Show an Attitude—Functionally

Decades ago, organizational psychologist Daniel Katz at University of Michigan posited that an attitude serves one or more of four functions for the person showing the attitude. That framework, which I’ve listed below using Prof. Katz’s names for the four, continues to help consumer researchers interpret findings from their studies, and the framework can help retailers better understand their shoppers’ attitudes.

• Utilitarian function. Consumers will carry positive attitudes toward products and services which help them fulfill their goals. For some items, like paper towels, this means getting a job done. For hedonic items, like a massage, the goal is to experience pleasure. For many consumer items, such as toothpaste, the purchaser expects both types of payoffs—clean the teeth and taste refreshing. 
• Value-expressive function. We buy some items because of what they say about us as people. Our positive attitude arises when others show us they’ve received the message. This attitude function applies to status-oriented products and services. Stay aware of how a repeat shopper’s aspirational group might change over time. Newly minted MBAs may aspire to become part of a business professionals’ culture. Hispanic youth attending a U.S. university might aspire to view themselves as mainstream American college kids, but only for the first year. Attitudes held for value-expressive reasons are especially resistant to change. 
• Ego-defensive function. Shoppers might develop a negative attitude toward items which label them as belonging to groups from which they want to dissociate. Or they might come to dislike items which give away their identity. When the consumer already belongs to an exclusive group or is confidently aspiring to belong, they’ll be looking for more subtle cues—what corresponds to the secret handshake that allows members to recognize each other while not tipping off the outsiders. This was a lesson learned some years back by Lacoste, which discovered that their crocodile logo stopped portraying as much status if it was displayed too prominently. Positive ego-defensive attitudes ensue when the item says clearly, “See for yourself that I don’t belong to that group!” 
• Knowledge function. People hold some attitudes because the attitudes help make the world more orderly for them. Our mental capacities preclude us from closely analyzing every consumer item, so we form positive, neutral, and negative attitudes based on similarities among items, dividing our world into categories. Attitudes held mostly for a knowledge function are, of the four types, easiest to change. 

Click below for more: 
Redirect with Evil Envy 
Offer Aspirational Shoppers Subtle Signals