MKTG 3323: Chapter 6 – Flashcards

descriptions of how individual consumers differ according to specific traits or patterns of behavior. (Personality, lifestyles, and the self-concept are usually included when talking about this)

Marketing managers are especially interested in identifying consumer characteristics that are associated with the likelihood of purchasing products. Concepts, like 1, 2, and 3 help to describe these likelihoods. They each represent an important internal influencers of consumer behavior.

the totality of thoughts, emotions, intentions, tendencies, and behaviors that a person exhibits CONSISTENTLY as he or she adapts to the environment. This definition highlights the cognitive (thoughts), affective (emotions), motivational (intentions), and behavioral (behaviors) aspects that are central to the study of it.

Personality exhibits a number of distinct qualities, including, 1, 2, 3, and 4

Consumer researchers realize the importance of situational influencers, and the combined influence of situations and traits greatly influences specific behaviors, this is referred to as?

approach to studying personality in which behavior is assessed at a number of points in time (behaviors and tendencies are measured over time). Because simply knowing an individual possesses a specific trait doesn't allow us to predict a particular behavior

What are the two approaches to studying the concept of how personalities differ across consumers?

approach to personality research, advocated by Sigmund Freud, that suggests personality results from a struggle between inner motives and societal pressures to follow rules and expectations. This approach highlights the importance of unconscious mental processes in influencing behavior.

Freud suggests the human personality consists of three important components, 1, 2, and, 3

1 focuses on pleasure-seeking and immediate gratification. It operates on a 2 that motivates a personal to focus on maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. HEDONIC VALUE LIBIDO

works against the id by motivating behavior that matches societal norms and expectations, much like the consumer's conscience.

1 focuses on resolving the conflicts between the id and the superego. It works largely in accordance with the 2. Under 2, 1 seeks to satisfy the id within the constraints of society. As such, 1 tries to balance the desires of the id with the constraints of, and expectations found in, the superego.

era in consumer research that focused heavily on psychoanalytic approaches to try to identify explanations for behavior. They utilized tools such as depth interviews and focus groups. This era proved disappointing because it did not spawn any compelling, practical consumer behavior theories or guidelines for marketing actions.

approaches in personality research that focus on specific consumer traits as motivators of various consumer behaviors

distinguishable characteristic that describes one's tendency to act in a relatively CONSISTENT manner

2 traits perspectives to personality

"variable centered" approach to personality that focuses on particular variables, or traits, that exist across a number of consumers. The goal of this perspective is to find common personality traits that can be studied across people. GENERALIZATION

approach to personality that focuses on the TOTAL PERSON and the uniqueness of his or her psychological makeup. Attention is not places on individual traits or how they can be studied across multiple consumers. Rather, the focus is on the complexity of each individual consumer (as a whole)

views the consumer herself as the research instrument and examines how her introspections can explain things like product involvement and choice

approach in trait research wherein the focus is on one particular trait. Here, researchers can learn more about the trait and how it affects behavior

approach in trait research wherein the focus remains on a combination of traits. A combination of traits are examined and the total effect of the collection of traits is considered. Here, the researcher is interested in trait scores on numerous traits as potential predictors of consumer behavior. This is a better prediction.

major traits examined in consumer research

Although all consumers ultimately seek value, some consumers are more highly focused on value than others. This represents the tendency for consumers to focus on maximizing what is received from a transaction as compared to what is given. (the extent to which consumers tend to maximize what is received from a transaction compared to what is given)

the extent to which material goods are important in a consumer's life.

