beliefs or information), how could
the consumer suffer from post-purchase dissonance? Critics of cognitive dissonance
theory would suggest that beliefs and performance expectations about the product
formed an attitude, which prompted the purchase. Attitude preceded behaviour.
This is a ‘chicken and egg’ debate. However, the fact that we cannot determine
which one is ‘right’ does not mean that we dismiss both. In this case, the traditional
theories of attitude formation and cognitive dissonance theory can actually be
combined. These theories provide information about how the original attitude, which
prompts purchase, was formed. Cognitive dissonance theory shows how post-
purchase evaluation and use of the product (behaviour) can act as feedback to the
original attitude, often causing the original attitude to change.

Attribution theory suggests that consumers form or change their attitudes based on
their assessment of their own behaviour, the behaviour of others, or the performance
of a product. Self-perception theory, a component of attribution theory, discusses
internal and external attributes. ‘Who or what is responsible for a successful
outcome?’ Consumer research indicates whether the target market attributes
success to internal factors (the consumer, their skill, competence and hard work) or
external factors (the ingredients, environment and ‘luck’). This information provides
direction for marketing strategies.

Consumers often gather additional information in an attempt to confirm attributes

they have made about products or people. They might use the criteria of
distinctiveness, consistency over time, consistency over modality, and consensus in
determining whether their attributes are correct.

Review Activity 3

A marketing colleague says: ‘I think I understand the structural models of attitude

formation, like Fishbein’s attitude-towards-object model. But I am confused about
these new theories, cognitive dissonance and attribution. Also, I need to know
which model or theory I should use if my manager asks me to do some attitude
research. Which one is right?’ How would you respond?

UNIT SUMMARY

In this unit we studied attitude, one of the internal influences on the consumer's
mind. We determined the main characteristics of attitudes and investigated a basic
model of attitude formation that looked at how information from internal and external
sources form the overall belief base, how salient beliefs are determined from this
belief base, how salient beliefs and their evaluation form the attitude, how the
attitude determines set placement, which influences purchase behaviour. Post-
purchase evaluation acts as feedback to all stages in the process.

We then reviewed some specific structural models of attitude formation: the single-
component, tri-component, multi-attribute, and attitude-towards-the-ad models of
attitude formation that are built on the premise that attitude precedes behaviour. We
also reviewed models that view behaviour as preceding attitude, cognitive
dissonance and attribution theory.

Knowing how attitudes are formed is the first step. However, in developing
marketing strategies, more information is required. We reviewed classical and
operant conditioning and cognitive learning theories to determine how the process of
learning attitudes can be applied to attitude formation and change in our marketing
strategies. We then reviewed various general attitude change strategies and some
specific to the Fishbein attitude-towards-object model.
UNIT REVIEW ACTIVITY

1 In one sentence, describe your attitude towards:

• human and animal rights

• Kleenex facial tissues

• Mars chocolate bars.

For one of these, list all the information you have about the product or issue
(beliefs). From this list, select the ones that you judge to be the most
important (salient beliefs). Using the Fishbein model for guidance, determine
which beliefs have the greatest impact on your attitude, and why.

2 Select four different magazines. Review each magazine looking for

advertisements which are examples of each category of attitude change
strategies we have discussed. What aspects or components of the ads
suggested the particular strategy? As a proportion of total advertisements,
how many were aimed at attitude change in each magazine? Can you draw
any conclusions from your analysis?
REFERENCES

Fishbein, M (1973) ‘The prediction of behavior from attitudinal variables’, in C D

Mortenson and K Sereno (eds.), Advances in Communication Research, New York:
Harder and Row.

Likert, R (1932) ‘A technique for the measurement of attitudes’, Archives of

Psychology, 22 (40)

Schiffman, L G and Kanuk, L (1996) Consumer Behaviour, 6th edition, Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall International.

RECOMMENDED READING

Fishbein, M (1975) ‘Attitude, attitude change and behavior: a theoretical

overview’, in P Levine (ed.), Attitude Research Bridges the Atlantic, Chicago:
American Marketing Association.

Foxall G R and Goldsmith R E (1994) Consumer Psychology for Marketing, London:

Routledge.

Schiffman, L G and Kanuk, L L (1996) Consumer Behaviour, 6th edition, Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall International.

Answer to Review Activity 1

1 For the product, facial tissues, it would appear that consumers do not think that
your company uses environmentally friendly packaging. The b scores, which
indicate linkage between the product and the attribute, are 4 or less on a 10 point
scale. The newspaper articles would only serve to reinforce this perception.

The e scores would indicate that consumers feel positively about using
environmentally friendly packaging. On a scale of +3 to -3, the most of those
tested rated the attribute as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

The first step would be to review the product to determine if you are using
environmentally friendly packaging. Assuming that the company does use
environmentally friendly packaging, a promotional campaign must be undertaken
to advise consumers of this. Sample advertising copy might be: ‘We’ve always
been concerned about the environment. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but our
packaging is environmentally friendly, made from x% recycled materials.’

If the current packaging is not environmentally friendly, a review of the packaging

used, with a view to changes, should be undertaken. Obviously this is an attribute
that is valued by consumers (salient belief), and has an impact on overall attitude
towards the product. It would also be a competitive weakness. Look at the high
average scores for the competition. Given that their product as well as the
packaging are environmentally friendly, a review of the product may be
appropriate, with subsequent product reformulation.

2 Intention to act is the best predictor of behaviour. If the tests indicated that
consumers expressed strong intentions to purchase the new flavours of bottled
water, you could use this, with a reasonable level of confidence, as a predictor of
 their behaviour. If they intend to purchase the flavoured bottled water, they
probably will. However, intention, either positive or negative, is not a guarantee.
Intention does not provide marketers with information as to why consumers
intend or ultimately act as they do. If intentions tested strong, your company
would want to know why; this would provide specific direction to marketing and
promotional strategies. Was it price, availability, problems with the competition,
or the new flavours? Conversely, if intentions tested weak, your company would
want additional information in order to change their strategies. Do consumers not
like the new flavours, or are there other problems, perhaps with the product line?
Information about the beliefs consumers hold about the product, their evaluation
of particular attributes, benefits or outcomes from product usage, and the
potential influence of significant others can only be obtained from more in-depth
research using models such as Fishbein’s Theory of Reasoned Action and attitude-
towards-behaviour model.

Answer to Review Activity 2

All three examples are efforts by marketers to change attitudes.

1 IBM is trying to help you with your post-purchase evaluation by reducing any
cognitive dissonance that might be occurring. By congratulating consumers
on their wise choice in purchasing an IBM product, and by reminding them of
the protection for one year under their free warranty, they are attempting to
make the post-purchase evaluation as positive as possible.

2 Kellogg’s is attempting to change attitudes by introducing new information or

knowledge — the beneficial effects of oat bran!

3 McDonald’s, by introducing the new pizza product is attempting to change

consumer attitudes that McDonald’s only serves hamburgers.

Answer to Review Activity 3

Structural attitude models such as the tri-component or multi-attribute models take

the traditional view of attitude formation and are based on the theory that attitude
precedes behaviour: attitude —> behaviour. For example, a consumer develops a
belief base about the product from direct experience, the influence of others, and
exposure to mass media. Salient beliefs are bundled together to form an attitude
towards the product. If this attitude is positive, the product has a place in the
consumer’s evoked set. When the consumer has a need for that particular product,
he or she makes the purchase decision. For the ultimate purchase, the choice comes
from the products in the evoked set, based on the intensity of the favourable
attitude, situational factors, and market conditions such as availability. Clearly, in
this case, attitude is developed first and has an influence on behaviour.

Cognitive dissonance and attribution theory are contemporary theories that take a
different perspective: behaviour can and might precede attitude: behaviour —>
attitude. For example, cognitive dissonance theory looks at the impact of post-
purchase evaluation on the original belief or attitude. The information gained
through use of the product and evaluation relative to expectations acts as feedback
to the original belief base or attitude. Even though this theory is based on the
premise of behaviour leading to attitude, it is not entirely inconsistent with the
previous theories. Obviously, the original beliefs or attitude had to come from
somewhere. Think of cognitive dissonance theory as an extension of the earlier
models:

beliefs —> attitude —> behaviour —> post-purchase evaluation —> attitude.

Attribution theory is based on the premise that consumers form or base their
attitudes on their behaviour, that of others, or the performance of the product. For
example, they review their behaviour and conclude that they must hold a certain
opinion. ‘I do this (behaviour) therefore, I must like doing it (attitude).’ Attitude is
attributed to behaviour. Remember that the word ‘attribute’ in this context means
‘caused by’.

Each model has its advantages, disadvantages and limitations, especially when they
are used in practical applications as the basis for attitude research. The model used
depends on the individual situation. What is the purpose of the attitude research?
What information is required? The applicability and appropriateness of each model
needs evaluating within that particular situation, selecting the model with the best
fit.

PERCEPTION AND CONSUMER INFORMATION PROCESSING

Christine Swales & Bob McClelland

INTRODUCTION

In this unit, we look at what is happening in the consumer's mind and how the brain
responds to stimuli, processes and retains information.

In instrumental conditioning, we review the work of American psychologist, B F

Skinner. According to instrumental conditioning, consumers ‘learn’ through
responses to their actions. We review both positive and negative reinforcement and
the importance of timing in reinforcement schedules. Cognitive learning theorists
focus on the complex mental processing of information when the consumer engages
in problem solving. The structure of memory is critically important in cognitive
learning theory. We review the concept of memory and investigate its implications
for marketers.

We review involvement theory, which has its roots in brain hemispheral lateralisation,
and apply its findings to media selection and consumer decision making. We briefly
explore Sherif’s social judgement theory.

We identify the concept of brand loyalty. Whether brand loyalty is defined on the
basis of behaviour or attitudes, we need to teach consumers that our brand is the
best, to ultimately develop their brand loyalty.

We then review the concept of perception — how consumers select, organise and
interpret sensory stimuli. For marketers, the perception of the consumers in their
target market is the reality that dictates their failure or success.

We review a model of information processing which looks at five stages, with each
stage acting as a filter: exposure, attention, comprehension, yielding or acceptance,
and retention. Selectivity occurs at each stage, so only a limited amount of
information is passed on to the next stage for further processing.
We then review the different sensory thresholds. The absolute threshold is the lowest
level at which a consumer can experience a sensation — the lowest level of sensory
intensity that can be biologically received. The differential threshold is often referred
to as the ‘just noticeable difference’ (JND) or the minimum difference between two
stimuli that can actually be detected. Marketers make use of Weber’s Law which
quantifies the JND in a wide range of applications. In our discussion of sensory
thresholds, we also review the subliminal threshold and discuss its purported use in
advertising.

Once stimuli are biologically or physically received, how are they selected, organised
and interpreted? We review these concepts that help marketers, in particular
advertisers, in the development of strategies.

Consumers have a number of images or enduring perceptions. We review four self-

image constructs or perceptions consumers have about themselves, and see how
these might be used by advertisers. Consumers also have enduring perceptions
about products, called the product position which is essentially the way in which they
perceive the product. We review the concept of product positioning and
repositioning, and how perceptual mapping can assist in the development of relevant
strategies.

In an attempt to organise stimuli, consumers place products or brands into a variety

of sets. A product’s position is linked with its set placement . We focus on the
awareness, unawareness, evoked, inert, and inept sets, and investigate how set
placement influences marketing strategies.

