consumer behaviour 1-7

8/10/2019 Consumer Behaviour 1-7

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Chapter 1: Consumer behaviour and marketing

Consumer behaviour

Consumer behaviour is a relatively young scientific discipline that is researched within the

general context of marketing theory.

An intense study of Consumer behaviour started in the second half of the 20th century.There are several fundamental reasons for this study and the emergence of a separatediscipline.

1. The first is a very low level of marketing implementation in practice, regardless ofmany years of the study and application of the concept. A significant development inmarketing has been achieved in marketing communications as well as branddevelopment and maintenance. Partial progress has been made with the process ofsegmentation and target market selection, as well as in marketing of non-profit andpublic sector.

2. Market competition increasingly accentuates the need to implement disciplines suchas marketing in order to achieve competitive advantage.

3. The increasingly successful application of communication and other technologiesrequires orientation towards a closer and more thorough understanding ofconsumers in the short term.

4. Development of the Internet is one of the most important factors, because it

revolutionised the research process, collection and use of information, customisationof products and services, distribution and development of relations with partners.Digital revolution grants consumers more power, greater amount of availableinformation, better selection, instant exchange...

Definition and application of consumer behavior

Definition of consumer behaviour: Consumer behaviour is a marketing discipline thatstudies the behaviour of individuals, groups or organisations and the processes they use toselect, secure, use and dispose of products and services, experiences or ideas to satisfy

needs and the impacts that these processes have on the customers and society.

Each definition of consumer behaviour encompasses both individual and group consumers,for it is obvious that there are specifics and differences in the context of individualconsumption and the consumption of group members.

The study of consumer behaviour follows a marketing stage that merked the consumerawareness as the black box. In the consumer behaviour model, the blackbox marked theprocesses in consumers' awareness, and symbolically implied the inability to anticipate thecourse or content of those processes.


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Main reason for developing a separate marketing discipline in the attempt to understandconsumers better is the need to apply new discoveries in practice at the corporate andregulatory level. First of all, market strategy creation requires a detailed and sophisticatedunderstanding of consumers. Further, within the area of government policy-making, the

discoveries about consumer behaviour can facilitate the design of best solutions, not only tostimulate but also to protect consumers. Thirdly, from a social marketing poin of view, it isvery important to understand, anticipate and to some extent control consumer behaviout inorder to protect society's interests. Finally, the study of consumer behaviour can gelpconsumers discover and understand some elements of their own behaviour, which can leadto a more efficient consumption and a better fulfilment of needs in a more rational way andwith a higher level of consumer control.

There are three key stages in consumer behaviour:

a) purchase stage;b) consumption stage;c) divestment or disposal stage.

Purchasestage is very important for the discipline and it encompasses complex strctures andelements that must be explored in order to understand consumers better. This stage has 5phases:

1. problem/need recognition;2. information search;3. evaluation of alternatives;4. purchase behaviour;5. post-purchase behaviour.

Purchase stage is the foundation of the consumer behaviour model. However, researchersare also increasingly interested in the consumption stage . This stage generates the elementsthat influence current componenets of marketing success, such as consumer satisfaction,concepts of value and benefits, building trust and dedication, crating loyal consumers andlong-term relations. Disposal stage is also generating more interest, in terms of futureconsumption and consumer behaviour, as well as environmental protection andconsumption control within the context of potentially harmful consequences.

In consumer analysis nowadays, it is necessary to consider 5 basic principles regardingconsumers:

1. consumers are sovereign;2. consumer motivation can be understood though research;3. consumer behaviour can be influenced;

4.

all consumer influence should be socially acceptable;5. consumer behaviour is a dynamic process.


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Consumer behaviour model

This model includes 3 stages: input, process and output.

Input stage represents processes that lead to a consumer's ability to recognise the product

or service. There are two types of inputs in this stage: those undertaken by companies orbusinesses, and environmental inputs that affect consumers. A company's marketinginfluences are generally clear and quantifiable.

Processing of information and influences represents the second stage. It is a basis forunderstanding decision-making. Psychological factors have the key role here (motivation,perception, attitudes and personality traits), as well as the purchase process phases fromthis stage: problem and need recognition, information search and evaluation of alternatives.

Output is the third stage and it encompasses the purchae stage and post-purchasebehaviour. Purchase at this stage implies the result of activities and processes from theprevious stages.

Finally, post purchase review implies the evaluation of purchase and the expression ofcontent or discontent with it. So-called cognitive dissonance is often present at this stage,which is a state of insecurity and reassessment of decisions.

Consumer behaviour determinants

key determinants that influence consumer behaviour can be divided into two basic groups:

a) those influencing a consumer as a group member;b) those influencing an individual.

Group determinants are cultural and social influences. Individual determinants are personaland demographic characteristics of an individual, as well as psychological characteristics.

Cultural determinants are basic components of human behaviour in general, includingconsumption. Culture can be said to represent the comprehensive spiritual and materialvalues of a community or a society. As such it emits values, belies, symbols, rituals, acceptednorms, the way of behaviour in given situations... culture is a dynamic category, meaning itchanges with time and various events. Culture consists of sub-cultures or individualcomponents. These components are religion, nationality, race and geography.

One of the elements of cultural influences is class organisation of a society, which impliesseparation of each society into social classes. Classes are identified according to an affiliationto a family, heritage, wealth, education, social system, profession... Phenomena such aswars, natural disasters and revolutions lead to strong turbulences in economic and marketprocesses, causing crisis in the market structure and necessitating long periods of

stabilisation.


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Social determinants of consumer behaviour mainly refer to the influence of a family,reference groups, roles and status that individuals have in a society. Family is certainly themost important cell of a society that shapes individuals and affects their behaviourpermanently, in all situations, including consumption. Reference groups refer to various

types of clubs or societies in which people socialise. They are usually classified into primaryand secondary, formal and informal ones.

Personal or demographic determinants are one of the most powerful researchers' tools inthe process of understanding and predicting consumer behaviour in various situationsincluding consumption. Some of the factors such as age, gender, education and wealth areoften self-explanatory and can be examined by solid statistical demographic data. Lifestylecan be characterized as a certain trend of behaviour that individuals choose under theinfluence of a series of cultural, social, personal and psychological factors.

Psychological determinants mainly encompass four basic types: motivation, perception,attitudes and learning.

Motivation is the driving force of an individual. Based on universal human needs, it leads todesires and setting up of goals, which together form the basic of human activity. Perceptionis how we view the world around us, or the way individuals react to the stimuli from theenvironment. Attitudes express the relation of individuals toward their surrundings, entities,phenomena and ideas.

Ethical aspects of consumer behaviour

By developing a scientific discipline such as consumer behaviour, we take the responsibilityto prevent all discoveries and understanding from being used in a way contrary to theinterests and rights of consumers. Whilst ethical review of marketing and other similardisciplines is much more complex, at this point we can state that researchers have reachedsome basic principles that marketers and consumers should follow in order to avoid ethicalconflicts:

1. threat others the way you want to be treated;

2. do only what the majority of your collegues would approve of;3. only take actions that can be classified as universal ones in such circumstances;4. ask yourself whether you could explain your behaviour to a large TV audience.


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Chapter 2: Consumer behaviour research

Why research consumer behaviour?

Consumer behaviour research is aimed at looking at the ways individual decision-makers use

their available resources (time, money, effort) regarding consumption-related points. Thisincludes the questions of what these consumers buy, why, when and how often they buy it,as well as how often they use the product or service they have bought. The aim of researchis to understand the methods of consumer purchase and use of products and services.

