Consumer Behaviour - Discussion Assignment
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Motivation refers to the processes that lead people to behave as they do. It occurs when a need is aroused that the consumer wishes to satisfy. The need creates a state of tension that drives the consumer to attempt to reduce or eliminate it. This need may be utilitarian (i.e., a desire to achieve some functional or practical benefit, as when a person loads up on green vegetables for nutritional reasons) or it may be hedonic (i.e., an experiential need, involving emotional responses or fantasies as when a person feels “righteous” by eating kale). The desired end state is the consumer’s goal. Incidental brand exposure: ●● People who were exposed to a sign in a room of the brand name “Apple” provided responses on an unrelated task that were more unique compared to those who saw a sign with the IBM brand name. ●● College students who used a “cute” ice cream scoop to help themselves to ice cream took a larger amount than those who used a plain scoop; the researchers explained that the whimsical object drove them to be more self- indulgent even though they weren’t aware of this effect. ●● Some students scored higher on difficult Graduate Records Examination questions when they took the test using a Massachusetts Institute of Technology pen and delivered a better athletic performance when they drank water from a Gatorade cup during strenuous exercise.
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Drive theory focuses on biological needs that produce unpleasant states of arousal (e.g., your stomach grumbles during a morning class). The arousal this tension causes motivates us to reduce it and return to a balanced state called homeostasis. Some researchers believe that this need to reduce arousal is a basic mechanism that governs much of our behavior. Indeed there is research evidence for the effectiveness of so-called retail therapy; apparently the act of shopping restores a sense of personal control over one’s environment and as a result can alleviate feelings of sadness. Go for it!
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Productivity orientation refers to a continual striving to use time constructively: Trying new things is a way to check them off our “bucket list” of experiences we want to achieve before we move on to others.
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A person has an approach–approach conflict when he or she must choose between two desirable alternatives. A student might be torn between going home for the holidays and going on a skiing trip with friends. Or, he or she might have to choose between two CDs to download (assuming that he or she is going to pay for one of them!). The theory of cognitive dissonance is based on the premise that people have a need for order and consistency in their lives and that a state of dissonance (tension) exists when beliefs or behaviors conflict with one another. An approach–avoidance conflict occurs when we desire a goal but wish to avoid it at the same time.
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One such inventory that the psychologist Henry Murray developed delineates a set of 20 psychogenic needs that (sometimes in combination) result in specific behaviors. These needs include such dimensions as autonomy (being independent), dependence (defending the self against criticism), and even play (engaging in pleasurable activities). Need for affiliation (to be in the company of other people): The need for affiliation is relevant to products and services for people in groups, such as participating in team sports, frequenting bars, and hanging out at shopping malls. Need for power (to control one’s environment): Many products and services allow us to feel that we have mastery over our surroundings. These products range from “hopped-up” muscle cars and loud boom boxes (oversized portable radios that impose one’s musical tastes on others) to luxury resorts that promise to respond to every whim of their pampered guests. Need for uniqueness (to assert one’s individual identity): Products satisfy the need for uniqueness when they pledge to bring out our distinctive qualities.
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Evaluations are valenced (i.e., positive or negative) reactions to events and objects that are not accompanied by high levels of physiological arousal. For example, when a consumers evaluates a movie as being positive or negative, this usually involves some degree of affect accompanied by low levels of arousal. Moods involve temporary positive or negative affective states accompanied by moderate levels of arousal. Moods tends to be diffuse and not necessarily linked to a particular event (e.g. you might have just “woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning”). Emotions such as happiness, anger, and fear tend to be more intense and often relate to a specific triggering event such as receiving an awesome gift. Helping others as a way to resolve one’s own negative moods is known as negative state relief. Recently we’ve seen a trend in advertising toward inspirational stories that manipulate our emotions like a rollercoaster. Think about the commercials Budweiser likes to run about a puppy who befriends a horse, gets lost, finds his way home, etc. This practice even has a name: sadvertising.
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Lovemark is a passionate commitment to one bran. Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions. Material accumulation, which is what researchers term the instinct to earn more than we can possibly consume, even when this imbalance makes us unhappy.
