The Psychological Spectrum: Cognition
Cognition is a term that refers to a consumer's thoughts: beliefs, attributes, and even preconceived notions about a product or purchasing experience.
The FCB grid, a commonly used advertising planning model that categorizes products into low and high-involvement and informational/transformational quadrants, suggests that when consumers' attitudes are based solely on cognitive foundations, advertisers strictly use appeals that are informative (7). However, Dube, Chattopadhyay and Letarte inform us that after an empirical study done on food product advertising, attitudes based on affect typically used informative appeals (7).
Leon Festinger proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance, stating that a person will experience an internal tension when he/she holds cognitions that are conflicting.
A phenomenon known more commonly to consumers as "buyer's remorse," cognitive dissonance can often strike after the purchase of high-involvement products, such as expensive automobiles, a home, or perhaps a large stock investment. Advertising, however, has a unique ability to reduce the dissonance--and ease the pain of possible "buyer's remorse" or insecurity. It can help reassure the consumer that they indeed made the right decision for reasons stated in marketing efforts.
According to Cooper and Scher, the most practical way for an individual to reduce their dissonance is to change their attitude. This theory of cognitive dissonance has been the clearest approach illustrating the link between actions and attitudes (5).
Next - The Overview - The Introduction - The Psychological Spectrum - The Relationships - The Economic Realm - The Conclusion - The Resources - The Contacts -The Author