Consumer Behavior Exam 1

What is consumer behavior?

the study of how individuals, groups, or organizations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and wants

Consumer behavior can be defined as the process by which individuals
or groups seek, evaluate, choose, use, and interpret products, services,
or experiences based on the _______________ they perceive and
create from them in satisfying their needs and goals.

value

Value =

what you get - what you give

Gratification derived because something helps a consumer_____

solve a problem or accomplish some task

Consumers provide a rational explanation for their

purchases

Value is provided because the object or activity allows something

good to happen or be accomplished

Value derived from immediate

gratification that comes from some activity

__________: Bringing some stimulus within proximity of a
consumer so that the consumer can sense it

Exposure

Purposeful allocation of information-processing
capacity toward developing an understanding of a stimulus

Attention

Attention span

the amount of time spent concentrating on a task before becoming distracted

Factors that help create attention

intensity of stimuli, contrast, movement, surprising stimuli, size of stimuli, involvement, novelty

Driving forces behind human actions that drive
consumers to address real needs

Motivations

________________ motivation: energization of behavior toward
positive stimuli (objects, events, possibilities)

Approach

________________ motivation: energization of behavior away
from negative stimuli (objects, events, possibilities)

Avoidance

______________ risk
High-ticket items that require substantial expenditures are most subject to this form of risk.

Monetary

______________ risk
Products or services whose purchase and use requires the buyer’s exclusive commitment are
most sensitive

Functional

______________ risk
Mechanical or electrical goods, drugs, and medical treatment, and food and beverages are
most sensitive

physical

______________ risk
Socially visible or symbolic goods such as clothes, jewelry, cars, homes, or sports equipment
are most subject to social risk.

Social

______________ risk
Expensive personal luxuries that may engender guilt, durables, and services whose use
demands self-discipline or sacrifice are most sensitive

Psychological

Comprehension

Way people cognitively assign meaning to things they encounter

a pricing method aimed at maximizing profit by making
micro-adjustments in pricing structure. For example, the price of $17.99
looks more like $17 and not like $18

Odd pricing

Consumers' price evaluations are also influenced by the _____, wherein
consumers judge the difference between $4.00 and $2.99 to be larger than that
between $4.01 and $3.00, even though the numeric differences are identical.

left-digit bias

Bounded Rationality and Cue Utilization

Decision making under information asymmetry, where individuals rely on a limited set of available or salient cues rather than fully processing all relevant information due to cognitive and informational constraints

Short-term memory

brief storage of information currently being used, limited capacity and duration less than 20 seconds

Long-term memory

relatively permanent storage of information, unlimited capacity and duration is long or permanent

Elaborative rehearsal

information subjected to elaborative rehearsal or deep processing is transferred to long-term memory

Repetition

thought is held in short-term memory by mentally repeating the thought

Dual Coding

occurs when two different sensory traces are available to remember something

Meaningful encoding

association of active information in short-term memory with other information recalled from long-term memory

Chunking

grouping stimuli by meaning so that multiple stimuli become a single memory unit

The peak-end rule (duration neglect)

psychological heuristic in which people judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak and its end, rather than based on the total sum or average of every moment of the experience

Attitude

relatively enduring overall evaluations of objects, products, services, issues, and people. They are closely related to value, as consumers tend to hold positive
attitudes toward products that deliver value

Balance Theory

explains attitudes by proposing that individuals are motivated to maintain
cognitive consistency among their attitudes toward people and objects, and that
attitude or behavior change occurs when imbalance creates psychological discomfort, prompting individuals to adjust their attitudes or behaviors to restore balance

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)

explains that people are persuaded either by carefully thinking about a message or by relying on simple cues, depending on their level of motivation and ability

Net-Promoter Score (NPS)

reflects customers’ attitudes toward a brand by measuring their willingness to recommend it to others

Success Model: Simple

Keep the message simple by highlighting only the most important key points

Success model: unexpected

command attention and curiosity by reframing information in an unexpected way and highlighting the unknown

