Consumer Behavior: Motivation, Ability, and Opportunity

These flashcards cover essential terminology and concepts associated with consumer behavior, focusing on motivation, ability, and opportunity.

Consumer Behavior

The study of how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources on consumption-related items.

Motivation

The energy directed at objects or activities that evokes involvement, perceived personal importance, and interest.

Black Box of Consumer

The internal psychological processes of a consumer that mediate between marketing actions and consumer responses.

Involvement

The level of perceived personal relevance that motivates consumers to engage with products, messages, or brands.

Psychological Core

The foundational processes influencing consumer behavior, including motivation, ability, opportunity, exposure, attention, perception, learning, knowledge, memory, and attitude change.

Enduring Involvement

A long-term interest or connection to a product category, such as a car enthusiast's passion for cars.

Situational Involvement

Temporary interest elicited by a specific situation, such as buying a car.

Cognitive Involvement

Mental engagement and cognitive effort applied to understanding product information.

Affective Involvement

Emotional engagement involving feelings and senses in consumer decision-making.

Perceived Risk

The extent to which consumers feel uncertain about the potential consequences of a purchase.

Motivational Conflict

The internal struggle consumers face when having multiple competing goals.

Goals at Stake

Situations in which consumers are motivated to act due to perceived risks associated with their choices.

Means-End Chain

A theoretical model linking consumer knowledge about product attributes to their anticipated consequences and values.

Laddering Technique

A qualitative research method used to explore consumers' motivations by asking why a product attribute is important.

Needs Fulfillment

The process by which consumers seek to satisfy their desired states through the acquisition of products.

Opportunity

The favorable conditions that allow consumers to process information and make decisions.

Ability

Factors—such as knowledge, experience, and resources—that enable consumers to process information and act on their motivations.