Attitudes and Attitude Theories
Importance of attitudes
Carl Hovland, founder of the Yale Attitude Research
Program, initiated the scientific study of attitudes in the
1940’s
“attitudes” occupied the center stage in persuasion
research for over 50 years
transformed “social studies” into “social sciences” via
attitude scales
– interval level data amenable to statistical analysis
– agree___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ disagree
Definition of attitude
“a predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably
toward some attitude object” (Fishbein & Ajzen,
1975)
– learned, not innate
– precursors of behavior (precede, predict behavior)
– evaluative dimension
direction of attitude (plus or minus)
degree or intensity of attitude
– directed toward an “attitude object”
Attitudes and persuasion
Social scientists seek a “shortcut,” by relying on
attitudes to predict behavior
– attitude behavior
Persuaders seek to alter attitudes, thereby bringing
about a corresponding change in behavior
– old attitude new attitude new behavior
How well attitudes correlate with behavior is known
as the “A-B” relationship (or ABC attitude-behavior-
correlation)
Moderating variables in the A-B
relationship
attitude salience or centrality
specificity of the attitude(s) and behavior(s)
social desirability bias
self-monitoring
activation of relevant attitudes
multiple-act criteria (versus one-shot
measures)
Likert’s
“equal appearing interval scales”
Patient’s suffering from terminal illnesses should have a
constitutional right to assisted suicide.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
strongly moderately slightly neutral slightly moderately strongly
agree agree agree disagree disagree disagree
continuum of choices ranging from “strongly
agree to “strongly disagree”
may consist of 5, 7, 9, or 11 points
ambiguity of “neutral” point (don’t know,
undecided)
variations of Likert scales
Semantic Differential scales
based upon connotative meanings
series of bipolar adjectives (opposites)
adjective pairs separated by spaces
respondent checks “semantic space” corresponding with
his/her attitude
dimensions: evaluation, potency, activity
specialized semantic differential scales
example: McCroskey’s Ethos scale
Sarah Palin
qualified ___:___:___:___:___:___:___ unqualified
poised ___:___:___:___:___:___:___ nervous
expert ___:___:___:___:___:___:___ inexpert
trustworthy ___:___:___:___:___:___:___ untrustworthy
timid ___:___:___:___:___:___:___ bold
Visually oriented scales
opinion thermometer
facial expressions
steering wheel pointer
advantages of visually
oriented attitude
measures
Problems with attitude scales
problem of non-
attitudes
social desirability bias
acquiescence bias
issue of “mindfulness”
attitudes as associative networks
often unconscious, implicit
spider web analogy
– changes in one cognitive element
reverberate throughout the individual’s belief
system
Example of an associative network
contraception
school prayer sex education abortion
family values family leave
premarital sex divorce
marital fidelity child support
dead-beat dads
Creating associations
advertising campaigns
Drive = love
Beer and good times
sloganeering
– “Breakfast of champions”
(Wheaties)
– “Be all that you can be”
(U.S. Army)
– “The ultimate driving
machine” (BMW)
Food advertising and associations
Foods are often
advertised as:
– promoting good health
– substitutes for love
– vicarious sex
– guilty pleasures
– treatment for stress, Yoplait: Food as a guilty
anxiety pleasure:
"Ooo, this is Day At The
Spa Good"
"No, this is Foot Massage
Hershey’s: food Good"
as stress
management
Ways of creating associations
Advertising campaigns
– McDonald’s goes urban with the “I’m
lovin’ it” campaign
– Sprite associates itself with hip-hop
urban youth
Sponsorship
– Stadiums, sporting events
– Philanthropic giving
Philip Morris’ “social responsibility”
campaigns
Celebrity endorsers
More ways of creating associations
Appropriating symbols
– “extreme” lifestyle
Taco Bell sponsors the X-Games
– urban, hip hop culture
Reebok “keeps it real” to rake in the
“bling bling”
– alternative culture
Pepsi and iTunes identify with music
downloaders
Renaming
– “pre-owned” versus “used” car
– KFC transformed itself into “Kitchen Fresh
Chicken”
Involvement and participation
– Contests, mail-ins, prizes, events
Modifying associations: from
McDonald’s to Mickey D’s
After losing over $200 million in 2002, McDonald's
traded in their old "We love to see you smile" slogan
for the new, hip, “I’m lovin’ it” campaign
the new campaign uses a hip hop theme to target
older, urban youths .
