Mod: 8 – Family Influences

What is a Family? A group of two or more people living together who may be related by blood, marriage or adoption.

Nuclear Family – Immediate Family.

Extended Family – Grandparents cousins and the list goes on.

Family of Origin – The family that you are born into.

Family of Procreation

Every family is a primary group because of the face-to-face interaction. Families may also be reference groups as long as members refer to family values as a guide to their own decisions and actions.

Changes in FamilyThe extended family is now pretty rare in western countries.It is now also pretty rare for the man to be the sole bread winner.The rate of divorce has also increased.

HouseholdsHouseholds are based on where people live together rather than with whom.People living together in institutions are not considered households. People who live alone are considered a household.

Socialization The way in which an individual child becomes an adult and a functioning member of his society. Socialization is a two way process.

Age Family Household Non-Family Household Institution0-18 Family of Origin18-22 College/Army22-28 Sharing house/roomates28-38 Procreation family38-43 Divorced43-78 Step Parent78-85 Nursing home

ChildhoodSome babies are more active than others this effects how people will react to them in turn shaping their socialization process.

Effects of InstitutionsFamily - Crucial in determining a child’s adult personality. The parents are know it alls therefore their way of dealing with the world becomes the child’s way. School – Here the child actually becomes part of the world and must deal with it alone. Children learn how to behave in an extremely complex mass society and maintain and develop their own individuality.As children go through school their peers will become more important in influencing them than their parents.Nation State – National governments are the legitimate source of social power in a given country. Different nation states may produce different adult social beings with different outlooks on the world.

Consumer Socialization Parents do not give specific training in this area they act as role models.Co-shopping usually is a mother child thing and it is a useful way to spend time together in today’s busy world. On these trips children learn about budgeting, choosing between products, brands and quality. Co-shopping once again is a two way process. Children may become role models for their parents when shopping for such stuff as VCRs and CDs.

Family Buying DecisionsThe instrumental role is one of providing material support and leadership and is usually assumed by the father. Wereas the mother would perform the expressive role of giving emotional support and aesthetic expression.Family buying roles:

1. Initiator2. Influencer3. Decider4. Buyer5. User6. Gatekeeper

Either the:1. husband or wife may be dominant.2. The partners may be autonomic – an equal number of joint decisions

are made by each.3. The partners may be syncratic – decisions are made jointly.

Resolving conflicts4 major strategies may be used in Conflicts:1. Coercion: By expertise, authority and/or threats.2. Persuasion3. Bargaining4. Manipulation

Changing RolesMost families will go to great lengths to avoid open conflict.Studies of people buying houses showed that they did not act rationally but rather muddled through the process. People were not aware of their partners preferences or even their own until the process got under way.With greater sexual equality decisions are becoming less husband or wife specific with more discussion and negotiation taking place.Although attitudes have changes behavior usually lags behind.

Life Cycle EffectsConsumer Life Cycle Changes:

1. Bachelor2. Newly Married3. Full nest I –Children under 64. Full nest ii – Children 6-125. Full nest iii – Children in teens6. Empty nest I – Children left home7. Empty nest ii – Retired and Children left home 8. Solitary survivor9. Retired solitary survivor

Non Family HouseholdsNow about 30% of American households. Single people tend to be more insecure and spend more on the way they present themselves to the pulic.

Mod: 9 – Social and Developmental Issues

Maturation – The process of growth and development which are common to all members of a species and appear regardless of individual heredity or environment.Maturation happens at it’s own pace. No amount of encouragement will speed up the maturation process.

Stages of DevelopmentJean Piaget defined 4 stages of development:

1. Sensory Motor Stage – (0 to 2 years) The major achievement is object constancy.

2. Preoperational Stage – (2 to 7 years) Acquisition of language and use of symbols.

3. Concrete Operations Stage – (7 to 11) Can understand the Law of Conservation and can classify people into more than one group.

4. Formal Operations Stage –(11 years on) The use of logical reasoning in solving problems.

Piaget found out that children perceived differently than adults. And that children in different stages gave the same kinds of wrong answers.Child development does not happen gradually but in leaps.

Assimilation and AccommodationChildren can assimilate new information into their cognitive system. Sometimes however the new material requires that they change their whole way of thinking. This is called accommodation.

From Egocentric to ReciprocalEgocentric – During the early years the child can visualize the world but can not imagine how it would look to someone else.As the child develops he decentres from himself and learns reciprocity, a cognitive achievement that allows him to deal with equity, impartiality, and fairness. They learn how to play the game bay fair rules even if it means loosing.

Differences make more sense than similarities.

