Motivation and Affect

Introduction

  • Topic: Consumer Behavior - Motivation and Affect

  • Author: Gwyneth C. Tamondong

  • Institution: Trinity University of Asia

Chapter Overview

  • Upon completion, you'll understand:

    • How products satisfy various consumer needs.

    • Motivational conflicts influencing purchase decisions.

    • The range of affective responses to products and marketing messages.

    • The evaluation and selection of products based on involvement.

Motivation

  • Definition: A process causing behavior in consumers when a need is aroused.

  • Tension arises as consumers strive to eliminate needs.

Types of Needs

  • Utilitarian Needs:

    • Functional or practical benefits (e.g., durable sneakers).

  • Hedonic Needs:

    • Emotional responses and experiences (e.g., “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”).

  • Desired End State: The goal consumers aim to reach, prompting marketers to develop products to satisfy these needs.

Dissatisfaction and Drive

  • A discrepancy exists between present and ideal states, creating urgency to reduce tension (drive).

Motivational Strength

  • Definition: Willingness to expend energy to achieve goals.

  • Key Categories:

    • Drive Theories: Explains behavior based on biological needs and tension reduction.

    • Expectancy Theories: Motivated by expected positive outcomes rather than internal needs.

Drive Theory

  • Focus on biological needs causing arousal (e.g., hunger).

Expectancy Theory

  • Choices based on expectations of positive consequences (e.g., money, status).

Motivational Direction

  • Definition: Goals are specific and require a path to be achieved.

  • Marketers aim to convince consumers that their products best fulfill these goals (e.g., choice of jeans for admiration).

Needs vs. Wants

  • Need: Basic goals (e.g., nourishment).

  • Want: Specific pathways influenced by personality and culture (e.g., preference for a salad vs. a burger).

Types of Needs

  • Biogenic Needs: Essential for survival (food, water).

  • Psychogenic Needs: Acquired needs influenced by culture (status, power).

  • Satisfactions include both tangible (utilitarian) and experiential (hedonic) elements (e.g., Louis Vuitton handbag).

Motivational Conflicts

  • Valence of Goals: Goals can be positive (approach) or negative (avoidance).

  • Avoidance Motivation: Aimed at preventing negative outcomes (e.g., bad breath leading to social rejection).

  • Marketers create products that help solve conflict dilemmas.

Types of Motivational Conflict

  • Approach-Approach Conflict: Choosing between two favorable options.

  • Approach-Avoidance Conflict: Favoring a product while avoiding negative aspects.

  • Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict: Choosing between two undesirable outcomes.

Understanding Conflicts

  • Approach-Approach Example: Liking two cars but having to choose one.

  • Approach-Avoidance Example: Desiring a car but fearing financial burden.

  • Avoidance-Avoidance Example: Decision between buying new clothes or enduring uncomfortable old ones.

Classification of Consumer Needs

  • Henry Murray's Psychogenic Needs Inventory helps understand consumer behavior.

    • Common needs include: autonomy, defendance, and play.

Effective Consumer Engagement

  • Involvement: Reflects perceived relevance of a product based on needs and interests.

  • Types of Involvement:

    • Product Involvement: Interest level in a product.

    • Message-Response Involvement: Connection to messages communicated through mediums.

    • Situational Involvement: Engagement with a physical store or environment.

Affective Responses

  • Various types of affective experiences:

    • Evaluations: Mild reactions to events.

    • Moods: Temporary affective states.

    • Emotions: Intense reactions to specific events.

Marketing & Emotions

  • Marketers aim for positive connections through advertisements. Techniques include:

    • Evoking positive moods/emotions.

    • Utilizing negative affect strategically (e.g., distress images with calls to action).

Mood Congruency

  • Definition: Mood influences consumer judgments positively or negatively.

Consumer Happiness and Needs

  • Happiness linked to emotional well-being but challenging to achieve. Consumers often pursue material goods for fulfillment, contrary to research finding otherwise.

Negative Affect

  • Negative emotions (e.g., sadness, guilt) can be strategic in marketing.

Specific Negative Emotions

  • Disgust: Protects from contamination and alters moral judgments.

  • Envy: Linked to desire for products, can drive competition.

  • Guilt: Utilized in marketing to spur prosocial behavior.

  • Embarrassment: Influences purchasing of sensitive products.

Conclusion: Involvement and Decision-Making

  • Consumer involvement influences evaluation and decision-making processes dramatically. Marketers must consider degrees of consumer engagement throughout the marketing process.

Chapter Summary

  1. Products meet a variety of consumer needs; motives can guide purchases.

  2. Understanding motivational conflicts is key to predicting consumer behavior.

  3. Consumers exhibit a spectrum of affective responses to products.

  4. Degree of involvement impacts product evaluation and choice.

Thank You!

  • From: Trinity University of Asia