Link to “I’m Lovin’ It”
commercial:
http://video.google.com/video
play?docid=-
7734402308357651918&q=
mcdonald%27s&hl=en
Aging icon Ronald Justin Timberlake
“gets jiggy” with hip is one of Mickey
hop stars D’s new
spokespersons
Image-based advertising
– "In the factory we make cosmetics; in the drugstore
we sell hope."
Charles Revson
– "An image . . . is not simply a trademark, a design, a
slogan or an easily remembered picture. It is a
studiously crafted personality profile of an individual,
institution, corporation, product or service."
Daniel Boorstin
– "You now have to decide what 'image' you want for
your brand. Image means personality. Products, like
people, have personalities, and they can make or
break them in the market place."
David Ogilvy
Image-based advertising at work
A consumer admires
a particular image or
lifestyle
The product is paired
with, or associated
with, the image or Music downloading
lifestyle
In time the consumer
comes to equate the + +
product with image
or lifestyle
teen consumer ? Pepsi
Image-oriented advertising
The point of image-oriented
advertising is to link
products with idealized
associations, images, and
lifestyles.
Schudson (1984)
“advertising does not claim
to picture reality as it is but
Are California cows really happy?
reality as it should be--life What about the cows raised in cramped,
and lives worth imitating (p. dreary feedlots?
215)." If good cheese comes from happy cows,
then does bad cheese come from bored,
confined cows?
Image-oriented car commercials
Advertising associations
and women’s bodies
Victoria’s Secret Dove’s “Real Beauty”
Coors Light Twins campaign
Paris Hilton and Carl’s Jr. Does Dove really care about
women’s body images?
Or is this a clever branding
strategy to sell more
product?
consistency theories
l People expect, prefer consistency
Cognitive consistency is a state of balance, harmony, among
one’s cognitions
Individuals strive to maintain, preserve harmony among their
beliefs, attitudes, behaviors
l Inconsistency causes psychological discomfort, tension
“Dissonance” is an uncomfortable mental state.
May even be accompanied by physiological symptoms
l Individuals are motivated to restore cognitive consistency
“Drive-reduction” model
Social motivations, e.g., saving face
illustration of consistency
in action
? favorable
attitude + - perceived
incompatibility
+
Parenting and consistency theory
A child admires Popeye
The child doesn’t like to eat
spinach
Popeye is positively associated
with Spinach
This is a cognitively imbalanced
state, which should motivate
+ +
the child to change one of the
associations -
consistent versus inconsistent
psychological states
balanced (consistent) psychological states
+ + + - - + - -
+ - - +
imbalanced (inconsistent) psychological states
- - - + + - + +
- + + -
marketing consistency: have your cake
and eat it too!
Environmentally responsible,
socially conscious products
– Hybrid cars
– Dolphin free tuna
– Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
– Yoplait and breast cancer
research
– “Green” mutual funds
healthy labels
– light, fat-free, carb free, low
sodium, all natural, high
fiber, low cholesterol
Marketing inconsistency
Countering brand loyalty
– “Think outside the bun” (Taco Bell)
– “Think different” (Macintosh)
– Carl’s $6.00 burger without the restaurant
Countering tradition
“Not your father’s Oldsmobile”
Buyer’s remorse
– Capital One: “What’s in your wallet?”
– Hotels. com
The key to persuasion
Adapt your message to your audience
– successful persuasion isn’t so much a matter of
shifting receivers’ attitudes over to your position,
as it is a matter of adapting your message to the
attitudes already held by receivers.