CONSUMER BEHAVIOR -

LECTURE NOTES, FELU 2010

LECTURE 1: Introduction to Consumer Behavior
What is Consumer Behavior?
The dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behavior, and the environment by which
human beings conduct the consumption aspects of their lives.
1. It involves the thoughts and feelings people experience and the actions they perform in
respect to consumption.
2. It includes the interaction of the environment (social in particular) and the individual.
Therefore it is context bound (behavior cannot be detached from its physical, social and
cultural surroundings) and dynamic (thinking, feelings, actions of consumers, consumer
groups and society at large are constantly changing).
A Multidisciplinary theory

psychology, social psychology, anthropology.

a comprehensive model that reflects both cognitive and emotional
decision making Consumer

The Wheel of Consumer Behavior (Peter & Olson) is critical for developing a complete
understanding of consumers and selecting strategies to influence them. It consists of three
elements:
consumer behavior (overt actions),
consumer affect and cognition (feeling, thinking) and
consumer environment (physical and social).
Marketing strategy is positioned in the middle of the wheel, because
It is a reciprocal system, as any of the three elements can be either a cause or an effect of
a change in the other element.
Consumer analysis can be conducted at various levels:
Society (Cultural identity, Languages, Social solidarity), industries (), market segments
(), individuals
For example:
If Kraft Foods inc. were to launch their most popular product, Milka Chocolate in India,
without changing the product wrap, they would make a very big mistake. Since Cows are

considered as holy animals, and the color of purple represents grief, most Indian people
would find this new product rather offensive.
There are also examples of products launched in different countries, where the name of
the product can be quite offensive in the native language of the new country.
(A.S.S. Concert & Promotion (Hamburg, Germany), Fart (Polish juice),i.Beat blaxx
(German Mp3 player), KidsExchange consignment store)

Consumer studies are multidisciplinary, which means that depending on the point of view
(either micro or macro consumer behaviour), different sciences (psychology, sociology,
anthropology, economics, ...) can be used for investigating consumer behaviour.
Consumer behavior knowledge can be used by three groups:
Companies
Public and non-profit organizations
Consumers
The connection between marketing strategy and consumer behavior is .
For businesses understand consumer behavior is important to be able to target their
products and their marketing on the right target groups.
As a result, consumer behavior knowledge becomes a sustainable competitive advantage,
which means that
Company not pursues their own industry average profitability rather to the superior
profitability.
IN-CLASS DISCUSSION/EXAMPLES:
The story of Water

L2 Consumer research

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Consumer research
=systematic and objective process of gathering. Recording and analyzing data to
understand and predict consumer thoughts, feelings and behavior.
"All children are born artists - The problem is to remain artist as we grow up" - This
means that we have the artist and creativity in us. Children are often doing what they
want -> research is like this! We are trying to find out how you/or the people are thinking
about different things/products.
Primary vs Secondary data
Secondary data: are data that is collected for something else but we can use it for our
work, issue. For example scanner data (loyalty card; The company creates a database, so
the company knows exactly what you are buying and when. So the company can figure
out many things. Some companies create out of their database special fliers only for your
needs. But it's difficult to analyze these databases, because they are very big!), syndicated
data (more than one company make a questionnaire together and all the companies can
share the information) and databases.
Primary data:
We collect the data especially for our task, issue. The data can be quantitative or
qualitative.
Quantitative vs qualitative
Quantitative is about measure and proving. As a general rule at least 100 persons have to
participate in the survey to be reliable, but the actual threshold for reliability,
representability and validity depends on the context (research goals, methods used,
quality of data, etc.). The best way to do a quantitative survey is to do questionnaires or
e-surveys.
Qualitative is about understanding. The sampling is small and relevant. The most
common ways are interviews and focus groups.
Quantitative
Qualitative
Goal
Measurement, proving, generalization identification, understanding, description
Sampling Large representative
Small relevant
Data
Structured, numeric
Unstructured, verbal
Analysis Statistics
Substantive, interpretive
Output Prediction
Explication, definition, hypotheses
Observed behavior: It's hard to get because it demand some action and time. Observing
a person can be very hard and takes a lot of time. It depends on what the problem is. The
information you get is high quality.
Reported (told) research: It's all about reporting, a person asks questions, and another

person answer or report/respond to the person that asked the question. But the limit of
reported research is, that the people could maybe lie (they don't tell always the truth).
Reported behavior 'me' research: All questions are about 'me'. The problems with this
kind of research is social desirability addicts. People answer what they think other people
wants to hear, and because they want to impress on others. They do something that is
desired by others.
A lot of people are also self-deceit machines, they lie to themselves. People can convince
themselves how things are supposed to be and then they lie to themselves and think they
are a better person. Example from lesson, recycling.
'We' research (John Kiernon) are much more critical, objective and truthful. We are
good in observing others and it's always easier to be honest if you don't have to include
yourself in the discussion. You are more critical and trustful. It's a simple and useful
tactic.
Lab research, Out of context data collection (Making the interview or survey in a fake
environment, not close to the reality. You sitting in an office and discuss a process of
shopping) and Experimental Research (Recreating, or simulating the context or the
natural environment. Example: Coca-cola store in the head quarter in the US. A full store
built up just to observe consumer behavior. It's a fake environment but a very good
experiment.)
Field research, Go through the process where it actually happens. You are actually there
- learning by doing. If the issue is about shopping, go to the store and fulfill the shopping
to observe and ask questions during the process.
Ethnography: Costly and takes time but it's very good to get more and better information.
Go shopping by yourself just to actually be there and get the experience.

3 approaches to consumer research

1. Psychological (traditional)This method has the most influence of consumer research.
You are looking to an individual, how they make a decision, stimuli response.It is mostly
cognitive (focus of thinking, emotions). With this approach you try to measure and it is
mostly a quantitative research.You can make surveys (f.ex. questionnaire) and
experiments (are important that you see how things will change when you change f.ex.
the position of a product in a store) 2. Interpretive (Socio-Cultural)You need to
understand the content - not the individual. You don't measure. Normally you use a
qualitative research with this approach. 3. "Economic"Focus is on rules. F.ex. gravity
(it's a natural law).The object is to predict what you will do, based on some models/rules.

L3 Perception
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Lecture 3: Perception
(SBAH Ch.2; APZ Ch. 9, PO Ch.5)
Perception is defined as the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory
information (and therefore the environment) such as sights, sounds, smells. It is an internal
process.
Furthermore, the perception process consists of different stimuli (sights, sounds, smells, tastes
and textures) which are perceived by sensory receptors (eyes, ears, skin, ...). After receiving,
attention is paid to the stimuli and our brain interprets it - a meaning of the stimuli is created and
we react with a certain response which leads to the perception.
About 50-70% of stimuli are perceived by our visual organ, our eyes ( How people perceive and
think. Note: semiotics gives you important notions on this field. Concepts as sign, signified or
signifier and referent show us that the image is indeed one of the first relations to be made by
humans). But also other senses are important, but mainly having an unconscious effect, like
sounds, which are mainly perceived as background stimuli (sounds can also be perceived as
foreground stimuli; Affects mood; is an important pillar for communication). The smell is usually
the first thing we are recognizing, even if we are doing that without realizing (it is primary,
subconscious, emotional: the first and the fastest, smells activate memories). However, the way
we smell something also influences the way, we see things. Senses for tastes are strongly bound
to smell, whereas feeling textures is bound strongly to what we see. This makes those two
senses more personal and intimate (because they require presence) and - as said - they are
strongly bound to other senses. The work of the sensory receptors is followed by some kind of
attention, together being considered as sensation (culture-specific/context-dependent): There is
holistic and synesthesic sensation.
Important for consumer behaviour is to realise that usually consumers are not exposed to one
specific, isolated sensory stimuli, because senses work in unison. In connection with this fact, so
called Synesthesia should be mentioned, which describes involuntary jumps into associated
sensory or cognitive pathways. This means that one stimuli can trigger another one, concerning a
different sensory receptor.
Furthermore perception is related to the context, for example there are differences between
genders or between people with different ages.
Attention means the degree of focus on stimuli during exposure. It describes your selectivity. We
can distinguish two levels of control concerning attention:
The focal attention (-mode) with a high level of control means that we are able to decide what
we perceive. The preconscious attention (-mode) with a low level of control means that most of
the time our perception is unconscious and everything happens automatically. For sure the mode is more interesting to marketers for the simple reason that it offers more possibilities to
influence the consumers.
Sensation / Attention / Comprehension (/Response): select, organize and interpret stimuli
(SBAH).
What is changed/controlled by Marketing? 4 Ps: Product, Promotion, Price, Placement affect
our perception.
Consumers attention is limited. In a world of a trillion different ever-changing-over-lapping things
happening at the same time, people activate filters to what they pay attention to, they focus on
what they believe they need at each moment. The consumers exposure to information may
be intentional or accidental but is always selective: Marketers explore this by facilitating access to
information, maximizing accidental exposure and monitoring its levels. Most of the marketing
strategies is based on accidental exposure, which on one hand is less and less effective,

because the world we live in is always bombarding us with new informations.

