Ch. 3 - Consumer Motivation and Personality Flashcards
Motivation
The driving force within individuals that impels them to act
Needs
Circumstances or things that are wanted or required, and therefore direct the motivational forces
What do unfulfilled needs do?
Form motivational desires
What do desired outcomes create?
Tensions which consumers strive to relieve, both consciously and subconsciously, by forming purchase-related goals and subsequent behavior that they anticipate will fulfill their needs.
Personality
The inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how we think and act.
Consumers often purchase products and brands that marketers have differentiated from others by giving them “personalities.”
Brand Personification
Assigning a brand human attributes and creating sentiments for it among consumers. A form of anthropomorphism
ex: Mr. Clean
Anthropomorphism
Assigning human characteristics to on object
What is the foundation of marketing
Identifying and satisfying needs, making consumers aware of their unfelt or dormant needs
What are the two types of human needs?
Biogenic needs and psychogenic needs
both influence our buying decisions
Biogenic needs
Biogenic needs sustain physical existence, e.g., food, water, air, protection of the body, and sex.
Psychogenic needs
Motivational forces that are learned from our parents, social environment, and interactions with others
Physiological arousal
the cues our body gives that arouse uncomfortable tension
ex: stomach contractions triggers feeling hungry
Cognitive arousal
Thoughts leading to cognitive awareness of a need and action that would fulfill it
ex: Facebook reminding us of birthdays, and prompting us to send cards and buy presents
Goals
Sought after outcomes of motivated behavior
Buyers’ actions are drive by two sets of goals…
Generic goals: outcomes that consumers seek in order to satisfy physiological and psychological needs
Product specific goals: outcomes that consumers seek by using a given product or service
ex: wanting to become an entrepreneur is a generic goal, but wanting to earn an MBA from Standford is product specific
The motivation to select goals are either
Positive or negative
Driving force towards some object or condition or a driving force away from some object or condition
Approach or avoidance objects
Approach objects
Positive outcomes that people seek
College is an approach object to a high school graduate motivated for higher education
Avoidance objects
Negative outcomes that people want to prevent
College is an avoidance object to a person who know their parents would criticize them if they did not go
When do higher order need emerge?
when lower order needs are fulfilled
When do people set substitute goals
when people cannot attain their primary goals
Frustration
The feeling that results from failure to achieve a goal
Defense mechanisms
Cognitive and behavioral ways of handling frustration in order to protect one’s self esteem.
What are the primary defenses that people use to cope with frustration?
Aggression, Rationalization, Regression, Withdrawal, Projection, Daydreaming, and Identification
Aggression
Frustration turns into aggressive behavior to protect self-esteem
Rationalization
Frustration turns into inventing plausible reasons for being unable to attain their goals
Regression
Frustration turns into childish or immature behavior
Withdrawal
Frustration turns into withdrawing from the situation
Projection
Redefining a frustrating situation by projecting blame for their own failures and inabilities on other objects or persons
Daydreaming
Frustration turns into attaining imaginary gratification of unfulfilled needs
Identification
Frustration turns into subconsciously identifying with other persons or situations that they consider relevant
Murray’s Psychogenic Needs
although needs are important on their own, they are interrelated, support other needs, and conflict with other needs. Environmental circumstances strongly influence how psychogenic needs are manifested in behaviors
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
A theoretical framework consisting of five levels of human needs, which rank in order of importance from lower-level (biogenic) needs to higher-level (psychogenic) needs. The theory states that individuals seek to satisfy lower-level needs before higher-level needs.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (level breakdown)
Physiological needs: food, water, air, shelter
Safety and security: protection, order, stability
Social needs: affection, friendship belonging
Ego Needs: prestige, status, self-esteem
Inwardly directed ego needs: social acceptance, self-esteem, success, independence, and personal satisfaction
Outwardly directed ego needs: prestige, reputation, status, and recognition
Self-Actualization: self-fulfillment
Motivational research
A “term of art” that refers to qualitative studies conducted by Dr. Ernest Dichter in the 1950s and 1960, which were designed to uncover consumers’ subconscious or hidden motivations in the context of buying and consumption.
