CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Motivation and involvement

Motivation is a driving force within individuals that impels them to action. It is defined as the
stimulation of any emotion operating upon ones will and prompting or driving it to action.
Psychologically speaking this driving force is the result of a state of tension produced by an unfulfilled
need. Individuals try to reduce this tension both consciously and subconsciously through selecting goals
and behavior.
Elements of motivation
1. Needs - Every individual has need. They are
Innate Needs these are physiological need and it includes the need for food, water, air,
clothing, shelter and sex. These are needed to sustain the biological life or biogenic
needs.
Acquired needs these are need in response to our culture or environment. These
include the needs for self-esteem, affection, prestige and learning. These are generally
psychological and are considered as secondary needs.
2. Wants wants are something more in addition to the needs that will have desirable effect. For
example food is the need and type of food is want.
3. Goals- are the ideal state that a person desires as he thinks that it would help him/her satisfy a
need. There are two type of goals and they are
Generic goals Generic goals can be defined as the general category of goals that
consumers see as a means to satisfy their needs and wants. Example- a consumer may
want to buy a mobile
Product specific goals these are specifically branded products or services that the
consumers select to fulfill the generic goal. Example the consumer would like to buy
Nokia or Samsung ( here the consumer has a specified brand choice towards the
product)
Selection of Goals
The goals selected by an individual depends on their

Personal experience
Physical capacity
1

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Prevailing cultural norms and values

Goals accessibility in the physical and social environment

Goals can be positive or negative. Positive goals is the one towards which behavior is directed
(approach object) and negative goals is the one form which behavior is directed away and is referred to
as an avoidance object.
Motives
Motives can be rational and emotional
Rational motives - When consumer motives are objective, and when selection of goals is made on the
basis of objective criteria, they are referred to as rational motives. These criteria could be price, size,
weight etc.
Emotional motives - When consumer motives are subjective, and when selection of goals is made on
the basis of personal and subjective criteria, like appearance and looks, colour, aesthetics etc., they are
referred to as emotional motives
Motivation can be positive or negative
Positive motivation: The person is driven towards an object/condition/situation.
Example: A person goes to the gym three times a week to build up his body and muscles so that he can
look good. The object in question (gym, work out, good body) is referred to as an approach object. His
behavior is directed towards achievement of a positive goal, which is fitness, body building and great
looks.
Negative motivation: The person is driven away from an object/condition/situation, and the
corresponding effects of non usage.
For example, a person decides to buy Pepsodent toothpaste for his child as it helps fight germs and
tooth decay whole day long. His behavior is directed towards the object (Pepsodent) to avoid a negative
goal, which is tooth decay.
The Dynamic nature of motivation
Needs and wants exhibit multiplicity. Various kinds of physiological and psychological
needs have been proposed and listed; while physiological needs are few and universal,
psychological needs are many and varied.
A person may experience many needs and wants simultaneously and one may be sacrificed
at the cost of the other.
Needs/wants/goals/motives vary from person to person. They also vary within a person
across situation to situation.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Needs/wants are never fully satisfied. Wants are satisfied temporarily but needs are never
satisfied. They keep on emerging. As one need is satisfied, another emerges and so forth,
and as they emerge, they trigger off desire and motives.
Needs/wants/goals/motives grow, develop and change in response to an individual and his
environment.
Needs and wants may also lie dormant. They may suddenly trigger owing to physiological
factors, social factors, and/or external environmental factors.
Success and failure to fulfill needs and wants also affect the future choice of goals.
Arousal of motives
Physiological Arousal - when a person becomes aware of his needs due to change in his
physiological state, it will give rise to physiological motives.
For example - a person who is cold may turn up the heat in his bedroom and also make a mental
note to buy a warm cardigan sweater to wear around the house
Emotional Arousal At times the mundane nature of routine life leads a person to fantasies or
daydream and this stimulate his latent need to satisfy his emotion.
For example A young women who daydream of torrid romance may spend her free time in
internet single chat rooms
Cognitive Arousal this occurs when we come across some information incidentally and this
triggers our thought process and arouses a need in us.
Environmental Arousal the various signals that we come across in our environment in the
form of the sight, smell and sound surrounding us also prompt many needs.
Theories of Motivation
Maslows hierarchy of needs

