Marketing 330: Consumer Behavior Study Guide

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key consumer behavior terms, theories, models, and concepts for the Marketing 330 exam review.

Involvement

How important, interesting, or personally relevant a product or purchase is to a consumer.

Person Factors

Factors influencing consumer involvement that relate to personal needs, importance, interests, and values.

Object or Stimulus Factors

Factors influencing consumer involvement that include differences between products, source of communication, and content of communication.

Situational Factors

Factors influencing consumer involvement that relate to the purchase or use, as well as the occasion.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A framework explaining the five levels of human needs, starting with basic needs and moving toward personal growth.

Physiological Needs

The most basic survival needs in Maslow's hierarchy, which include food, water, sleep, and shelter.

Safety Needs

The second level of Maslow's hierarchy focused on feeling protected and secure, including health, safety, and financial security.

Belongingness and Love

The third level of Maslow's hierarchy focused on wanting relationships and acceptance, including friends, family, and relationships.

Esteem

The fourth level of Maslow's hierarchy focused on wanting respect and confidence, including achievement, recognition, and independence.

Self-Actualization

The highest level of Maslow's hierarchy, involving personal growth, accomplishing goals, and reaching your full potential.

Consumer Risk

The possibility that a purchase could result in something negative.

Monetary Risk

The risk of losing money or property, such as buying an expensive product that breaks.

Functional Risk

The risk that a product will not work properly, such as buying a phone that constantly freezes.

Physical Risk

The risk to your health, safety, or physical well-being, such as buying unsafe exercise equipment.

Social Risk

The risk of being judged by other people, such as wearing something that others may dislike.

Psychological Risk

The risk of feeling embarrassed or negatively about yourself, such as buying something that does not match your self-image.

Carl Jung

A disciple of Freud known as the Father of Analytical Psychology who developed the concept of the collective unconscious and archetypes.

Collective Unconscious

Shared unconscious ideas and patterns that people recognize.

Archetypes

Common character types or personalities that people recognize, utilized by Young & Rubicam in their BrandAsset Archetypes model.

Trait Theory

A theory that explains personality through identifiable characteristics or traits that define a person.

Innovativeness

A consumer personality trait characterized by enjoying trying new products and ideas.

Materialism

A consumer personality trait characterized by placing importance on owning material possessions.

Self-Consciousness

A consumer personality trait characterized by caring about how other people see oneself.

Need for Cognition

A consumer personality trait characterized by enjoying thinking, learning, and solving problems.

Frugality

A consumer personality trait characterized by liking to save money and avoiding waste.

Big Five Personality Dimensions (OCEAN)

A personality framework consisting of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

VALS2

A psychographic segmentation system that groups consumers based on values, lifestyles, resources, and motivations to help understand purchase behavior.

Three Main Consumer Motivations (VALS2)

The three primary motivations that drive consumer groups in VALS2: Ideals, Achievement, and Self-expression.

Values

Beliefs about what is important in life that influence consumer decisions and behavior.

Instrumental Values

Ways of behaving or acting that help someone reach a goal, such as honesty, independence, responsibility, and self-control.

Terminal Values

Important long-term goals or desired end results, such as happiness, inner harmony, mature love, self-respect, and true friendship.

Lifestyle

A description of how a person lives and spends their time and money, encompassing activities, interests, and opinions.

AIO

An acronym representing Activities (what people do), Interests (what people care about), and Opinions (what people think).

Attitude

A person's positive or negative feelings toward a product, brand, person, or idea.

Functional Theory of Attitudes

A theory explaining why people develop certain attitudes, divided into utilitarian, value-expressive, ego-defensive, and knowledge functions.

Utilitarian Function

An attitude function related to rewards and punishments where consumers like things that provide benefits or help avoid negative outcomes.

Value-Expressive Function

An attitude function that allows consumers to express their personal values and self-concept.

Ego-Defensive Function

An attitude function that protects self-esteem and helps people deal with uncomfortable feelings or insecurities.

Knowledge Function

An attitude function that provides order, structure, and meaning to help consumers organize information and understand the world.

Multiattribute Model

A model explaining how consumers evaluate products by comparing different attributes, their relative importance, and how well each brand performs.

Compliance

The lowest level of attitude commitment, where a consumer changes behavior merely to receive rewards or avoid punishment.

Identification

The middle level of attitude commitment, where a consumer changes attitudes to fit in with another person or group.

Internalization

The highest level of attitude commitment, where attitudes become deeply rooted in personal values.

Consistency Principle

The principle stating that people desire their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to match, and will alter one component if they do not.

Cognitive Dissonance

An uncomfortable feeling experienced when attitudes and behaviors do not match.

Classical Conditioning

Learning through repeated associations, such as repeatedly pairing a brand name with a catchy slogan or positive stimulus.

Standard Learning Hierarchy

A hierarchy of effects sequence of Think → Feel → Do, where consumers learn about a product, develop feelings, and then purchase it.

Low-Involvement Hierarchy

A hierarchy of effects sequence of Think → Do → Feel, where consumers learn a little, purchase the product, and develop feelings afterward.

Experiential Hierarchy

A hierarchy of effects sequence of Feel → Do → Think, where consumers develop an emotional connection, purchase the product, and form beliefs afterward.

Cognitive Decision-Making

A deliberate, rational, and sequential decision-making process where consumers carefully research and compare products before purchasing.

Habitual Decision-Making

An automatic and routine decision-making process that requires little conscious effort or information searching.

Affective Decision-Making

An emotional and instantaneous decision-making process based on immediate feelings and pleasure toward a product.

Collective Decision-Making

A decision-making process in which two or more people evaluate, select, or use a product or service.

Consumer Decision-Making Process

A five-step sequence consisting of Need Recognition, Information Search, Evaluation of Alternatives, Purchase Decision, and Post-Purchase Evaluation.

Paradox of Choice

The concept that having too many choices can overwhelm consumers and make it harder to reach a decision.

Six Influence Principles

The six principles marketers use to change attitudes: Reciprocity, Scarcity, Authority, Consistency, Liking, and Consensus.

Minimal Group Paradigm

An experimental concept where people are randomly categorized into groups and distribute resources among anonymous ingroup and outgroup members.

Ingroup Favoritism

A result of the minimal group paradigm characterized by favoring people who belong to one's own group.

Outgroup Homogeneity

A result of the minimal group paradigm characterized by seeing members of an outside group as more similar to each other than they really are.

Conformity

Changing one's behavior to match a group or social expectations.

Social Power

The ability to influence or change other people's actions.

Referent Power

Social power based on admiration or respect from others.

Information Power

Social power based on having access to or possessing useful information.

Legitimate Power

Social power based on holding an official position or recognized authority.

Expert Power

Social power derived from specialized knowledge or skills.

Reward Power

Social power that operates through offering rewards or positive reinforcement.

Coercive Power

Social power that operates through punishment, intimidation, or threats.