Chapter 3 Consumer Motivation and Personality LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading, studying and analyzing this chapter, students should be able to understand: 3.1 The dynamics of motives, needs and goals and how they shape consumer behavior. 3.2 Motivation theories and their applications to consumer behavior. 3.3 How to identify and measure motives. 3.4 The scope of personality and theories of its development. 3.5 How innovativeness and other personality traits influence consumer behavior. 3.6 The personification of products and brands and its strategic applications. 3.7 Self-image and its impact on consumer behavior. CHAPTER SUMMARY Learning Objective 3.1: To understand the dynamics of motives, needs and goals and how they shape consumer behavior. Motivation or, more specifically, motives drives consumers to take action by producing by a psychological tension caused by unfulfilled need. Individuals strive to reduce this tension through selecting goals and subsequent behavior that they anticipate will fulfill their needs and thus relieve them of the tension they feel. There are two types of human needs: Physiological needs are innate and fulfilling them sustains life. They include the need for food, water, air, protecting the body from the outside environment (i.e., clothing and shelter) and sex. Psychological needs are learnt from our parents, social environment and interactions with others. Among many others, they include the need for self-esteem, prestige, affection, power, learning and achievement. Goals are the sought-after results of motivated behavior, and all human behavior is goal oriented and focused on satisfying physiological and psychological needs. Need-driven human activity never ceases because: (1) needs are never fully satisfied, they continually cause actions designed to attain or maintain satisfaction; (2) as needs become satisfied, new and higher-order needs emerge, cause tension and induce activity, and (3) people who achieve their goals set new and higher goals for themselves. Learning Objective 3.2: To understand motivation theories and their applications to consumer behavior. Although some psychologists have suggested that individuals have different need priorities, others believe that most human beings experience the same basic needs, to which they assign similar priority rankings. Maslow’s hierarchy-of-needs theory proposes five levels of human needs: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, egoistic needs, and self-actualization needs. Other needs widely integrated into consumer advertising include the needs for power, affiliation, and achievement. Learning Objective 3.3: To understand how to identify and measure motives. There are self-reported and qualitative methods for identifying and “measuring” human motives, and researchers use these techniques in tandem to assess the presence or strength of consumer motives. Motivational research and its current extended form (commonly referred to as “qualitative research”), seeks to delve below the consumer’s level of conscious awareness, and to identify underlying needs and motives. Quantitative research has proved to be of value to marketers in developing new ideas and advertising copy appeals. Self-reported measures of motives consist of written statements and respondents are asked to indicate how relevant each statement is to them. Learning Objective 3.4: To understand the scope of personality and theories of its development. Personality is the psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how a person responds to his or her environment. Although personality tends to be consistent and enduring, it may change abruptly in response to major life events, as well as gradually over time. Three theories of personality are prominent in the study of consumer behavior: psychoanalytic theory, Neo-Freudian theory, and trait theory. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory provides the foundation for the study of motivational research, which operates on the premise that human drives are largely unconscious in nature and serve to motivate many consumer actions. Neo-Freudian theory tends to emphasize the fundamental role of social relationships in the formation and development of personality. Learning Objective 3.5: To understand how innovativeness and other personality traits influence consumer behavior. Trait theory is a major departure from the qualitative (or subjective) approach to personality measurement. It postulates that individuals possess innate psychological traits (e.g., innovativeness, novelty seeking, need for cognition, materialism) to a greater or lesser degree, and that these traits can be measured by specially designed scales or inventories. Several personality traits are solidly related to innovativeness -- dogmatism, social character (i.e., inner- versus other-directedness), and the need for uniqueness. These personality traits, as well as others, that is, optimum stimulation level (OSL), sensation seeking, variety or novelty seeking, need for cognition, visualizers versus verbalizers, consumer materialism, fixated consumption, compulsive consumption, and consumer ethnocentrism strongly impact consumption behavior and understanding them enables marketers to develop effective persuasive strategies. Learning Objective 3.6: To understand the personification of products and brands and its strategic applications. Some consumers attribute human-like qualities to products and brands. Marketers who study and understand the meaning of such product and brand personalities can use them to shape consumers’ responses to promotional messages and enhance their emotional connections to products sand brands. A product’s personality frequently endows products and brands with gender. Consumers associate some brands with geographic locations and such associations often enhance their memory and likeability of brands. As consumers navigate the Internet, many of them become emotionally attached to certain websites and several researchers studied the applications of personality traits to websites. Learning Objective 3.7: Understand the concept of self-image and its impact on consumer behavior. Each individual has a perceived self-image (or multiple self-images), which is an expression of his or her traits, habits, possessions and relationships. Consumers frequently attempt to preserve, enhance, alter, or extend their self-images by purchasing brands that appeal to their self-image, and also shopping at stores they perceive as consistent with their relevant self-image(s). Consumer behavior researchers identified four components of self-image: (1) actual self-image, (2) ideal self-image, (3) social self-image and (4) ideal social self-image. Understanding the dimensions self-image enables marketers to design effective promotional messages targeting various segments. CHAPTER OUTLINE INTRODUCTION Motivation is the driving force that impels people to act/represents the reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. Needs are circumstances or things that are wanted or required, and they direct motivational forces. Physiological needs are biogenic needs; fulfilling them sustains physical existence. After people satisfy physiological needs, they become driven by safety and security needs (physical safety, order, stability, routine and control over one’s life and environment). *****Use Key Terms motivation, needs, physiological needs; safety and security needs Here ***** Personality consists of the inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how we think and act. Brand personification occurs when consumers attribute human traits or characteristics to a brand. Anthropomorphism refers to attributing human characteristics to something that is not human. *****Use Key Terms personality, brand personification and anthropomorphism Here; Use Figure 3.2 Here***** The Dynamics of Motivation Motivation is a driving force produced by a state of tension, which exists as the result of an unfilled need. Individuals strive both consciously and subconsciously to reduce this tension through selecting goals and subsequent behavior that they anticipate will fulfill their needs and thus relieve them of the tension they feel. Whether gratification is actually achieved depends on the course of action pursued. ***** Use Learning Objective #3.1 Here ***** The foundation of marketing is identifying and satisfying needs. Marketers do not create needs, but strive to make consumers more keenly aware of unfelt or dormant needs. A corporate focus on developing products that will satisfy consumers’ needs ensures that the company stays in the forefront of the search for new and effective solutions. Companies that define themselves in terms of products they make may go out of business when products are replaced by competitive offerings that better satisfy consumers’ needs. ***** Use Figure #3.3 Here***** There are two types of human needs: physiological needs and psychological needs. Physiological needs are innate (biogenic, primary) and include the need for food, water, air, protection from the outside environment, and sex; they sustain biological existence. Psychological needs are learned from our parents, social environment and interactions with others (e.g. self-esteem, prestige, affection, power, learning and achievement). Goals are the sought-after results of motivated behavior, and all human behavior is goal oriented. There are two types of goals: Generic goals are outcomes that consumers seek in order to satisfy physiological and psychological needs. (e.g. I want a pair of pants.) Product-specific goals are outcomes that consumers seek by using a given product or service. (e.g. I want a pair of Calvin Klein jeans.) ***** Use Review and Discussion Questions #3.2, #3.3 and #3.4 Here; Use Key Terms psychological needs, goals, generic goals, product-specific goals Here; Use Figure 3.4 Here***** Marketers try to understand the motivations for social media use because consumers are spending time on social media and they listen to other consumers. The value of bloggers to marketers is undeniable – they post their experiences and exposures to brands online where many other users or potential users can hear more about the brands. Blogging motivations include: Self-expression Documenting one’s life (i.e., keeping a diary) Identifying other influential bloggers Facebook motivations include: Information sharing Convenience and entertainment Passing time Interpersonal utility Control Promoting work Need arousal may be caused by internal stimuli, emotional or cognitive processes, or stimuli in the outside environment. Consumers set purchase-related goals that satisfy more than one need; people with