CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

SESSION: VIII

The Consumer As An Individual: Psychological Influences on Consumer Decision

Making

PERSONALITY AND SELF IMAGE-Influence on Buying Behavior

Instructor: Dr. S. Sahney

Visiting Faculty, IIM Raipur

Source: Schiffman and , Kanuk, Wells and Prensky, Peter and Olson, Loudon and Bitta

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What is Personality?

The study of personality has been approached by theorists in a variety of ways.  Some have emphasized the dual influence of heredity and early childhood experiences on personality development; Others have stressed broader social and environmental influences and the fact that personalities develop continuously over time.  Some theorists prefer to view personality as a unified whole; others focus on specific traits.  The wide variation in view points makes it difficult to arrive at a single definition. 2

Personality be defined as those inner psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect how a person responds to his or her environment.  The emphasis is on inner characteristics—those specific qualities, attributes, traits, factors, and mannerisms that distinguish one individual from other individuals. An individual's personality develops as a result of a lifetime of interactions.  It is important to recognize this social dimension of psychological makeup.  A personality is not something a person is born with; rather, it is strongly linked to the culture, values, and demographics of the environment in which he or she grew up.  

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These deeply ingrained characteristics are likely to influence:

-the individual's product choices (and even certain brand choices);

-the way the consumer responds to a firm's promotional efforts;

-when, where, and how they consume particular products or services.  Therefore, the identification of specific personality characteristics associated with consumer behavior may be highly useful in the development of a firm's market segmentation strategies.   4

a) A personality trait is a person's predisposition to behave in a particular way when interacting with his or her environment to achieve needs and desires in a specific area of the person's life. In other words, personality traits are the specific predispositions that comprise the personality an individual exhibits.  b) A personality type is a group of people that share common personality traits and can therefore be expected to act similarly.

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THE NATURE OF PERSONALITY:

1. Personality reflects individual differences: However, individuals tend to be similar in terms of a single personality characteristic.

2. Personality is consistent and enduring: An individual's personality is commonly thought to be both consistent and enduring.  It cannot be changed quickly or easily; it represents the cumulative effects of past interactions, and even significant shifts in current circumstances have great inertia to overcome.

 3. Personality can change: Although personality tends to be consistent and enduring, it may still change under certain circumstances.  An individual's personality changes not only in response to abrupt events, but also as pan of a gradual maturing process.

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Even though an individual's personality may be consistent, consumption behavior often varies considerably because of psychological, sociocultural, and environmental factors that affect behavior.

The stable nature of personality suggests that it is unreasonable for marketers to attempt to change consumers' personalities to conform to certain products.

 

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THEORIES OF PERSONALITY: (1)    Freudian theory (2)   Jungian Theory

(3) Neo-Freudian theory (4)    Trait theory.

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1. Freudian Theory:

Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality is the cornerstone of modern psychology.  This theory was built on the premise that:- unconscious needs or drives are at the heart of human motivation and personality.- Society socializes its members and the effects of socialization are tremendous on individual behavior.

Freudian researchers tend to focus on consumer purchases and/or consumption situations, treating them as a reflection and an extension of the consumer's own personality.  In other words, one's appearance and possessions—how well groomed one is, what one wears, carries, and displays—are taken to reflect the individual's personality.  

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A Brand Personality: Consumers tend to ascribe various descriptive "personality-like" traits or characteristics to different brands in a wide variety of product categories.  Consumers not only ascribe personality traits to products and services, but also they tend to associate personality factors with specific colors.

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Freudian Theory and Consumer Behavior:

Freudian theory offers several useful insights that can be applied to segmentation.  It may be useful to segment consumers on the basis of the personality system that drives their interaction style.  

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2. Jungian Personality types:

Carl Jung: Contemporary and colleague of Freud.  His contribution to modem psychology is extensive and his theories and insights pertaining to personality types are especially relevant to consumer behavior.  

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Jung's personality types have been made particularly useful for marketers by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicators (a personality inventory) that measures the following pairs of Jungian-inspired psychological dimensions: (1) sensing-intuiting, (2) thinking-feeling, (3) extroversion-introversion, and (4) judging-perceiving.  Each of these four pairs of dimensions reflects two distinctly different personality characteristics that offer a picture as to how consumers respond to the world around them. 

