Marketing exam paper
zhichen1027
THESELF.ppt
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The Self
Dr L Spiteri Cornish
Last Lecture…
We discussed that:
- Perception is a three-stage process that translates stimuli into meaning.
- Products and persuasion messages often appeal to our senses, but we won’t be influenced by most of them.
- The design of a product today is a key driver of its success or failure.
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Lecture Objectives
After this lecture, you should understand why:
- Self-concept strongly influences consumer behavior.
- Products often play a pivotal role in defining the self-concept.
- The role of self-esteem in buying behavior
- The difference between real and actual self and the role of products in bridging this gap
- The role of extended self in our buying decisions
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A relatively new concept that regards people and their relationship to society.
Takes the idea that each human life is unique, rather than a part of a group.
Accepts the notion that the self is an object to be pampered.
The self is divided into an inner, private self and an outer, public self.
What is the Self?
Hamachek, Don E. (1992). Encounters with the self, 4th ed. San Diego, CA, US.
van Dijck, J. (2013) ‘You have one identity’: performing the self on Facebook and LinkedIn”, Culture & Society 35(2) 199–215 .
The Self – First Theories
Freudian Theory –much of one’s adult personality stems from a
fundamental conflict between a person’s desire to gratify
her physical needs and the necessity to function as a
responsible member of society.
This struggle is carried out in the mind among three systems:
- The ID – about immediate gratification, which operates according to the pleasure principle. Our basic desire is to maximise pleasure and avoid pain. Guides a person towards pleasurable acts without regard for consequences
- The SUPEREGO – This is counter to the id. This is also known as the person’s conscience. It internalises society’s rules (parents teaching) and prevents the id from seeking selfish gratification. (a referee in the fight between temptation and virtue)
- The REALITY PRINCIPLE – The ego tried to balance these opposing forces according to the reality principle, which means it finds a way to gratify the id that the outside world will find acceptable. (this is where Freudian theory applies to Marketing)
Lapsley, D. K. and Stey, P. C. (2011). Id, Ego, and Superego, in V.S. Ramachandran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Behavior, 2nd Ed. Elsevier.
Meissner, W. W. (2000). The self as structural. Psychoanalysis & Contemporary Thought, 23(3), 373-416.
Self-Concept
- Self-concept: the beliefs a person holds about his/her own attributes, and how he/she evaluates these qualities
- Attribute dimensions: content, positivity, intensity, stability over time, and accuracy
Solomon, M., Bamossy, G., Askegaard, S & Hogg, K. (2013) Consumer behaviour: a European perspective, Pearson: London.
Self-Esteem
- Self-esteem: the positivity of a person’s self-concept
- Low self-esteem: think they will not perform well
- High self-esteem: think they will be successful and will take risks
Marketing & Self-Esteem
Ideal
Actual
Many consumers engage in the process of impression management where they work hard to manage what others think of them by strategically choosing clothing and other cues that will put them in a good light. Although most people experience a discrepancy between their real and ideal selves, for some consumers this gap is larger than for others.
Real and Ideal Selves
- Ideal self: our conception of how
we would like to be
- Actual self: our more realistic appraisal of the qualities we have
- Products can:
- Help us reach ideal self
- Be consistent with actual self
- Impression management means that we work to “manage” what others think of us
Lucia Malär, L., Krohmer, H., Hoyer, W.D. and Nyffenegger, B. (2011). Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self. Journal of Marketing: 75(4), pp. 35-52
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We choose some products because we think they are consistent with our actual self, while we buy others to help us reach an ideal standard. We may strategically choose clothing and other products to show off to others. In other words, we are managing their impression of us with our product choices.
You Are What You Consume
- Social identity as individual consumption behaviors.
- Products can shape the self – you are what you consume.
- Question: Who am I now?
- Answer: To some extent, your possessions!
- Inference of personality based on consumption patterns
- Consumers may attach themselves to product to maintain self-concept
Surbhi, D. (2016). Real vs ideal self: A study of identity creation and desired images on Facebook, Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies, 5(1), 85-102(18)
Identity Marketing
- A person exhibits attachment to an object to the extent that it is used by that person to maintain his or her self-concept. Objects act as security blankets by reinforcing our identities, especially in unfamiliar situations.
- Symbolic self-completion theory predicts that people who have an incomplete self-definition, or lack of confidence tend to complete this identity by acquiring and displaying symbols associated with it (e.g., men and “macho” products).
