Personality, Lifestyles, and Self-Concept in Consumer Behavior

Personality and Consumer Behavior

  • Personality Definition: The totality of thoughts, emotions, intentions, tendencies, and behaviors a person consistently exhibits while adapting to their environment.

    • Unique to each individual.

    • Combination of specific traits.

    • Traits are relatively stable and interact with situations.

    • Specific behaviors vary across time.

/

Psychoanalytic Approach to Personality

  • Psychoanalytic Approach: Sigmund Freud's approach suggesting personality arises from the struggle between inner motives and societal pressures.

    • Highlights the importance of unconscious mental processes.

  • Components of Personality (Freud):

    • Id: Pleasure-seeking motives and immediate gratification.

    • Superego: Works against the id, motivating behavior aligned with societal norms.

    • Ego: Balances the id and superego.

  • Motivational Research Era: Focused on psychoanalytic approaches.

    • Depth interviews (e.g., "Why is this important to you?").

    • Focus groups (e.g., "Why do you enjoy it so much?").

    • Disappointing due to lack of compelling theories or marketing guidelines.

Trait Approach to Personality

  • Trait Approach: Focuses on specific consumer traits as motivators.

    • Trait: Distinguishable characteristic describing consistent behavior.

  • Approaches:

    • Nomothetic vs. Idiographic.

    • Single-trait vs. Multi-trait.

Nomothetic vs. Idiographic Approaches

  • Nomothetic Perspective: Variable-centered; focuses on traits across many people.

    • Example: Complaint proneness.

    • Assessing traits through social media.

  • Idiographic Perspective: Focuses on the complexity of each individual.

    • Understanding the total person and their uniqueness.

Single-Trait and Multiple-Trait Approaches

  • Single-Trait Approach: Focuses on one particular trait.

    • Researchers gain in-depth knowledge of the trait's effects.

  • Multiple-Trait Approach: Focuses on combinations of traits.

    • Uses trait scores on numerous traits to predict consumer behavior.

Case study and Discussion

  • A consumer has R3000 debt on a Truworths account and has R2000 cash for payment of this account. This consumer walks into Truworths and sees an expensive coat which immediately catches the eye and would work well for this winter season. Yet, the consumer is very aware that society frowns upon unpaid debt. The consumer thus makes a decision regarding the coat and payment of the current account. Apply the psychoanalytical approach to personality to analyse the personality of the consumer and the resulting consumption behaviour of the consumer regarding payment of the clothing credit card at Truworths.

Major Traits Examined in Consumer Research

  • Many traits can describe people.

  • Researched traits include:

    • Value consciousness.

    • Materialism.

    • Innovativeness.

    • Need for cognition.

    • Competitiveness.

    • Productivity orientation.

Value Consciousness

  • Value Consciousness: Maximizing what is received from a transaction compared to what is given.

    • Consumers pay close attention to resources and benefits.

Materialism

  • Materialism: Importance of material goods in a consumer’s life.

    • Dimensions:

      • Possessiveness.

      • Nongenerosity.

      • Envy.

    • Downshifting: Consciously reducing material consumption.

Innovativeness

  • Innovativeness: Openness to new ideas; early adoption of new products, services, or experiences.

    • Innovative consumers are dynamic, curious, young, educated, and affluent.

    • Behaviors include mobile banking, early adoption, novelty-seeking, information-seeking, and online buying.

Need for Cognition

  • Need for Cognition: Degree to which consumers enjoy effortful cognitive information processing.

    • High need for cognition: think carefully about products and marketing messages.

    • Low need for cognition: influenced by endorser's attractiveness and non-central cues.

Competitiveness

  • Competitiveness: Enduring tendency to strive to be better than others.

    • Common in marketing messages.

    • Emerges when:

      • Direct competition.

      • Vicarious enjoyment of winning.

      • Displaying superiority through exclusive products.

Productivity Orientation

  • Productivity Orientation: Focus on being productive, making progress, and accomplishing more in less time.

    • High degree: productive even during leisure.

Other Traits

  • Frugality: Restraint in purchases and resource use.

  • Superstition: Following superstitions and beliefs.

  • Impulsivity: Tendency to buy on impulse.

  • Bargaining Proneness: Engaging in bargaining behaviors.

  • Vanity: Excessive pride in oneself.

The Five-Factor Model (FFM)

  • Multiple-trait perspective: human personality consists of five traits:

    • Extroversion: Talkative, outgoing.

    • Agreeableness: Kindhearted, sympathetic.

    • Openness to Experience: Creative, open to new ideas, imaginative.

    • Stability (Neuroticism): Even-keeled, avoids mood swings.

    • Conscientiousness: Precise, efficient, organized.

Hierarchical Approaches to Personality Traits

  • Personality traits exist at varying levels of abstraction.

    • Specific traits (e.g., bargaining proneness).

    • Broad traits (e.g., extroversion).

    • Abstract traits influence specific traits.

Final Thoughts on the Trait Approach

  • Very popular in consumer research.

  • Advantage over the psychoanalytic approach.

Personology

  • Combines personality theory and motivation.

  • Combines information on traits, goals, and consumer life stories.

