Consumer Behavior - Chapter 12: Self-Concept and Lifestyle

Self-Concept and Lifestyle

A- Self-Concept

• Definition: Self-concept is the totality of an individual's thoughts and feelings regarding themselves as an object.
• It represents an individual's perception of and feelings toward themselves, comprising the attitudes held about oneself.

Dimensions of Self-Concept

The self-concept is divided into four basic parts:

• Actual vs. Ideal:
  • Actual Self-Concept: How an individual perceives themselves currently.
  • Ideal Self-Concept: How an individual would like to perceive themselves.
• Private vs. Social:
  • Private Self-Concept: How an individual is or would like to be to themselves.
  • Social Self-Concept: How an individual is seen by others or how they would like to be seen.

Independent/Interdependent Self-Concepts

• Independent Self-Concept:
  • Emphasizes personal goals, characteristics, achievements, and desires.
  • Traits: Individualistic, egocentric, autonomous, self-reliant, and self-contained.
• Interdependent Self-Concept:
  • Emphasizes family, cultural, professional, and social relationships.
  • Traits: Obedient, sociocentric, holistic, connected, and relation-oriented.

Possessions and the Extended Self

• The extended self consists of the self plus possessions. People define themselves partly by what they own.
• Possessions are integral to self-identity.

Products can become embedded with meaning, memories, and value over time, contributing to the extended self.

• Peak Experience:
  • An experience surpassing the usual level of intensity, meaningfulness, and richness, producing feelings of joy and self-fulfillment. Can propel a product into the extended self.

Using Self-Concept to Position Products

• People often purchase and consume products, services, and media to achieve their ideal self-concept or maintain their actual self-concept.

Relationship Between Self-Concept and Brand Image

• Consumers seek products and brands that improve/maintain self-concept, leading to satisfaction and reinforcement of self-concept.

B- The Nature of Lifestyle

• Definition: Lifestyle is how a person lives, enacting their self-concept, determined by past experiences, innate characteristics, and current situation.
• Lifestyle influences all aspects of consumption behavior and is shaped through social interaction and evolution through the life cycle.

Lifestyle and the Consumption Process

Lifestyle is influenced by various determinants like demographics, subculture, social class, motives, personality, emotions, values, household life cycle, culture, and past experiences.

• Lifestyle manifests in activities, interests, likes/dislikes, and attitudes.
• It impacts consumption, including purchases (how, when, where, what, with whom) and consumption patterns.

Measurement of Lifestyle

• Quantitative measures of lifestyle are referred to as psychographics.
  • Attitudes: Evaluative statements about people, places, ideas, products, etc.
  • Values: Widely held beliefs about what is acceptable or desirable.
  • Activities and Interests: Non-occupational behaviors to which consumers devote time and effort (hobbies, sports, public service, church).
  • Demographics: Age, education, income, occupation, family structure, ethnic background.
  • Media Patterns: Specific media the consumer utilizes.
  • Usage Rates: Measurements of consumption within a specified product category (heavy, medium, light, or nonusers).

General versus Specific Lifestyle Schemes

• Lifestyle measurements vary in specificity.
  • Marketers can study general lifestyle patterns or conduct specific lifestyle studies focusing on aspects relevant to their product/service.

Examples of specific studies include technology, shopping, and luxury sport cars.

B- The VALSTM System

• VALS (Values and Lifestyles) is a popular psychographic research application by SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (SRIC-BI).
• It classifies American adults into eight distinct consumer segments based on enduring psychological characteristics that correlate with purchase patterns.
• VALS is based on:
  • Primary Motivation: Determines what about the self or the world governs activities.
  • Resources: The ability of individuals to pursue their dominant self-orientation.

Primary Motivations Identified by SRIC-BI

• Ideals Motivation: Consumers guided by beliefs and principles rather than feelings or social approval. They purchase functionality and reliability.
• Achievement Motivation: Consumers strive for social position and are influenced by others' opinions. They purchase status symbols.
• Self-Expression Motivation: Action-oriented consumers express individuality through choices and purchase experiences.

Resources Dimension

• Reflects the ability of individuals to pursue their dominant self-orientation.
• Includes psychological, physical, demographic, and material means.
  • Resources increase from adolescence through middle age, stabilize, then decline with older age.
• Resources aid or inhibit a consumer's ability to act on their primary motivation.

VALS™ Framework

• The VALS framework classifies U.S. adults into eight distinct consumer segments based on psychological characteristics and purchase patterns.
  • Segments include Innovators, Thinkers, Believers, Achievers, Strivers, Experiencers, Makers, and Survivors.

The VALS™ Segments

• Innovators:
  • Successful, sophisticated, active, take-charge people with high self-esteem and abundant resources. Motivated by ideals, achievement, and self-expression.
  • Image is important as an expression of taste, independence, and character.
• Thinkers and Believers:
  • Ideals Motivated: Base decisions on abstract idealized criteria such as quality, integrity, and tradition. Seek consistency with their views of the world.
• Achievers and Strivers:
  • Achievement Motivated: Make choices to enhance their position or move to a more desirable group.
    • Strivers look to others' actions, while Achievers look to their peer group.
• Experiencers and Makers:
  • Self-Expression Motivated: Affect their environment tangibly.
    • Makers alter their environment at home, while Experiencers impact through dress, speech, or experiences.
• Survivors:
  • Constricted lives on limited incomes but relatively satisfied. Often elderly and concerned about health.
  • Not active in the marketplace, show no strong primary motivation.
  • Buy familiar, trusted products, are cautious consumers, and seek low prices. Represent a modest market.