There are 3 basic groups of this research:

a) research for practical application purposes, where companies are marked as users;b) research for consumer protection purposes done by governments and organisations

for consumer protection;c) research for the purposes of general understanding of consumers, done by various

researchers from the academic community.

Approaches to consumer behaviour research

The expansion of consumer behaviour research occurred in the fifties and sixties of the 20thcentury when the interest for the wider context of consumption increased. The relationswith psychology, sociology, economy and other sciences resulted in the use of theirdiscoveries and instruments to reach the goal of understanding consumers better.

Early researchers of consumer behaviour started with an economic theory according towhich consumers act rationally or objectively assess what products and services offergreatest pleasure with the lowest cost. All this opened the door to the research of hiddenmotives of consumers.

Freud's theory, based on the analysis of experiences and dreams of his patients, is foundedon the assumption that unconscious needs, especially bilogical and sexual, comprise the coreof motivation. He became known for the term motivational research. A few of the maindisadvantages of this type of research are: it is impossible to generalise results of theresearch due to few examples, analysis is often biased, projective tests can't be adapted toconsumer behaviour research and claims of Freud's theory are not applicable to the area ofconsumer behaviour.

Consumer behaviour research relies on 2 very different methodologies:

a) quantitative research;b) qualitative research.

Positivism implies the use of an appropriate rigorous systematic procedure in order to

explain, control and predict consumer behaviour.


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Types of consumer behaviour research

Regarding the goal of result application, we can classify research into:

a) exploratory;

b) conclusive.

Exploratory research is used as a general inquiry into a problem we know very little about.They usually take place when diagnosing a situation, selecting different possibilities of actionor when discovering new ideas.

Within conclusive research, it is possible to distinguish between descriptive and causalresearch. Descriptive research is used most frequently, whereas in consumer behaviourresearch is used when researching characteristics of potential and existing consumers, theirbehaviour, attitudes and so on. Causal research also starts with hypotheses and is focusedon discovering the cause of a certain event. The cause and effect relationship is verysignificant in consumer behaviour, especially for marketers who want to determine whetherdifferent marketing activities will influence consumers and to what extent.

Quantitative research is descriptive in nature and relies on using different techniquesderived from natural sciences. Qualitative research is undertaken on smaller samples and byusing differenct qualitative techniques.

Research process

There are 6 elementary phases of the consumer behaviour research process:

1. defining the problem and research goals;2. collecting and evaluating secondary data;3. primary research design;4. primary data collection;5. processing and analysis of collected data;6. preparing a research report.

DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES

Quantitative research techniques

A survey is a quantitative technique used to collect written data on attitudes and opinions,by using a questionnaire on a representative sample.

- Individual contact with the examinee or personal surveys are usually conducted onsmaller samples due to high costs and longer implementation periods.

- A postal survey allows the use of a larger sample on a wider geographic area.


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- A telephone survey is the fastest form of surveying, however it has certaindisadvantages. Whether dialling phone numbers is random or planned, a fair numberof respondants have an answering machine, while others hang up the phone.

- An online survey is becoming a very popular way of data collection because of fast

implementation.

An experiment is data collection technique used to measure how an independent variableaffects a dependant variable, while controlling all other effects. There are two types: naturaland laboratory experiments.

Observation is often used as a data collection technique in consumer behaviour research.The goal of this technique is for the researcher to notice and record facts related to theactual situation by observing consumers while they purchase and use products. It isimportant to mention another detail - a distinction needs to be made between ordinary

observation which is random and unsystematic, and scientific observation which is carriedout according to a previously determined plan.

Within scientific observation, there are classifi cations based on other criteria, as follows:

- Single and multiple observation, depending on whether it is necessary to apply thetechnique in a certain moment or if the changes are monitored in a longer timeperiod.

- Individual and mass observation, depending on the number of cases observed.- Observation with participation and without participation, depending on whether the

researcher joins the object of observation or not.

There are various types of technical equipment used in observation such as:

- Psycho-galvanometer;- Pupil-metre;- Eye tracking camera;- Measuring voice range.

A panel is another quantitative research technique. However, it can be defined byidentifying differences in theoretical approaches. In practice, there are various forms ofpanels, and the main ones are:

- Consumer panel, which occurs in two forms: regular panel and individual panel. Aregular panel is when the researcher comes to the examinees home, in agreed timeintervals, and records packaging of used products, stocks and purchased quantities ofproducts, in order to get a clear picture of purchasing and consumption in a definedperiod. An individual panel is when the examinee is keeping a record of purchasingwhich he sends to the researcher by mail or otherwise in an agreed time period,


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where a packaging of the used products may be enclosed depending on theagreement.

- Bar code panel, this is based on using scanner technology;- Panel of TV viewers follows the exposure to different channels, but also to

advertising messages.- Online panel, which ensures quality data collected from interested and motivated

volunteers.

Content analysis can be viewed, depending on the approach, as a qualitative or quantitativetechnique of data collection. Since content analysis is focused on content and on themessage form in the communication process, it is certainly significant for consumerbehaviour.

Qualitative research techniques

An in-depth interview is an unstructured, longer interview (lasting over 30 minutes) which iscarried out by well educated researchers. Their role is to stimulate and guide theconversation towards a certain goal. Laddering is a technique used to focus questioning fromlisting characteristics of the observed product to revealing characteristics of the consumerhimself. Hidden issue questioning is focused on researching values by indirectly discoveringwhat the examinee finds import ant, through a conversation about the examineesexperience with a certain product.

Focus group is a technique where a trained moderator discusses a certain issue with a groupof 8 to 12 examinees using a reminder. In a relaxed atmosphere, the examinees areencouraged to participate in a discussion that usually lasts for about two hours. Even thoughthe whole process is recorded for later analysis, data interpretation is complex because alarger number of examinees are included.

Projective techniques come from psychology and their purpose is to encourage examineesto project their hidden motives, feelings, attitudes and beliefs through seemingly unrelatedthings. There are a few types of techniques:

- association technique; - completion test; - role-playing; - personalisation; - symbol technique.

Metaphor analysis occurs as a result of the fact that most communication is nonverbal, andthe fact that the majority of people think visually which is why it is hard for them to expresstheir attitudes, opinions or feelings about the research subject in words.

A case study is focused on a specific individual case.


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Data collection techniques

In the primary data collection process, along with the selection of an appropriate technique(or techniques) of the research, attention must be paid to the instruments which will beused. In consumer behaviour research, the three main instruments are a questionnaire, testand scales.

A questionnaire, as a primary data collection instrument, consists of a sequence of questionsrelated to the research problem. Depending on their form, questions can be open-ended orclosed-ended. Open-endedquestions off er the examinee the possibility to formulate ananswer independently. Closed-endedquestions are answered by multiplechoice. Direct andindirect questions, which can also appear in questionnaires, indicate the approach to askingquestions. The questions in the questionnaire need to be clear, interesting, unambiguous,objective and short. A test is often used as a research instrument and it consists of a

sequence of connected tasks.

Scale is an important instrument in consumer behaviour research. Even though it can havedifferent uses, it is mostly used to examine attitudes. There is:

- Likert scale, which became very popular due to the simplicity of answering, but alsoof interpreting.

- Semantic differential scale, which is formed based on bipolar adjectives which aresituated on opposite sides of an odd number of five or seven items.

