CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer Behaviour

Consumer Behaviour

Introduction

The conceptualisation and measurement of cognitive dissonance has been a recurring theme of the psychology and consumer marketing literature over the last half century. Referring as it does to the “psychological consequences of buying decisions” (Engel, 1963, p. 55), the research community's treatment of the dissonance construct has at times been heated, yet for the most part, non-committal. Wilkie (1986, p. 557) for example, states that while “scientists have been debating for years over the precise nature of dissonance theory and its explanations”, much of the psychology literature has not been “flattering” and studies in marketing “have led to both positive and negative results”. Not surprisingly, empirical evidence to support the existence of the construct has been sparse, with some studies concluding that the existence of the construct of cognitive dissonance has not been proven. Wilkie (1986, p. 557) suggests that such debates “do not mean that dissonance does not occur or that it cannot lead to significant impacts on consumer behaviour”. What they do, however, is suggest caution in accepting dissonance explanations too easily or expecting that the results will always occur.

While recent studies have sought to gain a fuller understanding of the nature of the relationship between the cognitive dissonance and the closely related satisfaction constructs (Sweeney et al., 1996, p. 138), the situation regarding its relationship with the service quality construct is less clear. This may appear surprising in view of the extensive literature linking service quality with future purchase intention (Donovan and Samler, 1994; Heskett et al., 1997). This paper explores the relationship between cognitive dissonance and service quality. Most discussion of service quality to date has taken a static approach to measurement in which quality is measured at one point, most commonly immediately after consumption. There are strong theoretical reasons for suggesting that an individual's perception of service quality is likely to change with the passage of time since the reported event. Simultaneously, the processes of cognitive dissonance modify an individual's attitude where there is incongruity between an individual's expectations of an encounter and its subsequent fulfilment. (Zeithaml, Berry, Parasuraman 1993, 1-12)

The theoretical linkages of perceptions, attitudes and cognitive dissonance which are used in this paper are directly linked with Group Influence and Opinion Leader. But, first we will discuss theories of cognitive dissonance.

Theories of cognitive dissonance

Festinger (1957) first defined dissonance as the psychologically uncomfortable state following the act of choosing between a set of alternatives, each of which have some desirable attributes. When our thoughts and actions are inconsistent, we experience great discomfort. In turn, this discomfort motivates us to do something to eliminate the inconsistency between our thoughts and behaviour, thereby reducing our dissonant state (Bourne and Russo, 1998, p. 438). Kassarjian and Robertson (1981, p. 264) took this a step further and proposed that dissonance creates a “noxious state of psychological tension” in the individual, which must be reduced and actively avoided. The authors further contend that “dissonance is stated in terms of cognitive elements and relations” and that the ...