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Abraham Maslow, a clinical psychologist in 1943, formulated a widely accepted theory of human
motivation based on human needs. Maslow proposed that human needs could be classified into five
basic levels, that is; basic /primary needs, safety/security needs, social/affiliation needs, ego/esteem
needs and self actualization needs. Each of the needs could be ranked in order of importance from the
lowest to the highest through a pyramidical structure starting from basic /primary needs to the
safety/security needs to the social/affiliation needs to the ego/esteem needs, to finally the self
actualization needs. The first two needs, ie; basic /primary needs and safety/security needs were
biogenic in nature and were regarded as lower-order needs; while the rest of the three, i.e.;
social/affiliation needs, ego/esteem needs and self actualization needs were psychogenic in nature and
were regarded as higher-order needs. According to the theory, these needs are hierarchical and an
individual will go level by level, starting first with the fulfillment of the lower-order needs and
gradually move towards the fulfillment of the higher-order needs. A person cannot move to the second
level unless the first level is satisfied. Once a level is satisfied, it ceases to be a motivator and the
moves to the next.
Physiological Needs in the hierarchy of needs theory, physiological needs are the first and most basic
level of human needs. These needs are required to sustain biological life, include food, water , air,
shelter, clothing, sex.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Example for the man who is extremely hungry, no other interest exists but food. He dreams of food,
he remembers food, he thinks of food, he perceives only food and he wants only food.
Safety needs once the physiological needs are satisfied, safety and security needs become the driving
force behind an individuals behavior. These needs are concerned not only with physical safety but also
include order, stability, routine and control over ones life and environment.
Example: savings accounts, insurance policies.
Social needs- the third level in Maslows need theory include needs as love, affection, belonging and
acceptance. People seek warm and satisfying human relationship with other people and are motivated
by love for their families.
Egoistic Needs / Esteem needs once the social needs are more or les satisfied, the fourth level
becomes operative. This level is concerned with egoistic needs. These needs can take either an inward
or an outward orientation.
Inward orientation reflects an individuals need for self acceptance, self esteem, success
Outward orientation includes the needs for prestige, reputation, status, recognition from others etc.
Self-actualization needs - most of the people do not satisfy their ego needs sufficiently to ever move to
the fifth level. This need refers to an individuals desire to fulfill his/her potential to become everything
he/she is capable of becoming.

Mc Clellands Trio of need theory

According to him, an individuals needs are acquired over time and are learned and accordingly shaped
by ones life experiences. These needs can be classified into three categories and they are Needs for
power (nPow), affiliation (nAff) and achievement (NAch).
Need for Power (nPow) the power need relates to an individuals desire to control his/her
environment. It includes the need to control other persons and various objects. This need appears to be
closely related to the ego need, in that many individuals experience increased self-esteem when they
exercise power over object or people.
Need for Affiliation (nAff) affiliation is well known and well researched social motive that has farreaching influence on consumer behavior. The affiliation need is very similar to Maslows social need
theory. People with high affiliation need tend to be socially dependent on others. According to this, the
behavior is strongly influenced by the desire for friendship, acceptance and belongings.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Need for Achievement (nAch) individual with a strong need for achievement often regard personnel
accomplishment as an end in itself. The achievement need is closely relate to both egoistic need and
self- actualizations need.

Motivation theory and market strategy

Approach Approach Conflict happens when the consumer has two different choices of
similar or dissimilar category of product or services, which he gives equal importance but
unable to choose one over the other. The marketer can come in to make his offer more attractive
and important in any sense and help the customer to decide in its favour.
Example A hungry man is tempted to have both pizza and Burger.

Approach avoidance conflict - happens when the consumer has decides in favour of a product
but somehow not satisfied with a particular feature or want to avoid it. The marketer can come
in make some modification in the product features to suit and help the customers to decide in its
favour.
Example - is that a lady wants to have an ice-cream but is also concerned about the fact that it
would mean adding to calories and weight

Avoidance-Avoidance conflict- happens when the consumer has to decide between two negative
choices. The choices are said to be negative in relation to certain personnel attributes of the
consumer. The marketer can come in to make some suggestion in the decision making process
to suit and help the customers to decide in its favour
For example, the doctor prescribes to a patient of a long drawn treatment based on medicines
with lower rate of success as against another option of a surgical procedure with high risk of
post operative complications.
Involvement
Defined as a psychological state that motivates people to be more aware and careful about
personnel object or situations.
Consumer involvement is defined as a state of mind that motivates consumers to identify with
product / service offering, their consumption pattern and behavior. Involvement creates within
consumers an urge to look for and think about the product /service category and the varying
option before making decision on brand preference and the final act of purchase.
Types of involvement
Situational involvement - This is a state of arousal directed towards attaching relevance to a
person/object/situation for a short term.It is specific to a situation and is thus temporary in
nature. It could vary from low to high, depending upon the situational factors.
6