- Rank scale, which requires the examinees to rank objects according to certaincriteria.

Sampling

Sampling is a part of the total population on which the research will be conducted. It isimportant for the sample to be representative. A sample is representative only if it has allthe characteristics of the group it is representing.

In probability sampling , all units of the basic set have the same, previouslyknown,probability of being selected as a sample. The basic set refers toall units which have a specific characteristic and are the subject of theresearch. A non-probability sample is used if thereis no need for the research results to be projected onto the entire population, but if it isenough forthem to represent the population. Combined samples are selected throughseveral phases where combinations of different previously mentioned approaches can beused.


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Chapter 3: Motives and motivation

Motivation certainly plays an important role as a variable that determines consumerbehaviour. In life and oft en in theory too, the problem of confusing or even identifyingneeds, motivation, and goals appears. This proves a certain lack of understanding of thesubject.

Needs

Need is the first element of the motivational chain and therefore a precondition for the restof them. In other words, without it there are no motives or motivation to accomplish goals.To define the concept, we can say that a need always implies a certain lack in a person. Themost common classifi cation is into two large groups of needs: inborn or biological needs,and acquired needs. Inbornneeds , such as the need for food, water, clothes, shelter etc, are

a precondition of a mans biological existence. Satisfying these needs is therefore essentialand this is why they are also called primaryneeds . Unlike primary needs that are present in aman since his birth, satisfying acquiredneeds : the need for prestige, achievement, power,reputation, status etc., is not a precondition of a mans biological existence. These ne eds arethe product of the culture a person lives in and satisfying them is not a requirement for apersons survival, which is why they are oft en called secondaryneeds .

Goals

Regarding the order of the elements in the so-called motivational chain, the last element isundoubtedly goal. Goal is actually a specific external stimulant that acts as a landmark in apersons attempts to satisfy their needs. More precisely it is a result of motivated behaviour.

Classification of goals is based on it. From a marketing perspective, at least two types ofclassification have importance. The first one is the classification into generic and product-specific goals. Another classification of goals is into positive and negative ones. Positive goalsare always the desired goals toward which a persons behaviour is directed. Negative goalsare oposite of positive ones.

MotivesThe space between needs and goals is not vacant. It is occupied with two more elements:motives and motivation. It is not uncommon for these two to be considered one and thesame. Not differentiating them is one of the signs of not understanding either though.

Motive is a result of interaction between psychological and physiological processes within aperson, a totality of internal factors that stimulate one to activity, and that direct andmanage that activity. The most common classifi cation is into rational and emotionalmotives. A fundamental determinant of rational motives is that they rely on the logic that

consumer behaviour is rational. Unlike them, emotional motives rely on the logic thatconsumers choose goals using personal or subjective criteria such as pride, fear, attraction...


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Maslows hierarchy of motives - Some theoreticians of motivation believe that there is ahierarchy of needsand that new, higher-level needs are actualised only aft er the old onesare fulfi lled. In theory, Maslows hierarchy of moti ves or needsis oftenexploited. AbrahamMaslow founded it and based it on the identification of five levels of motives or needs:

starting with the lowest, biological ones,to the most complex, psychological ones. They areall sorted in accordancewith their importance. Motives or needs were therefore classifiedinto:physiological (food, water, air, shelter, clothes, sex), safety and security(order, stability,routine, familiarity, health, availability etc), social(belonging, friendship, love, aff ection),motives or needs of ego or selfesteem(self-respect, reputation, social and professional statusand prestige,independence aft er a successful performance etc), and motives or needsofself-actualisation, self-realisation or self-fulfilment.

In the attempt to explain consumer behaviour, another theory is often used. It isMcClellands theory of acquired needs , which is based on the hypothesis that three types ofacquired needs are relevant for human motivation:

- Need for achievement , which is characteristic for people who want to be successfuland to take responsibility in problem-solving. Research showed that more than fourfifths of the people with this type of need show a tendency towards risk-taking indecision-making, and that they are successful managers.

- Need for affi liation , According to McClelland, people with this need are more proneto socialising than to success.

- Need for power , or for gaining and establishing control over others. It can beexpressed in two forms: positive, whose result is a convincing and inspirationalpower, and negative, which results in the desire to dominate and subjugate others.

Types of motivation

If motivation that stimulates a consumer is put under the microscope, there is no doubt thatas a rule it is not under the infl uence of only one, but of a number of motives: a specificmotivational combination. You are motivated to shop because it takes you out of the houseand interrupts the routine, but also because shopping is a sort of amusement, because it

enables you to meet friends, creates the feeling of pleasure and success that you achieve inthe process, etc. Motivation does not always take the same shape. On the contrary, adifferentiation between two types of motivation is rather common: positive and negative.More precisely, the most common state in real life is that of a parallel existence and aconflict of positive and negative motivational forces.

Regardless of the manifested form though, at least four types of involvement are relevantfor consumer behaviour. Permanent involvement is a longterm interest of an individual for acertain product or group of products. The so-called situational involvement , or involvementin the process of shopping, is entirely different. It does not have a characteristic of durability. Cognitive involvement is the involvement manifested as contemplation during the


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processing of purchase-related information. Finally, affective involvement, or theinvolvement of emotions, must not be forgotten. This type of involvement cannot beexcluded during purchase of holiday gifts, a theatre play, the excitement or disappointmentcaused by it, etc.

Exploring motives

Depthinterview is an individual interview consisting of long conversations that have notbeen structured in advance. There are situations in which this method is especially effi cientand therefore recommended. First of all, it is any situation where a detailed examination ofpersonal behaviour, attitudes and needs is necessary.

If values are the research subject, depth interview primarily uses two techniques: ladderingtechnique and technique grand tour. Laddering technique is based on the definition of the

final state that clients have in their relation with products and services. By the techniquegrand tour, however certain dimensions need to be understood indirectly - through researchof details regarding clients experiences with certain products or services. Along with the twoabove, a depth interview technique - although it is also adequate for focus groups - is acritical incident technique. This technique, unlike the above two, can be carried out withoutan examiner, using questionnaires as a means, whether in personal contact or through mail.

Group interview or focus group interview is oft en conducted. Unlike the depth interview, agroup interview, as the name suggests, is conducted with a small group of people (focusgroup) that usually consists of 8 to 12 people. The method of conducting the interview is anunstructured, casual conversation about the subject of interest, which a moderator has withthe examinees.

Projective techniques are mainly used as motivational research support. Five techniques areused for the research of consumer behaviour: association technique, finalisation technique,role-play technique, personalisation and psycho drawing.

1. Association technique involves showing items - words or images - as an incentive.2. Finalisation technique is based on presenting an unresolved situation to the

examinees that they are supposed to resolve. The technique appears in three basicforms: as a test of fi nishing sentences or stories, balloon test (fi nalising the situationpresented by an image), and comic finalisation test.

3. In role-play technique examinees become imaginary persons and are asked tobehave the way they would in a given situation.

4. In personalisation technique examinees give features and appearances of livingthings to objects that normally do not possess such characteristics.

5. Finally, psycho drawing as a technique requests examinees to relate an object to acertain colour, shape or symbol whose meaning is familiar. Using this method makes

it possible to measure the similarity or differences between products or services.


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Chapter 4: Perception

Perception is a very interesting and important physiological category. The relevance ofperception for understanding consumer behaviour is exceptional, for it determines the levelof possibility to create and master communication by creating a companys image, brand,products and other elements of vital importance for marketing in general. Perception of theworld around us determines individual attitudes, beliefs, evaluations, decisions andreactions. The way people experience the environment, or the stimuli and incentives aroundthem, directly influences their reactions, purchase decisions and other types of decisions.