Consumers often make judgements about the quality of products from a variety of
intrinsic and extrinsic cues. We review how consumers judge perceived quality in
products, with a particular emphasis on the price/quality perception.

Finally, we review the concept of perceived risk. All purchase decisions entail a
certain amount of risk or uncertainty. Only after the product is consumed or used will
the consumer know whether he or she has made a good decision. We review five
different types of perceived risk. We then review the strategies which both
consumers and marketers adopt in an attempt to reduce the perceived risk attached
to the purchase of a product.
OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• analyse the importance of brain hemispheral lateralisation research and Sherif’s social
judgement theory to the concept of involvement
• analyse the importance of the concept of brand loyalty
• explain the importance of perception and the stages of information processing to marketers
• explain the impact of the absolute and differential thresholds on perception and discuss, using
examples, how marketers can use Weber’s Law
• explain the term ‘subliminal perception’
• discuss how the concepts of perceptual selection, organisation, and interpretation impact upon
the consumer’s perceptual set and analyse how these concepts are used in advertising
• analyse the use of the four self-image constructs in advertising strategies
• analyse the use of perceptual mapping in product positioning and repositioning strategies
• distinguish between the possible product brand set placements and explain how set placement
influences marketing strategies
• illustrate the price/quality perception, using examples
• identify the main types of perceived consumer risk, and for each type, evaluate both consumer
and market directed risk reduction strategies.

SECTION 2

CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT THEORY

INTRODUCTION

Media, products and decisions can be described as either of high or low involvement.
However, defining and measuring this term ‘involvement’ has caused problems for
marketers, resulting in many different definitions. We define involvement as the
degree of importance to the individual. Marketers do agree that the level of
involvement has a significant impact on consumer behaviour. However, here we
review the concept of involvement from the perspective of learning. The two theories
that help us are brain hemispheral lateralisation theory and Sherif’s social judgement
theory.

2.1 Brain hemispheral lateralisation theory

While we know relatively little about the brain, we do know that it has two spheres,
each responsible for different functions and each controlling different thinking
processes. We also know that the spheres do not function in isolation but are
connected by, and communicate through a part of the brain called the corpus
callosum.

The left side of the brain is associated with analytic and verbal processes, operating
by sequential logic, for example, 1 + 2 = 3. It is responsible for mathematical
calculations, language, logic and writing, and processes numeric and textual
information.

The right side of the brain is associated with intuitive and visual processes, operating
in a timeless, pictorial, non-verbal environment, for example, a, q, r, c, defying our
‘alphabet law’. The right brain is responsible for imagination, colour, music and
rhythm — the creative aspects. It is affective, involving emotions, visualisation and
fantasy.

We shift from using one side to the other, depending on the demands placed upon
the brain, for example, mathematics versus drawing. Due to genetic influences,
environmental conditioning and early education, many people are left- or right-brain
dominant. This affects their style of learning and decision making.

Print is generally considered to be a high involvement media, requiring the cognitive

processing of the left brain. Television, with its high visual and affective content, is
considered a low involvement media, where passive learning can occur through
exposure to advertisements.

Note that the study of brain hemispheral lateralisation with left-brain and right-brain
differences is a relatively new field and the research is often exploratory and
inconclusive.

Marketers have begun looking at brain hemispheral lateralisation for clues to how
consumers learn and make decisions. Generally, high involvement decision making
is a left-brain dominated function where information concerning the product is stored
in word form and recalled as needed. Print is a left-brain medium requiring
cognitive processing, and so it is more appropriate for high involvement products.

Low involvement decision making tends to be right-brain dominated. Information

concerning low involvement products is usually stored in pictorial form and
recognised when the stimuli are presented. For example, you might recognise a
product in the supermarket by its label. Television is a visual, uninvolving medium
where information can be processed passively with minimal information processing,
so it is an appropriate medium for low involvement products. An advertising strategy
of high-repetition, short-duration commercials which are rich in visual symbolism may
be used.

2.2 Sherif’s social judgement theory

Sherif contends that individual information processing is determined by involvement

with an issue or a product. He looks at the range of acceptable and unacceptable
opinions or products. He concludes that for high involvement products, consumers
have a narrow ‘latitude of acceptance’ and a wide ‘latitude of rejection’, meaning
that fewer brands will be acceptable. Highly involved individuals will interpret a
message that agrees with their position more positively than it actually is — the
assimilation effect; and one that does not agree as more negative — the contrast
effect. The assimilation and contrast effects have particular significance for
advertisers. Involved individuals are more likely to be brand loyal.

Individuals who are uninvolved with an issue will have a wide latitude of acceptance
and a wide latitude of non-commitment. They are likely to find many brands
acceptable and are unlikely to be brand loyal.

Some academics and practitioners dismiss brain hemispheral lateralisation as ‘pop

psychology’. However, the research evidence supporting ‘left brain, right brain’ in a
variety of educational and marketplace applications is increasing. Advertisers have
devised some creative ways of appealing to both sides of the brain through the use of
pictures and words.

REVIEW ACTIVITY 2

Take 10 seconds and memorise Figure 1 below. Ask a friend to test you after the 10
seconds are over.

1 pen

2 swan

3 breasts

4 sailboat

5 hook

6 golf club

7 clif

8 hourglass

9 pipe

10 bat and ball

Figure 1

Analyse how you attempted to learn these pairings.

SECTION 3

BRAND LOYALTY

INTRODUCTION

The ultimate goal for a marketer is a brand loyal customer. Brand loyalty is repeated
selling the product to the same customer. Do you remember Pareto’s Law where
80% of your sales will come from 20% of your customers? The 20% represent heavy
users, who are generally brand loyal consumers.

Consumers ‘learn’ to be brand loyal. They try a brand, for whatever reason; they like
the brand because it ‘delivers’; they purchase the brand again; they are still satisfied
with the result, and they buy the brand whenever that particular product class is
needed again.

However, the concept of brand loyalty is not as straightforward as it might originally

appear. Marketers question whether brand loyalty should be defined on the basis of
behaviour (you buy Flora cooking oil over and over again) or attitude (you buy Flora
cooking oil because it is the best value for money and has a better flavour than the
competition’s brand — you really like it and so does your family!).

Think about your own buying patterns. Do you have ‘brand loyal’ products? What is
your reaction if your preferred brand is not available due to stockouts? What do you
do if it is not available permanently? What do you do if the price is raised? What do
you do if some of the ingredients or features are changed?

3.1 Defining brand loyalty

Let’s review the different ways in which brand loyalty can be defined. Assume that
there are three competing brands — A, B and C.

If we define brand loyalty from a behavioural perspective, we would look at purchase

patterns:

• AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Behaviourists would generally agree that this purchase pattern illustrates brand
loyalty. This is often called undivided loyalty because no other product is ever
purchased.

• ABABABABABABABA

Behaviourists would consider the above pattern as divided loyalty, as the consumer
is loyal to two of the three brands, in rotation.

• AAABBBCCCAAABBB

This pattern would be considered unstable loyalty, as the consumer is first loyal to
one brand and later to another.

Where behaviourists differ is in purchase patterns such as:

• AAAAABBAAAAA

• AAAACAAABAAA

Is this consumer brand loyal to product A? If so, why would they switch to B or C?
Such deviations could be explained if Brand A was out of stock; or Brand B or C
offered incentives such as price reductions or premiums; or the consumer was bored
with Brand A and only wanted to try the others, testing to see if they were better; or
Brand A was reformulated and the product changed but ultimately still was better in
the consumer’s mind than Brands B or C.

Cognitive theorists base brand loyalty on attitude. They would look at the first three
patterns and question whether any of them represented brand loyalty. Of course, in
an ultimate practical sales sense they certainly must be thought of as representing
loyalty of some pattern.

Consumers can exhibit spurious brand loyalty, that is, brand loyal behaviour which is
not based on cognitive processes. Before cognitive theorists would be satisfied that
there was true brand loyalty, they would want to know the ‘reasons why’ behind the
behaviour: the cognitive processing, motivation and decision making involved.

A cognitive theorist might argue further that the last two patterns of behaviour, A A A
A A B B A A A A and A A A A C A A A B A A A may be brand loyal. In each case, the
consumer may have been enticed to switch (premiums or new brand), but always
returned to the original choice of Product A because it satisfied better than either B or
C (cognitive evaluation).

Marketers are interested in all measures of brand loyalty. They are especially
concerned about recent trends towards increased brand switching.

REVIEW ACTIVITY 3

1 Brand loyalty can be defined using two different dimensions, giving quite
different definitions. Explain.

2 How might brand loyal and non-brand loyal consumers respond to a 30p-off
coupon for a 2-litre bottle of Coke?

SECTION 4

PERCEPTION

INTRODUCTION

TAKE IN FIGURE 2 (IGNORE THIS EXERCISE)

In the figure on the left, can you see both a duck and a rabbit? If you are having
difficulty, you might try turning the page 45°. In the figure on the right, what do you
see? If you turn the page upside down and focus on the centre of the graphic, you
should see a Volkswagen ‘Beetle’ car with a surfboard sticking out of the sunroof.

Ask a friend or two what they see in these three figures. You may be surprised at
their answers. How is it that two people can look at the same image yet ‘see’
different things. Why is it that you can look at one image, like the duck/rabbit, and
‘see’ two different things? Why is it that some people cannot see any of the images
without some help?
The answer to these questions is ‘perception’. It is the characteristic way in which
individuals select, organise and interpret sensory stimuli. In this section, we
introduce you to the concept of perception, one of the internal influences on the
consumer's mind.

Perception is the way in which we, as unique individuals, interpret our world. You can
think of ‘perception’ as the meeting of biology and psychology. Sensory stimuli of
sight, sound, taste, smell and feel are processed first through the biological system.
The senses work together, each providing additional information or verification. Once
the stimuli have been processed biologically, they are then processed by the brain,
and psychology takes over.
4.1 Stages of information processing

Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organises and interprets

stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world (Schiffman and Kanuk,
1996). The key words here are: select, organise, interpret, and stimuli. Stimuli
are inputs to any of the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste or touch. Individuals take
these stimuli, process them physiologically, and then process the resulting
information through the consumer's mind. Individuals select, implying that only
some of the incoming stimuli are actually attended to; they make arrangements with,
or organise, the stimuli into patterns or wholes; and then they interpret, explain, or
attach meanings to the stimuli. Once the incoming stimuli have been selected,
organised and interpreted, the individual now has a picture of his or her world: the
‘reality’ according to which they will act and react.

You may have heard the expression ‘looking at the world through rose coloured
glasses’ applied to someone who is overly optimistic and views every situation
positively. Perceptions can be considered as your own unique and individual ‘pair of
coloured glasses’, with the colour depending on your psychological make-up.
Perceptions represent the total of everything you have experienced. Your perceptual
set is composed of every meal you’ve eaten, every book you’ve read, every
television show you’ve watched, every conversation you’ve had with friends or
relatives, every advertisement you’ve seen or heard, every course you’ve ever taken,
every religious ceremony you’ve ever attended. Just like tinted glasses change the
colour of the images the eye receives, though not the colour of the actual object,
perceptions ‘change’ the sensory input that we receive.

One way to look at the brain is to think of it as a filing cabinet. Perception is the
process whereby incoming stimuli (or information) are categorised, labelled and filed.
Remember that all sensory stimuli received biologically are ‘filed’ in the brain.
Information that is properly categorised, neatly labelled and filed in the appropriate
spot can be easily retrieved and used. Information that is stuffed into the
‘Miscellaneous’ file is difficult, or even impossible, to find when needed later. At any
stage in information processing, information can be ‘filed’ under Miscellaneous.

How an individual interprets incoming sensory stimuli, once they have passed the
biological receivers, is referred to as information processing. In this process,
sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered and used by a
consumer (Block and Roering, 1979).

One model of information processing looks at five stages or steps:

Step 1 Exposure
Step 2 Attention
Step 3 Comprehension
Step 4 Yielding/acceptance
Step 5 Retention

This is only one of many models of information processing and is included here as a
working example of how such models are developed and used.
Figure 3: Information processing model

These five stages are sequential and can be thought of as a funnel or series of
perceptual filters. Selectivity occurs at each stage, limiting the amount of
information that is further processed. Information that does not pass through the
filters, at any stage, gets filed in the Miscellaneous file. In Figure 3, note how the
major stimuli changed as they were processed through the five stages. Let’s look at
each of the steps individually.

Exposure

This is the first opportunity for the stimuli to activate or interact with the individual’s
senses. Remember that each step or stage acts as a filter, introducing selectivity
into the process. Human physiology alone dictates that the stage of exposure is
selective. For example, even if your eyesight is perfect, you can only see images
within a limited distance. The human nervous system can only handle a certain
volume of information before it suffers sensory overload. The senses, when overused
or exposed to a continuous stimuli, tend to adapt. This is called sensory
adaptation. We return to this concept in our discussion of absolute thresholds.

People have a ‘comfort zone’. If the stimuli are too difficult to process, due to
ambiguity or inconsistency, individuals may choose to restrict or eliminate exposure.
They cease to look or listen; they ‘turn off’.

Look at Figure 4 for at least 30 seconds.

Figure 4: Impossible prongs

Did you find this difficult to do? Many people do. Some choose eventually to look
away. This image is extremely difficult to process as it violates the ‘law’ of
perspective. You can easily process either the top or the bottom halves of the image,
as they are consistent with the ‘law’. However, when you attempt to process the
whole image, it becomes very difficult. Marketers must be aware of this ‘comfort
zone’. A certain amount of inconsistency and ambiguity increases interest; however,
too much can cause consumers to restrict exposure.

Marketers must be keenly aware of this stage, and its selective nature. Care has to
be taken to ensure that the media selected and the time frames are appropriate for
the target market. For example, placing point of purchase displays in stores in May
will probably not increase sales of Christmas cards.

However, even if attention is paid to media selection and time frames, this is no
guarantee of exposure. Marketers must remember that consumers are ultimately in
control. Consumers constantly self-select the advertising stimuli they wish to be
exposed to, from flipping the pages of a magazine, changing channels during
commercials, to fast-forwarding through commercials in videoed programmes.

Attention

At this stage, individuals begin to differentiate and categorise those stimuli which
manage to make it through the perceptual filter of ‘exposure’. The differentiation and
categorisation of stimuli is quite broadly based at this stage. This is the stage where
a ‘file’ is opened, labelled and the stimuli information inserted. In marketing terms,
consumers determine product class and perhaps product usage.

Advertising researchers have a full range of techniques and equipment for

determining what aspects of an advertisement catch and keep your attention, from
tachistoscopes, which measure eye movement and pupil dilation, to galvanic
response monitors, which measure nerve action and body temperature.

Comprehension

At this stage, meanings are attached to the stimuli. These are derived from the
perceiver’s needs, motivations, values, attitudes and past experiences. Various
barriers to communication can also have an impact on the comprehension stage.
Proper categorisation leads to greater differentiation of one product from all the
competition and, as such, has significance for positioning strategies.

Often meanings are derived by attending to only part of the stimuli — called cues. A
cue is a part or aspect of a larger stimulus that possesses certain associations or
meanings. Colours often act as cues for flavour, temperature, quality and gender.
For example, red is cherry, raspberry or strawberry flavoured; green is mint or lime
flavoured; brown is chocolate flavoured; red is hot and blue is cold; gold, silver and
burgundy mean high quality. And while customs are changing, many of you will still
associate pink with girls and blue with boys, with yellow being gender neutral.
Interestingly, in other parts of the world, yellow, rather than pink, is considered as
the feminine colour.

In a classic experiment, a colour research agency gave housewives three boxes of

detergent to test on delicate clothing. The detergent in each box was the same, the
only difference was the colour of the box — blue, yellow, or a mixture of blue and
yellow. Following use of the detergent, housewives reported that the yellow box was
too strong, often damaging clothes; the blue box was too weak, leaving clothes dirty;
the mixed blue and yellow box was judged acceptable.

A similar experiment was conducted with coffee pots. Even though the coffee
contained in each was identical, participants judged the coffee from the brown pot to
be too strong, from the yellow pot too weak, and from the red pot just right. Notice
how often red coffee pots or mugs are used in advertising layouts!

If cues are not consistent with expectations, information processing is impaired. We

have expect the right colours for foods, for example, orange for oranges and yellow
for bananas. If the colour is not consistent with that expected, different meanings
may be attached. For example, beef ‘should’ be red but if green food dye was used,
most people would think that the meat had ‘gone bad’ and would not purchase it.
Children in Britain became ill after eating potatoes dyed with a harmless blue food
colouring. The blue colour was inconsistent with the colour potatoes ‘should’ be.
Colour cues may be culture-specific: colours have different meanings in different
cultures.

Words are also used as cues. Some words create an image. What do you think of
when you hear the words Kathmandu, Florida, sleek or dungeon? Some people can
see the dungeon, smell the musty odour and even feel the cobwebs! Onomatopoeic
words have an inherent quality, rhythm or sound that creates an image, for example,
babbling brook and buzzing bee.

Words can also have positive or negative meanings which are derived from their
sociopsychological context, for example, housewife and dustbin collector. To be
politically correct, we might now use the terms house manager and sanitary
engineer, even though they might appear extreme or patronising. Disabled or
handicapped individuals are referred to as ‘challenged’ and many people now use the
word ‘gender’ rather than ‘sex’ as a demographic descriptor.

Sounds can also act as cues, as witnessed in movie soundtracks. For example, the
sound of a champagne cork popping means a party or celebration.

Marketers must test not just whole stimuli, but component parts or cues, to ensure
that the meaning intended is that which is perceived.

At the comprehension stage, it is crucial for marketers to ensure that consumers

classify the product in a correct manner and attach the intended meanings.
However, selective distortion can occur at this stage. This happens when the stimuli
and the meanings being attached are distorted to keep them consistent with, and
less threatening to, values and attitudes. People attempt to remain in a state of
perceptual equilibrium where all incoming stimuli/information are consistent with the
existing perceptual set. When conflicting stimuli/information are presented,
individuals are thrown into a state of perceptual disequilibrium with varying levels of
perceptual discomfort. The individual strives to return to the state of equilibrium. In
biological terms, the process is called homeostasis. Equilibrium is restored through
selective distortion. If you have ever accused others of hearing only what they want
to hear or seeing only what they want to see, you have experienced selective
distortion. The thresholds we discuss next are subject to change and can have an
impact on whether information is screened out or processed further.

Another problem faced by marketers is the imprecise nature of language. For

example, if you were to ask five people to define the word ‘round’ you may be
surprised at the responses. For example, the word ‘round’ has over 100 different
meanings, depending on its usage. For example, shaped like a ball; complete, as in a
round dozen; a circling path or course; or a hind leg of beef. Semantics — the fact
that one word can have multiple meanings, some of which are emotionally affected
— further complicates the process.

Yielding/acceptance

At this stage, the individual reacts to the stimuli. Consumers are actively dealing
with the meanings they have attached to the stimuli from the previous stage. The
message can serve to strengthen or modify existing beliefs, or it can have no effect
on current cognition. If the individual agrees with the stimulus’s message, it
strengthens existing beliefs or it changes existing beliefs in light of the new
information. Sometimes, individuals engage in counterarguments, attempting to
neutralise the stimuli or message. They may also choose to attack the source of the
stimuli or message — source derogation. This is always a risk when celebrities are
used. Do consumers perceive them to be neutral, or only doing the ad for the
money? The message may also be distorted at this stage, through counterargument
and source derogation.

Retention

Stimuli or messages which have made it through the previous four perceptual filters
are then stored in the memory for later recall. The significant word is recall.
Information which has come this far will not be removed from memory, unless
through physical injury or the effects of drugs or alcohol. But it often just can’t be
readily retrieved or recalled when needed — whether for a consumer behaviour exam
or when looking at a shelf of products in the supermarket. Information that is filed in
the Miscellaneous file, due to improper or sloppy categorisation or selectivity, is
difficult to retrieve, often requiring many clues. The stimuli, information or message
that has been processed through the previous four filters or stages is stored in
memory.

Marketers must be aware of the selective nature of information processing when

undertaking any marketing efforts. Significant consumer testing is required to ensure
that the bulk of the target market receive, interpret, and recall the information as
intended.

ACTIVITY 2

1 Biology meets psychology through perception. Explain.

2 Advertisers must be aware of the selective nature of information processing in

developing their strategies. Illustrate this using an example.

Commentary

1 The senses are biological receivers of stimuli. All stimuli that the senses can
physically receive are fed into the brain for further processing. However, once
the stimuli have been physically received, the ‘biology’ component becomes
secondary to the ‘psychology’ component of perception. The stimuli are
organised and interpreted, have meanings attached to them, are filed in
memory, and ultimately acted on. This information processing is selective, as
each step acts as a filter, screening out and distorting information before it is
passed on for further processing. Perception is the characteristic way in which
we take in sensory stimuli, interpret and attach meaning to them.

2 One model looks at five stages or steps of information processing:

• exposure
• attention
• comprehension
• yielding/acceptance
• retention
Each stage is selective, acting as a perceptual filter, screening out or distorting information
before it is passed on to the next stage.

For example, when Wendy’s introduced their classic ‘Where’s the beef?’
campaign in North America, they wanted consumers to realise how much beef
 was contained in Wendy’s hamburgers and question the level of beef in the
competition’s products.

First, consumers had to be exposed to the ad through the use of television

during prime time; this was thought to be appropriate for a broad target
market like fast food. Next they had to ensure that attention was paid to the
ad. They used an older lady called Clara Peller, who was quite short and had a
distinctive, raspy voice. During the ad, she kept asking loudly ‘Where’s the
beef’? The character played by Clara Peller, her voice and the loudness of her
comments helped gain attention.

With a short, repeated message Wendy’s improved the chances that it would
pass through the comprehension filter — or, if there was distortion, it would be
relatively minor. For most of its target market, the yielding/acceptance stage
either served to strengthen existing beliefs about the quality of Wendy’s
products or had no effect. However, interestingly, for many seniors in the
USA, source derogation occurred. Many seniors felt that they were being
portrayed unfavourably by Wendy’s. For the majority of the target market,
though, the use of humour, the character of Clara Peller and the slogan, which
became part of the pop culture expressions of the day, did assist retention.

How does your example compare with Wendy’s example?

