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Chapter 5

Culture &

Consumer Behavior

American University of Sharjah College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Mass CommunicationDr. Ibahrine

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Chapter 5 Objectives

Explain how advertising differs from the basic communication

process

Outline the consumer perception process & explain why “perception is everything”

Describe how a consumer’s level of involvement with a

product influences the decision-making process

Describe the fundamental motives behind consumer

purchases

Explain how advertisers deal with cognitive dissonance

Discuss various influenceson consumer behavior

1-3Framework of cross-cultural consumer behavior

Consumer behavior domains

Attributes“who”

Processes“how”

Social processesMotivation, emotion

Group processes

Mental processesCognition, learning

Language, perceptionAttribution

Information processingCommunicationDecision making

PersonalitySelf-concept

Identity, imageAttitudeLifestyle

Product ownership and usageAdoption/diffusion of innovations

Complaining behaviorBrand loyalty

Responses to advertisingMedia usage

Source: Adapted from Manrai and Manrai (1996)

Income

ConsumerThe person

Values, culture

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Consumer behavior

• The study of the processes involved when people select, purchase, use or dispose of product, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy need and desires

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Consumer behavior

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Consumer behavior

• I AM WHAT I COSUME• SELF

• PERSONALITY

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Consumer attributes

• Concept of self Self descriptions, self evaluations Self enhancement, self esteem

• Personality Personality traits

• Identity and image• Attitude

Relationship attitude-behavior• Lifestyle

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Consumer attributes

• People buy product that are compatible with their SELF-CONCEPT

• Or rather that enhance their “ideal-self|”

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The self-concept

• The self consists of the body, family, possessions, moods, emotions, conscience, attitudes, values, traits, and social position

• The self-concept plays a central role in behavior and psychological processes.

• Major distinction between independent self and interdependent self; ‘me’ as a unique entity or ‘me’ as integrated in the social environment.

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The self-concept

• The concept of self is rooted in individualism

• A person is an autonomous entity

• In the collectivist model of the self, persons are fundamentally interdependent with one another

• A person is an interdependent entity

• Real self vs ideal self

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Hierarchy of Effects Model

Awareness

Knowledge

Liking

Preference

ConvictionPurchase

Cognitive

Affective

Conative

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The Hierarchy of Effects ModelMessage Strategies & Advertising Components

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Self-respect, self-esteem

• Self-respect and self-esteem important US values targeted in marketing.

Self enhancement

Group enhancement

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Personality

• Is the sum of the qualities and characteristics of being a person in individualistic cultures where the person is defined as an independent self-contained, autonomous entity who comprises a unique configuration of internal attributes (traits, abilities, motives and values)

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Personality

• Basic assumptions of individualistic cultures: People should distinguish from others Cross-situational consistency Personality traits are universal

• In collectivistic cultures Person is interdependent entity Individual behavior is situational Characteristics vary by social role

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Identity

• Identity is the idea one has about oneself, one’s charactericti propreties, one’s own body and the values one considers important

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Identity

• In Western societies, people tend to assess the identity of self and others based on personality traits

• Age, occupation and material symbols

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Identity

• In collectivist culture /societies, people are not used to do so

• They assess themselves in terms of their ability to maintain harmonious relationships with others

• One’s identity is the group: the family, neighborhood, school or the company where one works

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Image

• Image is how others see and judge a person

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Body ImageIn Western psychology, the body is viewed as part of the identity

Body esteem is related to self-esteem, and people attribute more desirable characteristics to physically attractive persons

Desirable appearance leads to greater self-esteem

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Body ImageIn Japan, where people attribute

success more to external than to internal sources

There is less emphasis on the body as a source of esteem

The development of self-esteem and happiness, external physical appearance is less important than success in social role performance

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self esteem

• a Dove film - Girl's self-esteem

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Body Image

• In IDV cultures gap between real and ideal self; search for ideal body; body esteem = self esteem

• Models pose as independent persons• Asia: less emphasis on body as source of self-esteem

• Cultural groups have different definitions of physical attractiveness

• In collectivistic cultures physical appearance less important than success in social role performance

• Models pose in ways to show dependency, harmony: open face, girlish pose

• On magazine covers poses in US media defiant, reflect independence. In Asia open: dependence.

