Page 165 - Encyclopedia of Business and Finance

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Consumer Behavior

Model of consumer behavior

Cognitive Inputs Feedback
Including

• Motivation
• Information Processing
• Attitudes Feedback

Decision Making Consumption Behavior

Social Inputs
Including

• Groups
• Family
• Culture
Feedback
• Subculture

Figure 1

Most consumption activities are the result of several sumptive behavior by focusing on the sequence of mental
motives operating at the same time. Researchers specially activities that people use in interpreting and integrating
trained in uncovering motives often use qualitative their environment.
research techniques in which consumers are encouraged to The sequence begins with human perception of
reveal their thoughts (cognitions) and feelings (affect) external stimuli. Perception is the process of sensing,
through probing dialogue. Focus groups and in-depth selecting, and interpreting stimuli in one’s environment.
interviews give consumers an opportunity to discuss prod- We begin to perceive an external stimulus as it comes into
ucts and express opinions about consumption activities. contact with one of our sensory receptors—eyes, ears,
Trained moderators or interviewers are often able to tap nose, mouth, or skin. Perception of external stimuli influ-
into preconscious motives that might otherwise go unde- ences our behavior even without our conscious knowledge
tected. Sentence completion tasks (e.g., Men who wear that it is doing so. Marketers and retailers understand this,
Old Spice are …) or variants of the thematic apperception and they create products and stores specifically designed
tests, in which respondents are shown a picture and asked to influence our behavior. Fast-food chains paint their
to tell a story surrounding it, are additional techniques walls in “hot” colors, such as red, to speed up customer
that provide insight into underlying motives. turnover. Supermarkets steer entering customers directly
Consumer motives or goals can be represented by the into the produce section, where they can smell and touch
values they hold. Values are people’s broad life goals that the food, stimulating hunger. A hungry shopper spends
symbolize a preferred mode of behaving (e.g., independ- more money.
ent, compassionate, honest) or a preferred end-state of Close your eyes and think for a moment about the
being (e.g., sense of accomplishment, love and affection, hundreds of objects, noises, and smells surrounding you at
social recognition). Consumers buy products that will this very moment. In order to function in this crowded
help them achieve desired values; they see product attrib- environment, we choose to perceive certain stimuli while
utes as a means to an end. Understanding the means-end ignoring others. This process is called selectivity. Selectiv-
perspective can help marketers better position the product ity lets us focus our attention on the things that provide
and create more effective advertising and promotion cam- meaning for interpreting our environment or on the
paigns. things that are relevant to us, while not wasting our lim-
ited information-processing resources on irrelevant items.
Consumer Information Processing. The consumer infor- Did you even notice that after you decide on, say,
mation-processing approach aids in understanding con- Florida, for your vacation destination, there seems to be

142 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION