Attitude Theory: The Psychological Spectrum

As building blocks of psychological studies and communication theory, cognition, affect and behavior (formerly conative in earlier studies) form the foundation of attitude.

As much research has been conducted on the attitude-behavior relationship by attitude theorists, cognition (thoughts) and affect (feelings) are frequently paired together to explain one's attitude strength as well. To relate these elements, Rosenberg has argued that an affective-cognitive consistency exists. He has further concluded that the more consistency between affective states toward an object and thoughts about the object's relation to the achievement of the individual's goals, the stronger the individual's attitude will be (21, 22).

However, other psychological research done by Erdley and D'Agostino suggests that one's attitude extremity is not connected to cognitive or affective bases (7).

Taking a more simple approach to the function of these three mental processes, we can visualize a consumer's engagement in the purchasing process from a marketing communications perspective.

Let us imagine that a teenage female consumer sees an ad for Gap Jeans.

• Cognition: Her mind registers that (1) the product is jeans, and (2) the brand is Gap, a well-known brand.
• Affect: Realizing the "trendiness" and popularity of the brand among her social circle at school, she feels excited and anxious to purchase the new style of jeans.
• Behavior: Keeping in mind her awareness of the new style of jeans, her desire to participate in social trends with her social circle, as well as her desire to have a new pair of jeans, prompts the act of purchasing the jeans.
• Thus, a sale has been made, as well as a contribution to the achievement of the sales and marketing goals.

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Next - The Overview - The Introduction - The Psychological Spectrum - The Relationships - The Economic Realm - The Conclusion - The Resources - The Contacts -The Author

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