Language and CultureLanguage reflects the things that are important to the people that speak it.The language that a person speaks affects the way that person perceives the worldThe manipulation of language by marketers is such a pervasive feature of our consumer environment that we have been socialized not only to accept it but perhaps not even to notice it.Message Meaning Tourist class second classImposing residence Ugly housePremium product Expensive

Development of Economic ConceptsUnlike the mental capacities studied by Piaget economic concepts are learned.Children who have experience of handling money have a better understanding of it at an earlier age than children who don’t.Phase I: Pre –economicUnder 7. Children do not have an understanding of money.Phase II: 7-14 Micro-economicChildren understand money on the micro level of buying and selling and what it can do for them.Phase III: over 14 Macro-economicChildren learn about the institutions that link money and economies like banks.

External Influences On consumer SocializationParentsThe mother-child influence is of specific consumer importance. It is likely that more educated mothers are better able to help their children understand the economic concepts surrounding consumerism.Having an allowance seems to help children develop economic and consumer understanding at an earlier age. Middle class children tend to receive less of an allowance than working class children but they also tend to save more of it.School - there are 3 ways in which school contributes to consumer socialization:

1. Peers – Peers opinions are more important than parents. It is crucial to play the right, games have the right toys and wear the right clothing.

2. Teachers – Are not trusted any more than parents.

3. Courses – Courses like economics help.

Social NormsA norm is a behavior that is expected of people in a society and is considered normal.By studying norms we can predict the behavior of others with a high degree of accuracy. Such prediction is necessary for social life to exist.Children in Zimbabwe have been found to have a better understanding of the concept of profit than British children because trade was more prevalent.

Marketing and AdvertisingIn Britain and Canada direct advertising to children is forbidden.How justified is this?Children are not passive recipients of messages. Children are able to make the distinction between advertisements and programs.In the America children view about 20,000 advertisements a year! These advertisements show fun rather than give real information.Advertisers claim that children watch tv at home under the guidance of parents. But how many parents watch children’s programs?

Mod: 10 – The Influence of Small Groups

A group is two or more people who regard themselves as a collectivity and interact with each other while sharing the same norms.

Types of GroupsPrimary groups are small face to face groups, typically around 4 to 8 people. Most of us belong to several such groups as these at any given time.Secondary groups are to large to be considered primary usually above 20 people. Members of a dental association or of religions are examples.Formal groupsInformal groupsMembership group – As a child you have no choice about this as an adult you do.Reference group – is the group with which people identify. If people feel good about their membership group then it will also be their reference group. If not then their reference group will be their aspirational or symbolic group. Reference groups have become very important to consumer behavior study!

Properties of Group LifeUnintended group influence Couples tend to have similar patterns of consumer behavior to each other, patterns that are systematically different fromother couples who met in different kinds of neighborhoods. This is an extension of Geodemographic segmentation.

Word of mouth and Opinion LeadershipFriendship patterns are important to CB because ones friends are the source of advise and word of mouth referrals. Opinion leaders leadership is situational depending upon the following:

1. It is usually specific to a particular product or category.2. It is a relationship between at least 2 people where the influence goes

both ways.Opinion leaders are sometimes known as Market Mavens.

Conditions Necessary for someone to exert consumer influence:1. There is an ongoing personal relationship.2. The other person is an expert or knowledgeable in the field.3. You do not personally have the information to evaluate the product.4. You do not trust the vendor’s sale pitch.

Group Norms and the Power of ConformityAs adults group norms have become so internalized that we are non even conscious of them. It is only when we have to go against a norm that we learn how powerful it is.Conformity is the Norm!

Solomon Asch did the line experiment on groups of six people 5 of which were confederates. The most important factor was weather the majority was unanimous or not.

Cruchfield did away with confederates and validated Asch’s results by making up to 80% of his subjects agree with statements that were clearly false.

Stanley Milgram Did the shock experiments. Only about a third of the subjects refused to give the high voltage shocks.

Conformity and consumer Norms1. Most of us feel uncomfortable if our buying behavior is out of step

with the people around us for example not owning a TV.2. People who do not mind such conformity are likely to be opinion

leaders. Especially of new products and innovations.3. It might just take the support of one other person to make conformity

resistable.4. Most of us accept some silly opinions if they seem to be the norm of

our group. For example Bermuda shorts are attractive. The whole fashion industry is based on this.

With no real competition on a product it is hard for us to know how conformist as apposed to manipulated we are. The car has remained basically the same since 1913. While the state of the art home entertainment system has gone from a piano to what we have today! It is Ironic that the most advanced Manufacturing companies in the world regard the consumer As a valued colleague to be consulted rather than manipulated.

5 types of PowerPower1. Reward2. Coercive3. Legitimate4. Referent5. Expert

Reference Groups and Consumer BehaviorDirect Influences In Asch’s and Crutchfield’s experiments had the group’s opinions not mattered the subject would have come up with the correct response every time. The same applies to buying decisions. When asked to choose the best three identical suits the choices were randomly distributed. When the confederates all chose the same suit then so did the Naïve subject.