Materialism is seen as consisting of three separate dimensions: 1. A tendency to retain control and ownership over possessions. 2. an unwillingness to share with others. 3. Resentment that arises as a result of another's belongings and a desire to acquire similar possessions. Highly materialistic consumers tend to be these three things. These consumers view possessions as a means of achieving happiness and they may hold onto possessions as long as possible. (Source of comfort)

conscious decision to reduce one's material consumption

extent to which consumers exhibit restraint when purchasing and using material goods

degree to which a consumer is open to new ideas and quick to adopt, buying new products, services, or experiences soon after they are introduced. These consumers are also generally dynamic and curious and they are often young, educated, and relatively affluent. This has been shown to relate to a number of behaviors, including new product adoption, novelty seeking, information seeking, and online shopping.

degree to which consumers tend to engage in effortful cognitive information processing. Consumers who have a high degree of this trait tend to think carefully about products, problems, and even marketing messages. Consumers with high levels of this trait tend to be influenced by the quality of the arguments in an ad; however, consumers with low levels tend to be influenced by things like an endorser's attractiveness and cues that are not central to a message, like humor or sexual content

enduring tendency to strive to be better than others.

Competitiveness emerges in the following 3 ways:

1. Sports fans do this when their team wins. This means they will wear team apparel and display team merchandise when their team is successful 2. hiding their association with losing teams

tendency for consumers to observe and control behavior in ways that agree with social cues and influences. Consumers high in this trait care deeply about what others think and say about their behaviors and they care much about how they present themselves in social situations. For example, consumers high in this trait are influenced by advertising messages that provide information about how products will affect their image. Low - focus on the functionality of the products and then to think more positively about generic versus brand-name products.

the tendency of a consumer to exhibit restraint when facing purchases and using resources

a tendency to follow superstitions and superstitious beliefs

a tendency to respond with anxiety when facing threatening events

tendency for a consumer to engage in bargaining behaviors when making purchases

tendency for consumers to take excessive pride in themselves, including their appearance and accomplishments.

multiple-trait perspective that proposes that the human personality consists of five traits; agreeableness, extroversion, openness to experience (or creativity), conscientiousness, and neuroticism (or (in)stability) As stated, this approach is a multiple-trait approach, meaning that a consumer's personality is conceptualized as a combination of these traits and that each consumer will vary on the respective traits. BY EXAMINING CONSUMERS ACROSS THE ABOVE 5 DIMENSIONS, WE GAIN AN EXPANDED VIEW OF HOW MULTIPLE TRAITS INFLUENCE SPECIFIC CONSUMER BEHAVIORS.

approaches to personality inquiry that assume that personality traits exist at varying levels of abstraction. That is, some traits are specific (bargaining proneness) and others are more broad (extroversion). Specific traits refer to tendencies to behave in very well-defined situations. Broad traits refer to tendencies to behave across many different situations.

The (1) approach has an advantage over the (2) approach because of its ability to objectively assign a personality trait score to a consumer rather than personality dimensions being assigned based on the psychologist's subjective interpretation.

Criticism of the trait approach

a relatively new approach to researching consumers, which combines personality theory and motivation

collection of human characteristics that can be associated with a brand. This can be described across 5 dimensions, which are? This represents an opportunity for companies to differentiate their products. Also, an opportunity to develop a strong relationship with consumers

factors that contribute to the development of a brand's personality.

brand's ability to appeal to consumers based on the human characteristics associated with it. A brand should be perceived as having strong degrees of 1, 2, and 3 Consumers are more likely to buy if a brand has these characteristics

quality of personality and brand relationships with consumers

ways consumers live an spend their time and money; distinctive modes of living

because 1 can be directly tied to product purchases and consumption, they are considered an important manifestation of social stratification. In other words, they are very useful in identifying viable market segments.

the way consumer lifestyles are measured. QUANTITATIVE investigation of consumer lifestyles

Psychographic analysis involves surveying customers using 1, which are used to gain an understand of consumers' activities, interests, and opinions. These measurements (statements) can be narrowly defined (as relating to a specific product or category) or broadly defined (as pertaining to activities that the consumer enjoys)

consumer segments very often contain consumers with similar ( ).

popular psychographic method in consumer research that divides consumers into groups based on resources and consumer behavior motivations. It was developed and marketed by Strategic Business Insights as a segmentation approach. It classifies consumers into 8 distinct segments based on resources available to the consumer (Including financial, educational, and intellectual resources), as well as three primary motivations (ideals, achievement, and self-expression motivation)