Definition of perception

The most common definition of perception is the one that describes it as the process bywhich an individual selects, organise s and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and coherent

picture of the world.

Mowen and Minors definition is used to a similar extent and according to it perception is(also) a process in which individuals are exposed to information that arouses their attentionand consideration, which leads to their understanding of it.

Even though the rational approachexplains that using perception we in fact see or hear whatactually happens around us, the process itself is much more complex. The objectivistapproach would be correct if every individual interpreted stimuli and incentives from theenvironment in an identical way. In order to better understand and encompass all theelements that influence perception, it is important to include bothemotional and irrationalelements, which are oft en called wishes and beliefs . In other words, people see, hear andfeel what they expect or want to see, hear or feel.

Elements that influence perception

The following elements have a crucial influence on the perception of reality:

a) sensory or sensorial factors;b) involvement;c) psychological andsocial factors.

Sensory or sensorial factors relate to senses that all people have. Humans have five senses:sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. The receptors for these senses are: eyes, ears, nose,mouth and skin. The most common elements of perception:

a) for sight are colour, shape and size;b) for hearing: tempo and volume;c) for smell: pleasant and unpleasant scent;

d)

for taste: sweet, salty and bitter;e) for touch: soft , rough and damp.


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Involvement is an interest or relevance that an individual gives to a certain purchase. Thegreater the interest of an individual for a product or situation that leads to the satisfaction ofa certain need, the greater the probability of perceiving the stimuli related to that situation.There are several factors that determine the level of interest of consumers or individuals:

- type of product or need;- the nature of communication with an individual;- situational factors;- personal traits of individuals.

Generally it is considered that the greater the value or durability of a product or service, thegreater the consumers involvement and interest. Considering the risk that a purchasecarries, which is almost always related to high value products, consumers are highly involvedin the process of buying a house, flat, car, furniture and such goods. Further communication

with consumers regarding highly valuable products is almost always different from thatregarding daily consumables.

Perception progress stages

There are two basic approaches to perception process stages or to the dynamics ofperception. The first one presents the stages of exposure, attention and understanding, andthe second one is about perceptual selection, organisation of terms, and interpretation.

1. Exposure/selective perception stage

Every individual in the contemporary world is theoretically exposed to a potential influenceof thousands of stimuli. Starting with uncontrolled ones such as the ones coming fromnature and physical surroundings, to the determined ones that are launched with theintention of reaching an individual and achieving some sort of communication and influence.

It is a fact that the increasing number of stimuli that people are potentially exposed to in amodern society pollutes and overcrowds the space and atmosphere we live in. This leadsto the impossibility of individuals to perceive most stimuli they are exposed to due to thephysical impossibility to accept and consider such a huge number, as well as due to the lackof interest or understanding, belief or value discrepancy, or for any other reason.

The process of selection of a small number of stimuli depends on individual expectations andwillingness to open up to the possibility of perception, as well as on the characteristics andintensity of stimuli. Along with perception, an individuals prev ious experiences play animportant role in the process of stimuli selection. Still, the nature of stimuli plays the mostimportant role in the first stage of selection process. A stimulus is a raw material thatduring selection creates attention in an in dividuals consciousness and lead to perception.Human senses and the possibility of measuring environmental stimuli are limited: whatpeople hear, see, taste, feel or smell is in fact only a small segment of what happens in


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nature. As perception is, among other things, the creation of a coherent picture of the world,individuals often think that they have perceived something that in the objective world has infact never happened, or it has happened in a different way.

The absolute threshold of perception presents the level of stimuli intensity below whichpeople do not know of a stimuluss existence, and above which they become aware of it.Very often it is eff ectively said that it is the line between something and nothing.

The differential threshold of perception is the next important component of understandingthe general concept of perception. It refers to two levels of a stimulus: one that does notstimulate any perception, and one that does. This means that the change in stimulus thatcauses the detection of the diff erence between the two is called diff erential threshold ofperception.

Webers Law is in its logic an extension of JND, and refers to the fact that the relationbetween two stimuli is not an absolute objectivised category, but depends on the intensityof the primary stimulus. The phenomenon called sensory adaptation is related to WebersLaw and JND. People exposed to intensive stimuli adjust to them with time and stop noticingthem regardless of their intensity or attraction. Sensitivity of senses decreases as theexposure to stimuli increases.

A very interesting and intriguing area within consumer behaviour discipline is subliminal orunconscious perception . Basically it is selfexplanatory; it relates to the possibility orassumption that people perceive stimuli without conscious understanding or under the levelof awareness.

Selective perception is a defence mechanism that selects stimuli in accordance with themotives, expectations and interests of individuals, but that also depends on the nature andintensity of stimuli. Four basic concepts regarding selective perception are:

- Selective exposure is a sort of behaviour that exhibits openness toward the stimulithat lead to pleasant and satisfying reactions i.e. that indulge individuals. Peopleinstinctively tend to expose themselves to good music, pleasant odours, attractive

visual arrangements, etc.- Selective attention goes one step further and takes people specifically to those

stimuli that match the current needs and interests. Within the marketing context,this implies a conscious search for and exposure to those messages and content thatmatch the current interests.

- Perceptual defence is an extremely important mechanism of consumer perception. Itexplains how it is possible for completely identical stimuli to be interpreteddifferently, or to be noticed by one group of individuals and go unnoticed by another.

- Perceptual blocking is a common mechanical method of defence from the vast

amount of stimuli in the contemporary world. Zapping, i.e. changing TV channelsusing a remote controller is a good example.


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2. Attention stage

Attention is actually a natural continuation of selective perception. It occurs when theselective filter chooses a stimulus. There are several types of attention:

- Pre-attention is a type of selection process, most commonly below the level ofawareness or at the border of it. It is a transitional stage between stimuli exposureand the realisation of stimuli recognition.

- Involuntary attention is mainly caused by exposing a person to extreme or dramaticstimuli. Something that is new, unexpected, with strong impulses, that surprises,catches or startles people, catches their attention regardless of their previousinattentiveness. Th is attention is in theory called orientation reflex.

- Voluntary attention, on the other hand, is a reflection of an individuals interest ininformation, a contact or relation.

3. Organisation and interpretation stage

This stage is also called the understanding stage and it consists of two substages:organisation and interpretation of stimuli.

- Organisation of stimuli is a process in which people do not observe each stimulusindividually but organise them into various principles, groups and processes.Therefore, each stimulus is a part of a larger unit, which facilitates the understandingand verification of a coherent picture of the world around us.

o Figure and background is the first principle for explaining organisation ofstimuli. It claims that people group visual images into contrasts so that thereis always a figure that stands out, i.e. differentiates from a dull background. Ifwe put an object such as a pen, phone or a book on a table, then each ofthese objects will be a fi gure with the table as a background.

o Grouping is the next principle of the Gestalt psychology and it is based on anunderstanding of human perception similar to the previous case. Thisprinciple is also about placing individual elements of stimuli into a wider

context by associating and grouping concepts and creating an understandablepicture of the world. Therefore, every image from the environment is placedinto a context where it is then given a specific meaning.

o Closure , the final principle of the Gestalt theory, explains the findings that incase of an incomplete or unfi nished perception individuals tend to fi nd anunderstandable and comprehensive meaning. If a stimulus is insufficientlylogical, not related to the situation or recipients experience, or if it ispurposefully partial in content and form, then the recipients either feel acertain psychological pressure.