4.2 Perceptual thresholds

In this section we review the absolute and differential thresholds. The term
‘threshold’ can be defined as ‘point of entry’ or the ‘lowest limit at which a stimulus is
perceptible’. Both definitions are valuable as we study the phenomenon of
perception. Thresholds are the ‘point of entry’ of sensation, the point at which the
stimuli are biologically or physically received by the sensory organs. Thresholds can
also be thought of as the point at which a stimulus is perceptible or noticed.

Thresholds are a phenomenon of individuals. They vary between individuals,

depending on the individual’s physiology, for example, eyesight and hearing. One
person may be able to see great distances without the aid of glasses, while another
might need glasses just to be able to read a newspaper. An individual’s thresholds
can also change, depending on the environment, the amount and intensity of the
stimuli. In an environment where there is a great deal of sensory input, an individual
would not be able to detect small differences in the input. However, in a situation
where there is very little sensory input, the individual would be extremely sensitive to
changes in the input. Imagine you are in a busy shopping street with traffic noise, an
alarm going off, music blaring from the shop entrances, road works etc. In this case,
the level of sensory input is so high that you do not notice small differences.
However, imagine it is 3 am, you are sound asleep and a fire engine goes by your
window or someone slams a car door. You would probably wake up quite quickly.

Absolute versus differential thresholds

The absolute threshold is the lowest level at which an individual can detect or
experience a sensation. This is the point at which you ‘notice’ something, a sight,
sound or smell. We know that there are physical upper and lower limits to this
threshold. For example, dog whistles produce sound that registers higher than the
upper limit of a human’s absolute threshold. Dogs can hear it but humans can’t.
The senses, when presented with a lot of stimuli — especially of the same type or
intensity, for example, loud music or traffic noise — begin to adapt or ‘tune out’ the
stimuli. In this case, the absolute threshold is raised, reducing the stimuli that are
‘noticed’. Marketers are acutely aware of the process of sensory adaptation and the
impact it can have on consumer perceptions. Some of the tactics and technologies
currently used by marketers and advertisers in an effort to ensure that consumers
‘notice’ their advertisements include scent strips in magazines for perfumes and a
variety of in-store activities.

Weber’s Law: just noticeable difference

The differential threshold, or just noticeable difference (JND), is the minimum

difference that an individual can detect between two stimuli. Ernst Weber, a
nineteenth century German scientist, noted that JND was relative to the intensity of
the initial stimulus: the stronger the initial stimulus, the greater the change in
intensity that would be required for the second stimulus to be perceived as different.
How can marketers use Weber’s Law? Marketers use it to determine the changes
that are needed in the original stimulus so that consumers notice, or perhaps do not
notice, the difference. For example, how much can the price be raised before the
majority of consumers notice a price increase, or how much must a price be reduced
before consumers perceive that the item is on sale? Read Item 3.1, The marketing
importance of the ‘Just Noticeable Difference’.

You have probably experienced ‘sensory overload’ and sensory adaptation on many
occasions. If you have ever tried reading this book in front of the television or
listening to music, you know that you eventually ‘tune out’ the sounds (or the
words!).

Marketers are keenly aware of sensory adaptation and make special efforts to combat
it. For example, do the commercials on television seem to be louder than the
programmes? In some cases they are, while in others, sophisticated sound
engineering techniques are employed to make them appear louder. In either case,
the action is deliberate on the part of advertisers who are attempting to counteract
the effects of sensory adaptation.

In advertising, after six or seven exposures to the same advertisement, we begin to

notice the effects of sensory adaptation. Consumers ‘tune out’ or stop noticing the
ad. This is especially true with the use of humour. The first commercial is funny; a
second exposure might be required for consumers to fully ‘understand the joke’; by
the third time, consumers are playing along, repeating the joke; by the fourth
exposure, they are beating the ad to the punch line. While some consumers may
require more exposures to reach the last stage, eventually, the humour ‘wears off’
and subsequent exposures are ignored.

One of the main ways which advertisers use to avoid sensory adaptation is to change
their advertising campaigns regularly and frequently. This is costly but necessary. If
a campaign has been particularly successful, advertisers will often withdraw it for a
few months, run another campaign, and then reintroduce the original campaign.
Campaigns that were successful 10 and 20 years ago have been reused, some with
quite positive results. PG Tips starring chimpanzees and human voice-overs has
been running since 1956 with variations on the same theme.
In sensory adaptation, the absolute threshold can be raised or lowered, depending
on the individual, the environment, and the intensity of the stimuli. When an
individual is presented with information that is consistent with their values, attitudes
and interests, the absolute threshold lowers, allowing more information to be
processed. This is called perceptual vigilance. Have you noticed how many
advertisements there are for compact disc players, just when you are looking for a
compact disc player or have just bought one? When faced with threatening or
inconsistent stimuli, for example, chocolate toothpaste, the absolute threshold may
increase, where minimal information is processed. This is called perceptual
defense.

Of equal interest to marketers is the differential threshold. Marketers make use of

Weber’s Law by making slight changes to the packaging or typography. These
changes are so gradual that the majority of consumers do not notice them. This is
especially true for ‘consumables’. These are products, like most food and personal
care items, which are used up and the packaging thrown away, leaving no evidence
for comparison with the new package or product. Symbols and type can be changed
gradually to reflect current fashions and styles. This approach has been used by
Campbell’s Soup, who have ‘modernised’ their symbol, the Campbell’s Kids, and
changed them from a rather chubby boy and girl to modern, physically fit children to
reflect current attitudes towards healthy living. The typography of The Daily
Telegraph, for example, has gradually changed over the years.

The marketing applications of Weber’s Law are many. Any time a marketer wants to
make a change in any aspect of the marketing mix, from the package to the
advertising copy, Weber’s Law can help. Changes which the marketer wants
consumers to notice must be above the JND. Examples would be product or
packaging improvements, price reductions and important information in advertising
copy. For example, would consumers ‘notice’ a £200 reduction in the price of a Rolls
Royce Silver Cloud and be induced to purchase by the ‘sale’? Changes that the
marketer does not want to be noticed must be just below the JND. Examples would
be size or quality reductions, price increases, or advertising disclaimers such as
health warnings required by many governments on cigarette packaging and
advertisements. Would consumers notice a 25p increase in the price of a can of
Heineken beer? Definitely, with a resulting impact on demand and market share if
there was no change to competitors’ prices. However, would consumers notice a 2p
increase per can? Probably not, or if they did, it would not have any significant
impact on demand.

ACTIVITY 3

1 Give three examples of marketing efforts designed to combat sensory

adaptation.

2 Explain how the manufacturers of a chocolate bar could use Weber’s Law when dealing with
rising ingredient prices and changing consumer attitudes towards nutrition and their seeing sweets
as ‘junk food’. Item 3.1 will help you.

Commentary

1 Marketers introduce new or unique elements in various aspects of the

marketing mix in order to combat sensory adaptation. A mini soap opera
approach was used successfully by Nescafe Gold Blend coffee; the advertising
 campaign showed the meeting, adventures, and finally the love affair of two
coffee lovers. Each new ad brought increased consumer interest as they
asked ‘Will they or won’t they become more than friends?’

2 Because of rising ingredient prices, the chocolate bar manufacturer may be

forced to substitute less expensive ingredients, unless they are willing to
either stay with the current ingredients and absorb the additional costs or
pass them on to the customer. As these substitute ingredients, like vegetable
oil for the traditional cocoa butter, would most likely affect taste, the
manufacturer is concerned with ensuring that the taste changes were below
the just noticeable difference (Weber’s Law or JND) so that most consumers
would not perceive the change. As consumers become more concerned with
nutrition, the manufacturer would be searching for ‘healthier’ ingredients, for
example, less saturated fats, and fewer artificial colours or flavours. Again,
they would be concerned with changes in overall taste or perceptions of
quality being indiscernible to consumers.

4.3 Subliminal perception

If a message can be inserted into a beer advertisement, telling the consumer to ‘buy
more, drink beer at lunch and dinner’, and if this message is below the awareness
threshold, will the consumer perceive the message? Will it have an impact on
behaviour? Will the consumer buy more beer and drink it with all meals? If the
message specifies a brand, will the consumer buy that particular brand? Marketers
and advertisers live in both hope and fear, that the answer is ‘yes’. They hope that
consumers can perceive stimuli subliminally or below the awareness threshold, that
the message will have an impact on behaviour, and that consumers will purchase
their products as and when directed, with a resulting positive impact on demand and
market share. They fear for the same reasons. If consumers can be ‘told’ to
purchase a certain brand and so they do, they can also be told to purchase the
competition’s brand. If such manipulation is possible, without consumers being
consciously aware or able to evaluate the information and control the resulting
behaviour, then convincing a consumer to buy a particular brand is a very suspect
activity. The possibility of mind control for whatever purpose by whatever source
becomes a critical ethical and moral issue.

This was the case in the late 1950s when James Vicary flashed ‘eat popcorn’ and
‘drink Coca-Cola’ subliminally to movie viewers in an American theatre. When he
reported the ‘success’ of his experiment — increased sales of popcorn and Coca-Cola
— the subliminal advertising controversy was born. Was it possible? Did it work?
Where was the proof? Could he do it again? How could it be controlled? Who should
control it: the advertising industry or the government?

The debate continues today. Many studies have been undertaken by researchers and
academics. For every study that shows some behavioural impact, there is another
study that refutes it. The evidence as to whether or not subliminal advertising can
affect behaviour is inconclusive. Is it possible to perceive below the awareness
threshold? Are subliminal messages used by the advertising industry? Do they
impact on our behaviour? Can we perceive subliminally? The research conducted to
date seems to support this claim. Messages which are too weak or too ambiguous to
be perceived consciously can be perceived unconsciously or subliminally (without
awareness or cognitive activity), provided they are above the absolute threshold.
Can it be done? Yes, there are many techniques available for inserting subliminal
messages or images in print ads, such as embedding. Has it been done? Several
companies have been accused of using subliminal techniques in their advertising.
The film, The Exorcist, used three subliminal images of a death mask to increase the
suspense and drama. Dr Wilson Bryan Key has built a career around ‘exposing’
evidence of what he believes to be ‘subliminal advertising’. He has written many
popular books such as Subliminal Seduction, Media Sexploitation and The Clam Plate
Orgy. In The Clam Plate Orgy, he contends that Howard Johnson’s, a chain of motels
and restaurants in the USA, used subliminal messages suggesting sexual activity in
their menu’s photo of a plate of clams.

Remember, perception is reality. Individuals see what they expect to see. If you are
told over and over that the word ‘SEX’ is written in the shadows in some ice cubes,
and you look long enough, you will probably be able to see the word ‘SEX’.
Seagram's Gin ran a campaign which poked fun at subliminal embeds in drink
advertisements while inviting reader participation. Individuals also see what they
want to see. Remember that the processing of incoming stimuli is a selective
process, with much filtering and distortion.

However, the most important question of all has not been answered. Can it affect
behaviour? We have not been able to establish a direct causal relationship between
attitude and behaviour. A causal relationship indicates that one variable, attitude,
directly influences another variable, behaviour, with no intervening variables.
Graphically we could represent a direct causal relationship as A —> B, where A
directly causes B. A relationship graphically represented as A —> C —> B would not
indicate a direct causal relationship between A and B as the variable C intervenes.