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

For example - a middle aged lady suddenly decides to gift a laptop to her son on his birthday.
She is not techno savvy and has little interest with the product category. She goes to the
electronics mall and visits the various stores that sell computers and laptops. She collects
information on the product features, prices, etc. and finally takes the help of her middle aged
neighbor to reach a final decision. Her involvement with the purchase activity would be
regarded as a situational involvement.
Enduring involvement - When the level of involvement towards the product/service category
extends over a period of time across situations, it is referred to as enduring involvement. The
person shows a high-level of interest in the product category and spends time collecting and
processing information and integrating it within his memory.
For example, a person desires to buy a laptop for his son to be gifted to him when he goes to
college, which would be three years later. The father plans well in advance, tries to collect
information through advertisements, brochures, trade journals, visits to dealers, and word of
mouth from peers and colleagues. Within this period he gets involved with the product category
and after three years is in a position to take a decision based on the facts that he has collected.
This is referred to as enduring involvement.
Measures of Involvement

Brand
Ego
Importance of purchase
Product
Types (Situational/ enduring/ response)

Personality and self-concept

Personality defined as a sum total of outer physiological as well as inner psychological
characteristics that determine and reflect how a person reacts to his environment. It
exhibits itself through a unique psychological makeup that activates behavior on the part
of an individual in response to forces in his or her environment.
Nature of personality
1. Personality reflects individual differences because the inner characteristics that
constitute an individuals personality are a unique combination of factors , no two
individuals are exactly alike.
7

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

2. Personality is consistent and enduring personality cannot be changed easily ,

quickly and frequently. This consistency and stability manifest itself even in
buying and consumption patters and marketers need to learn how to overcome
them.
3. Personality can change under certain circumstances and over life span, like for
example in reaction to abrupt events/incidents/situations as also due to gradual
maturing with age.
Theories of personality
Freudian Theory
Sigmund Freud, the Father of psychology become famous with its psychoanalytic
theory of personality. Sigmund framed his theory on certain assumptions, they are
- Unconscious need r drives lie at the heart of human motivation and
personality
- The socialization process that takes place within people in a social set up
has a huge impact on individuals behavior.
According to Freud, personality is based on the dynamic and continuous interplay
between the Id, Ego and Super Ego.
Id deals with the primitive and impulsive drives of human mind.
Super Ego Individuals internal expression of moral and ethical codes of conduct as
moulded and influenced by the codes imposed by society.
Ego Individuals conscious control. It functions as internal monitor that attempt to
balance the impulsive demands of the Id and the socio-cultural constraints of the
superego
Neo-Freudian Theory
A group of psychologists who believed that social interaction and resultant
relationships formed the basis for the growth and development of personality. They
disagreed with their contemporary, Freud who believed that personality was
i)
biological and rooted in genetics, and
8

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
ii)

ii) Was groomed as a result of early childhood experiences.

The Neo-Freudian are

i)

Alfred Adler - is regarded as the father of individual psychology was a disciple of

Freud. He broke away from the Freudian philosophy due to disagreement over
the importance that Freud gave to the Unconscious. Adler believe that:
People are goal oriented, with an urge for personal growth, and the will to
power; they have within them a "self perfecting" drive; this drive is the single
"drive" or motivating force behind all behavior and experience
Individuals seek to overcome feelings of anxiety and feelings of inferiority; the
basic drive in human beings is to strive from an initial state of inadequacy, or what
he termed "inferiority", toward "superiority", or self-actualization.
People strive for goals that can be referred to as style of life.
Social drives, especially family, friends and culture have an impact on behavior
and feelings; right from birth across a life span, people involve themselves in
social relationships;
The primal social influences in an individual can be modified in a manner such
that that each one of us develops personal styles in dealing with our life and
achieving goals.
According to Adlers theory individuals buy to overcome feelings of inferiority.
ii)

Herbert Harry Stack Sullivan A psychiatrist extended Freuds theory of

psychoanalysis and concluded that failure in interpersonal relationship were
largely responsible for mental illness and disorder. According to him, social
relationships were extremely important for human beings and loneliness was
the most painful of human experiences. He developed a theory of psychiatry
based on interpersonal relationships where social forces are largely responsible
for mental illnesses.
Sullivan referred to his approach an interpersonal theory of psychiatry, to focus
on what goes on between people, sharp in contrast to Freud, who focused on
what goes on inside people. He believed that social relationships are primary,
which actually lead to personality. In fact personality manifests itself in such
social relationships.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
iii)

Karen Homey Homeys approach came to be known as the psychosocial

analysis. Her work focused on the emotional relationship that exits between
parent and child early in the childs life. While focusing on child-parent
relationship, she also researched on how people strive to overcome feelings of
anxiety.
According to Homey, people experience anxiety and tend to act as neurotics,
the irrational defenses against anxiety become a permanent part of personality
and that affect human behavior based on their approach towards overcoming
feelings of anxiety , people could be classified into three group. They are;
a. Compliant individuals are those who move towards others
b. Aggressive individuals are those who move against others
c. Detached individuals are those who move away from others.