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- Interpretation of stimuli, along with organisation, is the final part of the perceptionprocess, i.e. a part of the third stage, coming after the stages of exposure andattention. Interpretation is the final action of attaching signifi cance or meaning tostimuli. Interpretation follows stimuli organisation. Considering the entire process,

the inevitable conclusion is reached: that interpretation is an individual process andthat very often the interpretations of a single stimulus vary or differ greatly from oneperson to another. The so-called perceptual distortions are a very important aspectfor the consideration of stimuli interpretation. These distortions are contributingfactors that cause different understandings or variations in the way stimuliareinterpreted.

Perceptual semiotics

People interpret information both through the literal (semantic) and psychological meaning

of words. Therefore, there is a dichotomy between the process of learning and the semanticmeaning. This means that consumers interpret symbols and characteristics of productsbased on their experience and cultural values. This phenomenon is studied by semiotics .Semiotics is very important for the study of perception because it represents the foundationof a correct understanding between the sender and recipient of a stimulus or a meaning.

Chapter 5: Personality

What consumers buy, which products and brands they prefer etc. depends, fi rst of all, onpersonality traits. There are other elements of consumer behaviour that depend on thepersonality features as well: what they buy, when and how the purchased product is used...

Personality concept

Personality represents the dynamicorganisation within the individual of thosepsychophysical systems thatdetermine his unique adjustments to the environment.

In the attempt to simplify all the presented definitions, personality could be said torepresent the totality of characteristics that determine behaviour, thoughts and emotions ofevery person. These characteristics, in other words, influence peoples product selection, theway they react to promotional activities of a company, when and where they consumespecific products, etc.


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Determinants of personality

Heredity , one of the personality determinants, refers to the factors defined by birth: physicalappearance, facial attraction, sex, temper, muscle structure and refl exes. All thesecharacteristics are considered to be either completely or predominantly aff ected by whoones parents are, i.e. their biological, physiological, and psychological structures.

One of the determinants of personality, as previously mentioned, is environment . In otherwords, personality traits are not entirely dictated by heredity. Among the factors playing animportant role in the shaping of our personalities are those of the environment we live in:the culture we were brought up in, the norms in our families, friends and social groups, andother infl uences that we experience.

Situation is the third determinant of personality, a factor that influences the eff ects of the

heredity and environment on personality. Namely, it is undisputable that an individualspersonality, although generally consistent and congruent, tends to change in varioussituations.

Personality traits

Personality traits imply a set of elements which e nable ones personality to function as asingle structure. A large number of characteristics can be clearly identifi ed within thepersonality structure. In an effort to identify basic personality traits, authors have displayedcertain discrepancies regarding the explanation of how relevant personality traits are for

consumer behaviour. TanjaKesic , for example, identified three basic characteristics. One ofthem is consistency of personality, or the consumers regular behaviour when theyencounter familiar situations, without which frequent changes would lead to behaviouralconfusion. Another significant characteristic is adaptability and flexibility of personality,which in a way disables a complete consistency. Finally, one of the most signifi cantcharacteristics is integrity of personality: the fact that various personality aspects and traitsare organised into a single unit. It goes without saying that the human developmentaccompanies a continuous rise of the integration ability to higher levels, making it morecomplex and stable.

SchiffmanandKanuk also identified three characteristics significant for consumer behaviourand the nature of personality. Yet, their approach to the issue of characteristics is slightlydifferent. Personality, reflects individual differences among people. Two individuals, in otherwords, are never the same. Individual personality then becomes permanent and consistent.This is what businesses have to base their communication with potential consumers upon.

Theories of personality traits

In the consumer behaviour research, four personality traits theories such as psychoanalytic,behavioural, neo-Freudian or socio-psychological and personality trait theory are mentioned.


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1. Psychoanalytic theory of personality

Founder of the psychoanalytic theory of personality was Sigmund Freud. The fundamentalpostulate of the theory is the thesis that in the focus of human personality and motivationare peoples unconscious needs or urges such as sexual and other biological ones. To provethe above, Freud uses the premise that human personality is composed of three interrelatedsystems: the Id, Ego and Superego.

According to Freud, the Id is a specific storage of basic physiological needs: food, drink, sexetc. These are the needs that an individual wants to satisfy momentarily, without thinking ifor how it is possible. In other words, Id characterises an instinctive, unconscious, animalistic,and therefore an unorganised impulse. The unconscious impulse, however, is alsocharacterised by the Superego , the humans internal expression of moral and ethicbehavioural codes.Ego is a part of personality that is developed aft er the Id, due to a

persons need to have a direct contact and relations with the external world in order to exist,which the Id with its primary process of meeting the urges cannot provide.

2. Behavioural theory of personality

Behavioural theory of personality was founded by John B. Watson, and developed by B.F.Skinner. Its fundamental assumption is that the human behaviour can entirely be explainedby the environment in which one is and the effects it has on a person. Human beings areexposed to the effects of objective occurrences from their environment, and react to themby certain actions or body behaviours. Thus, in this interrelation with the human body, the

processes and infl uences of the environment are manifested as causes and a personsbehaviour as a consequence.

Based on the above premises, logical is the opinion that the basic principle of the humanbehaviour is the principle of legality, and that determinism is one of its underlying principles.The essence of the behavioural theory of personality, apparently, is that the human being isnot an autonomous creature, gifted with the free will or some other internal forces, but theresult of learning and environmental influence.


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3. Neo-Freudian theory of personality

The basic starting point of all neo-Freudian/socio-psychological theories of personality relieson the premise that personality is not primarily instinctive or sexual and that, instead ofthese variables, it is the social relations that are the foundation for the creation anddevelopment of personality. Horneys socio -psychological theory (by Karen Horney, thecreator) classifies people into three types of personality. The first consists of the socalledsubmissive or accommodating, the persons who are turned towards the others and,accordingly, expect love and devotion from them. In the second group are the aggressive,people characterised by their wish for success and an admiration of others. The third groupare the independent, people who are distinguished by the independence and self-confidenceas typical features of their personality.

Reismans social theory also classifies all people into three categories. The first are the

tradition-oriented, whose behaviour is based on the traditional values of the society theylive in, and who are therefore characterised by a low level of mobility and a slow acceptanceof changes. The self-oriented are in the second category. They depend on personal valuesand standards, and this is also what their consumer behaviour is based upon. Finally, thethird category consists of the so-called other-oriented.

4. Personality trait theory

The theory of the character, traits or features is based on the premise that a consumerspersonality consists of a certain number of traits or features such as sociability, relaxation,inner control etc.

Most significant personality traits regarding theirinfluence on consumer behaviour

1. Consumer innovativeness

The traits related to innovativeness of a person refer to whether a consumer can beidentified as an innovator, the one who is, due to his/her personality structure, the fi rst tobuy and try a product or a service. This type of readiness is commonly tested observing threetypes of features: innovativeness, dogma tism, and the social character of a consumerspersonality. Consumer innovativeness i.e. the level of innovativeness implies an insight intothe nature and the levels of a consumers readiness for innovation. Such an insight can bereached by the use of tools for studying innovativeness. Consumer dogmatism, on the otherhand, refers to entirely different traits. Dogmatism, in principle, denotes rigidity for theunknown and the information opposed to personal beliefs.The third innovativeness-relatedtrait is the social character of personality . Regarding the social character, it is possible todifferentiate between two fundamental types of consumer personality. The first typecomprises personalities who are self-directed. Other-directed personalities are much more

inclined to seek advice from others than rely on their own criteria of evaluation.