So, we cannot say that a positive attitude will guarantee purchase. Nor can we
establish a direct causal relationship between advertising and attitude or behaviour.
We cannot say that exposure to a particular ad leads to a positive attitude or
purchase of the product in the ad. Remember that we are dealing with the
consumer's mind, subject to all the internal and external influences we mentioned
earlier. While many researchers and academics have attempted to prove that
subliminal messages can affect behaviour, the results remain inconclusive. This
would be reasonable given that we cannot establish causal relationships between any
particular advertising or any one aspect of an advertisement and attitude and
behaviour. In any event, the cost to insert the subliminal messages far outweighs
any potential results. Interestingly, when James Vicary was asked to replicate his
experiment, he could not. He eventually admitted that the experiment was a ploy to
save his failing marketing business.

ACTIVITY 4

One of the members of your Board of Directors has just finished reading Dr Wilson
Bryan Key’s books Subliminal Seduction, Media Sexploitation, and The Clam Plate
Orgy. In these books Key contends that subliminal advertising is done regularly. The
Board member says: ‘If everyone else is doing it in the USA, doesn’t it make sense
that we use some of the same techniques? Maybe that’s why our American market
share is slipping; I bet our competition is using subliminal advertising!’ You are asked
to respond.

Commentary
1 Critics of advertising, like Key, contend that subliminal techniques are
commonly used and that consumers are being ‘duped’ into purchases they
would not otherwise make. His arguments can be convincing and he suggests
that he can make you ‘see’ what he wants you to. So, you can appreciate why
the Board member would react as he did, especially if market share is
slipping.

You cannot argue that inserting subliminal messages and images is not
technically possible — it is. You also cannot claim that the competition, or
anyone else, is not doing it, unless you have proof. You could however, argue
against using it on the following grounds:

• cost: Subliminal techniques are expensive and would be in addition to

the normal costs for producing the ad. You would also need an agency
or production company that is willing to do the work.

• effectiveness: The research to date has been inconclusive about

whether such techniques are effective in creating behaviour change.
Advertisers continually struggle to determine any causal relationships
between advertising and purchase. It would be very difficult to
attribute purchase to one specific aspect of the stimuli. Despite many
valid studies to determine if subliminal techniques are effective,
subliminal messages have not been proven to lead to purchase.

• ethics: This is a difficult area to discuss as ethics and morality are not
legislated. They are generally accepted codes of behaviour. The Board
member might argue that if everyone is doing it as Key contends, then
ethically it is acceptable.

• legality: Many governments have legislation against the use of

subliminal techniques. As your company is a multinational, you would
want to research the legislation for all countries where the ads might
be placed.

4.4 Stimuli selection

How does a consumer select sensations or sensory input from the environment for
further processing? There must be some selection. If there was no selection, given
the sheer volume of sensory stimuli an average consumer is exposed to daily,
sensory overload would occur continuously and the consumer would ‘turn off’ all
sensory input. Which stimuli gets selected depends on:

• Nature of the stimuli. For example, stimuli that are in contrast with the
surrounding environment have a greater chance of being selected. The
contrast could be as simple as the use of white space in a newspaper print ad,
colour in black-and-white ads, or black and white ads in full colour magazines
or on television.

• Consumer’s expectations based on their previous experience.

Remember that people see what they want or expect to see.

• Individual consumer’s motives. Remember the concept of perceptual

vigilance. We tend to perceive stimuli when the need is strong, and ignore
 unrelated stimuli. That’s why you suddenly notice all the ads for CD players
when you are thinking about buying one or you have just bought one.

During the selection process, the consumer may add to, subtract from, or distort the selected stimuli.

4.5 Stimuli organisation and interpretation

Once sensations are selected, how are they organised? Stimuli are not viewed as discrete units but are
rather grouped together and perceived as patterns or wholes. Again, consumer behaviourists rely on
psychologists for insight. Of particular interest is the school of psychological thought called Gestalt
psychology which believes that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Three of the basic
principles of perceptual organisation based on the Gestalt school of thought are: figure and ground,
grouping, and closure.

Once the stimuli have been selected and organised, the consumer will begin to
interpret or attach meanings to them. How close their interpretation is to reality
depends on many things, including the amount of distortion. Several influences can
distort at this stage. Distort means to ‘pull or twist out of shape’ or ‘misrepresent’.
Stereotypes — the halo effect where the evaluation of the whole is based on only
one dimension — as well as physical appearance can all distort the stimuli.

Remember that perception is a personal phenomenon. Individuals select the stimuli

they perceive; organise them on the basis of the psychological principles of Gestalt,
adding and subtracting as they desire; and attach their own unique meanings to the
stimuli, based on their previous experience, motives and interests. Perceptions are
unique to the individual who has created them. As marketers, we strive to
understand and focus on those areas of commonality in the perception of our target
markets, recognising that each individual consumer will have their own unique
‘perceptual reality’.

Stimuli are not perceived as separate and independent units of information, but
instead are organised into groups or patterns for processing. Individuals respond to
the ‘whole’ stimuli, including the interrelationships between the parts. In marketing,
consumers respond to whole stimuli that are either created by or for them.
Advertisers attempt to create whole stimuli by using the principles of perceptual
organisation. Consumers, as they process the stimuli, also use these same principles
in an effort to simplify information processing.

Figure and ground

In any image, some elements are the main object of focus, called the figure, and the
rest are background, called the ground. Generally, familiar objects, objects that are
near each other, or are of similar size or type are perceived as the figure.

In an advertisement, we are attempting to create a figure on a ground, where the figure is well defined
and distinctly in front of the ground. However, if it is not carefully designed and tested, figure ground
reversal can occur as in Figure 5. Look carefully at these two pictures, maintaining your eyes fixed
near the centre.

Figure 5: Figure ground reversal. (IGNORE THIS EXERCISE)

With both the goblet and the cross, did you find that, after you had looked at them for
a while, the images reversed or flipped? First you saw the goblet, then the faces or
first the cross and then the ‘x’? With the cross, called the reversing cross, did you find
the image flipping back and forth between a cross and an ‘x’ the longer you stared?

Marketers must be aware of the potential for figure ground reversal. North American
advertisers, faced with an ever increasing volume of competing stimuli, called clutter,
realised that they had to gain exposure and attention. They had to do something to
get consumers to stop at their page in the magazine or stay tuned when their ad
appeared on TV. They realised that one very powerful way to gain exposure was to
use sexual images and innuendo. Partially clothed women and, to a lesser extent,
men, appeared draped over all kinds of products, from power tools to cars to stereos
to kitchen appliances. Did it gain exposure and attention? Yes! Tests showed that
readers stopped at the page and did not change the channel when advertisements
had sexual themes.

In advertising, one of the goals, according to the Hierarchy of Effects model, is to

achieve AIDA — attention, interest, desire and action. Grab the consumer’s
attention from all competing clutter; create some interest in the product; stimulate or
enhance desire for the product; and leave them with a call to action! While the use
of sexual images and innuendo grabbed the consumer’s attention and created
interest, the interest created was not in the product but usually the model. The
original intent was for the product to be the figure and the sexual image the ground.
Unfortunately what often occurred was figure ground reversal, with the focus being
not the product but the sexual image. North American advertisers learned that
sexual imagery and innuendo have to be used judiciously to be effective. The
‘stopper’ — sexy people, animals, children — must be relevant to and not overwhelm
the product being advertised as well as its message.

Although Europeans and Asians use more nudity and provocative sexual themes in
their advertising than North Americans, they are quite selective. If these themes are
only used for products such as lingerie and personal care items for which the use of
sexual imagery makes sense, the risk of figure ground reversal is reduced. However,
the risk in the use of sex for advertising Haagen Dazs ice cream in the late 1980s was
high, but it proved a successful and repeatable campaign.

Grouping

Consumers tend to group together stimuli that are close to each other — proximity
— and those similar to each other — similarity. Stimuli can also be grouped
together based on proximity in time. This is called temporal proximity. Items
shown together at the same time tend to be perceived as a whole. This is significant
to advertisers who wish to use some form of comparative advertising, showing both
their brand and the competition. A brand displayed with ‘inferior’ brands may be
grouped with them and perceived as inferior by the consumer. Or, the positive
aspects attributed to the superior brand may be ascribed to the competition. Care
must be taken to physically separate the advertiser’s product from the negative
grouping of the competitive offerings. For example, the product may be placed
above all others, in front of, or off to one side of the competition.

Of course, sometimes we want to capitalise on temporal proximity. Lifestyle

advertising is designed to link to the product the positive aspects of life being
portrayed in the ad. An advertisement for tea that shows a young man and woman
sipping tea in front of a blazing fire in a beautiful room uses temporal proximity to
enhance the appeal by linking drinking tea with romance, winter warmth and fine
living.

Closure

What do you see in Figure 6?

Figure 6: Closure (IGNORE THIS EXERCISE)

Most people see a star and a dog. If you are having trouble seeing the dog, try turning the page upside
down! In reality, what you see are unconnected lines or blobs that your brain ‘closed’ to form the
whole stimuli for processing.

Advertisers are very familiar with the principle of closure. They often use two page
ads — the first page raising a question and the second page giving the answer — to
capitalise on the brain’s desire for closure. Participation in the ad is increased by the
enhanced anticipation of the answer. However, the use of closure in an
advertisement must be approached with caution. Remember the many definitions for
the word ‘round’. Advertisers must ensure that the closure is not too ambiguous,
resulting in many possible responses, or too difficult, resulting in consumers ‘tuning
out’. Attention should also be paid to the assumed relationships or interdependence
of items; that is, the holistic impression received from the ad, rather than just
focusing on component parts such as copy or graphics. Remember we must also
check the component parts as some individuals use them as cues.

ACTIVITY 5

Find one print advertisement that you feel uses the principle of closure, one that uses grouping in a positive
manner, and one that has the potential for figure ground reversal. Explain your choices.

Commentary

For the ads on closure, you could look for ads where some of the information is
missing or is presented in two or more places. A common closure technique in print
ads is to use two page ads. A question is raised on one page and the answer is given
on the following page. Consumers answer the question before turning the page
—’closing’ the information.

For ads using grouping in a positive manner, you could look for situations where the
product is being displayed in an attractive or specific setting.

What is displayed in the background, and how do the characteristics of the background items enhance the
image of the product? Lifestyle advertising is also an attempt to use temporal proximity in a positive
manner. The product is linked favourably with a particular lifestyle.

4.6 Consumer imagery

Some of the perceptions that consumers have are transitory, lasting for only a brief
period of time, while others last longer. These perceptions are often called images.
Self-image is the sum of the enduring perceptions that you have about yourself.
These perceptions develop over time through the process of social experience and
interaction.
Four self-image constructs

Why are marketers interested in self-image constructs? Research has shown that
consumers tend to purchase products that they believe are consistent with, or will
enhance, their self-image. They avoid products which they believe are inconsistent
with, or will detract from, their self-image. The same is true of store image.
Consumers favour stores whose image is consistent with their self-image. Self-image
constructs can be used as segmentation bases in positioning and promotional
strategies.