Trait Theory
According to the Trait theorists, an individuals personality make-up stems out of
the traits that he possesses, and the identification of traits is important. People
possess specific psychological characteristics that are referred to as traits; and all
those who possess a particular trait, are said to belong to a personality type. A trait
is a predisposition to behave in a certain manner.
The trait theories can be of two broad categories, viz., simple trait theories and
general trait theories.
i) Simple trait theories: A limited number of traits are identified, and people are
identified and classified on the basis of these traits.
ii) General trait theories: A large variety of traits are identified.
Assessment of Trait theory: Unlike the Freudian and the Neo-Freudian theories, the
Trait Theories possess a degree of quantification while classifying individuals into
personality types. Through the application of tests and scales, people are objectively
assessed for presence/absence of personality traits and accordingly classified into
personality types. Thus, unlike the previous theories, the Trait approach seems to be a
more realistic and objective approach. However, the limitation lies in the fact that
sometimes traits tend to be indefinable, vague and indescribable; nevertheless the
personality tests are widely used.
10

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Trait theory and Consumer behavior

Some of traits and their relevance for a marketer are explained as follows:
Consumer innovativeness:
The degree to which consumers are receptive to new products, new services
or new practices.
Dogmatism:
A personality trait that reflects the degree of rigidity a person displays
toward the unfamiliar and toward information that is contrary to his or her
own established beliefs.
High dogmatic-discomfort with new product.
Low dogmatic-like to try new product.
Social character:
It is a personality trait that range from inner-directedness to otherdirectedness.
Inner-Directed:
o Consumers who tend to rely on their own inner values
o More likely to be innovators
o Tend to prefer ads that stress product features and benefits
Other-Directed
:
Consumers who tend to look to others for direction
o Less likely to be innovators
o Tend to prefer ads that feature social acceptance
Need for uniqueness:
Consumers who avoid appearing to conform to expectations or standards of
others.
Optimum stimulation level:
A personality trait that measures the level or amount of novelty or
complexity that individuals seek in their personal experiences. High OSL
consumers tend to accept risky and novel products more readily than low
OSL consumers.
11

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Sensation seeking:
A personality trait characterized by the need for varied, novel, and complex
sensations and experience, and the willingness to take physical and social
risks for the sake of such experience
Variety-novelty seeking:
A personality trait similar to OSL, which measures a consumers degree to
variety seeking
Examples:
Exploratory Purchase Behavior
Use Innovativeness
Vicarious Exploration
Cognitive personality factors:
Two cognitive personality traits are:
Need for cognition.
Visualizers vs verbalizers.
Need for cognition
o A persons craving for enjoyment of thinking
o Consumers high in NC are more likely to respond to ads rich in
product-related information
o Consumers low in NC are more likely to be attracted to background
or peripheral aspects of an ad.
o
Visualizers versus verbalizers
o A persons preference for information presented visually or verbally
Consumer materialism:
The degree of consumer attachment to a worldly possession.
The extent to which a person is considered materialistic.
Characteristic of materialistic people:
Value acquiring and showing-off possessions
Are particularly self-centered and selfish
12

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Seek lifestyles full of possessions

Have many possessions that do not lead to greater happiness
Fixed consumption behavior
Consumers fixated on certain products or categories of products
Consumers have
o A deep interest in a particular object or product category
o A willingness to go to considerable lengths to secure items in the
category of interest.
o The dedication of a considerable amount of discretionary time and
money to searching out the product
Examples: stamp collectors, hobbyists
Compulsive consumption behavior
Addicted or out-of-control consumers
Consumers who are compulsive buyers have an addiction; in some respects,
they are out of control and their actions may have damaging consequences
to them and to those around them
Consumer Ethnocentrism:
The consumers likelihood to accept or reject foreign made products
Ethnocentric consumers feel it is wrong to purchase foreign-made products
They can be targeted by stressing nationalistic themes.
Self Concept
It is the sum totals of persons feelings, knowledge and understanding of his / her self as
an object.
Two components:
Actual Self - refers to an individuals perception of what/who he or she is
Ideal self - refers to an individuals perception of what/who he or she wants to be.
As a consumer actual and ideal self come to play in the market place. While a consumer
tries to relate his personality with the personality of the product/service offering, and the
13