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2. Cognitive personality factors

The second group of traits is related to the cognitive personality factors . A special attentionshould be paid to the need for cognition here, regarding which it is possible to identify twotypes of personality. The first are the persons with a high level of cognition, or the biggesteffect may be obtained by a message loaded with information and product descriptions.Unlike this type, there are personalities with a lowlevelofcognition . Due to the structure oftheir personality, the form of the recommended message is entirely different. It is not amessage loaded with a bulk of information, but a message that uses visual effects, amessage given by an attractive person or a prominent expert for instance.

3. Consumer's ethnocentrism

A separate group of personality traits are the ethnocentrism-related ones. Depending on

the intensity of that reaction, it is possible to identify two large groups of consumers: highlyethnocentric and lowly ethnocentric ones.

4. Consumerism and possession

The last type of consumer personality traits we are going to mention are traits associatedwith consumerism and possession . Regarding the highlighted features, it is also possible toidentify several types of consumer traits. Special attention should be paid to three of them:consumer materialism, fixed consumer behaviour, and compulsive consumer behaviour.Regarding the consumer materialism as one of consumer personality traits, two basic types

of consumer personality can be identified: those who find possession important for theirpersonal identity and life, and those who find possession irrelevant.

The self-image

Personality traits or features are something that exis ts independently from a persons will.This is why, when it comes to personality traits, variables can be reached by research. Theself-image is, however, associated with a concerning person. It implies a mode in which aperson, in our case a consumer, perceives himself. It depends on this perception what he willbuy and what he will not. It is quite natural for consumers to buy what pleases their self-image and avoid what does not fit in it. For a long time, the so-called single-dimensionconcept of the self-image dominated. It is an approach based on the thesis that consumershave only one self-image, the self-perception that is constant and therefore their relationtowards products and services is constant. This approach is definitely suppressed now,having been replaced by the socalled multi-dimensional concept of the self-image. Itsfundamental premise is that human beings behave differently in various situations.

If self-image is defined as a way people perceive themselves, it is logical to wonder how it iscreated and developed. To reply to a question formulated this way, several answers may begiven. Accordingly, several theoretical approaches can be identified. Some say, for example,


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that self-image is a product of the so-called self-evaluation. In other words, self-image isformed by individuals based on their personal opinion of what is socially acceptable andwhat is not. For the others, the basis of self-image formation is social comparison, theformation of self-image based on how the self is perceived compared with the others.

Finally, a theory of incorrect scanning is also mentioned. Simply, those keen on becominggood managers select the information that supports this argument and reject the rest. Itmeans that they perform a perceptual scanning - they perceive themselves as what theywant to be rather than what they actually are.

Brand personality

Brand personality implies attributing of features and characteristics of a personality to different brands in a broad range of products.

There are different types of brand personalities. One of them is the dominantly functionalbrand personality. Mercedes is a car that provides safety. Safety is therefore a functionalfeature of this brand. Brand personality can also be symbolic . Pumas trainers on an athletesuggest that their footwear is made for athletes. Brand personality can also be associative.Philips appliances remind us of tradition, Sarajevo beer offun, socialising etc.

Application of personality traits or features in marketing

The application of personality traits and features for the prediction of consumer behaviour

is of considerable importance. Prediction usually refers to one of the two areas. The firstmay be identified as sensitivity to social influences. More precisely, it is about how much andin which forms a consumers behaviour is related to various infl uences he is exposed to inhis environment by other individuals, groups, organisations and associations. The secondarea of prediction refers to the choice of a product and a brand: how important is thestructure of personality traits for what products and brands, packaging etc. a consumer willchoose. Thee next area of the application of personality traits in marketing is marketsegmentation . It has become clear that the classic segmentation criteria are not suffi cientfor market segmentation and that some other variables, particularly the ones regarding

personality traits should be applied.


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Chapter 6: Learning as a factor of consumer behaviour

Definition of learning

A large number of the defi nitions of learning can be found in theory. For some, learning is

an individual activity which results in adopting knowledge, skills and habits. For others, itmay imply an activity that causes behavioural changes. For Lingrin, learning represents everychange of behaviour as a result of practice, experience or interaction with the environment.Some theoreticians define learning as a process where an experience or an exerciseproduces changes in activity performance .

All of them are characterised by an understanding that the learning process is different fromother similar processes by a few variables. First of all, it can be separated from the similarprocesses by changes in the probability for repeated occurrence. More precisely, by

expanding the learning process, the probability to acquire a correct answer increases. Thedistinction from similar processes can also be seen from the changes that occur in reactionspeed. As the time of its duration increases, the learning process decreases the time of acorrect reaction. Learning can also be diff erentiated from other processes by the increase ofwidth and strength of reaction. In other words, the longer the learning process, the greateris the width and strength of a reaction to certain stimulation.

Learning is not something static, insusceptible to change. On the contrary, it is a process; itkeeps evolving and changing by newly acquired knowledge or experience. It means that the

new knowledge and experience are the basis for the future behaviour in similar situations.

Elements of the learning process

Motivation is by its meaning a central element of the learning process, the one that creates aneed for learning and stimulates the learning process.

For example, if someone wishes to become a good tennis player, it will motivate them tocollect basic information on tennis, accessories used in that sport, a tennis school and anintensive training, follow- up others achievements etc. If such a desire does not exist, it is

logical that all the mentioned information, training, and other tennis-related activities will beignored. Several important motivation defining factors can be identified:

- Meaning;- Reinforcement;- Repetition;- Imagination.

Clues are the second element of the learning process. They are actually stimuli which directthe motives to learn. Let us imagine an advert for a sports centre. By its meaning it is a clue

to the sport fans that they can exercise in the centre, but also that they can improve theirplay, spend their holidays, etc.


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Response is the third element of the learning process. It implies the way individuals react toan urge or a clue, i.e. the way they behave. That, of course, does not mean that each urge orclue will automatically have a response.

Reinforcement is the last element of learning. It implies every increase of the probabilitythat a response will happen in the future as a reaction to clues or stimuli. Reinforcement canmanifest in two forms: negative and positive.

Another element relevant for consumer behaviour and closely related to the learningprocess is forgetfulness , i.e. the loss or disappearance of the facts acquired during thelearning process. It is indisputable that forgetfulness follows learning and that each learningprocess indicates it as one of its consequences.

Forms of social learning

Theoreticians have also provided several diff erent classifi cations of social learning forms.For some, three basic types of learning can be identified:

- conditional learning (classical, instrumental and observational);- model learning (learning by identifi cation, imitation and role playing);- learning by insight or cognition.

Behavioural learning theories

Behaviourism is one of the most infl uential trends in psychology, which was founded by J.B.Watson in the beginning of the 20th century. The term is self-explanatory. The wordbehaviourism originates from the English word behaviour. As a subject of the study,behaviourism only focuses on objective behaviour i.e. such behaviour and behavioural effects that can be observed and measured objectively. In other words, this means thatbehaviour occurs as a result of an incentive, a stimulus from the environment. Behaviour is

just a response to a stimulus, a reaction that is in fact inevitable and that does not dependon the human will or cognitive features.