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Dove campaign for real beauty

• Unilever developed global “campaign for real beauty” for its personal care brand Dove

• The real beauty ican be found only on the inside• Evey Women deseves to feel bautiful

• Dove campaign for real beauty and pro-age campaign [films and print ads on CD and document on Dove campaign]

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Marketing metaphors

• Personality and identity used as metaphors in marketing and branding

• Companies have identities (Corporate identity)

• Brands should have unique personalities with characteristics like people have

• E.g. friendly, trustworthy

• Differentiate versus the competition

• And position versus competitive brands

• Brand positions should be consistent• But: consumer take-out different from company input

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Marketing metaphors

• The concepts of brand personality and brand identity are metaphors from individualistic cultures that are less understandable and less useful to collectivistic cultures

• Katakana is the Japanese word for identity

• It means to be aware of one-self as oneself but this awareness of self is based on connections with others

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Marketing metaphors

• Jennifer Aaker found five brand personality factors in the United States that she labeled

1. Sincerity

2. Excitement

3. Competence

4. Sophistication

5. Ruggedness

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Marketing metaphors

• Jennifer Aaker found five brand personality factors in the Japan and Spain that she labeled

1. Peacefulness

2. Passion

3. Passive Likeableness

4. Prestigious

5. Trustworthy

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Global brand positions across cultures

Friendly

Austria

Denmark

Germany

Finland

Sweden

UK

Norway

Belgium

Italy

FranceSpain

Netherlands

PDI-

UAI-

UAI+

PDI+

InnovativeDifferent

Prestigious

Turkey, Russia, Ukraine

SwitzerlandTrustworthy

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Attitude• Western consumer behaviorists view an attitude as

a lasting, general evaluation of people (including oneself), object, advertisements, or issue

• Attitudes have affective and cognitive components • The affective component includes feelings and

emotions one experiences in response to an attitude object

• The cognitive component includes attributes and functions of object

•

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Attitude• Western definition: attitudes help organize and

structure one’s environment and provide consistency in one’s frame of reference

• Individualists want consistency between their attitudes and behaviors

• The behavior of consumers can be predicted from their attitudes towards products, services and brands and a purchase prediction is derived from a positive attitude

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Attitude

• Collectivists cultures/Societies people form attitudes that fulfill their social identity functions, and there is not consistent relationship between attitude and future behavior

• Shared experience influences brand attitude positively more than individualistic cultures

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Attitude

• For assessing advertising effectiveness, advertisement tends to be measured and the information is used as an indication of buying intention

• This is a logical practice in individualistic cultures

• But the practice will not work the same way in collectivist cultures

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Lifestyle• Lifestyle is described in terms of shared values or

tastes as reflected in consumption patterns

• Lifestyle is a person’s pattern of living as expressed in his or her psychographics

• Personal characteristics are viewed as the raw ingredients to develop a unique lifestyle

• Lifestyle is viewed more as a mental construct that explains actual behavior

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Lifestyle

• Lifestyle represents the way one allocates income

• Lifestyle descriptions include attitudes, values and behavioral elements

• Lifestyles are country-specific• Culture overrides lifestyle: sharing

ownership of some goods doesn’t make cultural groups or communities.

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Social processes

• Needs, motivation, buying motives• Emotion, emotions in advertising• Group processes

In-group and out-group; reference group

Public vs private spaceOpinion leaders

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Needs

• Functional needs• Social needs: fashion, status brands• Product category related needs: e.g. purity in food

and drink• Maslow categorized human needs in a hierarchy of

importance• There is a little evidence to support Maslow’s

hypothesis that there is a universal order among the nonphysiological goals

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Motivation

• Motivation research seeks to understand the “why” of our behavior

• Freud: culture-related• Buying motives; category & culture motives

Configurations of dimensions explain differences Status: Power distance and masculinity Car buying motives: Masculinity and uncertainty

avoidance Whisky: Power distance = social status need

• Find explaining dimensions by correlating category data with all five dimensions

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Emotion

• Process involving interaction cognition and physiology. Mind influences body, body influences mind.