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

brand, the actual-self, comes into play; on the other hand, when he tries to match the
product /service and the brand personality with his aspirational group, and aspires to buy
the same, the ideal-self comes into play. This confirms the assumption that selfconcept is closely related with personality, and individuals would buy such
products/services, which match their concept and personalities.
Self Image
Arises out of the persons background, values, lifestyles, experience etc as well as
interactions with parents, Family, friends etc. Traits, characteristics, qualities and
mannerisms of behavior, all put together create the self-image of a person.
Perception
Different people see things, events, and ideas from different view point, and hold
different opinions, views for them. In other words they have different Perception of
the world.
Definition of Perception:
Perception is defined as the process by which the individual selects, organizes, and
interprets various stimuli into a meaningful & coherent picture of the world. Marketers
are deeply interested in such perceptions the consumers hold about their products &
services, brands, company etc.
Elements of Perception:
The following are the elements of Perception:
1. Sensation is the immediate & direct response of the sensory organs to stimuli. A
stimulus is a single input of any of the senses. Human beings have sensory receptors
called sensory organs. They are :
a. Eyes for sights & seeing,
b. Ears for sounds & hearing,
c. Nose for smells & smelling,
d. Tongue for tastes & tasting,
e. Skin for textures, touch & feeling,
Marketers try to stimulate the sensory organs of a consumer to create a favorable
perception towards their products.
14

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

2. Absolute threshold is the minimum level that the individual can experience a
sensation. In other words, he can distinguish the difference between something &
nothing. This level varies from person to person & varies with time, place &
environment. Marketers often try to provide stimuli more than this level.
3. Differential Threshold or Just Noticeable Difference (JND) is the minimal
difference that can be detected between two similar stimuli. German scientist Ernst
Weber discovered that the JND between two stimuli is not absolute, but an amount
relative to the intensity of the first stimulus. Thus marketers try to change certain
attributes which are just short of JND.
4. Subliminal Perception there are certain types of stimuli which are not strong
enough to exceed the absolute threshold, but somehow stimulate the subconscious
mind & get recorded there, sometimes without the knowledge of the preceptor. At a
later stage this might surface as some form of expression or perception. Here the
marketers try to stimulate the subconscious mind of an individual.
Information processing:
is a series of activities where the stimuli are perceived & processed to convert/transform
them to information, and then stored (very similar to computer data processing). Later
this info is used in selecting a product.
1. Exposure: Exposure occurs when our senses detect some external cue from the
various things we come in contact with. We are all exposed to a plethora of
marketing ads continuously. This becomes the starting point of all information
processing. But people tend to perceive things they need or want. The stronger the
need, the greater the tendency to ignore unrelated stimuli. Hence Selective
Perception occurs when the consumer selects the stimuli from the environment on
the basis of interaction of expectations & motives with the stimulus itself. These
factors give rise to four important concepts concerning perception :
a. Selective exposure where the consumers want to avoid unpleasant or painful
messages & seek those which are sympathetic, interesting and pleasant.
b. Selective attention where the consumers exercise selectivity in terms of their
attention to commercial stimuli. They have a heightened attention regarding the
stimuli that meet their needs, & minimal attention to the ones irrelevant to their
needs. People also vary in terms of kind of info like price, quality, features etc.,
forms of messages & type of medium they prefer.
15

