CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

What is the first stage in the classic consumer decision-making model?

Problem recognition, which occurs when there is a misalignment between the desired state and the actual state.

What are the four types of problems in consumer decision-making?

Routine problems, planning problems, evolving problems, and emergency problems.

How can marketers influence problem recognition?

By creating a new ideal of the desired state or creating dissatisfaction with the actual state.

What factors determine the level of motivation to resolve a perceived problem?

The size of the gap between the desired and actual state, the relative importance of the problem, and how well marketers create need states.

What are awareness sets in consumer behavior?

The potential choices that a consumer is aware of, from which they will eventually make a decision.

What factors assist a brand in getting into the evoked set?

Prototypicality, brand familiarity, goals/usage situations, and retrieval cues.

What is Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

A structure categorizing consumer needs into innate/primary (biological) and acquired/secondary (psychological) needs.

What are the limitations of Maslow's Pyramid?

It cannot be tested, does not account for altruistic behaviors, and cannot predict an individual's dominant need at any time.

What are decision heuristics?

Mental 'rules-of-thumb' that consumers use to simplify decision-making and minimize negative emotions.

What are the two categories of decision heuristics?

Low-effort cognitive decision heuristics and low-effort affective decision heuristics.

What are compensatory rules in consumer decision-making?

Rules where a negative evaluation on one criterion can be compensated for by a positive criterion.

What are non-compensatory rules?

Rules where a negative performance on one criterion cannot be compensated for by a positive criterion, leading to immediate rejection.

What is McCracken's 'Structure and Movement of Cultural Meaning'?

A framework describing how cultural meaning moves between the culturally constituted world, consumer goods, and consumers.

What is the culturally constituted world?

A system that creates distinctions and organizes the world, serving as a lens for interpretation and societal activity.

How is meaning transferred from the cultural world to consumer goods?

Through advertising systems and fashion systems that associate cultural meanings with products.

What are consumer rituals in the context of meaning transfer?

Practices like exchange rituals, possession rituals, grooming rituals, and divestment rituals that imbue products with meaning.

What is a reference group?

A person or group that influences the attitudes, behaviors, standards, and values of others.

What are the three ways reference groups influence consumer behavior?

Informational influence, utilitarian influence, and value expressive influence.

What are the types of reference groups?

Associative, aspirational, and dissociative reference groups.

What does Freudian theory suggest about personality?

Personality is a result of conflict between conscious and subconscious forces, including the Id, Superego, and Ego.

What is the Id in Freudian theory?

The part of the psyche that operates on the pleasure principle, driven by instincts and desires.

What is the Superego in Freudian theory?

The part of the psyche that represents restrictions placed on behavior by societal norms.

What is the Ego in Freudian theory?

The conscious system of self-control that mediates between the Id and Superego.

What is a limitation of Freudian theory in marketing?

It assumes personality is based solely on innate sexual desires and that everyone will act similarly.

What do Neo-Freudians suggest is fundamental to personality?

Social relationships.

What are the three personality types in Karen Horney's CAD theory?

Compliant (submissive), Aggressive, and Detached.

What does Trait Theory define personality as?

A unique combination of traits that distinguish individuals.

What trait reflects a propensity to seek variety in consumer behavior?

Variety/Novelty Seeking.

What is the term for the likelihood of being the first to try new products?

Innovativeness.

What does the Need for Uniqueness refer to in consumer behavior?

Highly individualized decision making.

What is the concept of the extended self according to Belk (1988)?

The relationship between a consumer's self-concept and their possessions.

How can possessions be incorporated into the extended self?

By using, creating, or knowing them.

What is social stratification?

The manifestation of social inequity into hierarchical levels.

What are Status Symbols?

Possessions that enhance one's self-image and social standing.

What is the Attitude-Behavior Gap?

The disparity when attitudes do not translate into behavior.

What does Cognitive Dissonance refer to?

The discomfort experienced when holding conflicting beliefs.

What is the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)?

A theory proposing that intentions will lead to behaviors.

What are the key elements of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)?

Subjective norms, motivation to comply, and perceived behavioral control.

What does the symbolic level of consumption involve?

Using consumption to construct identity and advertise values.

What are the two levels at which every symbol articulates according to Floch?

Expressive Plan (Signifier) and Content Plan (Signified).

What is semiotics?

The analysis of systems of signs and their functioning in social life.

What are the three main components of semiotics?

The Symbol, the Object, and the Interpreter.

How can marketers use semiotics?

To understand and control the interpretation of visual and verbal messages.

What is the role of stimuli in the symbolic level of consumption?

Stimuli are interpreted based on assumed relationships, forming a system of signs.

What does the term 'habitus' refer to in Bourdieu's theory?

Regularities of behavior associated with social structures.

What is the significance of social capital in consumer behavior?

It can be used to increase status.

What does the term 'stealth wealth' refer to?

A focus on quiet luxury rather than loud signaling.

What influences the translation of attitude into behavior?

Situational context and external factors.

What can marketers do to influence consumer attitudes?

Change the basic motivational function or relate conflicting attributes.