different needs may select the same goal; and people with the same needs may seek fulfillment via different goals. The motivation to select goals can be positive or negative. We may feel a driving force toward or away from an object or condition. Positive outcomes are called approach objects Negative outcomes are call avoidance objects Needs and goals are interdependent. Neither exists without the other People are less aware of their needs than they are of their goals. ***** Use Key Terms approach objects and avoidance objects Here ***** Needs are never fully satisfied Needs and goals are constantly growing and changing. As individuals attain their goals, they develop new ones. If they do not attain their goals, they continue to strive for old goals or they develop substitute goals. People who achieve their goals set new and higher goals for themselves. Frustration is the feeling that results from failure to achieve a goal, and defense mechanisms are cognitive and behavioral ways to handle frustration. Defense mechanisms include: Aggression Rationalization Regression Withdrawal Projection Daydreaming Identification Repression (Table 3.2) ***** Use Review and Discussion Questions 3.4 and 3.5 Here; Use Hands-On Assignment 3.1 Here; Use Key Terms frustration and defense mechanisms Here; Use Table 3.2 Here; Use Figure 3.5 Here ***** Systems of Needs Although there is little disagreement about specific physiological needs, there is considerable disagreement about specific psychological (i.e., psychogenic) needs. In 1938, the psychologist Henry Murray prepared a detailed list of 28 psychogenic needs that have served as the basic constructs for a number of widely used personality tests and were organized into five groups: Ambition Materialistic Power Affection Information Allen Edwards developed a self-administered personality inventory. (Table 3.3) ***** Use Table #3.3 Here***** Dr. Abraham Maslow formulated a widely accepted theory of human motivation. Maslow's theory identifies five basic levels of human needs, which rank in order of importance from low-level (biogenic) needs to higher-level (psychogenic) needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory suggests that individuals seek to satisfy lower-level needs before higher-level needs emerge. Physiological needs are the first and most basic level of human needs. Physiological needs are those things that are required to sustain biological life: food, water, air, shelter, clothing, and sex. Physiological needs are dominant when chronically unsatisfied. Safety and security needs become the driving force behind consumer behavior after physiological needs have been satisfied. Safety needs include order, stability, routine, familiarity, control over one’s life and environment. Health and the availability of health care are important safety concerns. Social needs relate to such things as love, affection, belonging, and acceptance. Egoistic needs can take an inward or outward orientation, or both. Inwardly-directed ego needs reflect an individual’s need for self-acceptance, for self-esteem, for success, for independence, and for personal satisfaction with a job well done. Outwardly-directed ego needs include the needs for prestige, for reputation, for status, and for recognition from others. Need for self-actualization refers to an individual’s desire to fulfill his or her potential to become everything he or she is capable of becoming. *****Use Review and Discussion Questions 3.6 and 3.7 Here; Use Key Terms Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, social needs, egoistic needs and self-actualization needs Here; Use Figures #3.6 and 3.7 Here***** The major problem with Maslow’s theory is that it cannot be tested empirically; there is no easy way to measure precisely how satisfied one need is before the next higher need becomes operative. Maslow’s hierarchy offers a useful, comprehensive framework for marketers trying to develop appropriate advertising appeals for their products. The hierarchy enables marketers to focus their advertising appeals on a need level that is likely to be shared by a large segment of the prospective audience. The hierarchy facilitates product positioning or repositioning because different appeals for the same product can be based on different needs included in this framework. Another framework is the trio of basic needs: the needs for power, for affiliation, and for achievement. The power need relates to an individual’s desire to control his or her environment. It includes the need to control other persons and various objects. This need appears to be closely related to the ego need. The affiliation need suggests that behavior is highly influenced by the desire for friendship, for acceptance, and for belonging. People with high affiliation needs tend to be socially dependent on others. They often select goods they feel with meet with the approval of friends. Individuals with a strong achievement need often regard personal accomplishment as an end in itself. The achievement need is closely related to both the egoistic need and the self-actualization need. People with a high need for achievement tend to be more self-confident, enjoy taking calculated risks, actively research their environments, and value feedback. Monetary rewards provide an important type of feedback as to how they are doing. People with