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

c. Perceptual defense where consumers subconsciously screen out stimuli that are
threatening or damaging even if the exposure has already taken place. Likewise
sometimes they unconsciously distort the information that is not matching their
needs, values, & beliefs. This may be due to psychological factors or any
unfavorable past experience.
d. Perceptual blocking where consumers protect themselves from being exposed
by blocking such stimuli from conscious awareness. They do it for self protection
because of the visually overwhelming nature of the world we live in.
2. Attention: Normally all the stimuli of a message come thro the various sensory
organs simultaneously. But an individual can remember only one of them, usually the
strongest and tries to take action on that basis. Marketers try to exploit that situation
to their advantage, to leave an impact in the consumer. This is known as attention.
a. Stimulus is the one which prompts an individual to initiate an action by creating
an attention. It has the following characteristics : Size & Intensity; Color &
Movement; Position; Format & Design; Isolation; Contrast or Distinction;
Information extent.
b. Individual factors The attention of a consumer depends on the following
factors: Interest & Needs; Ability; Involvement, etc.
c. Situational factors Often the situation, condition, environment or the
surrounding of the consumer have an affect on its attention of certain stimuli.
Hence the marketers should devise certain methods to help overcome that.
3. Interpretation Just like peoples exercise of selective perception on the basis of
certain psychological principles, the interpretation of these stimuli is also highly
individual because it is based on what the individuals expect to see in the light of
their previous experience, motives, interests, reasoning at the time of perception. In
the case of any ambiguous stimuli, the individuals usually interpret these in such a
way to serve their own needs, interests, wishes, etc.
Consumer Imagery:
Consumers have a number of enduring perceptions or images of themselves. Products &
brands have also a symbolic value for consumers, who evaluate them on the basis of
their consistency (congruence) with the perception of themselves. This is the consumers
self-image & they attempt to preserve or enhance it by buying products & brands or
patronizing services which they believe are congruent with their self-images and
avoiding which are not. This phenomenon is known as consumer imagery.
1. Product Image - where the consumer compares his self-image with his perception of
the product or brand.
16

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

2. Service Image - where the consumer compares his self-image with his perception of
the service or its provider.
Perception in Marketing:
Marketers have realized that understanding the perception process of consumers help
them to design better ways to help them perceive favorably. The main methods of stimuli
are thro advertising, communication, messaging, company news etc. Thus the marketers
have to develop specific stimuli thro these methods so that the consumers perception
about their products clearly & enduringly. These are some techniques:
1. Brand development & Perceptual Mapping This technique helps the marketers to
determine how the products or services appear to the consumer in relation the other
competitive brands on one or more relevant attributes of the products or services.
2. Retail Stores In retail stores normally all the brands in a particular category of
products are arranged at the same place, so they have a direct competitive setting.
The brands which claim to be special in any respect should be specially displayed to
gain attention.
Learning
Different theorists have different views about Learning. But somehow the following are
the most generally accepted definitions in the context of Marketing Management.
Schiffman Defines Learning is a process by which individuals acquire the purchase and
consumption knowledge and experience that they apply to future related behavior.
The following are the salient features of Learning:
1. Consumer learning is a process, and thus it continuously changes and evolves as a
result of newly acquired knowledge
2. This knowledge can be obtained from reading, discussing, observing, thinking, etc.
Or from actual experience.
3. Both the newly acquired knowledge and personal experience serve as a feedback.
4. This also serves as a future behavior in similar situations.
5. Not all learning is deliberate. Learning can be :
a. Intentional: acquired as a result of careful search for information with effort.
b. Incidental: acquired as a result of accident or by the way, without much effort.
17

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

6. The term Learning generally covers all ranges of learning from simple reflexive
responses to abstract concepts or complex problem solving capability.
Elements of learning
Motivation:
Motives, motivation or drive is very important for learning. People learn by being driven
by some motives or motivating factor. Motives arouse individuals in increasing their
readiness to respond to a leaning activity. It also activates the energy needed to do so.
The degree of relevance or involvement determines the consumers level of motivation
to search for information about a product / service. Marketers must be aware of this kind
of motive so that they are ready to provide product info right at that moment. For
example, showing ads for winter goods just before winter and summer products just
before summer.
Cues:
Motives stimulate learning, whereas Cues are the stimuli that give direction to these
motives. These are not as strong as motives, but they can influence in the manner
consumers respond to a motive. For example, in the market place, price, styling,
packaging, store display all serve as cues to help consumer to decide a particular product
from a group.
Response:
Response is how the consumers react to the motives or a cue, and how they behave.
Response can be overt (open, physical or visible) or covert (hidden or mental), but in
either case learning can occur. Often marketers may not succeed in stimulating a
purchase. But over a period of time they may succeed in forming a favorable image of a
particular product in the consumers mind. So when the consumer is ready, he is likely to
buy that.
Reinforcement:
Reinforcement is an important element which increases the probability of a particular
response to occur in future as a result of a given set of motives and cues. Because
reinforced behavior tends to be repeated, consumers can learn to develop successful
means of responding to their needs or changing conditions.
The nature and characteristics of Consumer Learning.
18

