ABSTRACT
The functions and dynamics of attitudes are crucial to an understanding of consumers' evaluations of marketing stimuli, brand preferences, loyalty, and reactions to promotional efforts. This chapter discusses the nature of attitudes and the concept's central role in the everyday lives of consumers, assesses the link between attitudes and behavior, and identifies the key influencing factors underlying marketers' attitude-change efforts and their implications. Attitudes have been found to differ as a function of how information about the attitude object is acquired. A common approach is to use Likert scales, which involve having respondents indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with each of series of statements pertaining to the object of the attitude under scrutiny. Social learning and the influence of family, peers also play important roles in the development of attitudes and the way attitudes may change over the course of a person's life.