Impulse purchases represent 70% of those made in a supermarket.
Marketing Implication: strategies that take this into account: highly visual communication,
attention to the background and subconscious attention.
Being dynamic, attention changes and flows but some patterns can be identified and these are
carefully explored by Marketers.
Determinant Factors to the Attention paid:
Affective States
Involvement and Product Knowledge
Environmental Prominence (new, usual, strong stimuli,)
Each of these factors is taken into account by marketing: ad and medium features, status of the
brand,
- Interpretation (comprehension + integration)
*How do we perceive? - gestalt psychology SBAH 50-52
Taking the brain as a holistic, self-organizing whole, peoples interpretation of external stimuli
contribute to the creation or activation of Memory and Knowledge. These actively affect ones
attitudes, intentions and decisions, in an eternal cycle that will change the way one interprets the
following stimuli.
Perception and Cognition co-exist and happen very close to each other.
The perception process consists on three stages: selection, organization and interpretation.
Selection: Its the first one, were we select stimuli we attend.
Organization: Its the second one. Were we arrange the stimuli (information) so we can
understand or make sense out of stimuli.
The third one is interpretation: Its the stage were we attach meaning to the stimuli. Our
interpretations are subjective and based on our values, needs beliefs, experiences, expectations,
involvement, self-concept, and other personal factors.

These three stages have more to do with the culture, society and psychology, while the
sensations we feel are more based on medicine and biology.

Sem_ttulo.jpg
Organization and Interpretation stimuli are not really two actions, the sensory-motoric system and
the cognitive system are not separate! We learn how to perceive. We learn by perceiving.

IN-CLASS DISCUSSION: Consumer Perception in Retail Settings

- Creating a Store Environment: the Marketing play with senses and perception to enhance the
shopping experience the ultimate evidence that environment change the consumers behavior,
enhancing satisfaction, placement and efficiency.
- Retailteinment: a new way of selling
How far can sellers go to sell their products? time itself is manipulated, disorientate the
shoppers, create moments of happiness and delight, seduction.
Selective focus and attention, and modes, vista and eye level position consumers are blind
to what they do not intend to see marketing implications.
Why do we say that retailing has to reinvent or go back to its theatrical/sensory beginnings?
Appeal to every sense; Stand out from a mass of undifferentiated products and sellers. From
Mass Consumption to Personalized Consumption: a trend can be perceived today to move from a
quest for sterile, equal, standardized products made for the masses to a demand for a more
personalized shopping. E.g. Gourmet products, more expensive but richer and unique.

L4 Motivation
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Motivation is: the process of encouraging and directing the individual toward
specific activity.

Each market segment has its characteristics: Purchase objects (what),

objectives (why), organization (who), occasion, place.

Who? (it will show us the personal, group and cultural differences)
When and where? (pointing out the situational and contextual
differences)
How? (to choose cognitive and affective processes to achieve a goal)
What? (kind of consumption items and consumer behavior are we talking
about)

In terms of motivation the most important is WHY - Motivation: Is a

question about consumption motives, goals and desires.
Its very difficult to answer to this one.
How do we understand why people do things?
Direct Observation: Observe consumers. Can we observe motivation? Usually not. We cant observe the
reasons for that behavior, only the behavior itself. So, it still doesnt answer the question WHY.

 Asking questions: several problems related, for example, people would not be honest about it (the
problem of social desirability they say what we want them to say and what makes them look good).
Second, they migh not be aware of their true motives (subconscious motives; see Freud below)

So, you it si difficult to ask directly about a person's motivation.

Where does the encouragement for behavior came from?
Three broad explanations where motivations come from, to be seen as working
simultaneously in many cases, are: the rat, the god, the artist.
From our body (rat): The rat perspective assumes that physiological factors (bodily needs)
drive motivation, so a human being is a slave of nature, directed by instincts like an animal.
This perspective relates to the body and biological needs. It turns to the natural sciences to

understand human behavior.

From mind (god): The god perspective assumes a different viewpoint: A person is its
own god, so it is able to deliberately set its own goals, act rational and is in control. This
perspective relates to the mind of the individual. We became aware of our environment, we

set goals and we arrange a way to achieve them.

From culture (artist): The artist view holds it that persons are influenced by groups and
people try to express themselves through their behavior in a group/society/culture. Different
rituals, behaviors and identities are used for expressing oneself and are the reason for motivations
according to the artist

For example, take the consumption of chocolatee

o In the "rat" perspective endorphins lift the mood creating positive energy
and feelings ranging from the happiness to euphoria. We could explore the
chemistry of bodily processes involved in consuming chocolate.
o In the "God" perspective. Consuming chocolate can be seen a rational
decision made by the individual consumer: weighting the pros and cons of
chocolate; choosing the best chocolate; being in control by for example
limiting one's consumption of chocolate
In the "Artist" perspective: chocolate can have different cultural meanings. "Men cannot
live by chocolate alone...but women can"; Nectar for the Gods and currency (Different
culture, different relation with chocolate. As a result we have different
ways to consume it.)
Differences between these 3 approaches:
1st and 2nd focus on the individual
1st is very physical
3rd focus on culture and is more abstract.

Motivation is a general term for a group of phenomena that affect the nature of an
individual's behavior, the strength of that behavior and the persistence of that behavior
and made up from 3 components.
o Direction (what a person is trying to do)
o Effort (how hard a person is trying)
o Persistence (how long person continues trying)

The motivation process:

STIMULI -> Need - Motivation - Activity - Goal (wish) and then it starts again, it's
like a circle
Key Motivation Theories
FREUD'S THEORY OF MOTIVATION - Psychoanalysis model : inner, deeper reasons
for behavior: aspirations, dreams, fears more emotional. Emphasis on the
hidden, subconscious (ID).
Freud regarded man as an energy system with the energy divided between
three components of personality:
- the ID (impulse, drive) This part of our body describes our hidden,
subconscious drives (cf. RAT perspective) and forces us to satisfy our needs
(devil).
- the SUPEREGO (the conscience, the angel). We are aware of this part of us.
The SUPEREGO tries to control our drives (ID).
- the EGO (mediator, I or me) The Ego acts like a mediator and tries to decide
between ID and SUPEREGO (devil-angel-decision).
=> Marketing usually tries to feed our ID
=> Products can also encourage our SUPEREGO: for example ecological products
THEORIES OF NEED'S SATISFATION
What is a need?
A state of tension or lack. We divide needs e.g. into:

utilitarian, which means a desire to achieve some functional or practical

benefit (eating something because it is healthy)
hedonic, which is an experimental need, that involves emotional
responses or fantasies (leisure). It is used to meet the consumers needs
for excitements, self-confidence.