Five self-image constructs can be identified:

• ideal self-image — how consumers would like to perceive themselves
• actual self-image — how consumers actually perceive themselves.
• expected self-image — how consumers expect to see themselves in the future, this is
somewhere between the actual and the ideal
• social self-image — how consumers feel others see them
• ideal social self-image — how consumers would like others to see them, this is used in
lifestyle advertising where products are used in a particular social setting with a particular
social group.

How are these concepts or images created or fostered? What is the individual’s perception of the ideal
or the social self? How do individuals determine how much of the ideal self-image they can achieve?
How do they define the expected self?

Researchers, academics and practitioners who are concerned about the increase in
eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, have looked at how young women in
Western countries form their ideal self-concepts. Many point to the portrayal of
women in the media as a primary influence. The women featured in fashion
magazines and television ads all have perfect, currently very thin, figures, with
wonderful hair and facial features. But how is this perfection achieved — and at what
cost to health? The 1990s skinny super model has been accused of affecting young
girls, and their eating habits. However, Twiggy in the 1960s was not condemned
quite so comprehensively. The ‘diet’ and ‘fitness’ culture of the 1990s is big business
for food and other manufacturers as women particularly strive for their perception of
perfect bodies.

If there are gaps between the actual and any of the other self-concepts, tension or
dissonance is created. Consumers often attempt to reduce this tension through the
purchase of products. For example, if the gap between your ideal self-concept (being
tall) and your actual self-concept (being 5 feet 2 inches tall) is too large, causing
tension, you may respond by purchasing products that allow you to reduce the gap
(to be or feel taller). For example, you may choose to wear high heels or wear
clothes that gives the illusion of height. All these efforts are designed to make your
actual self-concept closer to your ideal self-concept.

If the gap between the different self-concepts is quite narrow, the sense of self is
strong and behaviour is not so easily influenced. If the gaps between either the ideal,
expected or social self, and the actual self are large enough, however, there is
potential to influence behaviour. Anyone who has ever experienced peer pressure
has felt a widening of the gap between the actual and social self. The way to narrow
the gap and reduce the tension is to behave as the group indicates: wear what they
wear, do what they do, think what they think, drink what they do, read what they do.
This is particularly apparent in the youth market where peer pressure is all-pervasive.
In marketing, the consumer is often told, via advertising, that the way to narrow the
gap is to buy the product or service. Cosmetics and personal care items work
primarily on the gap between the ideal/expected and actual self. As Charles Revson
of Revlon Cosmetics said, cosmetic manufacturers sell ‘hope in a bottle’. Consumers
ask ‘If I buy Estee Lauder products, won’t I look just like Elizabeth Hurley?’ Lifestyle
ads seek to close the gap between the social and actual self.

The ethical question is whether advertising, besides providing the way to narrow the
gap, also attempts to first widen the gap between the self-concepts by playing on the
consumer’s insecurities.

ACTIVITY 6

1 On the following scales, use a red pen to rank yourself; place an ‘x’ at the spot
you think best describes yourself. Now use a blue pen to rank the car that you
currently own if applicable (name the car); a green pen to rank the car that
you would one day like to own (name the car); and a black pen to rank the car
that you would not like to own (name the car). Compare the profiles that you
have developed. You might find it easier to compare the profiles if you join all
the red ‘x’s with a line, then all the blue ‘x’s, green ‘x’s, and black ‘x’s.

sexy _____ _____ _____ _____ reserved

innocent _____ _____ _____ _____ flirtatious

venturesome _____ _____ _____ _____ shy

free-spirited _____ _____ _____ _____ practical

fun loving _____ _____ _____ _____ serious

fashionably stylish _____ _____ _____ _____ classically stylish

Source: Tom, G (1984).

2 For the following samples of advertising copy, indicate the self-concept that is
being appealed to:

a ‘On your way to the top of the corporate ladder, dress like you’re
already there.’

b ‘At XYZ Company, you’re a somebody.’

3 Find two print advertisements that you think are appealing to the ideal and the social self-
concept. Explain your choices.

Commentary

1 When you compare the profiles, can you see any relationship between your
actual self-image (how you ranked yourself) and the car you presently own, if
applicable? What about between your actual self and the car you would like
to own? Remember the expected self-image. What about between your
 actual self and the car you would not like to own? Remember that products
are purchased in an effort to support, enhance or change the self-concept.

2 a This is an appeal to the expected self-concept/image. The individual is

already moving up the corporate ladder, with expectations of reaching the
top.

b This is an appeal to the ideal self-concept/image. Everyone wants to

feel that they are important, that they are a ‘somebody’.

3 Most cosmetic advertisements appeal to the ideal, and sometimes the

expected, self-concept/image.

Lifestyle ads generally appeal to the social self-concept/image. These ads

portray the product being used in a particular social setting with a particular
social group. All the actors are attractive, the settings exotic, and the
atmosphere lively, friendly and fun. The message is: use the product and be
part of the lifestyle.
4.7 Product positioning and repositioning

A product’s position is the way in which consumers define, classify or categorise the
product on significant attributes, relative to the competition. In reality, a product’s
position is the way that product is perceived by consumers: the sum of all their
perceptions about the product. Marketers, in their positioning strategies, attempt to
differentiate their product from all other offerings in the product class. Their hope is
that consumers will perceive their product as so different that they will categorise it
separately. They effectively create a new or sub-product class containing only that
product.

Perceptual mapping

Perceptual mapping is a tool which helps marketers determine how their product
compares to the competition in terms of selected product attributes. A grid is
created using two product attributes, one on the x and one on the y axis. Consumers
are then asked to plot various products on the grid. This allows marketers to
determine their own and the competition’s position on the attributes, determine
competitive strengths and weaknesses, and identify gaps where no products appear.
This information can be useful in positioning and repositioning strategies.

Sophisticated computer programs can create multi-dimensional grids that allow

consumers to compare products on a number of attributes. Obviously, the more
attributes that are used in the perceptual map, the more detailed and useful the
resulting product comparisons will be.

Perceptual maps can be done by individuals and also by groups, using consumer
research methodologies. When group data is collected, average scores (means) are
generally used to determine the position. Maps can be prepared on a regular basis,
say, yearly. This allows a company to compare its own position over time, noting and
acting on any changes indicated in consumer’s perceptions on particular attributes.
Companies can also compare their position with that of the competition over time,
again noting and actioning any competitive strengths and weaknesses indicated.

ACTIVITY 7

1 Ask a relatively small sample (5-10 people) to indicate which car they feel is
most appropriate for the following people (assuming that they all want and
can afford cars)

• young executive • nurse

• grandmother • university lecturer
• male student • teacher
• senior executive • doctor
• rich entrepreneur • female student

2 You have been asked by the manufacturer of Mars bars to prepare a

perceptual map of their brand and their five main competitors, Kit Kat,
Snickers, Yorkie, Snack, and Crunchy. They are interested in determining their
position on the attributes ‘calories’ and ‘chocolate flavour’. They would like
 you to use a small sample of five respondents for a test run and provide them
with an analysis of your results.

When collecting the data, you may want to use scales similar to those below.
You could ask each respondent to indicate the ‘score’ for each chocolate bar
on the two attributes. Once all the data is collected, you can calculate the
average score for each bar on each dimension. These average scores could
then be plotted on the perceptual map.

Attribute: Calories

1 2 3 4 5

Low Number Medium Number High Number

Attribute: Chocolate flavour

1 2 3 4 5

Very Little Average Amount Lots of

Commentary

1 How did people respond? Were there any common themes? Did some cars
keep appearing in everyone's lists? Were the responses based on any real
knowledge of the cars identified, or on the image generated by the
advertising campaigns?

2 Your perceptual map may look like this (Figure 7). (IGNORE THIS EXERCISE)

Please note that this is for illustrative purposes only

and is NOT intended to reflect actual consumer perceptions of the
chocolate bars named.

Figure 7: Perceptual map for chocolate bars

Note that the analysis of results that follows flows directly from this particular
perceptual map only.

The marketers of Mars bars could extract lots of useful information from this
perceptual map, assuming that the methodology and sample size were
appropriate.

Consumers perceived Mars bars as being relatively high in calories, yet having
lots of chocolate flavour. The only bar that tests higher for chocolate flavour
is Yorkie, but consumers also perceive it to have more calories. Yorkie actually
has a higher chocolate content than Mars bars so there might be some
substance to the consumer perception of more chocolate flavour. There
seems to be some equation in the minds of consumers between lots of
chocolate flavour and high calories. Notice how all the bars perceived to have
lots of chocolate flavour are also felt to be high in calories.
 Kit Kat positions itself as a ‘nice light snack’, implying lower calorie content. Their strategy
appears to have worked from the perspective of calories, however, consumers do not feel that
it has a lot of chocolate flavour. If calorie content is an issue, Mars may want to review the
Kit Kat product formulation and marketing strategy for insight. A perceptual map such as this
is a starting point. Analysis of this map provides direction for further research.

4.8 Set placement

ACTIVITY 7

1 On a blank piece of paper, list all the brands of laundry detergent, chocolate
bars, and breakfast cereal that you can remember.

2 Assuming that you want to purchase the product and that you have all the
money you need, for each of the three brand lists indicate with an ‘x’ those
products which you would purchase.

3 Assuming that you want to purchase the product, and that you have all the
money you need, for each of the three brand lists, indicate with a ‘y’ those
products which you would absolutely not purchase.

4 Add up the total number of brands, the number of ‘x’s and the number of ‘y’s
listed in each product class.

We use these lists to illustrate sets and set placement. Howard and Sheth were two
of the first researchers to discover that consumers classify product classes into sets,
for example, the set of laundry detergents (1969). One model looks at six basic
types of sets: the total, the unawareness, the awareness, the evoked, the inert, and
the inept. How consumers place an individual product or brand in these sets is of
great importance to marketers and provides direction in the development of
marketing strategies.

The total set comprises all products or brands within a product class currently
available in the marketplace. We can define this on a macro level as available
anywhere or, on a more micro level, as available in the trading area of the target
market.

Either consumers are aware of a particular product class or a brand within that class,
or they are not. On a broad level, products either fall into the awareness or
unawareness set of the consumer. If your product is in the unawareness set for the
bulk of your target market, there is no chance it will be purchased. The reasons for
your product falling in the unawareness set could be problems with distribution or
promotion, and in particular, advertising. Your message is either not received or is
just not getting through.

Look at the number of brands that you remembered for each of the three product
classes tested. Try this experiment with a couple of friends and see how different
people define both the product class and brands. For example, when listing brands of
breakfast cereal did you include all the muesli varieties as separate brands? Do you
consider Persil for automatics, Persil for twin tubs, and biological Persil to be one
brand of detergent?
If you visited selected retailers, you could determine how many brands in each of
these product classes are currently available in the UK: the total set. By comparing
this number with the number that you listed, you can determine your awareness and
unawareness sets.

The awareness set is divided into three subsets: the evoked, inert and inept sets.
The evoked set refers to those brands for which we have a positive attitude,
perhaps based on our past experience. Only brands in the evoked set are considered
for purchase. Harvard psychologist George Miller discovered that most people
‘remember’ an average of seven items in any class (1956). In consumer behaviour
that would mean an average of seven products in each product class. It is not
surprising that most consumers have only three to five brands in their evoked set for
any given product class.