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Consumer learning can be better explained by understanding the nature and

characteristics of learning:

a) Learning involves a change in behavior; in terms of consumer learning, it implies that

a consumer, who is exposed to the marketing stimuli, may react to it through its purchase
and consumption; if his experience is satisfying, he would repeat the purchase behavior
in favor of the brand. In case he is not satisfied, he would switch over to another brand.
Thus leaning involves a change in behavior.
b) The change in behavior is relatively permanent. Learning also leads to development
of attitudes. Until and unless an attempt is made to change this behavior, it continues.
c) The change in behavior occurs because of experience, there has to be some kind of an
experience for learning to occur. This experience could be direct (self-experience) or
indirect (experiences of others, and word of mouth).
d) Learning must be reinforced to have an impact; if learning as a process is not
reinforced, the behavior would disappear. This reinforcement could be positive or
negative.
e) Learning also leads to development of attitudes.
f) Apart from experiences, consumer learning also reflects the impact of (i) marketing
(commercial) and non-marketing communication (interpersonal/non-commercial), as
well as (ii) background characteristics.
g) Learning is a cognitive process and can only be inferred through our actions and
behavior. Learning includes exposure to information, its processing and storage; this
entire process cannot be observed directly, and is only reflected in our behavior.
h) Learning is a continuous process. A person is exposed to information/ knowledge
and/experiences all the time; he interprets these, learns from them and stores these in his
memory for retrieval. This addition of knowledge to the memory bank may alter/modify
existing information (this entire bank is called the Associative Network). The upgraded
information provides a basis for future behavior.
19

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

i) Consumer learning as a continual process where knowledge is ever evolving as a

result of marketing stimuli; discussion with family, friends, peers, colleagues, blogs and
public forums; and, direct experiences (self) and indirect experiences (Word-of-Mouth).
j) Learning may be specific/intentional, ongoing and incidental.
Learning theories
There are two approaches to the study of learning, viz., the behavioral approach to
learning, and the cognitive approach to learning. According to the behavioral theorists,
learning takes place in response to events/happenings in a persons external
environment. On the other hand, the cognitive theorists believe that learning takes place
as a result of a persons conscious and deliberate information processing and storage
activity.

BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY:

The approach defines learning in terms of an association between stimulus and response,
where the stimulus is an external object/person/situation that a person senses and
perceives, and response is the behavior of the person that occurs in reaction to the
object/person/situation.
The theories are based on the assumption that:
- people learn to associate the stimulus and response.
- they begin to relate the stimulus and response and they generalize the relationship,
across situations; whenever the stimulus occurs, there is a similar response.
- observable and predictable responses to specific external stimuli are reflective and
symbolic of learning having taken place.
- thus, these behavioral theories are also referred to as stimulus-response theories .
Behavioral theorists do not concentrate on the dynamics of the learning process. Their
major concern is on viewing learning as a response to events/happenings in a persons
external environment. The main proponents of this approach were Pavlov, who proposed
20

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

the theory of classical conditioning, and Skinner, who proposed the theory of
operant/instrumental conditioning.

Theory of Classical Conditioning

Proposed by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist, in the 1920s, this pioneering work
was based on the famous experiments that were conducted on dogs. Pavlov believed:
- all living beings are passive in nature; they can be taught how to behave through
repetition or conditioning; and,
- learning occurs as a repeated connection/association between stimulus and response.
- learning takes place through conditioning; as such classical conditioning also came to
be known as respondent conditioning.
- learning becomes conditioned when a stimulus that is paired with another stimulus that
leads to a known response serves to produce the same response when used alone.
Pavlov elaborated upon the process of conditioning through a series of experiments that
he conducted on dogs. Pavlov started his experiments on the dog by measuring the
amount of salivation secreted by the dog as and when changes were made. Initially, he
gave meat (unconditioned stimulus, US) to the dog and as natural, there was a great deal
of salivation (unconditioned response, UR). When he merely rang the bell (neutral
stimulus) and gave no meat, there was no salivation. In the next phase, he combined the
two, meat as well as the ringing of the bell (unconditioned stimulus plus conditioned
stimulus, US+CS). The dog salivated (unconditioned response, UR). He repeated the
pairing many a times over a period of time. In the last phase, Pavlov rang the bell
without giving the meat (conditioned stimulus, CS); and the dog salivated to the sound
of the bell alone (conditioned response, CR). The dog became conditioned to salivate at
the sound of the ringing bell. The dogs associated the bell sound of the bell (CS) with the
meat (US) and, after a number of pairings between the CS and the US, gave the same
response (salivation) to the bell alone as he had been doing to the maet alone.
21

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
I Before conditioning
Meat (US) Salivation (UR)
Ball (Neutral stimulus) No response
II During conditioning

