By

B.Sreehari Theeratha

Personality & Consumer Behavior

Personality “Inner psychological characteristics that determine and reflect a

person’s response to his/her environment”

Inner characteristics: Specific qualities, attributes, traits, factors, mannerism

Each person has different combination of these characteristics

These influence product decisions

Nature of Personality

1) Reflects Individual Differences:• People have different personalities• The ones with common traits are

grouped as one for market segmentation

2) Consistent and enduring:• Same kind of response even after a period of time

3)Can change:• Under major life events Ex: Death of family members, great achievement

Freudian Theory• Psychoanalytic theory: - Unconscious needs are basis for personality and motivation Ex: Biological needs - Cornerstone for modern psychology

Basis: Patients’ recollection of early childhood experiences, analysis of their dreams

3 interactive systems

• Id : Physiological needs ex: thirst, hunger, biological desire satisfaction without consent of the means Ex: Boy stealing food from a store

• Superego: Internal expression of society’s moral and ethical code of conduct Ex: RGV movies ,twitter comments

• Ego: Individual’s conscious control Ex: When a person wants to harm someone, he cannot do that because of sanction to criminal law in his area.

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

Ex: The way of dressing, accessories etc.

Neo-Freudian TheoriesAlfred Adler:• Humans seek to attain rational goals, which he calls

‘style of life’• Emphasis on individuals’ efforts to overcome

inferiority Stack Sullivan:• People continuously put effort to establish

significant and rewarding relationships• Emphasis on individuals’ efforts to overcome

anxiety

Karen Horney’s CAD Theory• Compliant: Those who move towards others. They want to be desired, loved, appreciated by others• Aggressive: Those move against others They desire to excel and win admiration• Detached: Those move away from others They desire independence, self-reliance, self- sufficiency, freedom from obligations