Solomon, M., Bamossy, G., Askegaard, S & Hogg, K. (2013) Consumer behaviour: a European perspective, Pearson: London.
Self/Product Congruence
- Consumers demonstrate their values through their purchase behavior
- Self-image congruence models: we choose products when attributes matches the self
Product Usage
Self-Image
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Leilei G., Wheeler, C. and Shiv, B. (2008) ,"The “Shaken Self”: Product Choices As a Means of Restoring Self-View Confidence", Advances in Consumer Research, 35,, 776-777.
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Research supports this idea that there is a match between product usage and self-image. In one study, car owners’ rating of themselves tended to match their perceptions of their cars. In another study, observers were able to match photos of male and female drivers to the cars they drove 70% of the time.
Self/Product Congruence
Product
Self
More overlap - better
you like the product
OBJECTIVE: It is important to understand how products play a key role in defining the self-concept
Self-image congruence models predict that products will be chosen when their attributes match some aspect of the self. These models assume a process of matching between product image and the consumer self-image.
Although research results are mixed, the ideal self appears to be more relevant than the actual self as a comparison standard for highly expressive social products.
The Extended Self
- Extended self: external objects that we consider a part of us
- Levels of extended self:
- Individual: personal possessions (cars, clothing)
- Family: residence and furnishings
- Community: neighborhood or town where you live
- Group: social or other groups
Belk, R.W. (1988) Possessions and the Extended Self, Journal of Consumer Research, September p139-68
- The ideal – many consumers are motivated to match up to an ideal appearance and often go to great lengths to change aspects of their physical selves.
- Size – the pressure to be slim is continually reinforced by advertisers and by peers.
- Image distortions – many people perceive a strong link between self-esteem and appearance and some exaggerate this connection even more and sacrifice greatly to attain what they consider to be a desirable body image.
- Cosmetic surgery and body decoration and mutilation changes a person’s perception of their body image.
Body Image
Noh, M. and Mosier, J. (2014) Effects of young consumers’ self-concept on hedonic/utilitarian attitudes towards what is ‘cool’, Journal of Fashion and Marketing and Management, 9(4), 450–467.
Law, D., Wong, C. and Yip, J. “2012” How does visual merchandising affect consumer affective response? An intimate apparel experience, European Journal of marketing, 46(1/2), pp.112 – 133.
Ideals of Beauty
- Female: high forehead, full lips, short jaw, small chin and nose
- Male: Heavy lower face, slightly above average height and prominent brow.
- Models becoming thinner/more muscular over last 3 decades (waif look)
- Consumers willing to endure to achieve ideal e.g.corsets, high heels, waxing, cosmetics, health clubs
- Male/Female ideal different for men than for women/Men
Noh, M. and Mosier, J. (2014) Effects of young consumers’ self-concept on hedonic/utilitarian attitudes towards what is ‘cool’, Journal of Fashion and Marketing and Management, 9(4), 450–467.
Beauty Ideals over time
Beauty ideals have shifted over time. A study of 50 years of Playboy centerfolds shows that women have become less shapely and more androgynous since Marilyn Monroe graced the first edition.
The ideal body type of Western women has changed radically over time, and these changes have resulted in a realignment of sexual dimorphic markers—those aspects of the body that distinguish between the sexes.
Working on the Body
- Fattism
- Cosmetic surgery
- Body decoration and mutilation
- Body piercing
Society is obsessed with weight. Though it began as America’s obsession, the cultural priority on thinness is spreading to other countries. Still, even with the ideal of thin, the U.S. consumer today is larger than 60 years ago. The typical woman’s body is not as petite as it used to be.
Consumers increasingly choose to have cosmetic surgery to change a poor body image or to enhance appearance. These may include breast augmentation, liposuction, nose jobs, face lifts, and other enhancements.
Decorating the self can serve several purposes. Some of these are to:
- Distinguish group members from nonmembers
- Place the individual in the social organization
- Place the person in a gender category
- Enhance sex-role identification
- Indicate desired social conduct
- Indicate high status or rank
- Provide a sense of security
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Virtual Identity
- People are assuming virtual identities in cyberspace
- Avatars represent visual identity
To do…
- Read Chapter on “The Self”
- Read the following article:
- Belk, R.W. (1988) Possessions and the Extended Self, Journal of Consumer Research, September p139-68