1. Conditional learning

Conditional learning is based on a Stimulus-Response principle. Learning is a result of a greatnumber of repetitions of conditional stimuli and automation of responses to them. Moreprecisely, if a person responds to a familiar stimulus in a predictable way, it means thatlearning is achieved. In other words, learning is readiness to behave and respond in a certainway in a specifi c situation and in the presence of a stimulus. Finally, there is no learningbeyond conditional learning: all learning is necessarily conditional.

Classical conditioning is based on a thesis that an organism is a passive entity and that it can

be taught certain behaviour by multiple repetitive actions that produce such behaviour.


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Repetition , as mentioned above, is a precondition of automation of a response to a specificstimulus, converting the response to the stimulus into behaviour as a personality trait. Itsessence, in other words, is to increase the force of association between the conditioned andunconditioned stimulus. The increase of the force of association also means that the process

of forgetfulness decreases by repetition.

Another term associated with the classical conditioning is generalisation of stimuli. Thestarting point is that learning does not only depend on repetition but also on the personsability to generalise. Generalisation is simply a phenomenon of stimuli similar to theconditioned ones causing a conditioned response of the same intensity, i.e. an equalresponse to somehow different stimuli. It is possible to talk about two areas of applicationfor generalisation in marketing at least. One is associated with the consolidation of theentire family of products under the same brand. The second area of generalisationapplication is licensing , i.e. allowing a brand to be used with other manufacturers products.

Discrimination of stimuli is the third term related to the classical conditioning. Simply put, itis a phenomenon that is just the opposite from that of generalisation. Therefore, unlikegeneralisation which implies identical responses to somewhat diff erent stimuli; the result ofdiscrimination is a selection of one among several similar stimuli.

Instrumental conditioning is another principle or a form of conditional learning. Classicalconditioning bases learning on the stimulus-response principle. Instrumental conditioningintroduces the element of reinforcement into this equation. In other words, there is a

possibility of choosing a response from among several alternatives, assuming that only one isrewarded.

2. Model learning

Model learning generally implies learning based on the experience of others. Simply put, it isa consequence of observing the behaviour of others. More precisely, model learning impliesimitating responses of others and acting accordingly. Several types of learning can be identified within model learning: identifi cation, imitation and role-playing.

Learning by identification is the only one that, according to some authors, cannot beidentified as some sort of conditioning. Some other elements are relevant instead. First ofall, it is the role of emotional and motivational factors, as well as the emotionally establishedrelation with the model. Secondly, it is the adoption of global forms of behaviour as our ownpermanent ways of response. Thirdly it is the adoption of complex forms of behaviour ratherthan specific responses. And finally, it is relevant that the adopted forms are permanent andthat they manifest through a long period of time.

Another type of model learning is learning by imitation , a mechanism frequently used for

explaining learning social behaviour. Behaviourists define imitation as a form of


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conditioning( a child will repeat all other peoples respo nses if those responses stimulate thechilds sensors at the moment of him doing the same action on his own, accidentally ).

Finally, the third type of model learning is learning by role-playing . Role implies theexpected behaviour related to a certain status. Such behaviour is important for both thesociety and the individual. For the society, roles harmonise the activities of the societymembers. For the individuals, role as the expected behaviour enables them to handlevarious situations easily, knowing what is expected of them.

3. Vicarious or observational learning

Vicarious learning, in a certain way, is a type of model learning. It differs from the abovementioned forms of modelling though. Analysing vicarious learning as a separate type oflearning, Albert Bandura defines it as learning by observation.The observed behaviour of

someone else, a role model, does not automaticallylead to the same or modified behaviourof the observer. On the contrary,the observed behaviour of the role model can become themotive to behavein the same manner only if it is rewarded or at least is not punished. Insucha situation the person who observes other peoples actions concludes that acertainreward can be achieved by the same behaviour.

Finally, there are four stages of observational learning:

- Attention: Focusing ones attention onto a model. Most attention goes to a modelthat is competent, high-ranking, popular, attractive and admired by others.

- Retention: This involves verbalising the steps of behaviour or visualisation.- Reproduction: The teacher provides feedback in case of an incorrect answer or hints

at what the correct answer might be. This is also called the controlled exercise.- Motivation: Motivation starts with vicarious reinforcement.

Cognitive learning theories

In an attempt to provide a solid defi nition of cognitive learning, we could say that it islearning based on mental activities. The starting point is the assumption that learning cannotbe all about the stimulus-response relation, the association between a stimulus and a motorresponse. On the contrary, learning implies a knowledge about relations among specificstimuli.

Information processing implies a consumersprocessing of the information about a product,taking into considerationits features, the brand, comparison with other brands, etc.

If information processing is defi ned as above, at least two relevant assumptions can bemade. Firstly, the larger the cognitive abilities the greater the ability to gather moreinformation about a product, and the greater the skill of integrating the information about

several product features. Secondly, the greater the experience with the category of theproduct, the greater the ability to use the product information efficiently.


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The information, however, is briefl y kept in the short-term storage or the so-called workingmemory. It can have one of two fates in this storage. If the information is not repeated, as arule, it will be lost within thirty seconds. One of the storages where the information is kept islong-term storage. As the name suggests, this is the storage where the information is kept

for a longer period of time. How long this retention is going to last depends on many factors.

The stored information is not passive; it does not just wait to be recalled into the awareness.More precisely, the stored information is continuously reorganise d, updated and profiled asnew insights arrive. Due to these characteristics and the route of information, it is logicalthat consumers are more prone to rememberthe information about new products thatbelong to a familiar brand. The reason for this is the fact that the memory of the informationregarding such products is under less infl uence from competitors advertisements thanwould be the case of a product with a new brand name.

Within the cluster of cognitive theories it is possible to mark a large number of them:learning by insight, learning by trial and error, etc. One of them, however, is particularlyrelevant for consumer behaviour. It is the theory of involvement as a separate cognitivetheory.

Chapter 7: Attitudes

Definition of attitudes

Morgans definition of attitudes claims that they are tendencies to react to certain people,objects or situations, whether positively or negatively. John Mowen based his defi nition ofattitudes on Morgans one, defining attitudes as one of the variables in consumer behaviour.He finds that attitudes imply a signifi cant amount of commitment or the pro or con feelingwith respect to a stimulating object such as a person, a product, a company or an idea.

If we compare all the above defi nitions to each other, we notice that they have someelements in common:

1. An attitude always refers to something, to an object. Regarding consumerbehaviour, this object can be a product, type of product, brand, price, shop, etc.

2. Attitudes are not genetic but a result of learning. Regarding consumerbehaviour theyare the result of:

- experience with a product;- exposure to the infl uence of mass media;- information acquired from others

- family members;- friends, acquaintances, etc.


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3. Consistency as one of the important characteristics of attitudes. Attitudes generallyportray the behaviour they reflect. This means that the coherence of attitudes is notinevitable. More precisely, different intervening variables can produce behaviour thatis not a reflection of ones own attitudes.

Complexity of attitudes

If, based on the above defi nitions of attitudes, we want to identify their mostrelevantcharacteristics, along with the three listed ones: their dispositionalcharacter, the fact thatthey are not genetic but acquired, and that they influence behaviour and its consistency;then we must not fail to mentionanother characteristic of attitudes: their complexity.

The complexity of attitudes, as one of their most relevant characteristics,comprises threeattitude components: cognition, affect and conation.

Cognitivecomponent implies that there is certain knowledge andassumptions about theattitude objects. Such knowledge, assumptions andperceptions usually take the form ofconvictions.

