Consumer Behaviour Exam Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering market segmentation, personality theories, lifestyle models, and consumer decision-making frameworks based on the lecture notes.

Geographic and Geodemographic Segmentation

Focuses on where consumers live and the characteristics of those locations, including region, climate, and population density.

Demographic Segmentation

Considers personal, objective attributes such as age, sex/gender, education, occupation, religion, race, nationality, income, family size, and stage in the family life cycle.

Behavioural Segmentation

Examines how consumers interact with products, including their attitudes, knowledge, benefits sought, user status, user rate, loyalty status, readiness to buy, and purchase occasions.

Psychographic Segmentation

Delves into internal psychological drivers, specifically focusing on personality and lifestyle factors.

Personality

Inner psychological characteristics—the unique qualities, attributes, traits, and mannerisms—that both determine and reflect how an individual responds to their environment, including marketing stimuli.

Biological / Hereditary Factors (Personality)

Foundation elements including physique, "chemique," and the nervous system.

Sociological / Environmental Factors (Personality)

Social interactions and environments including home, school, language, and culture.

Psychological Factors (Personality)

Internal mental constructs such as intelligence, motivation, emotion, attitude, interests, and sentiments.

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

A theory stating that human drives are largely unconscious and that consumer choices are often driven by hidden psychological motives rather than rational calculations.

Neo-Freudian Theory

Emphasizes the fundamental role of social relationships in the formation and development of personality, such as striving to overcome inferiority or anxiety.

Compliant (Neo-Freudian Orientation)

Individuals who move toward others; they seek acceptance, affection, and approval through their consumer choices.

Aggressive (Neo-Freudian Orientation)

Individuals who move against others; they admire power and force, and use purchases to demonstrate superiority and compete.

Detached (Neo-Freudian Orientation)

Individuals who move away from others; they desire self-sufficiency, independence, and freedom from obligations.

Trait Theory

Focuses on the empirical measurement of personality in terms of specific, identifiable psychological characteristics called traits, which are relatively enduring ways individuals differ.

Innovativeness

The degree to which a person likes to try new things; crucial for targeting early adopters.

Materialism

The amount of emphasis placed on acquiring and owning products; relevant to luxury positioning.

Self-consciousness

The degree to which a person deliberately monitors and controls the self-image projected to others.

Need for Cognition

The degree to which a person likes to think deeply and seeks out detailed brand information.

Frugality

The tendency to deny short-term purchasing whims, choosing resourcefully to use what is already owned.

Gestalt Theory

States that people do not experience environmental stimuli as separate, discrete sensations, but organize them into groups perceived as unified, holistic wholes.

Lifestyle

A reflection of how a person lives, spends time and money, and interacts with their environment; an operational expression of personality, values, and demographic background.

AIO Dimensions

Psychographic dimensions used to measure lifestyle: Activities, Interests, and Opinions.

Sustenance-Driven (Taylor Nelson 'Monitor' Model)

Consumers motivated primarily by material security and basic survival, including Aimless, Survivors, and Belongers subgroups.

Outer-Directed (Taylor Nelson 'Monitor' Model)

Consumers highly motivated by the desire for status, prestige, and external recognition/social approval.

Inner-Directed (Taylor Nelson 'Monitor' Model)

Consumers motivated by personal growth, self-expression, and individual values, including Social Resisters, Experimentalists, and Self-Explorers subgroups.

Self-concept

The totality of thoughts and feelings an individual maintains about her- or himself; an acquired psychological construct that develops over time.

Actual Self

How a person actually perceives her- or himself.

Ideal Self

How a person would like to be.

Social Self

How a person believes others perceive her or him.

Expected Self

An intermediate image fallback between the actual and ideal self.

Extended Self

The self-concept inclusive of the impact of personal possessions.

Veblenian Model

Developed by Thorstein Veblen, this model asserts that consumer behavior is primarily driven by social status and the desire for social recognition rather than pure rational utility.

Conspicuous Consumption

The practice of purchasing high-priced, prestigious, or rare goods explicitly to signal social status and gain admiration.

Pecuniary Emulation

The psychological motivation to imitate, match, or surpass the consumption patterns of higher social classes or peer groups.

Conspicuous Leisure

The public display of wealth through non-productive, non-essential activities, demonstrating financial independence.

Culture

The shared values, beliefs, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that characterize an entire society.

Subculture

Smaller, distinct groups within a larger culture that share unique values, beliefs, and behaviors based on factors like age, religion, or hobbies.