In the past consumer behavior researches were more focus on the features of products
which can satisfy the utilitarian needs (rational motives of buying). Nowadays they put
more attention to hedonic motives ( e.g. the need for fun or travel). Since that time there
has been a shift from thinking about needs, towards concentrating on goals, wants and
desires.
Three basic theories of need satisfaction are:

-Drive Theory (focus on biogenic needs): Motivation as a circle where needs come back
to the same point (point of balance called homeostasis)
Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain physiological
needs and that a negative state of tension is created when these needs are not satisfied.
When a need is satisfied, drive is reduced and the organism returns to a state of
relaxation. This states activities which help us to came back to a balanced situation is
called homeostasis. According to the theory, drive tends to increase over time and
operates on a feedback control system, much like a thermostat.
-Expectancy Theory (focus on incentives): It is each persons goals and expectations that
dirve him (the rewards he expects to get). Expectations are always higher than the
previous one; Motivation as a spiral; we always want to achieve more and more; our
expectations became so high that we need to consume more and more.
In Expectancy theory if we have a goal, we know how to get there and we believe we
can 'make the difference' then this will motivate us to act to make this future come true.
And next time we will want to do something more and better. For example in sport you
first want to be best in your own area, then in your country, after that the best in the
world, after that you want to be better than nobody before and so on
-Desire Theory (focus on the process and sociogenic needs):
In Desire theory the waiting something is the goal. Not the kill, but the hunt. For
example in movies the best love story is the one of the unfulfilled love. Its the falling in
love and feeling the desire for somebody, fantasizing about him or her thats more
exciting than actually being with that person. Consumption is often like that striving for
something you can never really get, but the wanting and fantasizing itself can be
pleasurable. When you do get it, you often feel disappointed and find a new target of
desire.
*1) Desire captures the seductive spirit of the positioning of many contemporary brands
*2) Desire has interesting relationships with control (excess and lack of control over
oneself)
*3) Desire is one way of dealing with very passionate consumers, stressing the emotional
or irrational side of consumer behavior
Other models can be pointed out briefly:
1. Classic psychology model: learning, impulses-stimuli-reactions.
2. sociological model: cb and human necessities and desires are motivated not only by
personal/individual reasons but also the ones postulated by society: culture (values,
attitudes, integration and identity), subculture, social classes, role models/groups of
reference. Marketing should take advantage and stimulate identification, creating a strong
symbolism around the products, associating it with a certain value/message.
3. Economic model: the consumer looks for information and tries to take as much
advantage as possible from his purchase.

4. Maslow Pyramid of Needs Are all needs inborn, basic,

given and stable?
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology,
proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory
of Human Motivation. Maslow subsequently extended the
idea to include his observations of humans' innate
curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology,
all of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans.
<sorces:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs#Criticisms>
Criticism on this theory (what professor told students in class):
1. The level of needs can be changed by depending on cultural difference.
2. It cannot be adopted to all human-beings, because human-beings all over the world are
so different individually.

5. necessities in a strict order - physiological, security, social, (self-)esteem, autoactualization/fulfillment.

This is a vulnerable model - the order can be changed and other aspects are not covered
- Criticism of the concept of need: The whole concept of need is
ideological, because it helps marketers to attribute responsibility for
excessive consumption to universal needs (and marketers don't create
needs); marketing is portrayed merely as giving the solutions to satisfy
needs of consumers. But of course needs are not universal they are
also cultural and acquired through socialization (and marketing IS a
part of culture and socialization).
6.Other models:
- Herzberg Model - as known as Motivation-Hygiene Theory or Two Factor Theory of
job satisfaction, this model says that people are influenced by two factors: Motivation
factors and Hygiene factors. Motiviation factors are composed by achievements,
recognition, work itself, responsability, growth and promotion. While, Hygiene factors
are composed by company policy and administration, supervision, job security, personal
life, working conditions, status, relationships with co-workers and pay and benefits.
- McGregor Model - As known as Theories X and Y, they are theories of human
motivation created and developed for Doublas Mcgregor. Each theory describes two very
different attitudes toward workforce and Mcgregor thought that followed one of these
two approaches.
Compulsive Consumption
the dysfunctional, maladaptive, or abnormal consumptive behaviors exhibited by
consumers who are unable to control the overpowering impulse or urge to buy.
"Are there any products you "have" to get?"

Some consumers become compulsive, and are addicted to the shopping process
Inappropriate addictions: gambling, overeating
A key to compulsive consumption is that the focus is on the interaction between the
shopper and the salesperson the product might not ever be used at all
-Excessive Buyers (preoccupied with buying, but at times, able to resist the urge; they
can stop if they want)
-Pathological Buyers (obsessive-compulsive and impulse-control disorders; they can't
stop)
Marketing system works in an away to produce a big amount of
people they can with excessive and pathological behaviours.
Factors linked to compulsive consumption:
- Phsychological (low self esteem, depression, anxiety, perfectionism)
- Biological (drugs, neurological features)
- Cultural (gender roles, early childhood experiences, changing the social norms and
feeling of alienation.
IN-CLASS DISCUSSION:
The explanation for compulsive consumption (type consumption that is dysfunctional,
maladaptive, or abnormal consumptive behaviors exhibited by consumers who are unable
to control the overpowering impulse or urge to buy) e of can be compensatory
consumption. That means buying something in order to distract yourself from your real
problems (emotional, financial, ). You can forget your problem for a moment but most
of the time this creates new problems.
Two types of buyers:
1. Excessive buyers (preocupied with buying, but at times able to resist the
urge)
2. Pathological Buyers (Ideal for the marketeers).
Discussion of Vivians problems and the roots of her compulsive shopping disorder. Also
see the online discussion regarding the role of the force of will and related ideas.

L5 Attitudes
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Definition of attitudes
A predisposition to evaluate objects or proudcts, lasting and general; Because attitudes
are stable (which distinguishes them from beliefs), they can be measured. Unstable
phenomena ca also be measured, but the implications (how we can use them) of the
measurement are different... Furthermore an attitude has 3 components: beliefs, affect and

behavioral intentions (feeling, thinking, doing). Attitudes exist on different levels going
form very general (ex. fastfood) to very specific (ex. a specific burger from a specific
fastfood restaurant).
Why do attitudes exist?
Different theories try to explain attitudes and connected topics:
functional theory
o there are four functions who have different purpose.
Utilitarian function (reward and punishment), We develop some of our attitudes towards
products simply on the basis of whether these products provide pleasure or pain. If a
person likes the taste of a cheeseburger, that person will develop a positive attitude
toward cheeseburgers. Ads that stress straightforward product benefits (e.g., you should
drink Diet Coke "just for the taste of it") appeal to the utilitarian function.
Knowledge function (attitudes as result of a need for order, structure, meaning), Some
attitudes are formed as the result of a need for order, structure, or meaning. This need is
often present when a person is in an ambiguous situation or is confronted with a new
product (e.g., "Bayer wants you to know about pain relievers") Attitudes provide meaning
(knowledge) for life. The knowledge function refers to our need for a world which is
consistent and relatively stable. This allows us to predict what is likely to happen, and so
gives us a sense of control. Attitudes can hep us organise and structure our experience.
Knowing a persons attitude helps us predict their behaviour. For example, knowing that
a person is religious we can predict they will go to Church. To affect this function to
change an attitude, companies selling complicated products will try to simplify it for the
potential consumers (ex. the blue pill for the complicated product viagra). If a consumer
does not know or recognise a product, the chance is smaller that he will trust and buy (or
use) the product, especially if it can be confused with other products (ex. viagra pills
could be confused with many other drugs if it didn't promote itself as the "blue pill" and
was white for example).
Value expressive function (expressing values or self concept), Attitudes that perform a
value-expressive function express the consumer's central values or self-concept. A person
forms a product attitude not because of objective product benefits, but rather because of
what using the product says about him or her as a person (e.g., "What sort of man reads
Playboy?"). Value-expressive attitudes are highly relevant to life-style analyses, where
consumers cultivate a cluster of activities, interests, and opinions to express a particular
social identity.
Ego defensive function (protecting consumers from external threats or internal feelings)
Attitudes that are formed to protect the person, either from external threats or internal
feelings of insecurity, perform an ego-defensive function. Products that promise to help a
man project a "macho" image (e.g., Marlboro cigarettes) may be appealing to his
insecurities about his masculinity. Many deodorant campaigns stress the dire,
embarrassing consequences of being caught with underarm odor in public. The basic idea
is that we (generally) want to look good in front of others and we do not wish that our
ego is disturbed. For example: viagra pill producers will minimise the "embarassment" of
erection problems by stating that it is normal and that a big part of the population camps

