Consumer Behaviour

• Personality may be described as ‘the inferred hypothetical constructs relating to certain persistent qualities in human behaviour’ (Gunter and Furnham,1992)
• Personality variables reflect consistent, enduring patterns of behaviour
• Individual’s personality represents a set of characteristics that can be used to describe consumer segments
• Research evidence has revealed only weak or inconsistent relationships between personality and consumer behaviour
• Major theories or approaches to personality which have had an impact on marketing include:

  • Psychoanalytic theory
  • Motivation theory
  • Social-psychological theory
  • Type theory
  • Trait-factor theory
  • Self-concept theory
• Psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud:

  • Personality is the product of the interaction of three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego
  • Id corresponds to primary needs and instinctive drives buried in the unconscious
  • Superego reflects the rules, values, and norms imposed by society
  • Ego represents the interests of the individual and ensures arbitration between the demands of id and constraints of superego
  • Dynamic interaction of these elements results in unconscious motivations manifested in observed human behaviour
• Psychoanalytic theory and the unconscious personality:

  • Stresses the unconscious nature of personality as a result of childhood conflicts
  • Emphasis on unconscious motives and repressed needs resulted in the use of in-depth and projective techniques to determine deep-seated or repressed motives
• Self-concept theory:

  • Consumers likely to choose products consistent with their perceptions of themselves
  • Self-concept refers to beliefs a person holds about his or her attributes and how he or she evaluates these qualities
  • Self-esteem refers to the positivity of a person’s self-concept
  • Social comparison is a basic human motive used in marketing to show idealized people using brands
• Trait-Factor Theories:

  • Individual’s personality is composed of definite predispositional attributes called traits
  • Three key assumptions of trait-factor theory:
  • Traits are common to many individuals
  • Traits are relatively stable and exert fairly universal effects on behaviour regardless of environment
  • Consistent functioning of personality variables is predictive of a wide variety of behaviour
• Big Five (McCrae and Costa, 1990):

  • Main traits of extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness
  • High neuroticism scale suggested people less likely to stick to prescribed medication than those with high conscientiousness score
• Psychographics and Lifestyle:

  • Lifestyle segmentation looks at activities, interests, opinions to develop variables related to how people behave
  • Lifestyle and personality are different but closely related
  • AIO statements include activity questions, interest questions, and opinion questions
• Brands can be invested with personality dimensions:

  • Aaker (1997) identified five personality dimensions for brands: Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication, Ruggedness
  • Consistency is important in brand personality dimensions
• Boddingtons values of brand:

  • Product truth: creamy-looking when poured, settles into a clear, golden-colored pint with a thick white head, smooth and refreshing
  • Image truths: Mancunian, solid, straight-talking, irreverent, urban, contemporary
  • Developed product-led advertising built upon smoothness