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Motivation and Values

By Michael R. Solomon

Consumer BehaviorBuying, Having, and Being

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The Motivation Process

• Motivation:– The processes that lead people to behave as they

do. It occurs when a need arises that a consumer wishes to satisfy.

• Utilitarian need: Provides a functional or practical benefit

• Hedonic need: An experiential need involving emotional responses or fantasies

• Goal:– The end state that is desired by the consumer.

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The Motivation Process

• Drive:– The degree of arousal present due to a discrepancy between

the consumer’s present state and some ideal state

• Want:– A manifestation of a need created by personal and cultural

factors.

• Motivation can be described in terms of:– Strength: The pull it exerts on the consumer

– Direction: The particular way the consumer attempts to reduce motivational tension

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Ads Reinforce Desired States

• This ad for exercise shows men a desired state (as dictated by contemporary Western culture), and suggests a solution (purchase of equipment) to attain it.

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Motivational Strength

• Biological vs. Learned Needs:– Instinct: Innate patterns of behavior universal in a species– Tautology: Circular explanation (e.g. instinct is inferred

from the behavior it is supposed to explain)

• Drive Theory:– Biological needs produce unpleasant states of arousal. We

are motivated to reduce tension caused by this arousal.– Homeostasis: A balanced state of arousal

• Expectancy Theory:– Behavior is pulled by expectations of achieving desirable

outcomes – positive incentives – rather than pushed from within

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Motivational Direction

• Needs Versus Wants:– Want: The particular form of consumption used to satisfy

a need.

• Types of Needs– Biogenic needs: Needs necessary to maintain life– Psychogenic needs: Culture-related needs (e.g. need for

status, power, affiliation, etc.)– Utilitarian needs: Implies that consumers will emphasize

the objective, tangible aspects of products– Hedonic needs: Subjective and experiential needs (e.g.

excitement, self-confidence, fantasy, etc.)

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Instant Gratification of Needs

• We expect today’s technical products to satisfy our needs – instantly.

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Motivational Conflicts• Approach-Approach Conflict:

– A person must choose between two desirable alternatives.– Theory of Cognitive Dissonance: A state of tension occurs

when beliefs or behaviors conflict with one another.• Cognitive Dissonance Reduction: Process by which

people are motivated to reduce tension between beliefs or behaviors.

• Approach-Avoidance Conflict:– Exists when consumers desire a goal but wish to avoid it at

the same time.

• Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict:– Consumers face a choice between two undesirable

alternatives.

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Three Types of Motivational Conflicts

Figure 4.1

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Solutions to Approach-Avoidance Conflict

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Negative Consequences

• The Partnership for a Drug-Free America points out the negative consequences of drug addiction for those who are tempted to start.

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Classifying Consumer Needs

• Henry Murray need dimensions:– Autonomy: Being independent– Defendance: Defending the self against criticism– Play: Engaging in pleasurable activities

• Thematic Apperception(idrak) Technique (TAT):– (1) What is happening?– (2) What led up to this situation?– (3) What is being thought?– (4) What will happen?– People freely project their subconscious needs

onto the stimulus

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Classifying Consumer Needs (cont.)

• Specific Needs and Buying Behavior:– Need for achievement: To attain personal accomplishment– Need for affiliation: To be in the company of others– Need for power: To control one’s environment– Need for uniqueness: To assert one’s individual identity

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:– A hierarchy of biogenic and psychogenic needs that

specifies certain levels of motives.

• Paradise: Satisfying Needs?– Distinct differences regarding the conceptualization of

paradise between American and Dutch college students

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Figure 4.2

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Dutch Conception of Paradise

• A Dutch respondent’s collage emphasizes this person’s conception of paradise as a place where there is interpersonal harmony and concern for the environment.

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Criticisms of Maslow’s Hierarchy

• The application is too simplistic:– It is possible for the same product or activity to satisfy

every need.

• It is too culture-bound:– The assumptions of the hierarchy may be restricted to

Western culture

• It emphasizes individual needs over group needs– Individuals in some cultures place more value on the

welfare of the group (belongingness needs) than the needs of the individual (esteem needs)

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Consumer Involvement

• Involvement:– A person’s perceived relevance of the object based

on his/her inherent needs, values, and interests.• Object: A product or brand

• Levels of Involvement: Inertia to Passion– Type of information processing depends on the

consumer’s level of involvement• Simple processing: Only the basic features of the

message are considered• Elaboration: Incoming information is linked to

preexisting knowledge

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Conceptualizing Involvement

Figure 4.3

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Increasing Involvement through Ads

• The Swiss Potato Board is trying to increase involvement with its product. The ad reads, “Recipes against boredom.”

