Personality

Psychological Factors of Consumer Behaviour: Personality

What is Personality

• The inner psychological characteristics that determine and reflect how a person responds to his or her environment– Personality reflects individual differences– Personality is consistent and enduring– Personality can change

Theories of Personality

• Freudian theory– Unconscious needs or drives are at the heart

of human motivation

• Neo-Freudian personality theory– Social relationships are fundamental to the

formation and development of personality

• Trait theory– Quantitative approach to personality as a set

of psychological traits

Freudian Theory

Freudian Theory

• Id– Warehouse of primitive or instinctual needs for which individual

seeks satisfaction– Morals, beliefs, goodness, and even evil are non-existent to the

knowledge of the primitive id

• Superego– Individual’s internal expression of society’s moral and ethical

codes of conduct– The superego is simply our conscious. It is driven by authorities,

parents, and other moral officials in society. Its main purpose is to ensure the “limitations of satisfactions” of the id

• Ego– Individual’s conscious control that balances the demands of the

id and superego

Freudian Theory and Personality (Product)

• Consumer researchers using Freud’s personality theory see consumer purchases as a reflection and extension of the consumer’s own personality

Freudian Theory

• Emphasis on sexual urges as a primary motivator

• Personality is entirely shaped by early childhood experiences

• Objection to Freudian Theory;– Freud's negative view of human nature – Freud's lack of emphasis on social and cultural

influences on behavior and personality

Neo-Freudian Personality Theory

• Neo-Freudian theories. – These are essentially revisions of Freud's theory– They stress the influence of socio-cultural factors in

personality development.

• Several personality theories are collectively referred to as neo – Freudian theories– Carl Jung– Alfred Adler– Erik Erikson– Karen Horney– Erich Fromm


• People seek goals to overcome feelings of inferiority

• People continually attempt to establish relationships with others to reduce tensions


Karen Horney proposed three personality groups:• Compliant

– Needs that move you towards others – desire to be loved, wanted, and appreciated

• Aggressive – Need that move you against others

• Detached – Need that you move away from others

• Individuals utilize all three of these strategies, shifting focus depending on internal and external factors

Trait Theory

• Personality theory with a focus on psychological characteristics

• Trait– any distinguishing, relatively enduring way in

which one individual differs from another

• Personality is linked to how consumers make their choices– to consumption of a broad product category

• not a specific brand

Trait Theory

1. Innovativeness

2. Dogmatism

3. Social character

4. Need for uniqueness

5. Optimum stimulation level

6. Variety-novelty seeking

• The degree to which consumers are receptive to new products, new services, or new practices

Trait Theory

• Innovativeness• Dogmatism• Social character• Need for uniqueness• Optimum stimulation

level• Variety-novelty

seeking

• A personality trait that reflects the degree of rigidity a person displays toward the unfamiliar and toward information that is contrary to his or her own established beliefs

Trait Theory



seeking

• Ranges on a continuum for inner-directedness to other-directedness

• Inner-directedness – rely on own values when

evaluating products– Innovators

• Other-directedness– look to others– less likely to be innovators

Trait Theory



seeking

• Consumers who avoid appearing to conform to expectations or standards of others

Trait Theory



seeking

• A personality trait that measures the level or amount of novelty or complexity that individuals seek in their personal experiences

• High OSL consumers tend to accept risky and novel products more readily than low OSL consumers.

Trait Theory



seeking

• Measures a consumer’s degree of variety seeking

• Examples include:– Exploratory Purchase

Behavior– Use Innovativeness– Vicarious Exploration

Cognitive Personality Factors

• Need for cognition (NC)– A person’s craving for enjoyment of thinking– Individual with high NC more likely to respond to ads

rich in product information

• Visualizers versus verbalizers– A person’s preference for information presented

visually or verbally– Verbalizers prefer written information over graphics

and images.

Consumer Materialism to Compulsive Consumption

• Consumer materialism

• Fixated consumption behavior

• Compulsive consumption behavior

• The extent to which a person is considered “materialistic”

• Consumers fixated on certain products or categories of products

• “Addicted” or “out-of-control” consumers

Consumer Materialism

Compulsive Buying• When I have money, I cannot help

but spend part or the whole of it.

• I am often impulsive in my buying behavior.

• As soon as I enter a shopping center, I have an irresistible urge to go into a shop to buy something.

• I am one of those people who often responds to direct mail offers.

• I have often bought a product that I did not need, while knowing I had very little money left.