high achievement needs prefer situations in which they can take personal responsibility for finding solutions. Portraying achievement is a useful promotional strategy for many products and services targeted to educated and affluent consumers. ***** Use Hands-on Assignment 3.16 Here; Use Key Terms power needs, affiliation needs and achievement needs Here ***** The Measurement of Motives Motives are hypothetical constructs — they cannot be seen or touched, handled, smelled, or otherwise tangibly observed — so no single measurement method can be considered a reliable index. Because respondents are often unaware of their motives or are unwilling to reveal them when asked directly, researchers use qualitative research to delve into consumer’s unconscious or hidden motivations. (Methods in Table 3.4) Many qualitative methods also are termed projective techniques because they require respondents to interpret stimuli that do not have clear meanings, with the assumption that the subjects will reveal or “project” their subconscious, hidden motives into the ambiguous stimuli. *****Use Learning Objective 3.3 Here; Use Review and Discussion Question #3.8 Here; Use Key Terms qualitative research and projective techniques Here; Use Table 3.4 Here ***** Motivational research, which should logically include all types of research into human motives, has become a “term of art.” It was first used by Dr. Ernest Dichter.to uncover consumers’ subconscious or hidden motives. Based on the premise that consumers are not always aware of the reasons for their actions, motivational research attempts to discover underlying feelings, attitudes, and emotions concerning product, service, or brand use. Building on the contributions of Dr. Dichter and other earlier motivational researchers, qualitative consumer research expanded from its focus on Freudian and neo-Freudian concepts to a broader perspective that embraced not only other schools of psychology, but included methodologies and concepts borrowed from sociology and anthropology. *****Use Review and Discussion Question 3.8 Here; Use Key Term motivational research Here; Use Table #3.5 Here***** The Nature and Theories of Personality Personality is defined as those inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how a person responds to his or her environment. The emphasis in this definition is on inner characteristics—those specific qualities, attributes, traits, factors, and mannerisms that distinguish one individual from other individuals. The identification of specific personality characteristics associated with consumer behavior has proven to be highly useful in the development of a firm’s market segmentation strategies. ***** Use Learning Objective #3.4 Here; Use Key Term personality Here***** The facets of personality: heredity, early childhood experiences, and broader social and environment influences are thought to influence personality development. In the study of personality, three distinct properties are of central importance: Personality reflects individual differences. Personality is consistent and enduring. Personality can change. Personality reflects individual differences An individual’s personality is a unique combination of factors; no two individuals are exactly alike. Personality is a useful concept because it enables marketers to categorize consumers into different groups on the basis of a single trait or a few traits. Personality is consistent and enduring. Marketers learn which personality characteristics influence specific consumer responses and attempt to appeal to relevant traits inherent in their target group of consumers. Even though an individual’s personality may be consistent, consumption behavior often varies considerably because of psychological, sociocultural, situational and environmental factors that affect behavior. Personality Can Change An individual’s personality may be altered by major life events, such as the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, a divorce, or a major career change. An individual’s personality also changes as part of a gradual maturing process. Personality stereotypes may also change over time. There is a prediction, for example, that a personality convergence is occurring between men and women. The reason for this shift is that women have been moving into occupations that have been dominated by men and have increasingly been associated with masculine personality attributes. There are three major theories of personality: Freudian theory, neo-Freudian theory, and trait theory. Freudian theory: Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality is one of the cornerstones of modern psychology. This theory was built on the premise that unconscious needs or drives, especially biological and sexual drives, are at the heart of human motivation and personality. Freud proposed that the human personality consists of three interacting systems: the id, the superego and the ego. The id is the “warehouse” of primitive and impulsive drives, such as: thirst, hunger, and sex, for which the individual seeks immediate satisfaction without concern for the specific means of that satisfaction. The superego is the individual’s internal expression of society’s moral and ethical codes of conduct. The superego’s role is to see that the individual satisfies needs in a socially acceptable fashion. The superego is