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Consumer Involvement (cont.)

• Involvement as a Continuum:– Ranges from disinterest to obsession

• Inertia (Low involvement consumption):– Consumer lacks the motivation to consider alternatives

• Flow State (High involvement consumption):– Consumer is truly involved with the product, ad or web site

• Cult Products:– Command fierce consumer loyalty and perhaps worship by

consumers who are highly involved in the product

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Example of a Cult Product

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The Many Faces of Involvement

• Product Involvement:– Related to a consumer’s level of interest in a

particular product

• Message-Response Involvement:– (a.k.a. advertising involvement) Refers to a

consumer’s interest in processing marketing communications

• Purchase Situation Involvement:– Refers to the differences that may occur when

buying the same product for different contexts

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Emotions versus Cognitions

• Many marketing messages, such as this ad for a cosmetic company in Taiwan, focus on emotions rather than cognitions.

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Customizing for Product Involvement

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Measuring Involvement

• Teasing out the Dimensions of Involvement:– Involvement Profile:

• Personal interest in a product category

• Risk importance

• Probability of making a bad purchase

• Pleasure value of the product category

• How closely the product is related to the self

– Zaichkowsky’s Personal Involvement Inventory Scale

• Segmenting by Involvement Levels:– Involvement is a useful basis for market segmentation

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High Involvement

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Strategies to Increase Involvement

• Appeal to hedonic needs– e.g. using sensory appeals to generate attention

• Use novel stimuli– e.g. unusual cinematography, sudden silences, etc.

• Use prominent stimuli– e.g. larger ads, more color

• Include celebrity endorsers• Build a bond with consumers

– Maintain an ongoing relationship with consumers

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Values• Value:

– A belief that some condition is preferable to its opposite (e.g. freedom is better than slavery)

• Core Values:– General set of values that uniquely define a culture

• Value system: A culture’s unique set of rankings of the relative importance of universal values.

– Enculturation:• Process of learning the value systems of one’s own

culture– Acculturation:

• Process of learning the value system of another culture– Cultural beliefs are taught by socialization agents (i.e.,

parents, friends, and teachers)

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Core Values

• Cleanliness is a core value in many cultures.

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Application of Values to Consumer Behavior

• Useful distinctions in values for consumer behavior research– Cultural Values (e.g. security or happiness)– Consumption-Specific Values (e.g. convenient

shopping or prompt service)– Product-Specific Values (e.g. ease-of-use or

durability)

• Virtually all consumer research is ultimately related to identification and measurement of values.

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Emotions versus Cognitions

• The positive value we place on the activities of large corporations is changing among some consumers who prefer to go “anticorporate.” This ad for a coffee shop in Boulder, Colorado reflects that sentiment.

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Measuring Cultural Values

• The Rokeach Value Survey– Terminal Values: Desired end states– Instrumental Values: Actions needed to achieve

terminal values

• The List of Values (LOV) Scale– Developed to isolate values with more direct

marketing applications– Identifies nine (9) consumer segments based on the

values they endorse– Relates each value to differences in consumption

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The Means-End Chain Model

• Laddering: – A technique that uncovers consumers’ associations between

attributes and consequences• Hierarchical value maps:

– Show how product attributes are linked to desired end states• Means-End Conceptualization of the

Components of Advertising Strategy (MECCAS):

• Message Elements• Consumer Benefits• Executional Framework• Leverage Point• Driving Force

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Syndicated Surveys

• Large-scale commercial surveys• Voluntary simplifiers:

– Believe that once basic needs are sated, additional income does not add to happiness.

• Examples:– VALS 2– GlobalScan– New Wave– Lifestyles Study

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Materialism

• Materialism:– The importance people attach to worldly possessions– Tends to emphasize the well-being of the individual

versus the group– People with highly material values tend to be less

happy– America is a highly materialistic society– There are a number of anti-materialism movements

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Values of Materialists

• Materialists value visible symbols of success such as expensive watches.