Consumer Behavior IV

Unit IV:

Attitudes, Persuasion, and Motivation

Course Learning Objectives for Unit IV

1. Discuss how the field of marketing is influenced by the actions of consumers.

1.1 Describe how websites change to align with consumer demands.

5. Describe how self-perception influences consumers’ actions. 5.1 Explain how websites capitalize on self-perception to

influence consumer buying habits.

6. Explore how one’s personality influences lifestyle choices. 6.1 Analyze how personality characteristics impact buying

behaviors and, ultimately, lifestyle choices.

The Self

• Self-concept: The beliefs a person holds about his or her own attributes

• Self-esteem: The positivity of a person’s self-concept

• Social comparison: A person evaluating his or her appearance by comparing to others

• Ideal self: A person’s concept of how he or she would like to be vs. his or her actual self

Fantasy • Fantasy is bridging the gap between the selves. • Symbolic interaction: Relationships with other people

playing a large part to form the self • Looking glass self: Imagining others’ reactions • Extended self: External objects we consider as a part

of us – Individual level, family level, community level, group level

Child looking out a window (KokomoCole, 2014)

Digital Self • Digital identity: Expresses our online identities

• Social footprint: The mark a consumer leaves after occupying a specific digital space

• Personality: A person’s unique psychological makeup

Digital screen (Geralt, 2015)

Freudian Theory

• Id: Instant gratification – Pleasure principle: Basic desire to

maximize pleasure and avoid pain

• Superego: Counterweight to the id

• Ego: Mediates the id and superego – Reality principle: Finds ways to gratify

the id that the outside world will find acceptable

• Motivational research: Uses Freudian ideas to understand the deeper meanings of products

Freudian theory diagram (Historicair, 2006)

Neo-Freudian Theories

• Karen Honey – People either moving toward others, away from

others, or against others

• Carl Jung – Analytical psychology

• Trait Theory – Uses personality traits

• The Big Five – The set of five traits that form the basis of personality

Brand Personality

• Brand personality is the set of traits people attribute to a product as if it were a person.

– Anthropomorphism: The tendency to attribute human characteristics to objects or animals

– Doppelganger brand image: One that looks like the original but is a critique of it

– Self-image congruence models: Choosing products when the products’ attributes match some aspect of the self

Body Image

• A consumer’s subjective evaluation of his or her physical self

• Ideal of beauty: A particular model of appearance that society strives to look like, which is often very unrealistic – Has evolved over time

– Changes in different cultures

– Motivates people to work on their bodies

– Can lead to body image distortions and body decorations

Bodybuilder (DrSJS, 2014)

Attitude

• Attitude is the lasting, general evolution of people.

• Functional theory of attitudes: Explains how attitudes facilitate social behavior – Utilitarian function: Reward and punishment

– Value-expressive function: Attitudes that perform a value-expressive function

– Ego-defensive function: Attitudes to protect oneself

– Knowledge function: Attitudes as a result of needing order, structure, or meaning

ABC Model

• The ABC model represents affect, behavior, and cognition.

• Hierarchies of effects: Explains the relative impact of the items listed below. – Standard learning hierarchy: Assumes that a person

approaches a product decision as a problem-solving process

– Low involvement of effects: Assumes the consumer initially does not have a strong preference

– Experiential hierarchy: Acting on the basis of our emotional reactions

Forming Attitudes

• Compliance: When an attitude is formed because it helps one to gain rewards or to avoid punishment

• Identification: Occurs when one forms an attitude to conform to another person’s or group’s expectations

• Internalization: Deep-seated attitudes become a part of one’s value system

Consistency • Principle of cognitive consistency:

We value harmony among our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

• Theory of cognitive dissonance: When a person is confronted with inconsistencies, he or she will take actions to resolve this.

• Motivational conflict: This is goal- oriented. – Approach-approach conflict,

approach-avoidance conflict, avoidance-avoidance conflict

Dart game (Mirandableijenberg, 2017)

Self-Perception Self-perception provides an alternative explanation of dissonance effects.

• Foot-in-the-door technique: Concept that consumers are more likely to agree to a big request if they agree to a smaller one first

• Social judgment theory: Assumes that people assimilate new information in light of what they already know and feel

• Balance theory: Considers how a person perceives relations among different attitude objects

Attitude Models Specify the different elements that might work together to influence people’s evaluations of attitude objects.

• Multi-attribute models: Assumes a consumer’s attitude depends on the beliefs he or she has about something

• Fishbein model: Salient beliefs, object-attribute linkages, and evaluation of each of the important attributes

Attitudes Predict Behavior

• Theory of reasoned action: Normative influence, subjective norm, attitude toward the act of buying

• Multiple pathway anchoring and adjustment: Emphasize multiple pathways to attitude formation (e.g., outside-in and inside-out)

Positive Behavior

Negative Behavior

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Marketers Can Change Attitude

• Persuasion

• Reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, consensus

• Tactical communication

• Permission marketing: Suggests that a marketer will be more successful when he or she communicates with consumers

• New message formats include blogs, podcasts, Twitter, widgets, videos

The Source

• Credibility: A communicator’s expertise, objectivity, or trustworthiness

• Attractiveness: The social value recipients attribute to a communicator

• Non-human endorsers

• Message: Picture or words?

– Has an argument

– Emotional, sex, humor, fear, art

References DrJSJ. (2014). Bodybuilder six pack [Photograph]. Retrieved from

https://pixabay.com/en/bodybuilder-sixpack-six-pack-331671/

Geralt. (2015). Finger touch Internet [Image]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/finger-touch-hand-structure-769300/

Historicair. (2006). Diagram of Freud’s psyche theory [Image]. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Structural-Iceberg.svg

KokomoCole. (2014). Girl staring out window [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/child-school-girl-children-830988/

Mirandableijenberg. (2017). Darts 180 [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/darts-180-one-hundred-and-eighty-2148653/

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