a kind of “brake” that restrains or inhibits the impulsive forces of the id. The ego is the individual’s conscious control, which functions as an internal monitor that attempts to balance the impulsive demands of the id and the sociocultural constraints of the superego. *****Use Key Terms Freudian theory, id, superego, ego Here; Use Figures 3.8 and 3.9 Here ***** Freud emphasized that an individual’s personality is formed as he or she passes through a number of distinct stages of infant and childhood development: oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital stages. *****Use Hands-on Assignment #3.20 Here ***** Neo-Freudian personality theories come from Freud’s colleagues, who felt social relationships play a crucial role in the development of personality and may have disagreed with his contention that personality is primarily instinctual and sexual in nature. Alfred Adler viewed human beings as seeking to attain various rational goals, which he called style of life, placing emphasis on the individual’s efforts to overcome feelings of inferiority. Harry Stack Sullivan stressed that people continuously attempt to establish significant and rewarding relationships with others, placing emphasis on efforts to reduce tensions. Karen Horney focused on the impact of child-parent relationships, especially the individual’s desire to conquer feelings of anxiety. She proposed three personality groups: compliant, aggressive, and detached. Compliant individuals are those who move toward others—they desire to be loved, wanted, and appreciated. Aggressive individuals move against others—they desire to excel and win admiration. Detached individuals move away from others—they desire independence, self-sufficiency, and freedom from obligations. A personality test based on Horney’s theory (the CAD) has been developed and tested. It reveals a number of tentative relationships between scores and product and brand usage patterns. It is likely that many marketers have used some of these neo-Freudian theories intuitively. *****Use Key Terms compliant individuals, aggressive individuals, detached individuals Here***** Trait theory is a significant departure from the earlier qualitative measures that are typical of Freudian and neo-Freudian theory. It is primarily quantitative or empirical, focusing on the measurement of personality in terms of specific psychological characteristics called traits. A trait is defined as any distinguishing, relatively enduring way in which one individual differs from another. Selected single-trait personality tests increasingly are being developed specifically for use in consumer behavior studies. Types of traits measured include: Innovativeness—how receptive a person is to new experiences Materialism—the degree of the consumer’s attachment to “worldly possessions” Ethnocentrism—the consumer’s likelihood to accept or reject foreign-made products Researchers have learned to expect personality to be linked to how consumers make their choices, and to the purchase or consumption of a broad product category rather than a specific brand. *****Use Review and Discussion Questions #3.10 and #3.11 Here; Use Key Terms innovativeness, materialism, and ethnocentrism Here ***** Personality Traits and Consumer Behavior Marketers are interested in understanding how personality influences consumption behavior because such knowledge enables them to better understand consumers and to segment and target those consumers who are likely to respond positively to their product or service communications. *****Use Learning Objective #3.5 Here***** Innovativeness is the degree of a consumer’s willingness to adopt new products and services shortly after the products are introduced. Motivational factors that inspire consumer innovativeness include: Functional factors – interest in the performance of an innovation Hedonic factors – feeling gratified by using the innovation Social factors – desire to be recognized by others because of one’s pursuit of innovations Cognitive factors – mental stimulation experience by using an innovation A study identified three levels of innovativeness: Global innovativeness – a personal trait that exists independent of any context; one that represents the “very nature” of consumers’ innovativeness. Domain-specific innovativeness – a more narrowly defined activity within a specific domain or product category. Innovative behavior – a pattern of actions or responses that indicate early acceptance of change and adoption of innovations. Research indicates a positive relationship between innovative use of the Internet and new technologies. *****Use Key Term innovativeness Here; Use Table 3.6 Here***** Dogmatism is a personality trait that measures the degree of rigidity an individual displays toward the unfamiliar and toward information that is contrary to their established beliefs. A person who is highly dogmatic approaches the unfamiliar defensively and with considerable discomfort and uncertainty. A person who is low dogmatic will readily consider the unfamiliar or opposing beliefs. Consumers low in dogmatism (open-minded) are more likely to prefer innovative products to established ones and tend to be more receptive to messages that stress factual differences, product benefits, and other forms of product-usage information. Consumers high in dogmatism (closed-minded) are more