Affectivecomponent refers to the fact that attitudes always include emotionstoward theattitude object.

Finally, connotativecomponent implies a tendency to do something aboutthe attitudeobject, to take certain action.

Influence of attitudes on consumer behaviour

Both personal and social attitudes have a strong infl uence on the behaviour of humans,particularly consumers. What has to be thoroughly analysed though is what sort of influencethis is, how intense it is, how much the character of the attitude structure can be used topredict consumer behaviour, etc.

There are two variables that must be mentioned in this analysis. The answer primarilydepends on the social adequacy of the attitude. This means that some types of behaviour

are less the result of a personal judgement of individuals that could result in the contempt ofthe group, and more the result of their desire to fit in by a socially adequate and rewardingbehaviour.On the other hand, the extent to which an attitude can be use to predictconsumer behaviour also depends on how strong the attitude is with respect to the product.Generally we can say that stronger attitudes enable a more reliable consumer behaviourprediction regarding the planning of a purchase, the use, promotion with other consumers,etc., and vice versa.

However, regardless of this general level of analysis, there is no doubt that it is possible tomark the situations in which the infl uence of attitudes on consumer behaviour is certain .Some of them are worth pointing out. One of them, for instance, is the level of consumer


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involvement in every specific case. If, in other words, it is a situation with the higher level ofconsumer involvement, which is always the case with a purchase of valuable, expensiveproducts such as a car, home appliances, then the attitude structure can be used effectivelyto predict consumer behaviour.

The infl uence of attitudes on consumer behaviour is also related to the specifi city ofattitudes. Simply stated, the more general an attitude is and the more ambiguous andabstract the attitude object is, the lesser is the infl uence of the attitude on consumerbehaviour.

Accordingly, this infl uence is greater the more specific the attitude object is. The influenceof an attitude regarding a portable computer of a specific brand, for instance, is muchstronger than a general attitude toward the computer technology.

Finally, we must mention personality traits as a variable that influences consumer behaviour.Certain types of personality are, simply, more appropriate for the infl uence of variousintervening variables on their behaviour. Some personality types, for instance, are easy tobecome subject to the infl uence and attitudes of a group. The rest of them, on the otherhand, are less susceptible to such external influences and are more likely to adjust their ownattitudes and behaviour.

The opposite from the above is not uncommon: for behaviour to precede attitudes.Regarding this situation, it is possible to identify two theoretical approaches:

1. Cognitive dissonance theory;2. Attribution theory.

Cognitivedissonance theory is based on the thesis that dissonance always occurs when aconsumer has contradicting thoughts about the object of an attitude or conviction.Regarding this, i.e. the opposing thoughts in regard with the attitude or conviction object,two situations are possible: one that refers to the time before the purchase and the otherone about the time after the purchase. The latter, post-purchase dissonance, occurs after apurchase. Namely, after it, under the infl uence of experience, new information etc., a doubt

can occur regarding the choice and the product, which all results in the change of attitude.

Post-purchase dissonance with consumers does not suit the businesses. Therefore they takecertain actions in order to disable or minimize it. One of the more efficient methods ofachieving this is doubtlessly by offering larger warranties to consumers.In order to minimizethe possibility of post-purchase dissonance, a large number of companies decide to developa consumer loyalty program.

The attributiontheory focuses on an individuals continuous efforts to discover and interpretthe causes of the events he witnesses. The central topic of the theory is the understanding ofwhat people identify as a cause or reason for their own behaviour and the behaviour of


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o thers.This theory claims that people, while discovering what the causes of someonesbehaviour are, are trying to establish whether this behaviour was induced by some extremecauses from the individuals environment, or by some internal ones such as motive s,attitudes or capabilities.

People often tend to relate the causes with either a person or institution, or a situation, andthey are likely to observe very complex processes and phenomena through a simplifi edcause-effect spectrum. This particularly happens when there isno additional information or athorough insight into a specific situation or social-interactive relations.One of the attributionforms is also attribution toward others. It is always present when an individual asks thewhy question in relation to a statement or acti on of another person - a family member, asalesperson, a direct provider etc. The consumers will, for instance, by evaluating the wordsor actions of a salesperson, try to decide whether the salespersons motives match theirinterests.

Attitude formation

Generally we could say that attitudes are the result of socialisation. It isimportant to be ableto identify a number of mechanisms in the process ofattitude formation. Four mostimportant mechanisms were identified in1935 by Allport:

- Integration mechanism, which results in attitude formation based on a gradualintegration of individual experiences during a lifetime on a rational basis.

- Imitation mechanism, through which attitudes are assumed based on social heritage,through primary groups and other agents of socialisation. A source of permanentattitudes, for instance, can be the imitation of parents, older brothers or sisters, etc.

- Trauma mechanism, which results in the formation of a permanent attitude due to acertain shock, dramatic events from childhood, fears, prejudices etc. More precisely,these are individual experiences whose emotional involvement and intensity leads toattitudes.

- Differentiation mechanism, which assumes that based on the formed attitudes, newones are formed regarding the objects that the individual has not had enough

experience with.

A large number of factors influence attitude formation. Relying on some social psychologists,there are three basic types of these factors: general, social and personal. The first, general oruniversal factors are those that, albeit indirectly, influence the social scene in general, suchas the development of production forces and production relations, the historicaldevelopment in general. Social factors, i.e. belonging to a certain community or a group,include the characteristic norms and values, attitudes and beliefs of the communities andgroups that individuals belong to and identify with. Personal factors are sometimes markedas specific conditions andmechanisms of attitude formation.


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In the life cycle of existing attitudes, two routes are possible, at a theoretical level: theirpetrifaction and their change. Petrifaction of attitudes implies their solidification,fossilisation, resistance to all eff orts to modify or change them. In other words, petrifactionimplies the preservation of old attitudes. People are not immune to this type of affinity.

Research shows that it increases with age. The second, relatively more common route in thelife cycle of attitudes is the change of acquired attitudes. In an average mans life, this routeis in fact rather common. At least two types of situations lead to it: attitudes being acquiredrelatively recently, or not being deeply ingrained.

The goal of the majority of businesses is to win over the consumers. A goal defined like thisleads to another logical assumption: that the consumer attitude change is a strategic interestof most companies. One of the strategies used to change attitudes is doubtlessly relating aproduct with the target group, event or cause. More precisely, pointing out a relation ofcertain products or brands with respected groups or events serves the function of changingthe attitude toward those products orbrands.

Another strategy is the so-called conflict resolution. For instance, if you persuade aconsumer that his negative attitude toward a product or a brand is not opposing some otherattitude, it is not impossible that this will make him change his evaluation of the product orbrand from negative to positive.Changing the con viction about competitors brands orproduct categories is another strategy used for attitude change. This strategy uses the logicof comparative presentation of yours and your competitors brand(s).

Influence of mass media on the attitude formation and change

A number of variables infl uence attitude formation and change. A significant one is themedia for mass communication or mass media. Thereare two basic types of media: classical,such as the print, radio and television,and new media such as teletext, videotext, hypertext,multimedia and the Internet whose influence is becoming more profound.

The influence in the conditions of a high level of involvement is present if the mass mediainfluence is realised in situations when the consumers are interested in buying a certainproduct or brand. The existence of an increased interest in gaining the information about theproduct or brand via mass communication is logical.

Trust in the communication source as an assumption that influences what source of effectthe increased interest of consumers for the information is going to have, is not somethingthat exists beyond the objective reality.

consumer behaviour 1-7

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