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To avoid complexity, recent researchers have investigated the consumption relevance of just two pairs of dimensions (i.e., sensing-intuiting and thinking-feeling).  The sensing (S) and intuiting (N) dimensions capture how consumers find out about "things" (obtaining and processing information).

The thinking (T) and feeling (F) dimensions are opposite ways of making decisions (decision styles).  By cross-tabulating the specific characteristics of the two pairs of psychological dimensions, four possible personality types are derived (See Table).  

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  Thinking (T) Feeling (F)

Sensing (S) Sensing-Thinking (ST)

Sensing-Feeling (SF)

Intuiting (N) Intuiting-Thinking (NT))

Intuiting-Feeling (NF)

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3. Neo-Freudian Personality Theory:

Neo-Freudians believed that social relationships are fundamental to the formation and development of personality.  a) Alfred Adler viewed human beings as seeking to attain various rational goals, which he called style of life.

 He also placed much emphasis on the individual's efforts to overcome feelings of inferiority (i.e., to strive for superiority).b) Harry Stack Sullivan, another neo-Freudian, stressed that people continuously attempt to establish significant and rewarding relationships with others.  He was particularly concerned with the individual's efforts to reduce tensions, such as anxiety.

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c) Like Sullivan, Karen Horney was also interested in anxiety.  She focused on the impact of child-parent relationships and especially on the individual's desire to conquer feelings of anxiety.

 Horney proposed that individuals be classified into three personality groups: compliant, aggressive, and detached.

1. Compliant individuals are those who move toward others (they desire to be loved, wanted and appreciated).  2. Aggressive individuals are those who move against others (they desire to excel and win admiration).  3. Detached individuals are those who move away from others (they desire independence, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and freedom from obligations).

 A personality test based on Horney's theory (i.e., the CAD) has been developed and tested within the context of consumer behavior for the compliant, aggressive, and detached personality types.

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Marketers have used some of these neo-Freudian theories intuitively.

-For example, that compliant consumers would be more likely to use mouthwash and deodorant soaps to ease their path toward others; so the marketer could position his product accordingly.

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4. Trait Theory: -Trait theorists recognize the importance of personality but focus on the specific personality traits that emerge from the individual's psychological development process.  -Trait theories explicitly seek to classify individuals into groups of people who share personality types.  -In doing so, they first identify certain personality traits and then classify individuals on the basis of the configuration of the traits they possess.

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The orientation of trait theory is primarily quantitative or empirical;  It focuses on the measurement of personality in terms of specific psychological characteristics, called traits.  A trait is defined as ". .. any distinguishing, relatively enduring way in which one individual differs from another.“The theories can be further divided into: 1. Simple trait theories: Simple trait theories identify a limited number of traits that define personality and classify individuals based on their level of those traits. 2. General trait theories: By contrast, general trait theories measure a wide variety of traits.

 

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Trait theorists are concerned with the construction of personality tests (or inventories) that pinpoint individual differences in terms of specific traits.

Selected single-trait personality tests (which measure just one trait, such as self-confidence) are increasingly being developed specifically for use in consumer behavior studies.

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 These tests measure such traits as:-consumer innovativeness (how receptive a person is to new experiences)-consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (SUSCEP gauges how consumers respond to social influence)-consumer materialism (assesses the degree of consumer's attachment to "world" possessions), and,-consumer ethnocentrism (CETSCALE identifies consumer's likelihood to accept or reject foreign-made products). The Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) is an example of a personality trait measurement instrument that has been widely used in consumer behavior.

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Trait Theory and Consumer Behavior:

-Seems to be a more practical approach than Freudian developmental theory for understanding consumer behavior,

 -Focuses on a consumer's current personality configuration to understand how it affects other aspects of his or her behavior.  -Unfortunately, traits have proved to be elusive.  -Research has shown there is little evidence that trait theories can be used effectively to analyze consumer behavior. -Nevertheless, tests are widely used.

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PERSONALITY AND UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER DIVERSITY: -Marketers are interested in understanding how personality influences consumption behavior. -Such knowledge enables them to better understand consumers and, more appropriately, to segment and target those consumers who are likely to respond positively their product or service communications.

I Consumer Innovativeness and Related Personality Traits

II Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence:

III Cognitive Personality Factors

IV Consumer Ethnocentrism: Responses to Foreign-Made Products: 26

I Consumer Innovativeness and Related Personality Traits:Marketers must learn about consumers who are likely to try new products, services, or practices. The market response of such innovators is often crucial to the ultimate success of a new product or service. Personality traits that have proved useful in differentiating between consumer innovators and noninnovators include:-          consumer innovativeness, -          dogmatism, -          social character, -          optimum stimulation level, and -          variety-novelty seeking. 27

a) Consumer Innovativeness:

-How receptive consumers are to new products, new services, or new practices? -Consumer researchers have endeavored to develop measurement instruments to gauge the level of consumer innovativeness. -Why? Because such personality trait measures provide insights into the nature and boundaries of a consumer's willingness to innovate.

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b) Dogmatism: -A personality trait that measures the degree of rigidity individuals display toward the unfamiliar and toward information that is contrary to their own established beliefs.

 

-          High Dogmatism-          Low Dogmatism

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High dogmatism:-A person who is highly dogmatic approaches the unfamiliar defensively and with considerable discomfort and uncertainty. -Highly dogmatic (closed-minded) consumers are more likely to choose established, rather than innovative, product alternatives.

 Low dogmatism:-A person who is low in dogmatism will readily consider unfamiliar or opposing beliefs.

-Consumers who are low in dogmatism (open-minded) are more likely to prefer innovative products to established or traditional alternatives.

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It is likely that highly dogmatic consumers will be more accepting of ads for new products or services that contain an authoritative appeal.

-Marketers have used celebrities and particularly experts in their new-product advertising to make it easier for potentially reluctant consumers (noninnovators) to accept the innovation.  

In contrast, low-dogmatic consumers (who are frequently high in innovativeness) seem to be more receptive to messages that stress factual differences

and product benefits. 31

c)  Social Character:

Social character is a personality trait that ranges on a continuum from inner-directedness to other-directedness.  Inner-directedness:

Inner-directed consumers tend to rely on their own "inner" values or standards in evaluating new products and are likely to be consumer innovators.

 Other-directed consumers:

Other-directed consumers tend to look to others for direction on what is "right" or "wrong"; thus, they are less likely to be consumer innovators. 32

Inner- and other-directed consumers also may be attracted to different types of promotional messages.  Inner-directed people seem to prefer ads that stress product features and personal benefits (enabling them to use their own values and standards in evaluating products). Other-directed people seem to prefer ads that feature a social environment or social acceptance (in keeping with their tendency to look to others for direction).

 Thus, other-directed individuals may be more easily influenced because of their natural inclination to go beyond the content of an ad and think in terms of likely social approval of a potential purchase.

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d) Optimum Stimulation Level:

Some people seem to prefer a simple, uncluttered, and calm existence, while others seem to prefer an environment crammed with novel, complex, and unusual experiences.  Variations in need for stimulation may be influenced by selected personality traits and in turn these affect consumer behavior.  High optimum stimulation levels (OSLs) and Low optimum stimulation levels (OSLs) High optimum stimulation levels (OSLs) are linked with more willingness to take risks, to try new products, to be innovative, to seek purchase-related information, and to accept new retail facilities. 34

OSL also seems to reflect a person's desired level of lifestyle stimulation. For instance, if consumers' actual lifestyles are equivalent to their OSL scores, then they are likely to be quite satisfied.  On the other hand, if their lifestyles are understimulated (i.e., their OSL is greater than current reality), they are likely to be bored;  If their lifestyles are overstimulated (i.e., their OSL is lower than current reality), they are likely to seek rest or relief.  

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This suggests that the relationship between consumers' lifestyles and their OSLs is likely to influence their choices of products or services and how they manage and spend their time.  For instance, a person who feels bored (an understimulated consumer) is likely to be attracted to a vacation that offers much activity and an exciting time.  In contrast, a person who feels overwhelmed (an overstimulated consumer) is likely to seek a quiet, isolated, relaxing, and rejuvenating vacation.