likely to choose established product innovations and tend to be more receptive to ads for new products or services that contain an appeal from an authoritative figure. *****Use Key Term dogmatism Here***** Social character is a personality trait that ranges on a continuum from inner-directed to other-directed. Inner-directed consumers tend to rely on their own “inner” values or standards in evaluating new products and are likely to be consumer innovators. They also prefer ads stressing product features and personal benefits. Other-directed consumers tend to look to others for direction and are not innovators. They prefer ads that feature social environment and social acceptance. *****Use Review and Discussion Question #3.12 Here; Use Key Terms inner-directed and other-directed Here; Use Figure 3.10 Here ***** Need for uniqueness is defined as an individual’s pursuit of differentness relative to others that is achieved through the acquisition of consumer goods in order to enhance one’s personal and social identity. Consumers with high need for uniqueness adopt new products and brands quicker than others. Consumers with high need for uniqueness prefer creative products that counter conformity and are outside group norms, and avoid similarity reflected in buying mainstream products. *****Use Key Term need for uniqueness Here; Use Table #3.7 Here***** Persons with high optimum stimulation levels (OSLs) are willing to take risks, to try new products, to be innovative, to seek purchase-related information, and to accept new retail facilities. High OSL people prefer an environment crammed with novel, complex, and unusual experiences OSL scores also reflect a person’s desired level of lifestyle stimulation. Consumers whose actual lifestyles are equivalent to their OSL scores appear to be quite satisfied. Those whose lifestyles are understimulated are likely to be bored. Those whose lifestyles are overstimulated are likely to seek rest or relief. *****Use Key Term optimum stimulation level (OSL) Here***** Sensation seeking (SS) is closely related to OSL and defined as “a trait characterized by the need for varied, novel, and complex sensations and experience, and the willingness to take physical and social risks for the sake of such experience.” *****Use Key Term sensation seeking Here; Use Figure 3.11 Here***** Variety and novelty seeking is also related to OSL. Different types of variety seeking include: Exploratory purchase behavior (e.g., switching brands to experience new and possibly better alternatives) Vicarious exploration (e.g., where the consumer secures information about a new or different alternative and then contemplates or even daydreams about the option) Use innovativeness (e.g., where the consumer uses an already adopted product in a new or novel way). High variety-seeking consumers are likely to purchase the latest smartphones/ technological products with functions. *****Use Key Term variety and novelty seeking Here ***** Need for cognition (NFC) is the measurement of a person’s craving for or enjoyment of thinking. Consumers who are high in NFC are more likely to be responsive to the part of an advertisement that is rich in product-related information of description. They are also more responsive to cool colors. Consumers who are relatively low in NFC are more likely to be attracted to the background or peripheral aspects of an ad. They spend more time on print content and have much stronger brand recall. Need for cognition seems to play a role in an individual’s use of the Internet. High-NFC people concentrate on planned online activities, seek product information, current events and educational resources Low-NFC people are distracted by options and unable to focus on intended online activities *****Use Review and Discussion Question #3.12 Here; Use Key Term need for cognition Here***** Some people prefer written information, while others are influenced by images. Visualizers are consumers who prefer visual information and products that stress the visual. There are two distinctly different types of visualizers. Object visualizers encode and process images as a single perceptual unit. Spatial visualizers process images piece by piece. Verbalizers are consumers who prefer written or verbal information and products that stress the verbal. This distinction helps marketers know whether to stress visual or written elements in their ads. *****Use Review and Discussion Question #3.13 Here; Use Key Terms verbalizers, visualizers Here; Use Figure 3.7 Here***** Materialism is a trait of people who feel their possessions are essential to their identity. They value acquiring and showing off possessions They are self-centered and selfish They seek lifestyles full of possessions Their possessions do not give them greater happiness. *****Use Key Term materialism Here; Use Figure 3.8 Here***** Fixated consumption behavior is in the realm of normal and socially acceptable behavior, and refers to collectors’ and hobbyists’ tendency to accumulate items that are related to their interest and show them off to friends and others with similar interests. Fixated consumers’ characteristics: A deep (possibly “passionate”) interest in a particular object or product category. A willingness to go to considerable lengths to secure additional examples of the object or product category of interest. The dedication of