BELIEFS, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIORS

beliefs
the knowledge that a consumer has about objects, their attributes, and their benefits

objects
products, people, companies, and things about which people hold beliefs and attitudes

attributes
characteristics or features than an object might or might not have

benefits
the positive outcomes that attributes might provide to the consumer

Note: people buy a bundle of benefits, not product attributes; hence, benefit segmentation as a basis for segmentation beliefs can differ between people beliefs and attitudes are directed toward some specific object of those beliefs and attitudes

BELIEFS

Three types of beliefs:

• 1. object-attribute beliefs
• 2. attribute-benefit beliefs
• 3. object-benefit beliefs

A person's attitude about an object can be a function of the beliefs that a person holds with regard the attitudinal object, but can also be a function of the importance of the individual attributes about which a person has beliefs.

BEHAVIORS AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS

behaviors
everything that consumers do related to acquiring, using, and disposing of products

behavioral intentions
the intentions of consumers to behave in a particular way with regard to the acquisition, use, and disposition of products

Note: behavioral intentions are presumed to precede behaviors. We therefore assume that measures of behavioral intentions are suggestive of future consumer actions (behaviors).

CREATING BELIEFS DIRECTLY
This can be done via cognitive learning and information processing. Recall: the basic objective of promotion is to inform as well as to persuade and remind.

FORMING ATTITUDES DIRECTLY
Attitudes can be formed through:

• classical conditioning
  
  • e.g., patriotic music during a TV commercial for a political candidate

• operant conditioning
  
  • e.g., friends make positive or negative responses to your comments about a particular car model

• vicarious learning
  
  • e.g., a celebrity model is seen using a particular brand of cosmetics

• mere exposure
  
  • e.g., Ace-Finderhol Ltd. is briefly mentioned as a TV show's sponsor each week

MULTIATTRIBUTE MODEL OF ATTITUDE

The cognitive component of the tripartite model is generally assessed by using a version of the multiattribute or Fishbein model:

A_o=[SUM]B_iE_i

where:

A_o = the overall attitude toward object o

B_i = the strength of the belief that object o has some particular attribute i

E_i = the evaluation of the goodness or badness of attribute i

Note that the evaluative component serves as something of a weight.

1. How likely is it that Mountain Dew has no caffeine?

. . . . . . . . . . .1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
extremely unlikely . . . . . . . . . . . extremely likely

2. How likely is it that Mountain Dew is made from all natural ingredients?

. . . . . . . . . . .1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
extremely unlikely . . . . . . . . . . . extremely likely

3. How likely is it that Mountain Dew has lemon-lime flavor?

. . . . . . . . . . .1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
extremely unlikely . . . . . . . . . . . extremely likely

4. Mountain Dew has no caffeine.

. . . . .-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3
very bad . . . . . . . . . . . very good

5. Mountain Dew has all natural ingredients.

. . . . .-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3
very bad . . . . . . . . . . . very good

6. Mountain Dew has lemon-lime flavor.

. . . . .-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3
very bad . . . . . . . . . . . very good