Page 104 - DMGT506_CONSUMER_BEHAVIOUR

Unit 7: Consumer Attitudes

Notes
Figure 7.2: Attitude Components and Manifestations
Exposure Component Manifestation Attitude

Cognitive Beliefs about specific
attributes or overall
object.
Product, situations,
retail feelings Overall
outlets, Emotions or feelings
Affective orientation
salesmen, about specific attributes towards object
advertisements, or overall object
etc.
Behavioural
Conative intentions with respect to
specific attributes or
overall object

Affective Component

Consumers’ feelings and emotional reactions to an object represent the affective component of
an attitude. This relates to consumer’s overall evaluation of the attitude object. Consumer beliefs
about a brand’s attributes are multidimensional, but the feeling component is only
one-dimensional. The consumer who says, ”I like ThumsUp,” or “ThumsUp is no good,” is
expressing the results of an affective evaluation. The evaluation can either be ‘good’ or ‘bad,’
‘favourable’ or ‘unfavourable.’ Emotionally charged evaluations can also be expressed as
happiness, elation, sadness, shame, or anger etc.
Consumers often evaluate products in the context of a specific situation and a consumer’s feeling
evaluation may change as the situation changes. For example, a student studying for a test
believes that caffeine content in ThumsUp will keep me alert. These beliefs may lead to a
positive feeling (evaluative) response. The same student might avoid drinking ThumsUp late in
the evening after the test.

Consumers’ feelings are often the result of specific attribute evaluations of a product but
sometimes feelings can precede and influence beliefs (cognition, thinking). In some instances
people like or dislike a product without acquiring any beliefs about the product. R B Zajonc has
reported that our initial reaction to a product may be one of like or dislike without any cognitive
basis for the feelings. This initial affect can influence how we react to the product itself.
The affective component is central to studying attitudes because it summarises consumers’
predispositions to be favourable or unfavourable towards the attitude object. The cognitive
component or beliefs are relevant only to the extent that they influence evaluations. Actually,
brand evaluations (feelings) determine the tendency to evaluate brands as favourable or not
favourable.

Conative Component

Behavioural (conative) component is the likelihood or tendency of an individual to respond in
a certain manner towards an attitude object. For example, a series of decisions to purchase or not
to purchase a Canon inkjet printer, or recommend it to friends, would reflect the behavioural
component of an attitude. In the context of consumer research and marketing, conative component
is treated as intention to buy. P A Dabholkar has noted that all the three attitude components

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