a considerable amount of discretionary time and money to searching out the object or product. Compulsive consumption is in the realm of abnormal behavior, and describes addictive and out-of-control buying that may have damaging consequences to the shopper and those around them. *****Use Key Terms fixated consumption and compulsive consumption Here; Use Table #3.9 Here***** Ethnocentrism is the consumer’s willingness to buy (or not buy) foreign-made products Nonethnocentric consumers evaluate foreign products for extrinsic characteristics Ethnocentric consumers feel it is inappropriate or wrong to purchase foreign-made products Marketers can appeal to ethnocentric consumers by stressing nationalistic themes in their promotional efforts. *****Use Review and Discussion Question #3.14 Here; Use Key Term ethnocentrism Here ***** Consumers also tend to associate personality factors with specific colors. *****Use Table 3.10 Here ***** Product and Brand Personification Brand personification recasts consumers’ perception of the attributes of a product or service into the form of a “human-like character.” It appears that consumers tend to ascribe various descriptive “personality-like” traits or characteristics—the ingredients of brand personalities—to different brands in a wide variety of product categories. A brand personality provides an emotional identity for a brand, and encourages consumers to respond with feelings and emotions toward the brand. A brand’s personality can either be functional (“dependable and rugged”) or symbolic (“the athlete in all of us”). Research studies have found that a strong, positive brand personality leads to more favorable attitudes toward the brand, brand preference, higher purchase intentions, and brand loyalty, and is a way for consumers to differentiate among competing brands. *****Use Learning Objective #3.6 Here ***** Anthropomorphism is loosely defined as attributing human characteristics to something that is not human. A recent study found that the ease with which consumers could anthropomorphize an offering was a function of how the product was presented to the public and the inclusion or absence of human-like product features. Products presented as human but which lack human features tend to be evaluated less favorably by consumers than products that are presented as human and have human-like attributes. *****Use Key Terms brand personification and anthropomorphism Here ***** There are five defining dimensions of a brand’s personality and fifteen facets of personality that flow out of these five dimensions (e.g., “down-to-earth,” “daring,” “reliable,” “upper class,” and “outdoors”): Sincerity Excitement Competence Sophistication Ruggedness Consumers sometimes develop a relationship with a brand that is similar to the relationships they have with other humans. ***** Use Figure #3.14 Here***** A product personality, or persona, frequently means that the product or brand has a “gender.” Consumers associate some brands with geographic locations. Websites have been characterized with four personality traits Intelligent Fun Organized Sincere The Self and Self-Image Self-image represents the way a person views him or herself. Consumers select products that are consistent with their self-images and enhance them One’s self-image originates in a person’s background and experience Four aspects of self-image are: Actual self-image—how consumers see themselves Ideal self-image—how consumers would like to see themselves Social self-image—how consumers feel others see them Ideal social self-image—how consumers would like others to see them ***** Use Learning Objective #3.7 Here; Use Key Terms self-image, actual self-image, ideal self-image, social self-image, ideal social self-image Here***** Consumers’ possessions can be seen to “confirm” or “extend” their self-images using possessions in a number of ways: Actually: by allowing the person to do things that otherwise would be very difficult or impossible to accomplish (e.g., problem-solving by using a computer) Symbolically: by making the person feel better or “bigger” (e.g., receiving an employee award for excellence) By conferring status or rank: (e.g., status among collectors of rare works of art because of the ownership of a particular masterpiece) By bestowing feelings of immortality: by leaving valued possessions to young family members (this also has the potential of extending the recipients’ “selves”) Consumers often wish to change themselves—to become a different or improved self. In using self-altering products, consumers are frequently attempting to express their individualism or uniqueness by creating a new self or take on the appearance of another type of person. Clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, grooming aids, and all kinds of accessories offer consumers the opportunity to modify their appearance and thereby to alter their selves Personal vanity and self-image and alteration of the self are closely related. Physical vanity is excessive concern with or inflated view of one’s physical appearance Achievement vanity is excessive concern with or inflated view of one’s personal achievements *****Use Table #3-11 Here***** Instructor Manual for Consumer Behaviour Leon G. Schiffman, Leslie Lozor Konuk, S. Ramesh Kumar 9789332555099, 9780134734828
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