Indirect Influence Consumers are very concerned what other people will think of them. In the 50 people thought differently of a woman whether she bought ground or instant coffee. A follow up experiment 20 years later after instant coffee became accepted showed that it did not alter peoples perceptions.

Variability of ProductsTwo dimensions seem to be important:

1. How exclusive the product is.2. Where it is used

Reference group influence will be strongest on public luxuries.Public necessitiesPublic luxuries.Private necessities.

Necessity Good Luxury GoodPrivate Goods Low Influence Medium InfluencePublic Goods Medium Influence High Influence

Differences in Consumer SusceptibilityGroup FactorsStudents are more susceptible to conformity as a group than are housewives.The more integrated a group is and the stronger the sense of belonging the greater it’s influence will be on it’s members. Individual factors People who are more self-confident and have high self esteem are less susceptible to group influence. These are usually the people who are the opinion leaders.

High Involvement Attitudes lead to BehaviorLow involvement Behavior leads to Attitudes

Mod: 11 – Social Class

Qualitative

Quantitative

Social Stratification Sorting people by different rank-ordered classes.

SES socio economic status – Determined by education occupation and income.

As well as different levels of SES social stratification also highlights differences between sexes and ethnic groups.

Social stratification also implied that people in each stratum will tend to interact largely within that stratum.

Rank is accorded in different ways, through the power of being a legislator, wealth of being an entrepreneur, or prestige of a talent.

Different societies ascribe different degrees of social status in different ways.

Social Status and SymbolsConspicuous Consumption – The buying of products for what they stand for so as to claim status.Having a carpet in your office or the key to the executive lavatory can be a matter of great importance to people. It is also a cheap way for companies to reward employees.People settle for symbols of status. For example organized crime gives to charity in order to get respect.The effectiveness of a product or service as a status Symbol rests on 5 factors:

1. Exclusivity2. Expense3. Quality

4. Limited supply5. Honor and respect

Life Chances and LifestylesThe social status of a family is the status that individual will have.As adults people can become socially mobile.Families afford their children different life chances.A persons future education, income and occupation depend more on anything else the family that he was born into.The life chances of an individual will have a great effect on his life style.People have what is called class consciousness.

Measuring Social Class1. Objective Methods – uses quantifiable SES measures:

A. Single-variable index- Occupation is generally regarded as the best single-Variable index.

B. Multi-variable index-Uses more than one variable. The Census bureau’s Socioeconomic Status Core is based on SES, and Richard Coleman’s Computerized Status Index CSI.

2. Subjective Methods – Asks people to rank themselves. Not good because most people claim to be middle class. The really rich and really poor don’t claim their real status.

3. Reputational Method – People are asked to rate each other.4. Interpretive Methods – Involves measuring the written and visual

content of a society to gain insight on their norms of social class behavior.

Social Class CategoriesAmerican ClassificationUpper-Upper (0.3%) Smallest class. Membership is based on inheritance. Their consumer behavior will tend to be tweedy rather than trendy. Old Money.Lower-Upper (1.2%) Wealth is not inherited. May even be richer than upper-upper class. New money. Would have been very successful in what they do for a living. Their consumer behavior tends to be more expressive and less conservative.Upper-Middle (12.5%) High in all SES indicators especially education. Tend to be I occupational positions where there education can help them. Consumption patterns tend to center on the home and family.

Middle Class (32%) White collar workers. Have less job security. Consumption patterns tend to be conformist rather than colorful and are willing to delay gratification.Working Class (38%) Largest class. Consumption patterns tend to be traditional with heavier purchases of cigarettes and alcohol.Lower Class (9%) Unskilled workers. Tend to spend a grater percentage of their income on luxury items. This is called compensatory consumption.Lower-Lower (7%) Usually out of work and are likely to be getting welfare benefits.

British ClassificationA Upper middle Class 3%B Middle Class 10%C1 Lower Middle Class 24%C2 Skilled Working Class 30%D Unskilled Working Class 25%E Lower Class 8%

Changing Social Class There is some evidence that there is more social mobility at the extreme ends of the status hierarchy.

Marketing and Consumer BehaviorThere is an obvious temptation for marketers to target people in the higher classes. They do have the highest disposable income and are also the classes from which marketers tend to come from. In America the working class is more than a third of the population with almost a third of the disposable income and they may display greater brand loyalty.Note the different class attitudes towards money.The higher classes tend to be more future oriented.Many people aspire to the rich luxurious life-styles, Therefore marketers try to increase the occasions when lower classes can partake in the luxurious lifestyle such as drinking vintage champagne.

