Personality and Consumer Behavior CHAPTER FIVE. Overview 1.Personality reflects consumers’ inner differences. 2.Freudian, Neo-Freudian, and Trait Theories

Personality and Consumer Behavior

CHAPTERFIVE

Overview

1. Personality reflects consumers’ inner differences.2. Freudian, Neo-Freudian, and Trait Theories are used to

explain the influence of personality on consumers’ attitudes and behavior.

4. Marketers seek to create Brand Personalities-Like traits to match the consumer’s traits.

5. Products and services that consumers use enhance their Self-Images.

6. Online, consumers can play Virtual Personalities.

2Chapter Five Slide

Personality Definition and Nature

3Chapter Five Slide

Personality and The Nature of Personality

• The Nature of Personality:– Personality reflects individual differences (marketers can look for certain similar

personality traits in different consumers and work on them as a segment)– Personality is consistent and enduring (This helps marketers predict consumer

behavior in terms of personality) – Personality can change (your personality now is somewhat different from when

you were 7 years old)

4Chapter Five Slide

Personality is the inner psychological characteristics that determine and reflect how a person responds to his or her environment.

Theories of Personality

5Chapter Five Slide

Theories of Personality

• Freudian theory– Unconscious instinctual and sexual needs or drives

are primarily at the heart of human motivation and personality in nature.

• 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

6Chapter Five Slide

Freudian Theory

7Chapter Five Slide

According to Freud, human personality consists of these three systems, the id, super ego and the ego.

Freudian Theory

• Id – The warehouse of primitive or instinctual (physiological) needs

or drives such as hunger, thirst, and sex which are driven by pleasure principle and immediate gratification (individual seeks immediate satisfaction).

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

codes of conduct. it drives the individual to fulfill their needs in a socially acceptable function.

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

the id and superego (reality principle)

8Chapter Five Slide

Freudian Theory

the Id is the devil and the SUPEREGO is the "angel." The EGO is basically the "brain" in between, trying to sort out what each is advocating and more objectively and logically arrive at a decision.

Chapter Five Slide 10

How Does This Marketing Message Apply the Notion of the Id?

10Chapter Five Slide

It Captures Some of the Mystery and The Excitement Associated With the “Forces”

of Primitive Drives.

Neo-Freudian Personality Theory• Social relationships are fundamental to formation and development of

personality. • Alfred Adler:

– People seek to attain rational goals in life (Style of life) and;– Reduce Feelings of inferiority by striving for superiority.

• Harry Stack Sullivan– We continuously establish significant and rewarding relationships with others

to reduce tensions such as anxiety. • Karen Horney’s three personality groups

– Compliant: move toward others. A compliant individual desires to be loved, wanted and appreciated.

– Aggressive: move against others. aggressive individual desires to excel and win admirations.

– Detached: move away from others. detached person desires independence, self reliance and freedom from obligation.


Study: highly compliant students prefer name-brand products like Bayer. Aggressive students prefer masculine appeal brands like Old Spice.. Whereas detached proved to be heavy tea drinkers as a sign of difference.

Why Is Appealing to an Aggressive Consumer a Logical Position for This Product?


Because its Consumer Seeks

to Excel and Achieve

Recognition

Trait Theory

• Unlike Freudian and Neo-Freudian theories, trait theory is less qualitative and more focused on measurement of personality in terms of traits.

• A trait is any distinguishing, relatively enduring way in which one individual differs from another.

• Tests can be done to measure single traits in consumers such as how receptive they are to new experiences (innovativeness), their attachment to worldly possessions (materialism), and their likelihood to accept or reject foreign-made products (ethnocentrism).


A study: Soup and Soup Lover’s Traits

• Chicken Noodle Soup Lovers– Watch a lot of TV– Are family oriented– Have a great sense of humor– Are outgoing and loyal– Like daytime talk shows– Most likely to go to church

• Tomato Soup Lovers– Passionate about reading– Love pets– Like meeting people for coffee– Aren’t usually the life of the party

• Vegetable/Minestrone Soup Lovers– Enjoy the outdoors– Usually game for trying new

things– Spend more money than any

other group dining in fancy restaurants

– Likely to be physically fit– Gardening is often a favorite

hobby


Research result: Personality traits are linked to broad product categories and NOT specific brands

Snack Foods and Personality Traits (study on 19000 consumers)


Snack Foods Personality Traits

Potato chips Ambitious, successful, high achiever, impatient with less than the best.

Tortilla chips Perfectionist, high expectations, punctual, conservative, responsible.

Pretzels Lively, easily bored with same old routine, flirtatious, intuitive, may over commit to projects.

Snack crackers Rational, logical, contemplative, shy, prefers time alone.

Cheese curls Conscientious, principled, proper, fair, may appear rigid but has great integrity, plans ahead, loves order.

Personality traits and consumer behavior


Marketers are very interested in the link between personality traits and consumer behavior.