Often, in the case of truly brand loyal consumers, there is only one brand within this
set. ‘I only buy Surf!’ If there are several, they may be in no particular order, with
each one having a relatively equal chance of being purchased. They may also be
arranged in order of priority. For example, you may wish to purchase only Surf, but if
it is not available you consider purchasing Ariel or Daz.

In the test, those brands you marked with an ‘x’ fall into your evoked set. How many
of them have you actually tried? How many of them have you just heard about from
advertising, in-store promotion, or from family and friends?

Those brands for which we have a negative attitude fall into the inept set. Most
likely the negative attitude resulted from a previous unsatisfactory experience, but
they can also be derived from the experience of others, word of mouth or negative
publicity. Products in the inept set are not considered for purchase and may be
avoided.

In the test, those products you marked with a ‘y’ fall into your inept set. How many
of these have you actually tried? Or have your family and friends tried them and told
you of their experiences? Or was there a rumour about harsh additives? Whatever
the reason, even if you had the money, you would not purchase this brand.

Those brands for which we have no attitude or are ambivalent fall into the inert set.
This ambivalence may be derived from a lack of information or conviction that these
products are really of benefit. These are not actively considered in the purchase
decision. In the test, those brands which you did not mark with either an ‘x’ or a ‘y’
fall into your inert set.

It is important for marketers to determine what set their product falls within because
only those products in the evoked set will be actively considered for purchase. If the
product falls in the inert or inept set of target consumers, there is little or no chance
of purchase. Marketers are constantly testing set placement in an effort to determine
the placement of their brand, especially in relation to the competition.

ACTIVITY 8

Answer the following questions:

1 If you were offered a soft drink, which one would you choose, and why? If you
couldn’t have the soft drink you selected, what would you do? What if you
could not have that choice either, what would you do?

2 A friend asks your advice about restaurants to avoid in your nearest city centre. Which ones
would you suggest and why?

Commentary

Your answers to these questions reflect your set placement.

1 The brand selected is in your evoked set for the product class, soft drinks. Your
answers indicate how many brands are in your soft drinks evoked set and how
these brands are arranged in order of priority. When your first choice of soft
drink was not available, did you choose another brand, or did you change
product classes to perhaps tea or coffee?

2 The restaurants you suggest to avoid are in your inept set.

4.9 Perceived quality

Quality, actual or perceived, is often used as a factor in determining whether or not a

product provides ‘value for money’ and ultimately, whether or not a product is
purchased. Marketers are interested in how consumers judge the quality of a
product. Research has shown that consumers judge product quality based on both
intrinsic and extrinsic cues. Intrinsic cues are inherent in the product, relating to its
physical characteristics. For example, colour, size, flavour and aroma are all used by
consumers in judging the quality of food products.

Extrinsic cues are external to the product and are often used in the absence of direct
experience with the product. Price, store, manufacturer or brand image, and the
promotional message are often used by consumers as surrogates for quality. A
surrogate is a substitute for or representative of something. For example, you may
not have any direct experience with electronic diaries but you feel that Sharp is a
reputable, quality brand, perhaps based on your direct experience with other Sharp
products. You may use the brand or brand name as a surrogate (substitute) for
determining the quality of the actual product in your purchase decision.

Of particular interest is the price/quality relationship, this is often called the

price/quality perception. Consumers often use price as an indicator of product
quality, especially if they have minimal information available or have low confidence
in their own ability to evaluate products.

Marketers must ensure that there is congruence between the quality of their product
and the price being charged. Low quality is congruent with low price; high quality is
congruent with high price. For example, suppose you saw a red 100% silk shirt for
£25 in Harrods, what would be your reaction? You might question whether it was
really silk, whether the store had made a pricing error, or whether the blouse would
survive its first wearing. Why would these questions arise? In this case, the price is
so low that quality is called into question. If the price was £85, what would your
reaction be? Would you still ask the same questions about quality?
Consumers develop price ranges they consider ‘acceptable’ for different categories of
products. If the price charged is higher than the top of the range, consumers may
question whether the product offers value for money. If the price charged is lower
than the bottom of the range, consumers may question quality. Consumer research
can help determine the price range used by a particular target market for a particular
product or brand.

Marketers must also be aware of price ranges and the price/quality perception when
reducing price. If the price is reduced too much, consumers may question quality
and defer purchase even at the sale price. For example, if a particular Chanel
perfume, which regularly sells for £50 a bottle, is offered for sale at £15, consumers
may question its quality. Is the stock old and has it lost its perfume? Is it really
Chanel? A sale price of £15 is too low.

Many high quality products have successfully used the price/quality relationship in
their positioning and promotional strategies. For example, Joy, by Jean Patou, bills
itself as ‘the most expensive perfume in the world’. Chanel maintains a high price
for its signature handbags. Rolls Royces are more expensive than Mercedes and
BMWs, which in turn are more expensive than Hondas, which in turn are more
expensive than Skodas.

4.10 Perceived risk and risk reduction strategies

All behaviour carries with it some level of risk, actual or perceived. Consumers ask,
‘Am I doing the right thing?’ ‘Will I like the outcome?’ ‘Will others like my
behaviour?’ This is especially important in the study of consumer behaviour. All
consumer choices and decisions carry with them an element of risk. Until the
product is actually used, the outcome of the decision is uncertain. This is especially
true for new products, but there is also an element of risk attached to the purchase of
products that we have used. For example, even if you have always bought a
particular chocolate bar, until you actually taste the one you just bought from the
vending machine, you will not be certain of the outcome. Perhaps the bar is stale,
squashed from the machine or just from a bad batch.

The less likely it is that the consumer can predict the outcome, the greater the
uncertainty and thus the risk that is attached to the purchase decision. Services,
because they cannot be touched, felt and sampled prior to purchase, usually offer
less predictable outcomes and thus carry more perceived risk.

For the purposes of marketers and consumer behaviourists, actual and perceived risk
are considered the same. If our consumers perceive that there is a certain level of
risk attached to the purchase of our product, then there is risk attached to the
purchase and we, as marketers, must react accordingly.

There are five types of perceived risk: functional, performance, financial, social
and psychological. Perceived risk is an individual phenomenon. Perceived risk
varies across products and across consumers. There are high-risk perceivers and
low-risk perceivers. Which type best describes your behaviour? We must determine
the level and types of risk attached to the product decision and purchase by most
consumers in our target market. We must also be aware of the strategies to reduce
the level of perceived risk. The more common consumer risk reduction strategies
include information seeking, brand loyalty and buying the most expensive item.
Remember the price/quality perception. Marketers can also develop strategies
designed to reduce perceived risk.

The five types of perceived risk are:

• Functional risk, also called performance risk. This is the risk that the
product does not give the expected performance or that the consumer cannot
make the product perform. As products are becoming more and more
sophisticated due to technological advances, perceived performance risk is
increasing, especially by those consumers who are afraid of technology.

• Physical risk. This is the risk that the product may harm the user or others.
When colour television and word processors were first introduced, concern
was expressed about emissions from the cathode ray tubes. It is now
common for consumers to question whether or not a product is harmful to the
environment. Consumers have expressed concern about aerosol deodorants,
CFCs in styrofoam cups, and phosphates in laundry detergent.

• Financial risk. This is the risk that the product is not worth the money paid,
especially considering opportunity costs. Perceived financial risk tends to
increase with the price of the product, and is often dependent on the financial
position of the individual.

• Social risk. This is the risk that the product may have an impact on group
membership or social status. Consumers ask, ‘Will others think that I have
made a wise choice? Does this new dress really look good on me or will I be
embarrassed to be seen in it?’ The films, TV shows and advertisements are
often full of characters that suffer social embarrassment for wearing the
wrong clothes, drinking the wrong beverage, listening to the wrong music,
thinking the wrong thoughts, or believing the wrong beliefs. Conspicuous
products such as cars, clothing and jewellery often have sociological risk.

• Psychological risk. This is the risk that the product may have a negative
impact on the consumer’s ego. Remember from our discussion of self-image
that consumers often purchase products specifically because they reflect or
boost their level of self esteem/self-image. If you have ever had a bad haircut
you know the effect of a poor product or service decision on self-esteem.

Both consumers and marketers adopt strategies designed to reduce or to eliminate

these different types of perceived risk. The defense mechanisms we discussed in
Unit 2 are forms of consumer-driven risk-reduction strategies. Let’s look at some of
the market-driven risk-reduction strategies.

Physical risk

Private or government sponsored tests are often conducted to ensure that a product
is safe and is certified, for example, The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval,
Approved by the British Dental Association. Most governments have product
standards for different product classes to ensure a certain level of safety.

Performance risk
Service agreements, money-back guarantees and warranties are some of the ways in
which manufacturers attempt to reduce perceived performance risk. Would anyone
purchase a car without a warranty? Or without first test driving it? Most cars now
come with a miles or months warranty. Computers, electronic goods, household
appliances all come with some form of warranty.

Sample or trial sizes allow the consumer to determine if the product will do what it
claims before purchasing the full size product. Some companies offer free in-house
demonstrations.

Well written instructions and directions for use or training provided by the
manufacturer can be offered if consumers are uncertain about how to use a product.
When microwave ovens were first introduced, most included either a free cookbook
or free cooking lessons because consumers were uncertain about the use of the new
technology.

Often manufacturers, when faced with high perceived performance risk, redesign the
product.

Financial risk

Money-back guarantees, refunds and financing are ways that manufacturers and
marketers attempt to reduce perceived financial risk. Samples also reduce financial
risk.

Sociological and psychological risk

Endorsements or testimonials by people perceived by the target market to be

trustworthy, expert and credible are used to reduce sociological and psychological
risk.

Review Activity 4

1 Your manager has just returned from a seminar on consumer-directed risk-

reduction strategies where he learned that consumers often respond to
perceived risk by purchasing the most expensive brand. He has asked your
opinion about increasing the price to make your product more expensive than
the competition.

2 For the following products, what types of perceived risk do you think the
consumer would associate with the purchase decision?

• a personal computer being purchased by a first-year university student

• a watch being purchased by a 15-year-old girl

• a briefcase being purchased by a newly graduated lawyer who is just

starting work

• a cellular phone being purchased by a middle-aged insurance broker

 In an attempt to reduce the level of perceived risk, what strategies do you think the consumer
might adopt? If you were the manufacturer of the product, what market-driven risk-reduction
strategies would you consider? Select one brand in each of the product categories. Review their
advertising and promotional materials to see if they have undertaken any of the market-driven
risk-reduction strategies you have suggested.

UNIT SUMMARY

Marketers are keenly interested in the ways in which consumers ‘learn’ about
different products and brands. We reviewed the three main learning theories:
classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, and cognitive learning theory. Each
theory provides some information and has applications in marketing. For example,
the use of celebrities in advertising and product line extensions are applications of
classical conditioning theory.

The concept of memory is important to learning. While our understanding of memory

is limited, it is generally accepted that memory has three components or storehouses
for sensory stimuli: the sensory store, the short-term store, and the long-term store.
Marketers are concerned with ensuring that information about their products ends up
in the long-term store and can be retrieved or recalled when needed.

We reviewed involvement theory as it applies to information processing, in particular

brain hemispheral lateralisation and Sherif’s Social Judgement Theory. We reviewed
the cognitive and behavioural interpretations of brand loyalty.

Perception is the ‘characteristic way in which individuals select, organise and

interpret sensory stimuli’. It is a unique individual phenomenon and we each ‘see’
the world in a slightly different way.