Brand Personality

  • Brand Personality: Human characteristics associated with a brand.

    • Five dimensions:

      • Competence: Responsible, reliable, dependable (e.g., Maytag).

      • Excitement: Daring, spirited (e.g., Monster Energy).

      • Ruggedness: Tough, strong (e.g., Ford Trucks).

      • Sincerity: Honest, genuine (e.g., Wrangler Jeans).

      • Sophistication: Glamorous, charming (e.g., Cartier).

    • Differentiates products.

    • Builds strong brand relationships.

Formation of Brand Personality

  • Factors:

    • Strong concept.

    • Well-differentiated product.

    • Credible messages.

    • Consumer involvement.

    • Positive attitude.

Brand Personality Appeal

  • Ability of a product to appeal to consumers based on its human characteristics.

    • Strong degrees of:

      • Favorability.

      • Originality.

      • Clarity.

Personality and Brand Relationships

  • Consumers have relationships with brands.

    • Quality explained by:

      • Love and Passion.

      • Self-Connection.

      • Commitment.

      • Interdependence.

      • Intimacy.

      • Brand Partner Quality.

Group Activity 1

  • Analyse the brand personality of Nando’s using the five brand personality dimensions.

Consumer Lifestyles, Psychographics, and Demographics

Lifestyles

  • Lifestyles: Distinctive modes of living; how people spend time and money.

    • Context-specific personality traits.

    • Influence purchase patterns.

    • Useful in identifying market segments.

    • Closely related to personality.

Psychographics

  • Psychographics: Quantitative investigation of consumer lifestyles.

    • Uses AIO statements (activity, interest, opinion).

    • Lifestyle segment profiles:

      • Home Loving.

      • Idealistic.

      • Autonomous.

      • Hedonistic.

      • Conservative.

Specificity of Lifestyle Segments

  • Can be categorized narrowly or broadly; specific lifestyles are more useful.

VALS

  • VALS: Psychographic method dividing consumers based on resources and motivations.

    • Resources: financial, educational, intellectual.

    • Motivations: ideals, achievement, self-expression.

    • Segments:

      • Innovators: Successful, sophisticated; high self-esteem; motivated by achievement, ideals, and self-expression.

      • Thinkers: Ideal motivated; mature, reflective; value order and knowledge; conservative, practical consumers.

      • Achievers: Achievement motivated; politically conservative; focus on church, family, and career; prefer prestigious products.

      • Experiencers: Self-expressive; young, impulsive, enthusiastic; value novelty and excitement.

      • Believers: Ideal motivated; conservative; follow routines; focus on home, family, and church.

      • Strivers: Achievement motivated; shopping demonstrates ability to buy.

      • Makers: Motivated by self-expression; express themselves through activities.

      • Survivors: Low on resources; elderly; concerned with health, safety, and security.

PRIZM

  • Geodemographic Techniques: Combine consumer expenditure and socioeconomic data with geographic information.

  • PRIZM: Potential Ratings Index by ZIP Market.

    • Combines demographic and behavioral information.

Demographics

  • Demographics: Observable, statistical aspects of populations (age, gender, income).

    • Used with psychographic analysis.

    • Help locate and understand lifestyle segments.

Demographics and the Online World

  • Changes in perspectives due to social media.

  • Traditional strategies may not be useful.

The Role of Self-Concept in Consumer Behavior

  • Self-Concept: Totality of thoughts and feelings about oneself.

    • Consumers act in accordance with their self-concepts.

  • Symbolic Interactionism: Consumers live in a symbolic environment and interpret symbols.

  • Semiotics: The study of symbols and their meanings.

  • Different Self-Concepts:

    • Actual self.

    • Ideal self.

    • Social self.

    • Ideal social self.

    • Possible self.

    • Extended self.

Self-Concept and Body Presentation

  • Self-Esteem: Positivity of one's self-concept.

  • Body Esteem: Positivity of one's body image.

  • Unrealistic body images affect self-esteem.

Cosmetic Surgery and Body Modification

  • Cosmetic procedures increasing.

  • Popular procedures: liposuction, breast augmentation, abdominoplasty, nose reshaping, eyelid surgery, and face lifts.

Body Piercings and Tattoos

  • Promote one’s self-concept.

  • Reflect new attitudes about the body’s role in self-presentation.

Self-Congruency Theory and Consumer Behavior

  • Self-Congruency Theory: Consumer behavior explained by the congruence of a consumer’s self-concept with the image of typical users of a product.

Segmentation and Self-Congruency

  • Markets segmented by consumers who perceive high self-concept congruence with product-user image.

  • Different self-concepts relate to different products.

Consumer Identity and Product Ownership

  • Brands express and validate consumer identity.

  • Self-expression through product ownership is identity maintenance and communication.

Organizational Identification

  • Consumers feel close to organizations.

  • Identifies with organizations helps consumers to forge stronger social identities.

Final Thought on Personality, Lifestyles, and the Self-Concept

  • Important topics in the study of consumer behavior.

  • Differences in consumers signal the need for targeted marketing communications.

Group Activity 2

  • Discuss the concept of “consumer identity” and whether products help express your identities.