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e) Variety-Novelty Seeking:

- There appear to be many different types of variety seeking: i) exploratory purchase behavior (e.g., switching brands to experience new and possibly better alternatives),  ii) vicarious exploration (e.g., where the consumer secures information about a new or different alternative and then contemplates about the option), and  iii) use innovativeness (e.g., where the consumer uses an already adopted product in a new or novel way): buying products with novel

features, multiple features and multiple uses or applications. 

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II Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence: -Consumer researchers are engaged in pinpointing the traits of consumers who are likely to be responsive to the influence of others - Consumer Susceptibility.  -Developed a twelve-item scale (called "SUSCEP") designed to measure consumers' susceptibility to interpersonal influence/social influence.

-The SUSCEP measure should prove useful in examining how social influence operates to encourage and discourage the acceptance of new products and services.

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-According to the underlying theory upon which the scale was developed, there are three types of interpersonal influence:

(1) information influence, which is the tendency to accept information from others as evidence about reality,  (2) value-expressive influence, which captures consumers desires to enhance their standing with others by being similar to them, and  (3) utilitarian influence, where consumers conform with the wishes of others to obtain a reward or avoid punishment.

Testing of the SUSCEP scale shows that individuals who scored higher on susceptibility to interpersonal influence were less self-confident than consumers who scored lower on susceptibility to interpersonal influence.  

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III Cognitive Personality Factors:

Two cognitive personality traits:

-visualizers versus verbalizers

-need for cognition

have shown signs of being useful in understanding selected aspects of consumer behavior. 

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a) Visualizers versus Verbalizers: Visualizers (consumers who prefer visual information and products that stress the visual)  Verbalizers (consumers who prefer written or verbal information and products, such as membership in book clubs)

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b) Need for Cognition:

- Measures a person's craving for or enjoyment of thinking.  -Consumers who are high in NC are more likely to be responsive to the part of an ad that is rich in product-related information or description and unresponsive to the contextual or peripheral aspects of the ad, such as the presence of a celebrity endorser.  -In contrast, those consumers who are relatively low in NC are more likely to be attracted to the background or peripheral aspects of an ad, such as an attractive model or well-known celebrity.   42

Other research suggests that:- consumers who are high in NC are more likely to be partial to cool colors (e.g., blue and green) than those who are low in NC and that individuals with a high need for cognition spend more time processing print advertisements, which results in superior brand and ad claim recall.

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IV Consumer Ethnocentrism: Responses to Foreign-Made Products:

In an effort to distinguish between consumer segments that are likely to be receptive to foreign-made products and those that are not, researchers have developed and tested the consumer ethnocentrism scale, called CETSCALE.  The CETSCALE results have been encouraging in terms of identifying consumers with a predisposition to accept (or reject) foreign-made products.

Consumers who are highly ethnocentric are likely to feel that it is inappropriate or wrong to purchase foreign-made products because of the economic impact on the domestic economy. Nonethnocentric consumers tend to evaluate foreign-made products more objectively for their extrinsic characteristics.  44

GENERAL AND CONSUMPTION-SPECIFIC PERSONALITY TRAITS: A general personality trait is one that invariably affects an individual across a range of situations, both those that are consumption-related and those that are not. Self-confidence, shyness, and aggressiveness are all general personality traits.  A consumption-specific personality trait affects the consumer only in situations related to consumption and does not extend its influence into nonconsumption situations. Eg. Product innovativeness.

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General Personality Traits Influencing Consumer Behavior 46

General Personality Traits Influencing Consumer Behavior 47

Consumption Specific Personality Traits Influencing Consumer Behavior 48

Understanding consumer personality and personality traits helps marketers to: • Position brands to enhance their appeal to target consumers by communicating the brand benefits that match consumers' personality types. • Modify all promotional messages as a direct function of consumers' personality and their tendency to respond to advertising content. • Identify the extent to which consumers of the product category are value conscious and market accordingly.

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