Mod: 12 – Cultural Influences

Culture is usually defined as shared beliefs, values, attitudes and expectations about appropriate ways to behave.

The most obvious differences are language, dress, food and history.

Every nation has a dominant culture and subcultures.

Everyone in a nation is socialized into the national culture – a process called enculturation – regardless of the sub-culture they belong to.

When we move to a different country we must adapt to their culture a process called acculturation.

Culture is something that we learn as we grow up.

Similarities across culturesAll cultures share universals such as:Calendar makingJokingReligious ritualsMusic and CourtingEvery culture has to grapple with the same universal questions. It is just the specific answers that are different.

Differences between CulturesLanguageSpeaking the same language is no guarantee against differences in national culture. The gap in communication becomes quite wide when people trying to communicate in the same language come from very different cultures. It becomes more pronounced between two different languages.Non-Verbal CommunicationStyle of clothing facial expressions and body language.

Cultural ValuesThe content of communication is often referred to as cultural values. Predictability of the behavior of a culture is crucial to marketing strategy.The differences in cultural values can lead to failures. In America the washing machine is a convenient disposable item. In Europe it is consumer durable. This is alien to Americans.The factors of values fall into 2 categories:Ideals Actualities Individualism MaterialismEquality Progress, achievement and successHumanitarianism Efficiency and practicalityYouthfulness ActivitySocial conformity Mastery of Environment

Ideals are usually not attained in practice. They represent an Ideal state of mind.Actualities represent more of the everyday lives that people actually lead

Differences in Cultural ValuesThe cultural values of two countries are clearly evident in the different ways their children perceive the social world.

SubculturesEthnicity – Has two components National origin and race.

Changes in CultureCultures are always in the process of change.One important method used to track such change is called content analysis.

Mod: 13 – Attitudes

Attitude – A stable, long-lasting, learned predisposition to respond to certain thin s in a certain way. The concept has cognitive (belief), an affective (feeling), and conative (action) aspects.

1. Stable – once formed will keep that form.2. Long Lasting – will be stable over years.3. Learned – we are not born with it.4. Predisposition to respond – links to the actual behavior.5. In a certain way – emphasizes consistency.

Cognitive component

Attitude = Affective component

Conative component

A measure of any one of the 3 components could be very misleading. Even intentions may not be an indicator of actual buying behavior.

Forming Attitudes Nobody is born with an attitude about anything. There are different ways in which attitudes can be formed:1. Classical conditioning2. Stimulus generalization – Heinz 57 varieties.3. Stimulus discrimination – To negate the effects of me to products.4. Operant conditioning or reinforcement5. Cognitive learning

Belief

Feeling

Intention

Sources of Attitudes1. Family2. Peers3. Direct experience –The greatest former of attitudes.Theories of AttitudesSingle attribute Model – Measures one of the components of an attitude.

Multiple –attribute models: Pioneered by Martin Fishbein

n

AB = Σ biei i=1

AB= Global Attitude

bi = The strength of the belief about i.

Ei = Evaluation of i.n = The number of Salient beliefs.

Behavioral Intentions Model - Adds a measure of intention to the model

Subjective norms – these norms are represented by significant others, family, friends and so on.

Fishbien’s Models are not so helpful in explaining unreasoned behavior such as why we go out for a loaf of bread and return with two magazines and a jar of pickles.

Changing Attitudes1. Mere exposure2. Persuasive communication3. Cognitive dissonance

Usually market leaders are more interested in strengthening attitudes than in changing them. Competitors will usually have more to gain from changing attitudes.

StrategiesLow consumer involvement – use an advertising blitz or conditioning.Increasing involvement - Try to increase the consumers involvement by associating the product with a political cause or health concern.Involvement – Use the multi-attribute model

a. Change beliefs – anything that claims to last the longest, be the most reliable or give the best value for the money.

b. Changing Evaluations – Changing the way a consumer evaluates a product. For example baked beans have always been cheap and convenient but when consumers discovered that they were high in fiber and healthy the way they were evaluated changed.

c. Changing beliefs and evaluations – Removing or adding attributes. Adding fiber to bread or removing caffeine from coffee. Adding vitamins to milk and removing it’s fat content.

Attitudes and BehaviorLeon Festinger – Cognitive Dissonance – Subjects did very boring tasks. They were asked to tell subjects who did not yet do the tasks that the tasks were enjoyable.The subjects were then asked what they thought about the tasks.The subjects that were paid $20 said that the tasks were boring.The subjects that were paid $1 said that the tasks were enjoyable.The less people were paid the more readily they changed their minds!

Cognitive dissonance studies show that if the appropriate behavior comes first then it is more likely that the attitude change will follow.

Behavior is a lot more resistant to change than attitude.