with this kind of issues. The ego won't take a hit (or at least a smaller one) from having to
buy viagra compared to a situation where the consumer would think he was te only one
with this problem.
To change an attitude it is important to use all 4 functions, from the very basic utilitarian
function that also exists for animals to the more complicated value-expressive function
which is typical for humans.
ABC model (emphasizes the interrelationship between knowing, feeling and
doing)
o A = affect - refers to the way a consumer feels about an attitude object,
example: I am scared of spiders.
o B = behaviour - consumers intention to do something with regard to an
attitude object example: I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one
o C = cognition - the beliefs a consumer has about an attitude object.
example: I believe spiders are dangerous.
multi-attributes models (a simple response does not always tell us everything we
need to know about why the consumer has certain feelings towards a products or
about what marketers can do to change consumer's attitude; try to break down our
attitude to a product, it emphasise cognitive elements: a set of beliefs )
o attributes = characteristics that consumer consider when evaluating the
attitude object
o beliefs = cognitions about the specific attributes of the attitude object
o importance weights = reflect the relative priority of an attribute to the
consumer. Altought an attitude object can be considered on a number of
attributes, some will be more importante than others, and these weights are
likely to differ across consumers.

there are three major possibilities for the definition of the attributes:
lend them from a similar previous experiment
ask the consumers what they believe should be evaluated, which
characteristics they find important
define the attributes yourself if you believe you know much about
the matter which is being discussed
these models are popular mainly because they can quantify peoples
attitudes, although the results will not be completely reliable for different
reasons (ex. people using weights very differently, people answering rather
randomly because they don't really care, ...) still, this kind of model can be
improved and result in some acceptable calculations which can later be
compared with results from the same research at a later date, which would
show the evolution of attitudes.

The "How" of attitudes:

While all three components of an attitude are important, their relative importance will
vary depending upon a consumer's level of motivation with regard to an attitude object.
There are three different hierarchies, hierarchy of effects:

Imagem1.png
Beliefs - Affects - Behavior - rational: high involvement
Attitude based on cognitive information processing: beliefs [thinking] is followed by
affect [feeling] resulting in behaviour [doing]
Beliefs - Behavior - Affects - behavioristic: low involvement
attitude based on behavioral learning process: beliefs [thinking] is followed by behaviour
[doing] followed by affect [feeling] (we learn after doing something)
Affects - Behavior - Beliefs - experiential
attitude based on hedonic consumtion: affect [feeling] is followed by behaviour [doing]
and by beliefs [thinking]
Forming attitudes, they can occur via:
- learning by classical conditioning: Attitude Object (Ao) name is repeated - the level of
exposure to the brand increases (repeating commercials etc.)
- learning by instrumental conditioning: an attribute is associated to the Ao - reward and
punishment (ex. McDonalds: happy meal, happy is associated with McDonalds, there is a
toy in the box which represents a reward to the child)
- learning by complex cognitive process: the persons are open to the subject and willing
to learn (more active compared to the previous ones)
Levels of commitment to an attitude
Lowest level: COMPLIANCE - an attitude is formed because it helps in gaining
rewards or avoiding punishments from others. It's very superficial. => we comply,

e.g. a person may dress in a costume to go to work because wearing other clothes
would be frowned upon at the office. (do what you are expected you to do)
IDENTIFICATION - We accept the attitude more strongly. Attitudes are formed
for the consumer to be similar to another person or group. => we identify with a
certain group and its attitudes
Highest level: INTERNALISATION - Attitudes become part of consumers value
system and it is very difficult to change them => we internalize attitudes (almost
like a religion)

Football example:
Compliance: you go watch the match with friends for the social experience, just to have
some fun together.
Identification: you go watch the match because you are very fond of your
(home/favourite) team and identify with the team and its supporters
Internalisation: you live for the sport, you would not go to your work, compromising your
job security (or other, like skipping scool) because the team is playing and you really
can't miss any match. (football is (one of) the most important thing(s) in your life)
Of course for marketers the last level is desirable (if the attitudes are favorable), but it is
difficult to achieve that. This level is more common in politics, religion etc. and a few
brands like Apple, Harley Davidson, etc. However marketers can more easily change
attitudes on the first two levels so there are opportunities for them.
Cognitive consistency and dissonance
Cognitive consistency: the consumers values and beliefs work together well. There are
no conflicts in combining them. If necessary consumers will change their thoughts,
feelings or behaviours to make them consistent with their other experiences => maintain
uniformity
Cognitive dissonance: conflicts between consumers attitudes and behaviors. We dont
want to get into situations where behaviour and believes do not fit together. We want to
match it.
The solution to this uncomfortable state depends on the weight of each element consumers try to get out of this uncomfortable state by eliminating, adding or changing
elements. The pressure to reduce dissonance is more likely to be observed in high
involvement situations in which the elements are more important to the individual.
Dissonance-related cognitive processes are
more likely to occur or increase after the purchase marketers should provide useful,
positive info.
The USE of attitudes:
Social Marketing
It involves the promotion of causes and ideas regarding facets of everyday life.
Attitudes are formed, changed and perpetuated in many ways, ranging from persuasive
messages, to observations of brands.

Attitudes as predictors of behaviours:

- measuring behaviour is often impossible or too complex and we are interested in what
leads to it
- only 10% of behaviour variability can on average be explained via attitude (Wicker)
- extensions of simple attitude theories
Theory of reasoned action (Fishbein), Theory of planned behavior (Ajzen).

Theory of Reasoned Action

Intentions vs Behaviour - this theory aims to measure behavioural intentions, recognising
that certain uncontrollable factors inhibit prediction of actual behaviour.
derived from previous research that started out as the theory of attitude, which led to the
study of attitude and behavior. The theory was, born largely out of frustration with
traditional attitude-behavior research, much of which found weak correlations between
attitude measures and performance of volitional behaviors
Intention = Attitude + Subjective Norm*
the influence of ones social environment on his/her behavioral intentions (social
pressure), uncontrollable factors, attitude towards buying perceived consequences of
the purchase of the Ao
The model was developed to predict the performance of any voluntary act.
It measures behavioral intentions and thus assumes that consumers are actively
anticipating and planning future behaviours.
An addition from Wikipedia:
BI = (AB)W1 + (SN) W2
BI = behavioral intention
(AB) = ones attitude toward performing the behavior
W = empirically derived weights
SN = ones subjective norm related to performing the behavior
Theory of Planned Action
Ajzen adds a new component to TRA: "perceived behavioral control"
Intention = Attitude + Subjective norm + PBC*
an individual's perceived capability of performing the particular behaviour ("can I
do it?")
You can take the example of smoking. PBC is the crucial factor because you feel you
cannot stop smoking.
Some obstacles to predicting behaviour
- measures of attitude often do not really correspond to the behaviour they are supposed

to predict
- outcomes beyond consumers' control
- behaviour is not always intentional
- time-frame of the attitudes measure
attitude tracking programmes
- attitudes formed by direct, personal experience with an attitude object are stronger and
more predictive of behaviour than those formed indirectly, such as throught advertising
Tracking attitudes
- attitude surveys provide a snapshot at a given time
- attitude trancking provides inferences about progress over time by administering an
attitude survey at regular intervals
- attitude tracking valuable for strategic decision making
Changing Attitudes (excerpt from SBAH 166 - 167)
Some basic aspects of communication specifically help to determine how and if attitudes
will be created or modified. This objective relates to persuasion > an active attempt to
change attitudes.
The basic psychological principles that influence people to change their minds (or
comply with a request) are:
Reciprocity: People are more likely to give if they receive. Including money in a mail
survey questionnaire increases response rate by 65% on avg. over surveys that come in an
empty envelope.
Scarcity: Items become more attractive when they are less available. One study asked
people to rate the quality of chocolate biscuits and participants who got only 2 liked them
better than those who got 10 of the same kind of biscuit. This helps to explain the
attractiveness of "limited edition" items.
Authority: Relating to who delivers the message. We tend to believe an authoritative
source much more readily.
Consistency: People try not to contradict themselves in terms of what they say and do
about an issue.
Liking: We tend to agree with those we like or admire. In one study, good looking fund
raisers collected almost twice the amount as other volunteers who were not as attractive.
Consensus:We often take into account what others are doing before we decide what to
do. The desire to fit in with what others are doing influences our actions.
Other Principles of Persuasion
In addition to these 6 basic principles of persuasion, there is many other ways as well.
Some times your work is to face resistance and you must know beforehand how to act.
This is typical especially if you are selling vacuum cleaners e.g. In this case you can't just
try to force person to buy it, instead you have to deal with the resistance early. Don't
ignore resistance, but try to build two-sided-speech by offering new ideas, arguments and
proposals.
Effective Listening: According to Gerald I. Nierenberg in his book "The Art of

