Consumer Behaviour

Chapter 6Personality & Lifestyles

Can you define your personality?Influence of heredity & childhood

experiencesSocial & environmental influencesPersonality as a unified whole or

specific traits

Personality

Inner psychological characteristics that determine & reflect how a person responds to his/her environment

Freudian TheoryUnconscious needs/drives are at the

heart of human motivation & personality

Freudian Systems

Id: Meeting Basic Needs

Ego: Dealing with RealitySuperego: Adding Morals - A person’s

conscience which compels to satisfy needs in a socially acceptable way

Conflict Between the Id and SuperegoExemplify the conflict between the desire

for hedonic gratification (represented by the id) versus the need to engage in rational, task-oriented activities (represented by the superego).

Motives for Consumption• Masculinity/femininity • Power • Security • Cleanliness • Social acceptance• Individuality • Status• Reward • Mastery over

environment

Neo-Freudian TheoryKaren described people as:

Compliant – move toward others (need for

affection, approval & admiration)

Aggressive – move against others (desire to

excel, achieve, win admiration & social

recognition)

Detached – move away from others (desire

independence, self-reliance, freedom form

obligations)

Trait TheoryPersonality Traits

Extroversion: Trait of being socially outgoing

Introversion: Trait of being quiet and reserved

Traits Specific to Consumer BehaviorInnovativenessThe degree to which a person likes to try new thingsMaterialismAmount of emphasis placed on acquiring and owning productsSelf-consciousnessThe degree to which a person deliberately monitors and controls the self that is projected to othersNeed for cognitionThe degree to which a person likes to think about things (i.e., expend the necessary effort to process brand information)Frugality – economical Deny short-term purchasing urges and resourcefully use what one already owns

Idiocentrism or AllocentrismIdiocentrics

Individuals who have an individualist orientation

AllocentricsIndividuals who have a group orientation

Diff b/w idiocentrics and allocentricsContentment: Idiocentrics tend to be more

content with life and their financial situation

Health Consciousness: Allocentrics are more likely to avoid unhealthy foods

Food preparation: Allocentrics spend more time preparing food

Travel and Entertainment: Idiocentrics are more interested in traveling. Allocentrics are more likely to work on crafts.

Brand personality The set of traits people attribute to a product

as if it were a person

Sincerity – down to earth, honest, wholesome & cheerful

Excitement – daring, spirited, imaginative & up to date

Competence – reliable, intelligent & successfulSophistication – upper class & charmingRuggedness – outdoorsy & tough

Brand EquityThe extent to which a consumer holds

strong, favorable, and unique associations with a brand in memory

Loyal customers loyalty = BE

Lifestyle: Who We Are, What We Do

A pattern of consumption reflecting a person’s choices of how he or she spends

time and money

Time constrainedMoney constrainedMulti tasking

Products are the Building Blocks of Lifestyles

We often choose products because of their association with a certain lifestyle.

Goal of Lifestyle MarketingTo allow consumers to pursue their chosen ways

to enjoy life and express their social identities.Adopting Lifestyle Marketing

Implies that we must look at patterns of behavior to understand consumers

Linking Products to Lifestyles

Product-Lifestyle LinkagesCo-branding strategies

Strategies that recognize that even unattractive products are more attractive when evaluated with other, liked products

Product complementarityOccurs when symbolic meanings of

products are related to each otherConsumption constellations –

association Sets of complementary products used to define,

communicate and perform social roles

The pictures depict two very different “ideal” vacations.

How can psychographic segmentation help identify target markets for each type of vacation?

Discussion Question

Regional Consumption Differences:You Are What You Eat!

Food CultureA pattern of food and beverage

consumption that reflects the values of a social group

GeodemographyTechniques that combine data on

consumer expenditures and other socioeconomic factors with geographic info to identify consumers with common consumption patterns