Consumer Behaviour: Involvement, Decision-Making Models, and Empirical Generalisations

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering consumer involvement levels, cognitivist versus behaviourist decision models, classical and operant conditioning, and the criteria of empirical generalisations.

Consumer Involvement

The degree of interest, personal relevance, or emotional investment that a consumer has in a particular product, service, or brand.

Low-Involvement Purchasing

Purchasing situations where the product is inexpensive, has very few competing alternatives, features homogeneous category offerings, allows easy feature comparison, involves extensive prior purchasing experience, and bears little risk.

High-Involvement Purchasing

Purchasing situations where the product is expensive, has multiple competing alternatives, features heterogeneous category offerings, makes feature comparison difficult, involves little to no prior purchasing experience, and bears significant risk.

Cognitivist Theories

Theories asserting that behaviour is determined, in whole or in part, by the internal processing of information or the action of mental traits, with cognitions causing and controlling behaviour.

Cognitive Model

A decision-making model that treats purchase as the outcome of a rational, deliberate process wherein the consumer evaluates evidence and opportunity; carries the managerial implication to provide information.

Decision Process as Information Processing (Brassington & Pettitt, 2013)

A seven-step consumer decision sequence: 1. Problem identification, 2. Search for information, 3. Recognition of alternatives, 4. Evaluation of alternatives, 5. Preference forming, 6. Decision, 7. Purchase & Trial.

Satisficing

A consumer decision strategy where individuals lower cognitive processing demands by choosing an option that is 'good enough' to meet their needs rather than optimizing rationally.

Dickson & Sawyer (1990) Supermarket Study

Observational research showing that the average time a supermarket shopper spends choosing a product category is 12 seconds (with nearly half under 5 seconds), and in 85% of purchases only the chosen brand is handled.

Lapersonne, Laurent & Le Goff (1995) Car Buyer Survey

A study of 1,008 new car buyers in France revealing that despite cars being high-involvement, 22% evaluated only a single brand and 48% purchased the same brand they previously owned.

Behaviourist Theories

Theories focusing strictly on observable events (inputs and outputs) and learning rather than internal mental thought processes.

Reinforcement Model

A model treating purchase as behaviour learned and modified in response to environmental opportunities, rewards, costs, and constraints (such as out-of-stock items).

Operant Conditioning

Trial-and-error (instrumental) learning where a stimulus leads to the most satisfactory response being learned and reinforced, forming habits through positive or negative reinforcement.

Positive Reinforcement (Behaviourism)

Encouraging and strengthening a particular purchasing or consumption behaviour through the application of a positive reinforcer.

Negative Reinforcement (Behaviourism)

Encouraging and strengthening a particular behaviour through the removal or avoidance of a negative reinforcer.

Classical Conditioning (Pavlov, 1927)

Learning an automatic biological response through repetition by repeatedly pairing an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., food) with a neutral stimulus to turn it into a conditioned stimulus (e.g., a buzzer).

Habit Model

A decision model occurring when consumers regularly perform the exact same behaviour in response to a stimulus (e.g., pack color, shape, or size in supermarkets), excluding planning prior to action.

Empirical Generalisation

A relationship between two or more variables that has been observed across a range of conditions (Uncles & Wright, 2004), establishing an evidence-based pattern across conditions or populations.

Scope (Uncles & Wright, 2004)

The criterion of an empirical generalisation meaning that the observed relationship holds under a wide range of conditions.

Precision (Uncles & Wright, 2004)

The criterion of an empirical generalisation indicating that a marketing phenomenon has been observed and confirmed a number of times.

Parsimony (Uncles & Wright, 2004)

The principle of keeping an empirical generalisation as simple as it can possibly be.

Usefulness (Uncles & Wright, 2004)

The criterion of an empirical generalisation requiring that it provides practical value to individuals practising marketing.

Link with Theory (Uncles & Wright, 2004)

The criterion establishing that theories must attempt to explain the underlying 'why' behind an empirically observed generalisation.