• Emotions are affective responses that are learned.

• Emotions are integral wholes in which various components are linked together

• Experience• Facial expression• Physiological response

• Several elements of emotions are related to culture

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Culture and emotion• Universal basic emotions?

• The more abstract, the more universal

• Emotion and language• Most languages possess sets of emotion-labeling words• English: anger, fear, sadness, joy• Words linked with different experiences across cultures

• Display rules and recognition• Display and recognition of emotions vary• Meaning and intensity of emotions vary• East Asian collectivists don’t display negative emotions• Expressions misunderstood across cultures

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Measurement of emotions & culture

• Recognition and judgment of expressions of emotions

• Measurement based on recognition of facial expressions

• Absence of context (most measurements in laboratory situations)

• Decoding measures vary: emotion terms used; content varies

• Russell: Only happiness can be universally understood. Many emotions confused: disgust-contempt; sadness-contempt and fear; fear-surprise

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Measurement of emotions & culture

• Recognition of emotions:

• Americans focus on mouth,

• USA: - :) & : (

• Japanese focus on eyes:

• Japan: ^_ ^ & ;_;

• Smile universal expression of happiness?

• Emotion-eliciting events

• IDV: being alone can cause happiness;

• COL: being alone can cause sadness (relationship problem)

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Group processes

• Individualism: Individuals have unique personalities• Individuals must stand out,

demonstrate they are different• Groups are sets of unique

individuals, harmony not necessary

• Role of opinion leaders and the media in decision making process

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Group processes

• Collectivism: The dependent self in collectivistic cultures lives in harmony with the group and the environment; does not want to stand out.• In-group and out-group• Interdependence in in-group• Informal communication in

decision making process

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Mental processes

• Language, perception and memory • Visual – verbal

• Categorization Brand extension fit

• Locus of control Influences expression of behavior intention and

decision making

• Information processing• Decision making

Internal-external

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Consumer behavior domains

• Product acquisition, usage and ownership• Food, household products, personal products, clothing &

footwear, household appliances, consumer electronics, luxury articles, communication technology, cars, leisure, finance

• Complaining behavior Differences individualism-collectivism Legal action vs harmony

• Brand loyalty Influence individualism, power distance, uncertainty

avoidance

• Diffusion of innovations

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Adoption of innovations, USA

Innovators Early adopters

Early majority

Latemajority

Laggards

2.5%

13.5%

34% 34%

16%

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Consumer Behavior:Consumer Decision Process

e

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Personal Processes:Consumer Perception

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Personal Processes:Learning and Persuasion

Theories of Learning

Cognitive Conditioning Memory, thinking, problem solving

Trial and error

Relevant to complex purchases and learning from other people

Relevant to simple, everyday purchases

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Personal Processes:Elaboration Likelihood Model

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Needs are basic & often instinctive

Wants are learned during lifetime

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Personal Processes:Consumer Motivation

Motivation: underlying forces driving decisions

Insert ex. 5-5, p. 154

Maslow’s Hierarchy table

Position = 0.35” horiz, 3.5” vertical

Size = 8.2” WIDE

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Personal Processes:Consumer Motivation

Rossiter & Percy’s fundamental motives

Negative Motives: problem removal or

avoidance

Positive Motives: benefit, bonus or

reward

Insert ex. 5-6, p. 155

8 Purchase Motives

Position = 0.5” horiz, 1.5” vertical

Size = 4.6” TALL

Resolution = 300 dpi

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Influences onConsumer Behavior

Interpersonal

Family

Culture

Society:Reference Groups & Opinion Leaders