Success model: Concrete

use sensory information to help your target audience remember your message

Success model: credible

make messages more credible by offering a way to help people test ideas for themselves

Success Model: emotional

frame your message to elicit emotions to make a lasting impression and spur action

Success model: stories

tell a story to instill an inspiring or memorable chain of events in the target audiences mind

Social comparison theory

people evaluate themselves by comparing their abilities, vales, and opinions to those of others

motivations of social comparison: self evaluation

people compare themselves to others to gain information about their own abilities, opinions, or status

motivations of social comparison: self-enhancement

individuals seek to maintain or boost their self-esteem. They often engage in downward comparisons to feel better about themselves

motivations of social comparison: self-improvement

by comparing themselves to those who are better off or more skilled, people can find role models or benchmarks that motivate them to improve and set higher goals

motivations of social comparison: self-verification

individuals sometimes look for comparisons that confirm their existing self-concept

Aspirational Groups

group in which consumer desires become a member, group membership appeals to the consumer’s ideal self

Dissociative Groups

group to which a consumer does not want to belong, considered a type of outgroup for a consumer

conformity

individual yields to the attitudes and behaviors of others

authority

ability of a person or a group to enforce the obedience of others

informational social influence

consumer uses the behaviors and attitudes of reference groups as information for making his or her own decisions

Normative social influence

leads to conformity, it is defined in social psychological as “the influence of other people that leads us to conform in order to be likes and accepted by them

conspicuous consumption

expenditure on or consumption of luxuries on a lavish scale in an attempt to enhance one’s prestige

bandwagon effect

extent to which demand for a commodity is increased dur to the fact other are also consuming the same commodity at a given price

Veblen effect

extent to which the demand for a consumers’ good is increased because it bears a higher than a lower price

snob effect

extent to which the demand for a consumers’ good is decreased owing to the fact that others are consuming the same commodity

need for belonging

The sense of belongingness, also known as the need to belong, refers to a human
emotional need to affiliate with and be accepted by members of a group

need for uniqueness

An individual's pursuit of differentness relative to others that is achieved through
the acquisition, utilization, and disposition of consumer goods for the purpose of
developing and enhancing one's personal and social identity

optimal distinctiveness theory

The model of optimal distinctiveness in which social identity is the reconciliation of
opposing needs for assimilation and differentiation from others.

A culture is a society’s_______

personality

consumer culture

Commonly held societal beliefs that define what is socially gratifying

cultural norm

specifies appropriate consumer behavior in a situation within a specific culture

refers to the psychological state where a consumer justifies a transaction by believing the perceived value of the item exceeds its actual cost

Everything that we purchase is a bargain

Utilitarian Value (consumer value framework)

Derived from a product’s ability to solve a practical problem or complete a task (e.g., a hammer or a plain white t-shirt).

Hedonic value (consumer value framework)

Derived from the immediate emotional gratification and enjoyment of the experience itself (e.g., watching a movie or eating at a high-end restaurant).

The average human attention span in 2013

8 seconds

5 types of risk as drivers of avoidance motivation

monetary, functional, physical, social, psychological

Four motivations of social comparison

self-evaluation, self-enhancement, self-improvement, self-verification

How to eat sushi properly

don’t use a fork, don’t drink soda, eat your sushi by color (from light to dark), cleanse your palate with ginger, don’t mix wasabi with soy sauce, don’t dip the rice in soy sauce, dip the fish part in soy sauce, don't ask what’s fresh today, ask what’s in season