Trait Theory

Personality Traits and Consumer Behavior


Consumer Innovativeness

• Consumer innovativeness is the tendency to try new products • Companies consider consumer innovativeness very important when

introducing new products or brand extensions.• For hi-tech products, innovativeness can be at three levels:

– Global (General) innovativeness (overall consumer innovative level of willingness to buy new and different products or brands at any category).

– Domain-specific innovativeness (when consumer deals with particular product category such as computers, cameras, fashion, or watches).

– Innovative behavior (actual responses indicating early acceptance of change and adoption, being among the first to buy new and different products).


المتبنون األوائلEarly Adopters/Pioneers

Mass Market/Followers

End of Life

الزمنTime

عدد المشترينNumberofcustomers

المبدعونInnovators

األكثرية المبكرةEarly Majority

األكثرية المتأخرةLate Majority

المتلكأونLaggards

introduction growth maturity decline

% 34 % 34

% 16% 13.5% 2.5

Consumer adoption categories Consumer adoption categories based on adoption timebased on adoption time

Dogmatism

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


Dogmatism describes to which extent a person is rigid or open to new and unfamiliar ideas and products. A person who is highly dogmatic will rarely consider the unfamiliar and tend to be very close minded. Marketers have realized this type of customer appreciates advertising appeals with celebrities and other experts.

Social Character

• 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’ guidance– less likely to be innovators


Social character is of great interest to marketers because it differentiates the type of advertising that influences these customers. Inner-directed people prefer ads that stress product features. Other-directed individuals gravitate to ads that show approving social environment rather than product information – they want to look to others to understand how to act or be accepted, and the ads give an example of this.

Need for Uniqueness

• Consumers who avoid conforming to expectations or standards of others, either in appearance or possessions.

• You may be able to identify friends with greater need for uniqueness. You can see it in their clothes and hairstyles.

• there is a measurement scale that researchers use to quantify an individual’s need for uniqueness.


Optimum Stimulation Level

• A personality trait that measures to which extent the consumer tends to like or dislike new (novel) and unusual experiences and products

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

• High OSL consumers are important to marketers of new products.


Sensation Seeking

• The need for varied, novel, and complex sensations and experience. And the willingness to take social and physical risks for the sensations.

• Much research has been tied to the study of teenage males who often engage in this behavior.


Variety or Novelty Seeking

• Measures a consumer’s degree of variety seeking

• Types of variety seekers include:– Exploratory Purchase Behavior (consumers often switch

brands to experience new products).– Use Innovativeness (consumers display variety by use

innovativeness, using an existing product in a new way).– Vicarious Exploration (which often does not involve

actual purchase about the product, but as a result of watching, listening to, or reading about it of other people).


Cognitive Personality factors


Trait Theory

Cognitive Personality Factors

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

ads rich in product information


The level of a consumer’s need for cognition affects how they are likely to respond to certain types of advertisements. Those who are high in need for cognition tend to respond to ads that supply product information as opposed to those who are low in need for cognition who tend to be attracted to the background of the ad, attractive models, and cartoon characters.

Cognitive Personality Factors

• Visualizers (consumers who prefer visual information).

• Verbalizers (consumers who prefer verbal or written information).

• This difference in cognitive personality factors would affect how they respond to a print ad.


Why Is This Ad Particularly Appealing to Visualizers?


The Ad Stresses Strong Visual

Dimensions

Why Is This Ad Particularly Appealing to Verbalizers?


It Features a Detailed

Description (information)

Materialistic, fixated, and compulsive consumers


Trait Theory

Materialistic people traits


Fixated and Compulsive Consumers

• Fixated consumption behavior– Consumers fixated on certain products or categories of

products– Characteristics

• Passionate interest in a product category• Willingness to secure the product category of interest• Dedication of time and money to find the product

• Compulsive consumption behavior– “Addicted” or “out-of-control” consumers with their

purchase (suffer form shopping addiction called Oniomania).


Consumer Ethnocentrism and Cosmopolitanism


Trait Theory

Consumer Ethnocentrism and Cosmopolitanism

• Ethnocentric consumers feel it is wrong to purchase foreign-made products because of the impact on the economy. They can be targeted by stressing nationalistic themes (buy their nation made products).

• Cosmopolitan consumers would consider the world to be their marketplace and would be attracted to products from other cultures and countries.


Brand personality


Brand Personification

• Personality-like traits associated with brands• Examples

– Perdue chickens (freshness)– Nike (athlete)– BMW is performance driven– Mr. Coffee is seen as dependable, friendly, efficient,

intelligent and smart.• Brand personality which is strong and favorable will strengthen

a brand and lead to a more favorable attitude, brand preference, higher purchase intention, and brand loyalty


Self and self image


Self and Self-Image

• Consumers have a variety of enduring images of themselves

• Individuals tend to buy products and services and patronize retailers whose images or personalities relate to their own self images.


Different Self-Images


Many consumers will purchase products to meet the gap between their actual and ideal selves.

Documents

Personality and Consumer Behavior CHAPTER FIVE. Overview 1.Personality reflects consumers’ inner differences. 2.Freudian, Neo-Freudian, and Trait Theories