What is Motivation Research?

Motivation research is a form of consumer research which has gained ground

over the recent years. Motivation Research is the currently popular term used
to describe the application of psychiatric and psychological techniques to
obtain a better understanding of why people respond as they do to products,
ads and various other marketing situations.
It is an attempt to discover and explain why the consumer behaviour differs;
why he or she behaves in a particular way?
What appeals and sales programmes will best influence his or her decision to
act or buy or not to act or not to buy?
It concentrates on emotional or hidden stimuli to consumer action.
Thus, motivation research is an attempt to uncover the consumers
suppressed (conscious) and repressed (unconscious) motives. In
suppression, the consumer remains aware of his motives but does not care to
admit their existence to others for the fear of ridicule, punishment or being
ostracized.
Information about the motivating factor remains in the conscious mind,
however. Repression implies a more serious rejection of knowledge about a
motive because; the individual will not admit motives existence even to
himself.
It is a careful probing beyond the surface why offered by consumers to
explain their actions. As a branch of marketing research, it aims to discover

the real reasons for their purchasing preferences via sample questionnaires,
interviews and the like.
The theme of above definitions is that motivation research is to discover
underlying motives, desires, instincts and emotions which provoke human
behaviour and, in market research, true reasons why people buy or do not buy
certain goods as distinct from the reasons they express or even imagine they
act upon. The distinguishing feature of motivation research is probing
beneath the skin, or below the surface.
Today, the most challenging task of marketing research is to predict how
people will react and why they react in a particular way in a given situation.
How they react? Can be answered with ease and confidence. Say, how the
consumers receive the new product, package advertising message and the
like where surveys cross tabulations and analysis can help to find the
answers. However, more difficult task is one of finding out why people react
in a particular way? By merely asking consumers why they like or dislike a
product or an advertisement or a package, one cannot get satisfactory
answers.
The answers differ widely and are misleading very often. These answers are
misleading not because people are dishonest, but merely because they do not
know really why? Wrong or unbelievable answers are given because of two
possible reasons:
1. Conscious or unconscious attempt to rationalize their behaviour and
2. Preference for not disclosing their real reasons for ranking.

Conventional research does not answer this but motivation research does. It
is the psycho-analysis that helps in overcoming the inability or the reluctance
of people to tell why they like or dislike a product or a service. This is known
as penetrating below the surface to reach sub-consciousness.
The relations between a consumer and a product are partly conscious and
partly sub- conscious. The price of a motor car, for example, is conscious
relationship.
A person no doubt is worried and particular about kilometers per litre, cost per
kilometer, boot-space acceleration and the like but his product preference of
sub-conscious type is sex symbol.
Car is an extension of mans personality which is known by motivation
research. Precisely, motivation research is the art of finding out why? Without
asking why?
The best example of understanding is one of choosing a girl as a housewife.
Ask a sober looking young man as to what type of woman he wants to marry;
the answer may be the quiet, home-loving more concerned about the food
she cooks for me than the clothes, ornaments and make-up aids she wants.
Observe him at parties and get-togethers and you will find that he is after a
woman attractively clothed with gleaning make-up appealing to his hidden
motives. Thus, motivation research is something that goes beneath the line.
Thus, it is an attempt to market below the line.