SOR Model

stimulus, organism, response. explains how external Stimuli, like store layouts or marketing messages, trigger an individuals’ internal Organism states, which then lead to observable behavioral responses, such as purchasing or loyalty

situational factor: physical surroundings Slow Tempo music

slows down the pace of in-store traffic, increasing dwell time and leading to an average sales increase of approximately 38%

situational factor: physical surroundings High volume music

tends to decrease the time shoppers spend in a store, whereas moderate levels provide a more comfortable environment for browsing

physical surroundings: classical music

in wine cellars leads customers to purchase more expensive bottles compared to when Top 40 pop music is played

physical surroundings: pleasant ambient scent

improves consumers' evaluations of product quality and increases their willingness to spend more

physical surroundings: scents match

the product category—such as "masculine" scents (e.g., woodsy) in men's
departments and "feminine" scents (e.g., floral) in women's departments

physical surroundings: physical touch

a product significantly increases their psychological ownership and purchase intention

physical surroundings: brighter lighting

encourages shoppers to physically touch and examine more products on the shelves

physical surroundings: first few meters

a store entrance is a transition zone where shoppers are still adjusting; ads or products placed here are often ignored

social surroundings: Excessive social crowding

leads to "avoidance behavior," where shoppers cut their trip short and report lower
satisfaction levels

social surroundings: accompanied by friends or family

stay in the store longer and spend significantly more than those shopping alone

social surroundings: presence of children leads to more

unplanned purchases as parents yield to requests to avoid public conflict or to reward the child

Social surroundings: share similar demographic

Customers are more likely to buy from and trust sales

social surroundings: smile, eye contact, and open body language

subtle cues like this from staff significantly improve customer satisfaction and
return intentions

social surroundings: High-pressure

sales tactics or "hovering" staff trigger a desire for freedom, causing shoppers to leave the store prematurely

social surroundings: presence of other shoppers

in an aisle causes people to choose "brand name" products over generic ones to manage their social image

temporal factors: the time a shopper spends in a store

There is a direct positive correlation between the _______________ and the total dollar amount spent

temporal factors: holiday deadline

like Christmas) approaches, shoppers' price sensitivity decreases while their stress and willingness to pay for convenience/speed increase

temporal factors: as the day progresses

"decision fatigue" sets in. Shoppers in the evening are less likely to resist impulse purchases at the checkout counter

temporal factors: wait time

at checkout to be long, their overall evaluation of the store and product quality drops, even if the shopping trip itself was successful. Thus, providing "distractions" (like mirrors or TVs) at checkout lines reduces "perceived wait time," leading to higher customer satisfaction

task definition: buying a gift

Shoppers are significantly less sensitive to price increases when the task is defined as _________ compared to buying for themselves

task definition: social risk

For social tasks (gifts or hosting parties), consumers
prioritize well-known "image" brands to minimize the ________ of a poor choice

task definition: self-gifting

Shoppers often define a task as____________ to regulate mood, purchasing items as a consolation after a personal disappointment

task definition: reward

It is psychologically easier for shoppers to
justify buying luxury (hedonic) items when the task is framed as a__________ for a
specific achievement.

antecedent states: positive mood

Consumers in a_________ tend to evaluate
products more favorably. They recall more positive product attributes because their
current "happy" state acts as a retrieval cue for positive memories

antecedent states: negative mood

(sadness or frustration) often engage in "therapeutic shopping" (self-gifting) to alleviate their distress and return to a neutral or positive state

antecedent states: sadness

increases the amount of money shoppers are willing to pay for an item (the "Misery is not Miserly" effect), as the act of acquiring something new provides a sense of self-enhancement

antecedent states: hunger

triggers a general "acquisition mindset." Research shows hungry shoppers even buy more non-food items (like office supplies) than sated shoppers.

antecedent states: temporary state of low powe

When consumers feel a _______________, they are more likely to purchase
high-status, conspicuous "luxury" goods to compensate for their lack of internal power

antecedent states: physically energetic

Shoppers who feel _____________are more likely to seek out new brands and try "variety seeking" behavior compared to those feeling lethargic

antecedent states: unexpected money

When consumers receive ____________ (e.g., a tax refund or a gift card), they define it as "play money" and are much more likely to spend it on hedonic luxuries than on utilitarian necessities