Negotiation" If you want to persuade others pay attention to the needs of the one being
persuaded. Communication is two-way not one-way process and if you don't know the
needs of the one being persuaded you will not likely succeed in your effort to persuade.
Once you have discovered the needs of the listener, you can deal directly with them,
either assuring the person or convincing him or her that product, service or idea will some
way meet those needs.
Persuasive Communication has important unique characteristics. Some issues must
be answered:
- Who? > Perceived source
- How? > Message
- Where? > Medium
- To Whom? > Target Market s characteristics
Importance of the source & message (SBAH 172-181, 196-198)
The source of a message can have a big impact on how the message is received and
accepted.
Important source characteristics are credibility and attractiveness. To choose between
these values, marketers should act towards a match between the needs and the potential
rewards, as well as the type of the product.
Credibility (expert) performance risk
Expertise, objectivity, trustworthiness, competence and good will.
Bias> knowledge (source doesn t have enough), reporting (source lacks communication
skills)
Attractiveness (celebrity) social risk
Perceived social value. Star Power, What is Beautiful is Good
When the source is not so important The Sleeper Effect
Over time, people tend to forget about the source and change their attitudes anyway. The
message is kept in memory so reaction is delayed.
- dissociative hypothesis: between message and source
- availability-valence hypothesis: selectivity of memory

Importance of the source and management

The source of a message can have a big impact on how the message is received and
accepted.
The Message
Words or Pictures?
How often repeated?
Both sides of the argument?
Open|Closed conclusion?
Explicit comparison with competitors?
Rational|Emotional appeal (bonding, increase involvement)? Sexual appeal, funny,

negative emotions
Concrete|Vivid mood?
The source Vs the message The ELM model:
- Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion

Imagem2.png
It assumes that once a consumer receives a message he or she begins to process it.
Depending on the personal relevance of this information, one of the two routes to
persuasion will be followed.
Central Route : The person is likely to think actively about the arguments presented
and generate cognitive responses. It is likely to involve the traditional hierarchy of
effects. Beliefs are carefully formed and evaluated, and the resulting strong attitudes will
be likely to guide behavior.
Message factors, like the quality of arguments presented, will be important in
determining attitude change. Mostly High Involvement (HI) decisions.
Peripheral Route : The person is not motivated to think deeply about the arguments
presented. The consumer is likely to use other cues (like the product's package, the
attractiveness of the source) in deciding on the suitability of the message. Mostly Low
Involvement (LI) decisions.
Attention to the SOURCE or the MESSAGE depends on the audience and its level of
involvement.
As we can see, low-involved consumers tend to pay more attention to peripheral cues and
to be more sensitive to stimuli, thus being more affected by the SOURCE.
In situations of high-involvement, consumers analyze arguments rationally, thus paying
more attention to the MESSAGE.

L6&7 Culture
Edit 2 0 2
Culture defined
Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the
members of one human group from those of another. (Hofstede, 1980)
Culture is always changing.
Culture points the difference between social groups, as it was seen at 4th slide of the
powerpoint with the example of 4 countries, Brazil, India, Russia and China.
-->Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills,
knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and
deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions.
CULTURE = the meanings that are shared by (most) people in a social group (P&O)
In a broad sense, cultural meanings include:
1. Common affective reactions (we love puppies)
2. Typical cognitions (the world WAS created in 7 days)
3. Characteristic patterns of behaviour (eating habits)
Similar to the ABC model on the previous class
Importance of culture in consumer behaviour : Culture is part of the external
influences that impact the consumer. That is, culture represents influences that
are imposed on the consumer by other individuals.
Culture can be viewed as the collective memory of a society (shared
attitudes, rituals, norms and traditions among members). - from generation
to generation.

Culture forms the lens through which people view products and try to
make sense of their own and other peoples behaviour (acts as a filter).

Consumption choices cannot be understood without considering the

cultural context in which they are made.

Two Approaches to CULTURE

1. The content of culture (the elements and products of culture)
2. Culture as a process (creation and movement of cultural meanings) somehow, marketing tries to manipulate this process.
Several issues to consider:
1. Cultural meanings can be analyzed at different levels (macro micro)

2. The concept of cultural meaning (shared or common meaning) is critical to

understanding consumer behaviour
3. Cultural meanings are created by people (although we often experience them
as given, because we are constantly doing them)
4. Social groups differ in the amount of freedom people have to adopt and use
certain cultural meanings
5. Cultural meanings are constantly in motion and can be subject to rapid
changes (e.g., beauty ideals)
Some ads which were taken as great ones in the past, nowadays, due to constant culture
changes, they seem not so good anymore, they may even seem horrible.
Consumer behaviour and culture
Culture determines:
the overall priorities a person attaches to different activities and products (the
value system).
the shades of meaning (the lens for interpretation)
ULTIMATELY: the success or failure of specific products and services
(meaningful and meaningless).
The goal of cultural analysis is to understand the cultural meanings from the point
of view of the consumers who create and use them.
Cultures modify symbols identified with other cultures and present them to a new
audience. These cultural products undergo a process of cooptation, where their
original meanings are transformed.
Culture is the creator of meaning which travel through the society and can me moved and
played with by Marketing strategies. Cultural meanings are shaped by rituals and myths
which use and mystify certain goods.
Spread of fashions in consumption: the meanings created by some members of a
culture are interpreted and produced to mass consumption. Marketing implication
cross-cultural communication.
Aspects of culture
A cultural system consists of three functional areas.
Ecology the way the system is adapted to its habitat by the technology used
to obtain and distribute resources (eg: industrialized societies vs. less affluent
countries).
Social structure they way orderly social life is maintained including domestic
and political groups (eg: the nuclear family vs. extended family).
Ideology the mental characteristics of the people and the way they relate to
their environment (people from one society possess usually a common
worldview. They share certain ideas about principles of order an fairness. They

also share a set of moral and aesthetic principles).

Different cultural characteristics
Collectivist cultures where people subordinate their personal goals to those of
a stable in-group.
Individualist cultures where importance is attached to personal goals and
where people are more likely to change memberships when the demands of the
group (eg: workplace, church, etc) become too costly.
The Content of Culture
The beliefs, attitudes, goals, and values held by most people in a society
The meaning of characteristic behaviours, rules, customs, and norms that most
people follow
The meaning of the significant aspects of the social and physical environment
(social institutions, typical physical objects used by people)
There are 2 types of norms:
Enacted norms: Very specific; written down => easy to follow (e.g. red light, how to
write your thesis, rules where you live etc)
Crescive norms: Not written down, not stable, but are still there and conduct individuals
=> People within the culture know these norms, but outsiders do not.
Crescive norms are embedded into a culture and are only discovered through
interaction with other members of that culture. These norms can include:
customs norms handed down from the past that control basic behaviours
(e.g.: division of labour in a household or the practice of particular ceremonies).
mores customs with strong moral overtones. Violation of mores often meets
with strong censure from other members of a society. (more important or stronger
than customs) - (e.g.: involve taboo or a forbidden behaviour)
conventions norms regarding the conduct of everyday life. These deal with the
subtleties of consumer behaviour (eg: the correct way to furnish one's house,
wear one's clothes, etc)
This is important to marketers, because picking the example on the class if you don't
know how Christmas works in some cultures you will not sell in December.
Myths
Myths are stories containing symbolic elements that express the shared
emotions and ideals of a culture.
(Example: The Creation Myth - God created the earth in 7 days)
Many myths involve some binary opposition, where values are defined in terms
of what they are and what they are not, e.g. nature versus technology.
(Example: A God/A Demon)
Modern myths are transmitted through advertising, films and other media.