Used qualitative research to figure out why consumers did what they did
Motivational research studies results
Car allows consumers to convert subconscious fear of death and the urges to destroy into reality
Employs larger and more representative consumer samples than qualitative studies
Quantitative research
Projective techniques
A research tool requiring respondents to interpret stimuli that do not have clear meanings, with the assumption that the subjects will “reveal” or “project” their subconscious, hidden motives into (or onto) the ambiguous stimuli.
ex: roleplaying, storytelling, word association, sentence completion, picture drawing, photo sorts
Thematic Apperception Test
Showing pictures to individual respondents and asking them to tell a story about each picture
Personality
the inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how we think and act. Inner characteristics that distinguish one individual from others
Personality enables marketers to…
categorize consumers into different groups on the basis of one or several traits, because consumers who belong to a given segment are often “high” on a particular personality characteristic, whereas consumers from another segment score “low” on that same characteristic.
ex:
Low consumer ethnocentrism: Not reluctant to buy foreign-made products
Personality is…
generally consistent and enduring
When can personality change?
marriage, the birth of a child, the death of a parent, a change of job and profession
What are the 3 approaches to understanding the impact of personality on consumer behavior
Freudian concepts
Neo-Freudian premises
Measuring distinct traits
Freudian theory
A theory maintaining that unconscious needs or drives, especially biological and sexual ones, are at the heart of human motivation and personality.
id, superego, ego
Id
the “warehouse” of primitive and impulsive drives—basic physiological needs such as thirst, hunger, and sex—for which the individual seeks immediate satisfaction without concern for the specific means of satisfaction.
Superego
the individual’s internal expression of society’s moral and ethical codes of “proper” or “correct” conduct. The superego’s role is to see that individuals satisfy their needs in a socially acceptable fashion. Thus, the superego is a kind of “brake” that restrains or inhibits the impulsive forces of the id.
Ego
the individual’s conscious control. It is a cognitive monitor that balances the impulsive demands of the id and the sociocultural constraints of the superego.
Neo-Freudian theory
Neo-Freudian theory posits that, in addition to Freud’s concepts, social relationships are crucial factors in the development of personality.
Compliant, aggressive, and detached individuals
CAD Scale
The CAD scale measures the extent to which individuals are Compliant, Aggressive, and Detached
Compliant individuals
Those who move toward others and wish to be loved, wanted, and appreciated.
Aggressive individuals
Those who move against others and desire to excel and win admiration.
Detached individuals
Those who move away from others and seek independence, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and life without obligations.
Personality traits
Inner psychological characteristics that distinguish one individual from other individuals.
Reflected in consumer’s shopping patterns, but rarely influence brands’ selections
Innovators
Consumers who are open to new ideas and are among the first to try new products, services, or practices
Laggards
The very last consumers to adopt a new product
Innovativeness
The degree of a consumer’s willingness to adopt new products and services shortly after the products are introduced.
What are the four motivational factors that inspire consumer innovativeness?
Functional factors: reflect interest in the performance of an innovation
Hedonic factors: relate to feeling gratified by using the innovation
Social factors: reflect the desire to be recognized by others because of one’s pursuit of innovations
Cognitive factors: express the mental stimulation experienced by using an innovation
The three levels of innovativeness
Global Innovativeness: A trait that exists independent of any product-related context and represents the “very nature” of consumers’ innovativeness
Domain-Specific Innovativeness: A narrowly defined activity within a specific domain or product category
Innovative Behavior: Actions or responses that indicate early acceptance of change and adoption of innovations (e.g., being among the first to purchase new and different products or services)
Dogmatism
A personality trait representing one’s degree of cognitive rigidity—the opposite of being open-minded—toward information and opinions contradictory to one’s own
Highly dogmatic individuals
Approaches unfamiliar defensively, more receptive to ads that contain appeals from authoritative figures
Low dogmatic individuals
Readily considers unfamiliar or opposing beliefs, receptive to factual differences, product benefits, etc.
Inter-directed consumers
rely on their own inner values and standards in evaluating new products, and are also likely to be consumer innovators.
Other-directed consumers
Consumers who look up to others for guidance as to what is appropriate or inappropriate and are unlikely to be consumer innovators.