Meat (US) + Bell (CS) Salivation (UR)

III After conditioning
Bell (CS) Salivation (UR)
In conceptual terms, according to Pavlov, conditioning would take place if:
- an unconditioned stimulus (US) results in an unconditioned response (UR).
Subsequently,
- an unconditioned stimulus (US) paired with a conditioned stimulus (CS), will result in
the same response, which would now be called a conditioned response (CR).
Finally, upon repeated pairings,
- the conditioning stimuli alone (without the unconditioned stimuli) would elicit the
same conditioned response (CR).
Thus, classical conditioning occurs when a person learns to relate an unrelated stimulus
(CS) with a particular behavioral response (UR/CR) that was previously elicited by a
related stimulus (US). If a person is exposed to a series of repetitive pairings between the
first and second stimulus, gradually what happens is that the second stimulus alone,
begins to be associated with the first, and elicits the same response, as the first one did
alone or in combination with the other.
Instrumental Conditioning
Skinner who is credited for his theory of operant conditioning. An American
psychologist of the 1950s, he emphasized on the role that consequences have to play on
the process of learning. He spoke of a response-stimulus connection, (Response
22

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Stimulus) or (R-S), rather than the S-R connection as proposed by Pavlov. The learning
took place through instrumental or operant conditioning.
Skinner based his theory on the experiments he conducted while working with animals
and birds, like rats and pigeons. He developed a cage, what was came to be known as the
Skinners Box. The cage had a mechanism which facilitated the learning process; the
cage had levers and keys; it also had a bar or a pedal on one of its walls, and that when
pressed, caused the mechanism to release food into the cage. The rats moved across the
cage; and suddenly, accidentally they would press the bar, and the food was released.
The rat began to understand a connection between his movement and the food; and
gradually, learnt to press the bar or pedal the right key that gave him the food. Skinner
repeated these experiments with pigeons; as and when they pecked the right key, food
was released. The food acted as a reward, where the rats and pigeons were "rewarded"
for choosing an appropriate behavior, and their behavior was positively reinforced. Over
time, Skinner decided to withdraw the food; while the rats and pigeons made the right
movements, food was no longer released and the creatures were disappointed. After
several attempts with unrewarding consequences, they stopped pressing the right bars
and pedals. This was referred to as extinction.
Skinner concluded that any behavior that is followed by pleasant events (reinforcing
stimulus), is likely to be repeated; a positively reinforced behavior increases the
likelihood of repetition of such behavior. On the other hand, any behavior that is
followed by unpleasant events (and a non-reinforcing stimulus), is less likely to be
repeated; it results in a decreased probability of that behavior occurring in the future.
Thus, operant or instrumental conditioning occurs when person learns to act out
behaviors that are positively reinforced, and avoids those acts of behavior that lead to
punishment or yield negative reinforcement.

COGNTIVE LEARNING THEORY

There is another type of theory of learning, which doesnt involve repeated trials or a
connection between a stimulus and response. This type of learning arises out of using the
mental faculty of the individual to discover things, perceive things, seeking knowledge,
search for information, sudden impulsive learning, solving problems, etc.
23

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
MODULE

IV - INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS OF

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Learning based on the mental activity is known as cognitive learning. Human beings
are the most evolved animals who have the most prominent characteristics of thinking,
deliberation and problem solving. Unlike behavioural theories, the cognitive theories
involve a complex mental processing of information, and emphasise the role of
motivation and mental processes in producing the desired response.
WOLFGANG KOHLERs experiment with a chimpanzee provides an interesting
example to understand this theory of learning. A chimp was placed inside a cage with a
box in a corner of the cage and bananas hung from the roof of the cage beyond reach.
The chimp jumped several times and tried to reach the bananas, but in vain. Suddenly by
impulse, the chimp placed the box just under the bananas and jumped from it to reach
the bananas, and he got them. This suggests that the apes learning was not a result of
repetition or trial-and-error, but because of some thinking and a sudden insight into the
problem solving method. The bananas in this experiment are not rewards, but a kind of
motivation to apply thinking and problem solving methods.
In the context of consumer behaviour, the individuals are considered to show problem
solving behaviour and have active understanding of situations confronting them. This
view is therefore most important in understanding how consumers learn which stores,
method of shopping, or products will best meet their needs.
For example, it can take the form of learning about the uses and benefits of new products
in the market, especially if they represent significant innovations. It can also explain
how consumers learn about existing products for which they have developed a recent
interest or need.
Attitude and attitude change

24