Functions and structure of myths

Myths serve four interrelated functions in a culture.
Metaphysical they help to explain the origins of existence (myths of the nation,
family or company).
Cosmological they emphasise that all components of the universe are part of
a single picture (myths which simplify the world).
Sociological they maintain social order by authorising a social code to be
followed by members of a culture (myths which offer hope).
Psychological they provide models for personal conduct (myths which give
you an idea what your identity should be like).
Rituals
A ritual is a set of multiple, symbolic behaviours, which occur in a fixed sequence
and tend to be repeated periodically.
Rituals are related to many consumption activities, which occur in popular
culture, e.g. holiday observances, gift giving and grooming. They outline an escape
from the complicated world.
Rituals need to be carried out correctly (the right procedure, with the right artefacts, etc.).
Otherwise they dont work.
Four major types are:
possession rituals - involve acts in which a person lays claim to, displays or
protects possessions; the act of "personalizing" a consumer good, which is "an
attempt to transfer meaning from the individual's own world to the newly
obtained good"
exchange rituals - rituals in which products or services are exchanged among
consumers; "the process of choice by which the giver identifies the gift with the
cultural meanings they seek to pass along to the recipient"(i.e. Christmas)
grooming rituals - an individual's acts to ensure that special, perishable properties
resident in clothing, hairstyles, and looks are maintained, e.g. talking to oneself in
the mirror, brushing one's hair 100 strokes a day;
divestment rituals - rituals performed to erase the meaning associated with the
previous owner of a good (e.g., thoroughly cleaning a new home prior to moving
in). the act of "freeing up" objects as they are passed from one owner to another
Rites of passage
A rite of passage is a special kind of ritual, which involves a transition from
one role to another.
These passages typically entail the need to acquire products and services
called ritual artefacts, to facilitate the transition. They are increasingly
becoming consumption objects in themselves as well as occasions for
consumption.

Modern rites of passage include graduations, initiation ceremonies and

weddings, and funerals

3 stages of role transition

Separation: the person enters the rite of passage while she or he is detaching from her or
his original group or status.
(i.e. the first-year-university student leaves home)
Liminality: (middle stage)
the person is in-between the other two stages
(i.e. the new arrives on campus tries to work out what is happening during orientation
week)
aggregation: the person returns to society after the rite of passage is completed
(i.e. the student is coming home for Christmas vacation as a real university student')
Hofstedes Dimensions. Gert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher, was able to interview a large
number of IBM executives in various countries, and found that cultural differences
tended to centre around four key dimensions:
Individualism

vs. collectivism: To what extent do people believe in individual

responsibility and reward rather than having these measures aimed at the larger group?On
the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose:
everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the
collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into
strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents)
which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.
Contrary to the stereotype, Japan actually ranks in the middle of this dimension, while
Indonesia and West Africa rank toward the collectivistic side. The U.S., Britain, and the
Netherlands rate toward individualism.
Power

distance: To what extent is there a strong separation of individuals based

on rank? that is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations
and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed
unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below,
not from above. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the
followers as much as by the leaders. Power and inequality, of course, are
extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international
experience will be aware that 'all societies are unequal, but some are more
unequal than others'.
Power distance tends to be particularly high in Arab countries and some Latin
American ones, while it is more modest in Northern Europe and the U.S.
Masculinity

vs. femininity involves a somewhat more nebulous concept.

Masculine values involve competition and conquering nature by means such
as large construction projects, while feminine values involve harmony and
environmental protection. Japan is one of the more masculine countries, while
the Netherlands rank relatively low. The U.S. is close to the middle, slightly
toward the masculine side. ( The fact that these values are thought of as

masculine or feminine does not mean that they are consistently held by
members of each respective genderthere are very large within-group
differences. There is, however, often a large correlation of these cultural values
with the status of women.)
Uncertainty

avoidance involves the extent to which a structured situation with

clear rules is preferred to a more ambiguous one; in general, countries with lower
uncertainty avoidance tend to be more tolerant of risk. deals with a society's
tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man's search for
Truth. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either
uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Unstructured situations
are novel, unknown, surprising, different from usual. Uncertainty avoiding
cultures try to minimize the possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules,
safety and security measures, and on the philosophical and religious level by a
belief in absolute Truth; 'there can only be one Truth and we have it'. People in
uncertainty avoiding countries are also more emotional, and motivated by inner
nervous energy.
Japan ranks very high. Few countries are very low in any absolute sense, but
relatively speaking, Britain and Hong Kong are lower, and the U.S. is in the lower
range of the distribution.
Although Hofstedes original work did not address this, a fifth dimension of long
term vs. short term orientation has been proposed. In the U.S., managers like to
see quick results, while Japanese managers are known for take a long term view,
often accepting long periods before profitability is obtained.
Sacred and profane consumption
Consumer activities can be divided into sacred and profane domains.
Sacred phenomena are set apart from everyday activities or products People, events or
objects can be sacralized.
(e.g. people who make holidaysthey search for activities that differ from those ones
they do at home)
- Sacralization occurs when formerly sacred objects or activities become part of the
everyday
- Desacralization occurs when objects that previously were considered sacred become
commercialized, which means profane as a result.
(i.e. souvenir reproductions of sacred monuments)
Profane consumption involves consumer objects and events that are ordinary,
everyday objects and events that do not have the special attributes of sacred ones.
Collecting is one of the most common ways of experiencing sacred consumption in daily
life.
It refers to the systematic acquisition of a particular object or set of objects.

In this context, consumption and passion are most heavily intertwined.

Utilitarian meaning: Usefulness, the functionality of products. Example, Wheels are not
useful we recognize and use them. A motorcycle is useful when we ride it.
Sacred meanings: For most brands, this never happens. When it happens, the brand is
supremely important for that person. For example: Apple community or the Nike shoe
from the movie, professor showed us on the lecture. The guy wanted to buy a special pair
of shoes and save it for his son. He thought that his son can stand out when he is in
college.
Hedonic meaning: Something we enjoy, feelings, sensual, aesthetic. Example soap
(connects to sport, energy, aroma, smells). For advertisement add nature and waterfalls.
Social meaning: Communicating who we are and where we belong.
Self concept elements
Content (internal, external)
Valence (Positive, negative)
Stability (Stable, dynamic)
Self-esteem
Inner, private self Outer, public self
Who we are
Middleage- people were born into something, couldn't choose what they wanted. If the
dad was a soldier, the son became a soldier.
Nowadays- Consumption and experience. We listen to different music, were different
clothes, what mobile we use etc.
SELF

Actual (What we are) vs ideal (What we want to be)

Personal (For myself) vs Social (For others)
Multiple self playing different roles, switch by changing clothes etc. (party,
work, family dinner).
Extended self Something I own is a part of me. If this item is lost or destroyed,
the person feels like their personality is changed.

L8 Decision-making
Edit 6 0 8

Decision Making (based on SBAH Chapter 8)

-> Decision making in its basic sence is problem solving.
Choice maker, it's about motivation, in line with the 'god' perspective.
(Individuals power of individual). Can't escape influences from

culture and other people.