VALS Segments 1. these are successful, sophisticated people who have high self-esteem. They are motivated by achievement, ideals, and self-expression. Image is important to these consumers 2. these are ideal motivated. they are mature, reflective people who value order and knowledge. They have relatively high income and are conservative, practical consumers 3. these have an achievement motivation and are politically conservative. Their lives largely center around church, family, and career. Image is important to this group, and they prefer to purchase prestige products. 4. these are self-expressive consumers who tend to be young, impulsive, and enthusiastic. these consumers value novelty and excitement. 5. in some ways, these are like 2. they are ideal motivated and conservative. they follow routines, and their lives largely center around home, family and church. they do not have the amount of resources that thinkers have, however. 6. these are achievement motivated, but they do not have the amount of resources that are available to 3. For these, shopping is a way to demonstrate to others their ability to buy. 7. these are like 4 in that they are motivated by self-expression. They have fewer resources than 4, though. They tend to express themselves through their activities, such as raising children, fixing cars, and buying houses. 8. these are very low on resources and are constricted by this lack of resources. They tend to be elderly consumers who are concerned with health issues and who believe that the world is changing too quickly. They are not active in the marketplace, as their primary concerns center around safety, family, and security.

Visual of VALS

techniques that combine data on consumer expenditures and socioeconomic variables with geographic information in order to identify commonalities in consumption patterns of HOUSEHOLDS in various regions

popular geodemographic lifestyle analysis technique that was developed by Nielsen Claritas. It is based on the premise that people with similar backgrounds and means tend to live close to one another and emulate each other;s behaviors and lifestyles. It combines demographic and behavioral information in a manner that enables marketers to better understand and target their customers. The technique uses 66 different segments as descriptors of individual households, which are ranked according to socioeconomic variables.

observable, statistical aspects of populations including such factors as age, gender, or income. Variables include age (cohort effect), ethnicity, family size, occupation, and sometimes income (Engel's Law) Demographics can be used to help locate and understand lifestyle segments. Failing to consider psychographic measures leads to the trap of consumers of a certain demographic have the exact same tastes.

totality of thoughts and feelings that an individual has about him or herself. It may also be thought of as the way a person defines or gives meaning to his or her own identity, as in a type of self-schema

Consumers are motivated to act in accordance with their self-concepts. As such, consumers often use products as ways of revealing their self-concepts to others. According to a ( ) perspective, consumers agree on the shared meaning of products and symbols. These symbols can become part of the self-concept if the consumer identifies with them strongly. perspective that proposes that consumers live in a symbolic environment and interpret the myriad of symbols around them, and that members of a society agree on the meanings of symbols

the study of symbols and their meanings. Consumers use products as symbols to convey their self-concepts to others. In this sense, products are an essential part of self-expression

Self-concepts 1. how consumers currently perceive themselves (this is who I am) 2. how consumers would like to perceive themselves (Who I would like to be in the future) 3. the beliefs that consumers have about how they are seen by others. "looking glass self" 4. image that a consumer would like others to have about her 5. much like the ideal self, presents an image of what the consumer could become 6. represents the various possessions that a consumer owns that help him form perceptions about himself.

the positivity of an individual's self-concept that one holds.

the positivity with which people hold their body image

reference group members share similar symbolic meanings. This is an important assumption of ( ). This theory proposes that much of consumer behavior can be explained by the congruence (match) between a consumer's self-concept and the image of typical users of a focal product. This affects store loyalty Ex.: Ford Truck

Given the ways in which consumers use and display brands, some researchers suggest that brands are used to express and validate ( ). For these consumers, the task of self-expression through product ownership is one of identity maintenance and communication. This is found when consumers have very strong ties to brands and feel as if they are one with the brand

Consumers also form close associations with companies and organizations. When consumers feel very close to organizations, ( ) is said to be present. For consumers, the organization becomes a vehicle for self-expression, and for organizations, consumer loyalty and commitment become quite strong.

Consumers differ across personality, lifestyles, and the self-concept, and these differences help signal the need for ( )