Psychology of Marketing Essay Example

of choice, providing valuable insights into the reasoning behind consumer choices (Taverns, Keenan). According to Taverns and Keenan, a "decision problem" refers to the available options for selection, potential outcomes associated with these options, and probabilities linked to each outcome. On the other hand, a "decision frame" represents how a decision-maker understands a specific choice in terms of options, outcomes, and probabilities. The decision-making process involves two stages: determining the decision frame and evaluating its components. While Taverns' and Keenan's theories are complex involving intricate equations, marketers must consider fundamental aspects of human choice before examining their impact on consumer decisions.Researchers are studying the connection between advertising and consumer psychology in order to establish a more meaningful relationship. With advancements in technology, advertising has become ever-present on various platforms including computers, TVs, radios, billboards, websites, phone applications, and more. This wide reach gives corporations a greater influence on personal lives and families. The main objective of advertising is to promote materialism by using persuasive techniques that convince individuals they need unnecessary products or that acquiring more possessions will bring them happiness. However, studies by Thomas Geologic challenge this misleading approach by showing that true happiness comes from experiences rather than material purchases (Kelley). Despite this knowledge, material possessions can still temporarily satisfy consumers and marketers use them as a tactic to entice repeated purchases for recreating feelings of happiness.The lack of self-control in consumers greatly contributes to their susceptibility to purchasing unnecessary products influenced by advertising. According to Roy F. Bandmaster, the conflict between self-control and desire heavily influences consumer decisions, with marketers aiming to reduce consumers' self-control in order to encourage impulsive purchases driven

by wants and desires. This strategy eliminates resistance to saying no.

Bandmaster identifies three main causes of self-control failure: conflicting goals and standards, failure to monitor behavior, and depletion of self-control as a resource. Conflicting goals and standards undermine control, while lack of awareness regarding one's actions implies a failure to monitor behavior. Moreover, self-control operates similar to strength or energy; therefore, depletion leads to lower standards. When consumers face these issues, they become more susceptible to the influence of advertising.

As a result, marketers have an increased opportunity to persuade consumers into buying their products, thus raising the likelihood of impulsive decisions. Bandmaster suggests that "emotional distress" can create conflicting standards where individuals ignore prudent self-control in search of solace through purchasing goods or services. Consequently, it becomes advantageous for businesses to market products that suggest a positive impact on emotional well-being since emotionally upset individuals are more prone to making impulsive buying decisions. From a marketing perspective, it is crucial for businesses to consider the higher probability of upset or emotional consumers making purchases.The lack of monitoring contributes to the failure of self-control, resulting in individuals losing track of their behavior (Bandmaster). Those who do not keep tabs on their spending across different stores or physically witness the money leaving their wallets during each purchase tend to spend more money compared to those who monitor. Marketers can take advantage of this absence of monitoring as many individuals willingly buy items on credit with high interest rates due to their failure to calculate the actual cost instead of a genuine willingness to pay the high price. This text explores the reasons behind self-control failure and its

connection to consumer behavior, emphasizing that understanding consumer psychology is crucial for advertisers, salespersons, and marketers to be effective. The text likens the gradual decline in self-control over a series of decisions to how energy decreases with increasing running miles. As individuals make more decisions, they become ego-depleted, making them more susceptible to temptations and impulsive buying. When implementing strategies that undermine self-control and encourage impulsive behavior and increased buying, marketers should consider Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs – a well-known aspect in psychological approaches to marketing.The idea behind this pyramid is that individuals must first meet their basic physiological needs, such as air, food, water, shelter, warmth, sex, and sleep (McLeod). Once these needs are fulfilled, the next level involves safety needs like personal security, financial security, health and well-being, familiarity, and stability (Mason's Hierarchy). Love and belonging needs come after that which include friendship, intimacy, and emotionally-based family relationships centered around the need to love and be loved (Maslow's Hierarchy). Esteem needs follow suit encompassing self-esteem, achievement, mastery independence status dominance prestige managerial responsibility (McLeod). These esteem needs involve both the desire for respect from others and the need for self-respect (Maslow's Hierarchy). Lastly if all these needs are satisfied individuals can progress to the fifth layer of the pyramid known as self-actualization. The text discusses the concept of self-actualization and its relation to reaching one's full potential. It mentions that it is uncommon for people to reach this level as they must first achieve and master all the needs below it according to Mason's Hierarchy. The text also talks about Mascot's assertion regarding human behavior and decision making being influenced by the

hierarchy of needs. This understanding allows marketers to tailor their products in a way that convinces consumers it will meet their needs.The text discusses the importance of considering the age group of baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1965, as a target audience for comparison. Baby boomers are the largest generation in terms of age groups during their midlife period. Research indicates that their basic needs follow a similar path to those of their parents at comparable ages, making them an important demographic for marketers. There are two key factors to consider in consumer generational trends: "basic needs" and "world view." Basic needs can be categorized into physiological, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem related, and self-actualization needs. Worldview is determined by how individuals connect with the outside world cognitively. Each age group has a unique perspective on the world; children and teenagers see it through fantasy lenses, young adults have a romantic viewpoint, middle-aged individuals lean towards realism, while older individuals embrace irony. Understanding the age base of the target audience is crucial for tailoring marketing efforts and products/advertising to meet specific needs and worldviews across different age groups (Wolfe, Changing Psychology).The prioritization of understanding the preferences, habits, behaviors, and lifestyles of middle-aged individuals is crucial for marketers to achieve greater success. This is because this age group represents the largest spending cohort. It is important to note that simplicity holds more appeal for mid-life consumers compared to advanced technological features or excessive embellishments. Moreover, it is essential for technological businesses to consider the preferences and technological literacy of generations who did not grow up with as much exposure to technology as

those born in the late 20th century. Therefore, when selling computers or other tech products to people of all ages, it is vital not to make them overly complex or high-tech since the largest group of buyers for these products are at their midlife stage.