Decisions
Choices on different levels. Basic-Specific. How the process of making
choices works.
Always require choices between different behaviors.
Key process is the integration process by which knowledge is
combined to evaluate two or more alternative behaviors and
select one. Intention is not the behavior. Intention to attend
class, someone stops you behavior.
The outcome is a choice, represented cognitively as a behavioral
intention. (BI)
Marketers are mostly interested in consumers' purchase
choices.
There are three phases of consumer behaviour, the prepurchase, the
actual purchase and the post-purchase. Marketers have been
focusing in the actual purchase which is directly related to the
prepurchase.
The decisions are affected by:
Environmental factors - As seen in classroom with the example of the
Vista in a store (in Vivian's example) also social, physical and financial
factors;
Cognitive and affective processes (thoughts, emotion);
Behavioural actions: Usually it is a group of decisions.
GENERIC MODEL of consumer problem solving (5 stages)
Problem recognition: to feel a sort of need, lack or tension (How can feel people more
needs? What triggers them?)
Search for alternative solutions: collecting information from different sources (What
sources do they take? Who do they ask for information?)
Evaluation of alternatives: Comparing brands (What types of criteria do they use? How
many criteria do they use?)
Purchase (decision)
Postpurchase use and reevaluation: Changing your mind about the purchase or sharing
information about the decision
But do consumer really make decision in this way? This depends on the Involvement, as
described below. Also often we do not make a decision linear, but often go back to a
previous step of the model. Furthermore other decisions may have an influence, which
are not included in the model - involve multiple problems and multiple decisions.

Impulsive act on feelings, without thinking, step 1,4,5

Compulsive Nothing in the lecture is important, doesn't really care,
only step 4
Life changing decisions Not that many, maybe 10 in a lifetime. Made
carefully, rationally, lot of research.
Every day decisions decisions that we make all the time. What to
eat, what to wear, what seat to sit on. Sometimes not even aware of
making a decision.

Involvement
Involvement how important something is for you. The amount of
involvement will reflects on the choice.
Involvement refers to a person's perceived relevance of the object
based on their inherent needs, values and interests.
Involvement can be viewed as the motivation to process information.
-it translates into consumer effort and dedication.
Depends on:
The degree of intrinsic and situational self-relevance - how important is a product
to the consumer affects the level of involvement this consumer will have in
buying this product. This factor can also be affected by the situation, that means
the level of involvement for each product isn't fixed, it can vary;
Intrinstic whats important to a person, if high high involvement
Situational clothes is not important, some situations will force you to
change your mind, funeral, wedding. People in your society will expect
a kind of clothes on a funeral. Determine how much effort in choice.
Perceived risks: physical (our body, medicine), financial, functional
(wrong medicine, stay sick), psycho-social (wrong clothes will in
some situations give a bad influence on others. Bad impression.
And also how people feel about themselves)The risk is
influenced by the degree of unpleasantness of the negative
consequences and the likelihood that they will occur.
Perspectives on decision-making
1. The rational perspective - people calmly and carefully intergrate
as much information as possible with what they arleady know about a
product. Thay weight up the pros and cons of each before making a
decision.
2. Behavioural influence perspective - decisions are made under

conditions of low involvement. In this situations, the consumers

decisions are learned response to enviromental cues (triggers), e.g.
buying something on impulse - "special offer" Stores try to manipulate
customers by putting some goods on big piles, customer thinks its on
sale but it is not.
3. Experiental perpective - When decision making is more based on
high-involvement but still not entirely rational.
It is the experience and emotional response that determine our
choice. High involvement might not lead to rationalizing before
choice.
It's a combination of the other two. High involvement is not always
making it a rational choice. It is mostly emotions.

Choice Fugitive Try to avoid decision making, run away.

Types of consumer decisions
1. Routine decision-making - when we don't think much about the
purchase; those that are made habitually and with little or no
conscious effort. Marketers has to break the routine
2. Extensive decision-making - When there is a lot of time and effort
spent in the purchase; usually initiated by a motive that is fairly
central to self concept and the final decision is perceived to carry a
fair degree of risk. Customers wants to learn more, more information,
marketers has to share more knowledge.
3. Limited decision-making - It lays in the middle of the previous
types. usually straightforward and simple. There is no real motivation
to search for information and evaluate each alternative rigorously.
Elements of problem solving

1. Problem representation How consumers define a

problem

End goals (provide the focus for the entire problem-solving

process) Try to come up with new goals, example detergent:
main goal- get clothes clean again, new goal be a good parent.
Relevant product knowledge (evoked consideration set)The set
of products considered when selecting one special product. Evoked: The
starting point, brands we already know. It's doesn't have to be
the final solution but it's good to have a starting point when
walking in to a store. It's the alternatives we take to a decision.
consideration set (depending on how the consumer categorizes my product, I have
to set up the marketing strategy. E.g. is salad considered as main dish or not?)
Information search amount, type, bias, etc

2. Integration processes How to put it together, integrate knowledge

and information
Perform two essential tasks:
The choice alternatives must be evaluated in terms of the
choice criteria.
One of the alternatives must be selected.
Two types of integration procedures can account for these evaluation
and choice processes:
Formal integration strategies systematic, serious, carefully,
(combine knowledge very systematically): compensatory and non-compensatory
integration processes, decision making is in those processes rational and
information is gathered and considered
Compensatory process give a product a chance to make up for its
shortcomings. Consumers who employ these rules tend to be more
involved in the purchase and thus are willing to exert the effort to
consider the entire picture in a more exacting way. The willingness
to offset good product qualities against bad ones can result in quite
different choises (the yogurth example - people are reluctant to buy
the more expensive one, becouse it is BIO or Organic). There are
two basis types of compensatory rules:
simple additive rules - consumer merely chooses the alternative
having the largest number of positive atributes. This choice is more
likely to occure when the ability or motivation to process
information is limited;
weighted additive rule - the consumer takes into account also the
relative importance of positively rated attributes, essencialy
multipying brand ratings by importance weights.Ex. It's
expensive, but it tastes good so I will buy it.
Non compensatory process - product with a low standing on one
attribute cannot make up for this position by beeing better on other.
Poeple simply eliminate all options that do not meet some basic
standards. They are usually applied when people are less familiar
with a product category or are not very motivated to process
complex information; they tend to use simple rules. Ex. Even if
the product will be free, the person will not eat/get
it
Consumers are likely to use a combination of
processes in many problem solving situations.

Simpler procedures called heuristics simple, fast

Mental rules of thumb (shortcut) used to simplify decision-

making: relying on signals, relying on well-known brand names

as a signal of quality etc.
3. Decision plans What to do? Intentions What we want to do
Vary in their specificity and complexity
Marketers aim to increase the likelihood that the (positive)
intended behaviors will be performed. This may include buying big
product packages because of the heuristic rule that big packages are cheaper than
small ones, even though this may not be true for certain products.
Identify the interruption factors (stimuli, affective states, goal
conflicts. What can come in between a decision and a behavior?

INFORMATION SEARCH (lecture extension)

Information search is the process by which the consumer surveys his
or her environment for appropriate data to make a reasonable
decision.
There are different types of information search.
Firstly we can distinguish pre-purchase search when we look for the
specific information which will help us in the decision. On the other
hand we may be involved in ongoing search. Here we build a bank of
information for future use, we check offers to know what is in, probably
we have fun doing window-shopping etc.
Other two kinds of information search depends on the source we use to
achieve our goals. We may scan our memory and base only on
internal search. If we look for the product information outside we are
involved in external search. Even if we are market-aware, we
supplement our knowledge with ads which attack us or friends who
made similar decisions already. Its hard task to base only on internal
search.
Last situation leads us also to recognize incidental learning when we
find and store information even if we are not directly interested in that.
Whereas directed learning means that we probably searched for
relevant information making similar buying decisions in the past. In
other words we speak here about deliberate and accidental search.
Moreover, decisions are always related to & influenced by other
dicisions.
The economics of information
Just to highlight this issue: people will put themselves out to collect as

much information as possible, as long as the process of gathering it is

not too onerous or time-consuming.
Biases in the decision-making process
..:: sunk-cost fallacy if we paid for something already we are
reluctant to waste it
..:: loss aversion we used to put much more emphasis on loss than
we do on gain
The consumers prior expertise
There is an inverted-U relationship between knowledge and external
search effort. It means that consumers who are moderately
knowledgeable will spend the longest time looking for information.
Novices or experts wouldnt involve in such way.