Need for uniqueness
An individual’s pursuit of differentness relative to others that is achieved through the acquisition of consumer goods in order to enhance one’s personal and social identity.
OSL
optimum stimulation level
A personality trait that reflects the degree to which a person likes novel, complex, and unusual experiences (i.e., high OSL), or prefers simple, uncluttered, and calm existence (i.e., low OSL)
Sensation seeking
one’s need for varied, novel, and complex sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take risks for the sake of such experiences.
ex: taking on biking, skateboarding, rollerblading
Novelty seeking
a personality trait that leads consumers to prefer variety, that includes exploration of new brands and novel ways of doing things
What are the 3 parts of novelty seeking in consumer behavior?
Exploratory purchase behavior: Switching brands to experience new, different, and possibly better alternatives
Vicarious exploration: Gathering information about new and different product alternatives and contemplating buying them
Innovativeness: Using an already adopted product in a new or novel way
NFC
Need for cognition
A personality trait that reflects a person’s craving for or enjoyment of thinking.
ex: High NFC: seek product information, current events, and educational resources online, less likely to accept marketer’s recommendations
Verbalizers
People who respond favorably to verbal messages and pay less attention to visual and pictorial messages.
Visualizers
People who respond favorably to visual and pictorial messages and pay less attention to verbal messages.
Object visualizers: encode and process images as a single perceptual unit (visual artists)
Spatial visualizers: process images piece by piece (scientists and engineers)
Materialism
A personality trait that gauges the extent to which an individual is preoccupied with the purchase and display of non-essential and often conspicuous luxury goods.
Purchasing things is important to them, likes things that give them pleasure, define themselves by what they own
Compulsive consumers
addictive and out-of-control buyers who often cause damaging consequences for both the compulsive shopper and those around him or her.
Fixated consumers
collectors and hobbyists who tend to accumulate items that are related to their interests and show them off to friends and others who have similar interests.
Often passionate for the category they collect, invest a lot of effort in their collections, spend a lot of time searching for these items, and aggressive in auctions
Ethnocentrism
A personality trait representing one’s tendency toward buying or not buying foreign-made products.
High: inappropriate or wrong to purchase foreign-made products because of the resulting economic impact on the domestic economy
Non: evaluate foreign made products for their extrusive characteristics (how good are they)
Why we have made in America on promotions
Personality characteristics on colors
Red: excitement
Blue: communication
Green and Brown: ruggedness
Black: sophistication
lighter tones and more colors are feminine
darker tones and less colors are masculine
Anthropomorphism
Assigning human characteristics to an object
Brand personification
Communicating human features of a brand in advertising.
Excitement: modern, imaginative, innovative
Sophistication: associated with social status and trendy
Affection: likeable and personable
Popularity: sought after, in demand
Competence: reliable, proficient, credible
Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance Anxiety
The degree to which people are concerned about whether they are worthy of love
Ones views of others in the context of attachment
High both: preferred an exciting brand personality
High anxiety, low avoidance: preferred a sincere brand personality
Why do consumers personify brands?
Because marketers have given their offerings human characteristics through repetitive and effective advertising
Self Image
how people perceive themselves. Self-perceptions of oneself are often related to purchases of products and services because consumers often select products that are consistent with their self-images and/or to enhance one’s self-image.
What are the 4 components of self-image?
Actual self-image: the way consumers see themselves.
Ideal self-image: how consumers would like to see themselves.
Social self-image: how consumers feel others see them.
Ideal social self-image: how consumers would like others to see them.
How are possessions the extension of oneself?
Actually: allowing oneself to do things that otherwise would be very difficult or impossible to accomplish, problem solving using a computer
Symbolically: making oneself feel better, considered best dressed at work
Conferring status or rank: an art collector and owning a rare and well-known masterpiece
Feelings of immortality: leaving valuable bequests after death
What are the two types of vanity?
Physical vanity, which is an excessive concern with or an inflated view of one’s physical appearance.
want to look their best, think people envy their appearance
Achievement vanity, which is an excessive concern with or an inflated view of one’s personal achievements.
believe they are a good example of success, obsessed with personal achievements
Both correlation with high materialism, cosmetics, and concern with clothing