A model of information processing identified five stages of exposure, attention,

comprehension, yielding/acceptance, and retention. Each stage acts as a perceptual
filter, screening out and potentially distorting the stimuli before it is passed on to the
next stage for further processing. Marketers must recognise the selective nature of
information processing in developing their marketing and, in particular, advertising
strategies.

We then reviewed three sensory thresholds, the absolute, differential and subliminal.
They dictate whether or not the stimuli are physically received. The absolute
threshold is the lowest level at which a stimuli can be perceived. Marketers make use
of the differential threshold and Weber’s Law in many applications including
determination of price increases and decreases, product reformulations and
packaging changes. We reviewed the subliminal threshold and the purported use of
subliminal messages and images in advertising.

Consumers have enduring perceptions about both themselves and products.

Consumers buy products and brands that protect, change and enhance their self-
image. Consumers also have perceptions about products. The concept of product
position and the tool of perceptual mapping allow marketers to see product positions
graphically.
Consumers group products and brands into sets to simplify information processing.
We reviewed the six basic sets and looked at the impact of set placement on the
purchase decision. Only products that are in the evoked set are actively considered
for purchase, so set placement is critically important to marketers.

We finished by studying the price/quality perception and the concept of perceived

risk. Consumers often use price as a surrogate cue for quality, especially in the
absence of product information or if their confidence in their ability to evaluate
products is low.

Every purchase carries with it a certain level of perceived risk. Until the product is
actually used and evaluated, the consumer cannot be certain that they have made
the right or best decision. We reviewed five types of perceived risk. We then
reviewed strategies that consumers and marketers can adopt in an attempt to reduce
perceived risk, increasing the chance of purchase.
UNIT REVIEW ACTIVITY

1 Weber’s Law or JND is used by marketers in a variety of applications. In

Safeways, Boots or a department store such as John Lewis, try to find as many
examples as possible of Weber’s Law in action. For example, you may notice
some products claim to be ‘bigger’, ‘improved’, or have ‘more flavour’. These
claims would have been tested using Weber’s Law. Make note of a range of
sale prices, perhaps by product class. In a few weeks, once the sale is over
and the products have returned to their original prices, calculate the JND.
Conduct a comparison within and between product classes. Can you draw any
even tentative conclusions? For example, did your calculations indicate that
soft drinks, as a product class, use an average 20% reduction for their sale
prices? What percentage price decrease was used for ‘big ticket’ items?

2 For the taste experiment, you will need:

• a blindfold
• disposable drinking cups
• Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Orange Fanta (you might also wish to try the experiment with
sugar-free or own-brand versions)
• three or four participants.
Instructions:
a The participants should leave the room.
b Fill cups with an equal amount of each soft drink. You should have one cup of each
soft drink for each participant. Do not let the participants see the brands of soft
drinks at any point in the experiment.
c You will conduct the taste test with each participant individually. The first
participant returns to the room, blindfold him or her, and then he or she should pinch
his or her nose to cut off the sense of smell and breathe through the mouth.
d Have the participant sample the soft drinks, all brands or a subset, one after the other.
e Ask the participant to identify each one.
f Note their responses for later analysis.

You might consider trying the experiment with many participants, varying the brand you wish
to be identified. For example, you might have one subject taste Coke, Sprite and Pepsi, and
ask them to identify the Coke. You might ask another to taste Coke, Orange Fanta and Sprite
and ask them to identify Sprite.

3 In this experiment you test the Just Noticeable Difference or Weber’s Law. You can use the
soft drinks and cups remaining from the above experiment. You will also need an accurate
measuring device.
Instructions:
a Number six disposable cups 1 to 6.
b Into each of the six cups, pour increasingly larger amounts of drink. For example,
225ml in cup 1, 230ml in cup 2, etc. Cup 6 will have the greatest amount of drink,
and acts as your ‘control’. Note the amount of drink put into each numbered cup.
You may find it necessary to have each cup covered, especially if the difference in
amount can be seen.
c You need a minimum of 5 participants. Conduct the experiment with one participant
at a time, asking all others to leave the room.
d Starting with the first participant, have them hold cup 5 and cup 6, the ‘control’. Ask
them if they notice a difference in the weight between the two cups. If the answer is
no, have them compare cup 4 and cup 6. If the answer is no, have them compare cup
3 and cup 6. Continue until a difference is noticed. This represents the participant’s
‘just noticeable difference’.
e Conduct the experiment with each of your participants, noting when a difference in
weight is observed.
A soft drink bottler wishing to reduce the volume of drink in each can has asked your advice.
Assuming that the amount in cup 6 is the current volume per can, advise the drinks bottler in light of
the results of your experiment.
REFERENCES

Block and Roering (1979) Essentials of Consumer Behaviour, San Diego, CA: Dryden
Press.

Howard J A and Sheth J N (1969) The Theory of Buyer Behaviour, New York: John Wiley.

Miller, G A (1956) ‘The magic number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our
capacity for processing information’, Psychological Review, 63, 81-97.

Pavlov, I P (1927) Conditioned Reflexes, translated by G V Anrep, London: Oxford University Press.

Schiffman, L G and Kanuk, L L (1996) Consumer Behaviour, 6th edition, Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall International.

Skinner, B F (1953) Science and Human Behavior, New York: Macmillan.

Tom, G (1984) Applications of Consumer Behaviour, Readings and Exercises,

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

RECOMMENDED READING

Foxall G R and Goldsmith R E (1994) Consumer Psychology for Marketing, London: Routledge.

Schiffman, L G and Kanuk, L L (1996) Consumer Behaviour, 6th edition, Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall International.

Answer to Review Activity 2

This test illustrates left- and right-brain information processing. It also gives you an
indication about whether you are left- or right-brain dominant. Be cautious though as
it has minimal scientific basis!

You probably attempted to ‘memorise’ them given the limited time available. Left-
brain dominant people will focus on the words and numbers. The information is
processed in word form, usually from left to right. For example, one, pen, two, swan,
three, breasts, etc. Right-brain dominant people focus on the shapes, realising that
the shape of the number and the shape of the word object are similar. For example,
a swan looks somewhat like the number 2. They will first link the shape of the
number with the shape of the word, and then add in the words for the visual images
they have created.

If you were to try this experiment with a large group of people, you may find that the
right-brain dominant people are faster in their learning. Remember from our
discussion on memory that learning a picture or visual image is faster than learning
textual or verbal information.

Answer to Review Activity 3

1 Brand loyalty can be defined on the basis of either behaviour or attitude.

Behaviourists look at purchase patterns and attempt to explain slight
deviations. Those who define brand loyalty on the basis of attitude are
 concerned with the amount of cognitive processing, evaluation and decision
making the consumer is engaged in, prior to making the purchase decision.
They feel that if the consumer does not engage in cognitive processing, even
though the purchase patterns are consistent with brand loyalty, they are
spuriously brand loyal.

2 Brand loyal consumers, when faced with a perceived decrease in price (30p
for a 2-litre bottle is a reasonable price saving) will stock up on the brand,
cannibalising future sales. Non-brand-loyal consumers who are price
conscious will also purchase the product; however, once the incentive is
removed when the coupon expires, they will probably switch to another brand.
Consumers who are brand loyal to Pepsi will probably not purchase Coke,
regardless of the coupon.

Sales promotion involves short-term incentives designed to increase sales in

the short term. Sales promotion generally does not have an impact on overall
brand loyalty; a consumer who tries a product because of a coupon or
premium will not automatically become brand loyal. Many other factors affect
the building of long-term brand loyalty.

Answer to Review Activity 4

1 Consumers often purchase the most expensive brand, as a way of reducing

perceived risk. However, you would want to point out that it is only one of the
strategies used. Consumers attempt to reduce risk by seeking more
information, remaining brand loyal, making choices based on brand/store
image and brand/store name, and by seeking reassurance through warranties
and guarantees.

Before making any changes, you would probably suggest to the manager that
some consumer research is conducted to determine the type and level of risk
perceived by current and potential customers in the purchase of your product.
You would also want to determine what strategies current customers adopted
to reduce perceived risk. You would also want to do an analysis of the
competition’s offering, determining the type and level of risk perceived by
current and potential customers and their favoured strategies.

The concepts used in the field of consumer behaviour are not used in
isolation. Before changing the price, you would want to consider the
price/quality perception currently held by your customers. At minimum,
consumers have to see a relationship or match between price and quality.
Also changing price has an impact on position. You may want to consider
developing a perceptual map to help you compare the position of your product
and that of the competition on the dimensions of price and quality. Raising
the price may not be favourably received by consumers unless there is a
concurrent improvement in quality.

2 In the case of the first-year university student purchasing a computer, he or

she might perceive financial, functional, and perhaps physical risk. If the
student is not familiar with computers, he or she might be concerned about
the safety (physical risk) and functional aspects of the computer. Will the
computer do what I need it to do and will I be able to make the computer
work? As computers are relatively expensive, the student will perceive a high
 level of financial risk. There are many ways in which the student could
attempt to reduce the perceived risk. For example, the student could gather
information about different brands or select the most expensive or most
popular brand. A computer manufacturer could reduce the perceived risk by
offering training (functional risk), financing or a money-back guarantee
(functional and financial) or a free trial (physical and functional).

The consumer trying to buy a watch is a 15 year-old girl, so she would

perceive a high level of social and psychological risk. Watches are
conspicuous items which reflect our self-image, increasing the psychological
risk involved. If she has a high need to ‘fit in’ with her social group, she would
also perceive a high degree of social risk. She must buy the right watch, the
one that’s ‘in’. Depending on her individual situation and the cost of the
watch, there may be financial risk. She reduces the risk by buying the most
popular brand, or a well known brand name. She could also observe the
watches her friends are wearing and buy one of the same models.
Manufacturers and retailers could help reduce the psychological and social
risk by featuring product endorsements from people whom the teenager
might admire, or by using lifestyle advertising which portrays the watch as
part of a particular social setting.

The lawyer may perceive similar types of risk in the purchase of a briefcase,
for similar reasons as the teenage girl. Again, a briefcase is a conspicuous
item. The lawyer would want to ensure that he chose one that was suitable
for carrying all his documents (functional risk), would enhance his self-image
as a professional (psychological risk), and would allow him to ‘fit in’ with his
new colleagues (social risk).

The insurance broker may perceive a high degree of functional risk as the cellular phone is a
necessary part of his job. Cellular phones may also be viewed as a conspicuous accessory,
increasing the psychological and social risk.

Answer to Unit Review Activity

2 You may find that participants, denied the sense of sight and smell, have a
difficult time differentiating between brands (Coke versus Pepsi) and flavours
(cola versus lemon-lime versus orange). Remember that when the nose is
incapacitated, 80% of the sense of taste is lost.

3 The soft drink bottler would want to reduce the volume to a slightly lower level
than the point where consumers would notice a difference. For example, on
average, with a large enough sample size to claim statistical significance,
consumers noticed a difference between cup 6 and cup 4. If the volume of
cup 6, the current volume, was 250 ml, and the volume in cup 4 was 240 ml,
you might decide to reduce the volume to slightly less than 240 ml: just below
the JND. You would probably want to further test 239, 238, 237, 236 ml to
‘fine tune’ your experiment before deciding on the actual decrease.