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Proponents of a happiness economy claim that wellbeing is the new wealth, and social media technology is what allows us to accumulate it. A technique called sentiment analysis refers to a process (sometimes also called opinion mining) that scours the social media universe to collect and analyze the words people use when they describe a specific product or company. When people feel a particular way, they are likely to choose certain words that tend to relate to the emotion. From these words, the researcher creates a wordphrase dictionary (sometimes called a library) to code the data. The program scans the text to identify whether the words in the dictionary appear.
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Involvement is “a person’s perceived relevance of the object based on their inherent needs, values, and interests.” Inertia describes consumption at the low end of involvement, where we make decisions out of habit because we lack the motivation to consider alternatives. Cult products such as Apple—or Hydrox, Harley-Davidson, Jones Soda, Chick-Fil-A, Manolo Blahnik designer shoes (think Carrie on Sex and the City), and the Boston Red Sox—command fierce consumer loyalty, devotion, and maybe even worship by consumers. A large majority of consumers agree that they are willing to pay more for a brand when they feel a personal connection to the company.
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Before we explore the three types of decision-making, we need to first ask why different consumers may approach the same choice situation from very different perspectives. One reason is the consumer’s level of involvement in the decision. Involvement is a person’s perceived relevance of the object based on their inherent needs, values, and interests. We use the term object in the generic sense to refer to a product, brand, ad, or purchase situation. Figure 5.2 illustrates how we can conceptualize the construct of involvement in terms of its antecedents and possible results.
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Table 5.1 illustrates a scale that consumer researchers can use to measure involvement.
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Product involvement is a consumer’s level of interest in a particular product. As a rule, product decisions are likely to be highly involving if the consumer believes there is perceived risk. Message involvement refers to the influence media vehicles have on the consumers. Print is a high-involvement medium while television tends to be considered a low-involvement medium. Situational involvement takes place with a store, website, or a location where people consume a product or service. One way to increase this kind of involvement is to personalize the messages shoppers receive at the time of purchase.
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Product involvement is a consumer’s level of interest in a particular product. The more closely marketers can tie a brand to an individual, the higher the involvement they will create. As a rule, product decisions are likely to be highly involving if the consumer believes there is a lot of perceived risk. This means the person believes there may be negative consequences if he or she chooses the wrong option. Mass customization describes the personalization of products and services for individual customers at a mass-production price. Brand loyalty: Repeat purchasing behavior that reflects a conscious decision to continue buying the same brand. V ariety-seeking, the desire to choose new alternatives over more familiar ones, even influences us to switch from our favorite products to ones we like less!
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Monetary risk occurs when making a poor choice will have a monetary consequence. Any purchase that costs a lot is subject to this risk. ‘ Functional risk is the risk that the product may not function as the consumer needs. ‘ Physical risk is the risk that the choice may physically threaten the consumer. Social risk is the risk that the choice will reflect poorly on the consumer and damage his or her self-esteem or confidence. Psychological risk is the risk that one may lose self-respect due to making a bad decision. For instance, expensive luxury goods could cause the consumer to feel extensive guilt.
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This figure illustrates the five types of risk along with purchases that are likely to be associated with each form of risk. Monetary risk is associated with high- ticket items like a car purchase. Functional risk is associated with products that must perform in order to satisfy. Pharmaceutical products are an example of product choices associated with physical risk. Symbolic goods tend to be associated with social risk. Personal luxuries can be associated with psychological risks.
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Alternate reality games (ARGs), thousands of people participate in a fictional story or competition to solve a mystery. Print is a high-involvement medium (whether it appears on a “dead tree” or in an e-book). The reader actively processes the information and (if desired) he or she is able to pause and reflect on it before turning the page.68 In contrast, television is a low involvement medium because it requires a passive viewer who exerts relatively little control (remote-control “zipping” notwithstanding) over content. Narrative transportation, where people become immersed in the storyline.
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Charmin frequently sponsors clean toilet facilities at major events, recognizing that product and situational involvement can overlap.
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Consider purchases you’ve made that reflect the five kinds of risk.
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