Consumer Ethnocentrism

• Ethnocentric consumers feel it is wrong to purchase foreign-made products

• They can be targeted by stressing nationalistic themes

Brand Personality

• Personality-like traits associated with brands• Examples

– Liril and freshness– Nike and athlete– IIM’s are performance driven– Ruf & Tuf Jeans are dependable and rugged

• Brand personality which is strong and favorable will strengthen a brand but not necessarily demand a price premium

Brand Personality

Brand Personality Framework

Brand Personality

Product Personality Issues• Gender

– Often used for brand personalities

– Some product perceived as masculine while others as feminine

• Geography– Actual locations like Banarasi

Saree and Karachi Halwa– Fictitious names also used

such as Hidden Valley and Church Gate

• Color– Color combinations in

packaging and products denotes personality

Colour of Personality

Personality Associations of Colors

BLUEBLUE Commands respect, authority

•IBM holds the title to blue•Men seek products packaged in blue•Houses painted blue are avoided•Low-calorie, skim milk

RED Human, exciting, hot, passionate, strong

•Makes food “smell” better

•Coca-Cola “owns” red

YELLOWYELLOW Caution, novelty, temporary, warmth

•Eyes register it faster

•Sells a house


ORANGEORANGE Powerful, affordable, informal

•Draws attention quickly

WHITE Goodness, purity, chastity, cleanliness, delicacy, refinement, formality

•Suggests reduced calories•Pure and wholesome food•Clean, bath products, feminine

GREENGREEN Secure, natural, relaxed or easy- going, living things

•Good work

•environment

•Associated with vegetables


Brown

Informal and relaxed, masculine, nature

•Coffee in a dark-brown can was “too strong”

SILVER / GOLD

Regal, wealthy, stately

•Suggests premium price

BLACK Sophistication, power, authority

•Powerful clothing•High-tech electronics

Self and Self-Image

• Consumers have a variety of enduring images of themselves

• These images are associated with personality

• Individuals consumption relates to self-image

Self Image

Marketing Concept

• One or multiple selves

• Makeup of the self-image

• Extended self• Altering the self-

image

• Same consumer acts differently in different situations or with different people

• People have a variety of social roles

• Marketers can target products to a particular “self”

Different Situations Different Products

Marketing Concept


• Makeup of the self -image


image

• Contains traits, skills, habits, possessions, relationships and way of behavior

• Developed through background, experience and interaction with others

• Consumers select products congruent with their image

Enhancing Product Image

Marketing Concept




image

• Possessions can extend self in a number of ways:– Actually – Symbolically– Conferring status or

rank– Bestowing feelings of

immortality– Endowing with magical

powers

Product as an Extended Self

Marketing Concept



• Extended self• Altering the self -

image

• Consumers use self-altering products to express individualism by– Creating new self– Maintaining the

existing self– Extending the self– Conforming

Altering Self Image

Bibliography• Lindquist, Jay D. and Sirgy, M Joseph. Consumer Behaviour. New Delhi: Cenage Learning India

Private Limited, 2009.• Hawkins, Del I., Best, Roger J., Coney, Kenneth A. and Mookerjee, Amit. Consumer Behaviour:

Building Marketing Strategy. Ninth Edition New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, 2007.

• Schiffman, Leon G. and Kanuk, Leslie L. Consumer Behaviour. Ninth Edition. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. Licenses of Pearson Education in South Asia, 2009.

• Loudon, David L. and Della Britta, Albert J. Consumer Behaviour. Fourth Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, 2002.

• Assael, Henry. Consumer Behaviour: A Strategic Approach. New Delhi: Biztantra, An Imprint of Dreamtech Press. By arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Co., USA, 2009.

• Khan, Martin. Consumer Behaviour. Second Edition. New Delhi: New Age International (P) Limited, 2004.

• Nair, Suja R. Consumer Behaviour in Indian Perspective. Mumbai: Himalya Publishing House, 2007.

• Kumar, S Ramesh. Consumer Behaviour and Branding: Concepts Reading and Cases. Noida: Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. Licenses of Pearson Education in South Asia, 2009.

• Gupta, S.L. and Pal Sumitra. Consumer Behaviour: An Indian Perspective. New Delhi: Sultan Chand & Sons, 2001.

• Datta, Debraj and Datta Mahua. Consumer Behaviour & Advertising Management. Delhi: Vrinda Publications (P) Ltd., 2009.

• Acknowledgements: for images and advertisement frames.– Sahara India, Cadbury India, Pepsi, HUL, Project Tiger, Bacardi, Nokia India, Nerolac, Sony India– realbollywood.com, beaconhillacademy.org, leftwingconspiracy.com, anunews.net

Personality

Documents

Transcript of Personality