Imagem1.png
If you want to learn more about INFORMATION SEARCH you should read the
chapter in the book: pages 265-272.
IN-CLASS DISCUSSION
The Paradox of Choice Schwartz
A World of Choices Freedom? Welfare? / Too many? Bad consequences?
Examples:
Products (Jeans-variety)
Health Care (shift of the responsibility to the consumer)
Variety give consumers the chance to reinvent yourself, in a world that demand you to
be unique and different What kind of person do you want to be?: Consumers
even choose their identity, a shift of the burden and responsibility.
Deeply linked to Technology: everything and everybody is now too linked, too close, too

easy.
Negative Consequences for consumers:
Paralysis: you are not able to make a decision anymore more offers, less customers
Lower Level of Satisfaction - Regret: the more options there are the easier to regret our
decision opportunity cost: the pain of losing the other possibilities.
Raising expectations: hope for perfection => no positive surprises anymore
Options dont help, they hurt - Self-Blame and Depression.
Negative Consequence for marketers:
Decreasing sales
Unsatisfiable expectations
Consumers regret the purchase
Marketing Opportunities:
Less is more: Simple solutions
After-Sale service
Assistants (helping to make a choice)
- Facilitate choices: develop heuristics (emotional, subconscious stimuli that activate the
signals we pay attention to.
- Explore values like the simplest, special services (consulting, research/data
collection).
Valid for all societies?
There is a point until which more variety is desirable may depend on the politics and
the wealth. Western societies have probably reached already the limit of choice for
comfort Everybody needs a fish bowl.
In more traditional societies, benefits may still raise with an increase in the possibilities
of choice. The play Fiddler in the Roof gives us a good example on how traditional
societies hang on to tradition, a designed and safe path to keep the balance and look
suspiciously towards change and innovation.

L9 'New' consumer
Edit 0 0 1
What happens to consumption and consumers in a world dominated by the market?
Throughout the course we have seen how individuals increasingly turn to consumption
when faced with problems. Even the higher order problems, such as searching for
meaning in life and defining our 'self', that were in the past governed by religion and the
local community (the family, clan, etc.) increasingly shift into the domain of markets and
consumption.
These changes point to important cultural shifts. We started the course by pointing out
that the traditional definition of consumer is outdated (think prosumer). Todays
consumer is more complex and extensive than yesterday's. The changes suggested above
have made it more difficult to think of consumers (and consumption) outside the other (in
the past separate) spheres of social existence.

We used to distinguish very clearly between citizen and consumer. Citizens deal with
politics and social problems, consumers with products and consumption issues. Not any
more! When faced with political and social problems individuals now often respond with
consumption instead of political action (voting, contacting politicians). If they are angry
at certain countries they stop consuming their products (boycotting). If they like the
political/social solutions offered by a company/brand they consume it to show support
(BUYcotting). Its called voting with your wallet and its becoming more popular than
the actual voting. Think Coca Cola and Nike boycotts (http://killercoke.org/); think US
boycotts of French products when France refused to join the anti-terrorist
coalition(http://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/france-01.htm); think Fair trade products
(http://www.fairtrade.net/); think Ben & Jerrys (http://www.benjerry.com/activism/).
We used to separate religion from the marketplace, the intimate and personal from the
commercial. Not any more! We saw wedding services being held in a mall; we saw
industrial chaplains; we see people (including ourselves) sharing intimate information on
commercial platforms (think Facebook, Youtube, or any type of reality show you can
imagine); we see more and more individuals transforming themselves into products
(think politicians, celebrities, everybody!) by opening/adapting their lives to the
consuming public, by treating their bodies as packaging that can encourage consumption
(think plastic surgery, steroids, the beauty industry,). We see our bodies and minds as
instruments that can be upgraded, fixed, etc. We consume in ways that were not
imaginable a few decades ago.
As a result, our understanding of consumers and consumption can more readily than ever
be used in areas that used to have nothing or little to do with consumption and marketing.
Politicians, the church, doctors, educators, there are all increasingly faced by consumers
and consumer mindsets (instead of citizens, patients or students). What happens when
everything becomes a consumption experience? You might say that nothing is sacred
anymore. You could also say that consumption becomes sacred. I prefer the second one.
Instead of simply complaining that the market and consumption have destroyed religion,
politics, etc. we can try to understand the new forms of consumo-religion and political
consumption that have recently emerged. Instead of complaining about the death of the
natural, pure human being, we can consider these new consumer cyborgs more closely
(e.g., drug/machine enhanced humans, plastic beauties, etc.). Think of the exciting new
ideas we could learn.
GENERAL TRENDS (they are interrelated!)
- the rise of the market & consumption as the central socio-cultural force
- the blurring of divisions between other social spheres and consumption
- commoditization of previously sacred aspects of life
- consumption replacing religion and ancestry as the prime sources of self definition
- emerging political/social consumption (voting with wallets)
- moving to postmodernity (see p. 621-624 in SBAH)

MORE SPECIFIC TRENDS

- prosumption: consumers become producers through the opportunities offered by new
technologies (internet: user generated content)
- word of mouse/mouth on the rise (remember McCanns report), marketing
communication facing serious changes
- see http://www.trendwatching.com/ for more

The results will be published early next week. Until then, here are the correct answers. If
you have any questions, please post them on the discussion page.
1. Which of the following approaches to consumer motivation focuses on society
(culture) rather
than the individual?
A none of the above
B artist
C rat
D psychologist
E god
2.Which statement is INCORRECT?
A Weber's law suggest that the absolute treshold of human perception is invertly
related to the
differentual treshold.
B Gestalt psychology suggest principles like the principle of 'closure', 'similarity' and
'figure-ground'
C Perception is the process by which physical sensations such as sights, sounds, and
smells are selected,
organised and interpreted.
D Gestalt psychology is a school of thought dealing with the interpretation processes
(organization
principles to be more precise).
E Weber's law suggests that our ability to detect a change in stimuli (such as sounds,
smells, etc.) is
relative to the strenght of initial stimuli.
3. The Wheel of consumer behavior (used to analyze consumer behavior) consists of
three basic
elements: 1. the environment, 2. consumer behavior and 3.
A needs and wants

B marketing and strategy

C affect and cognition
D need and desire
E perception and attention
4. In motivation theory _ focuses on biogenic needs, _ on individual's
goals/expectations and _ on the fantasies/passion.
A desire theory, expectancy theory, drive theory,
B drive theory, desire theory, expectancy theory
C none of the above
D expectancy theory, drive theory, desire theory
E drive theory, expectancy theory, desire theory
5. When attitudes are formed experientially based on HEDONIC consumption
A beliefs [thinking] is followed by behaviour [doing] which followed by affect [feeling]
B none of the other anwers are correct
C affect [feeling] is followed by behaviour [doing] which is followed by beliefs
[thinking]
D affect [feeling] is followed by by beliefs [thinking] resulting in behaviour [doing]
E beliefs [thinking] is followed by affect [feeling] resulting in behaviour [doing]
6.The functional theory of attitudes explains by presenting four functions: utilitarian,
knowledge, ego-defensive and _.
A how to measure attitudes / value expressive
B why we have attitudes / affective
C how attitudes can be changed / cognitive
D why we have attitudes / value expressive
E how to measure attitudes / cognitive
7. Cultural myths are stories that
A all of the answers are correct
B help maintain social order by authorising a social code to be followed by members of a
culture
C help emphasise that all components of the universe are part of a single picture
D help provide models for personal conduct
E help explain the origins of someting
8. Crescive norms related to strong moral rules and customs are called _ .
A I have no idea, but I desperately need the points
B ethics
C none of the other answers are correct
D rituals
E mores

9. Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion (ELM) explains that information

processing can
happen in two different ways (two routes), depending on _.
A the channel of the message
B the content of the message
C the source of the message
D the attitudes
E the level of involvement
10. There are two types of attention. The first one, called focal attention or alpha-mode
attention,
refers to:
A preconsious attention that is automatic or spontaneous (uncontrolled)
B none of the answers above or below are correct
C focusing on one stimuli alone (also called syntesthetic perception)
D perception occuring in conditions of high individual's control (deliberate
attention)
E perception occuring most of the time during shopping (dominant perception)