In addition, advertising plays a significant role in fostering desire for products that may not be necessary or beneficial for consumers. Rather than focusing on satisfaction and meeting needs, advertising often stimulates wants and contributes to a consumer desires-driven culture. Notably, there has been an increasing trend towards using coercion in advertising campaigns, particularly targeting emotionally vulnerable children who are easily influenced.Advertisers exploit a child's emotional vulnerability to convince them that they can find happiness and solve their problems by purchasing specific products. This manipulation is successful because children have significant influence over their parents, allowing advertisers to effectively manipulate them through coercive advertisements, particularly on television. The widespread practice of marketing to kids is important to acknowledge, as it has grown due to children's increased influence on parental purchases and discretionary income. Marketers have specifically targeted the developing minds of children, taking advantage of this trend. The proliferation of dedicated television channels for children's products has greatly contributed to the success of this strategy. Particularly vulnerable are younger children under eight years old who lack the cognitive abilities necessary to comprehend the persuasive intent behind advertisements on both TV and online platforms. Recognizing advertising intentions has become more challenging due to covert marketing techniques integrated into various forms of media. Moreover, marketing and advertising have become pervasive in children's everyday lives due to their extensive consumption of media outlets. This

abundance enables advertisers to directly market their products or services towards children effectively. Marketing towards children proves highly effective for multiple reasons, including their susceptibility to deception and their limited understanding of advertising at such a young ageIn addition, various marketing techniques such as repetitive messaging, brand characters, captivating production features, celebrity endorsements, and prizes play a significant role in attracting children towards products. Children have a significant impact on their parents' spending habits as they influence decisions related to vacations, car purchases, and meal selections. The debate over the effectiveness of marketing to kids arises because parents are the actual purchasers; however, children and adolescents now possess considerable buying power which offers hope for future success.

Another aspect of marketing involves the concept of choice and its influence on consumers' psychology. Having multiple options can be beneficial as it increases the likelihood of consumers finding exactly what they desire. However, an excessive number of choices can overwhelm consumers. Schwartz (3) argues that having too many choices can lead to negative outcomes including bad decisions, anxiety, stress, dissatisfaction, and even clinical depression.

Despite these negative effects, consumers still desire both negative liberty (freedom from constraint) and positive liberty (the availability of opportunities), indicating a preference for more choices.Nonetheless, according to Schwartz (5), the paradox of choice states that additional options do not necessarily improve people's well-being. This is due to psychological processes such as adaptation, regret, missed opportunities, raised expectations, and feelings of inadequacy compared to others.

Adaptation plays a role in decision-making as we become accustomed to things and take them for granted (Schwartz 167). The abundance or scarcity of options can impact consumers' thoughts, feelings, and

decision-making. When faced with numerous choices, individuals may experience regret and wonder if selecting an alternative would have been more favorable. Comparing their chosen product to other options may evoke feelings of inadequacy and potential regret if the selected product falls short in comparison.

However, having fewer options minimizes the likelihood of disappointment and regrets associated with the chosen product. Understanding consumer psychology provides valuable insights for marketers to effectively tailor their products to attract customers and achieve success. However, marketers encounter a dilemma when deciding on the quantity of choices they should offer.

On one hand, consumers prefer a wide range of choices as it increases the chances of finding exactly what they desire. On the other hand, an excessive number of choices can lead to stress, indecision, and reduced purchases.Marketers face a challenge in determining whether more or fewer choices are preferable, as the overwhelming array of options can lead to unsatisfactory outcomes and dissatisfaction with a product. To address this, marketers must consider factors such as consumer psychology, decision-making processes, the impact of advertising, self-control failures and their causes, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and the target age group for a product. By understanding these factors (Bandmaster et al., "Yielding to Temptation: Self-control Failure", Sandra L., "Children as Consumers: Advertising and Marketing", Ferguson et al., "Evolutionary Psychology and Its True Believers", Howell et al., "Can't Buy Happiness", Kelley et al., "To Feel Happier"), marketers can tailor their marketing strategies and products to attract their target audience effectively (Maddox, Richard C. Metamorphism: The Analysis and Measurement of Human Motivations in Marketing; Mascots Hierarchy; McLeod Saul).On November 18, 2012, I accessed Gaucheness's article "The Marketing Power of

Emotion" from the book published by Oxford University Press. Additionally, I accessed Peacock Peg's article "Women Rule" from BC Business in 2001. On the same date, I also accessed Gary Risking's article "The Cost of Commercialism" in Multinational Monitor from January/February 1999.

Furthermore, on November 18, 2012, I accessed Greg Estella's article "The New Psychology of Marketing" from Digital-rondo IRS and Barry Schwartz's book "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less" published by Coco in New York in 2004. Both sources were found online.

On October 28, 2012, I accessed Lars Pepper's article titled "Consumer Behavior: The Psychology of Marketing" on USC Marshall's website.

I also accessed Amos Taverns and Daniel Keenan's article titled "The Framing of Decisions and the psychology of Choice" from ASTOR in July/August 2007 online on March 10, 2013.

Lastly, David B. Wolfe's articles titled "The Changing Psychology of the Older Consumer: The Myth of Aging..." and "What Your Customers Can't Say," both undisclosed dates were obtained from Generations Winter issue for years (2004/2005) and American Demographics' February issue respectively.