Consumer Behaviour

(SL MM 602)

Unit 3

Personality and Self Concept in Consumer

Behaviour
Source:
Consumer Behavior
Schiffman, Wisenblit, Kumar
Eleventh Edition, 2016

PGDM – IBS Gurgaon

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 Unit 3
Personality and Self Concept in Consumer
Behaviour

1. Aspects of Personality & Impact on Consumer Behaviour

2. Personality theories:
a. Freudian
b. Neo-Freudian
c. Trait theories
3. Consumer Personality and Brand Personality
4. Self-Concept-Types and Applications

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 Learning Objectives

• To understand personality development

• To understand how personality traits shape consumer behaviour
• To understand brand personification
• To understand the impact of self-image on consumer behaviour

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 Aspects of Personality & Impact on
Consumer Behaviour

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 Describe the Personality

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 Describe the Personality

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 Describe the Personality

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 Personality

The inner psychological characteristics (the

specific qualities, attributes, traits, factors,
and mannerisms that distinguish one individual
from other individuals) that both determine
and reflect how we think and act.

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 Personality

• An individual’s characteristic and habitual pattern of thinking,

feeling, & acting on most occasions.
• E.g “ Geeta is cheerful, hopeful and enthusiastic, looking at the
bright side of things in most situations she faces”
• Specific qualities , attributes, traits, factors and mannerisms that
distinguish between individuals
• Deeply ingrained characteristics influence an individuals purchase
choices

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 Personalities affect the way consumers respond to
marketers’ promotional efforts, and when, where, and
how they consumer most products and services

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 The identification of specific personality characteristics
associated with consumer behaviour has been highly
effective in the development of market segmentation
and promotional strategies

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 The facets of personality

Personality development are thought to be influenced by:

• Heredity
• Early childhood experiences
• Broader social and environment influences are thought to influence
personality development.

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 In the study of personality, three distinct properties are
of central importance:

1. Personality reflects individual differences.

2. Personality is consistent and enduring.
3. Personality can change.

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 Personality theories

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 Researchers have identified three approaches to
understanding the impact of personality on consumer
behaviour

1. Freudian concepts
2. Ne-Freudian premises
3. Measuring distinct traits

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 Freudian Theory

A theory maintaining that unconscious needs or drives,

especially biological and sexual ones, are at the heart
of human motivation and personality.

Freud proposed that the human personality consists of three

interacting systems:
1. the id,
2. the superego and
3. the ego.

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 Freud proposed that the human personality consists of
three interacting systems: the id, the superego and the
ego.
id
The id is the “warehouse” of primitive and impulsive drives, such as: thirst,
hunger, and sex, for which the individual seeks immediate satisfaction without
concern for the specific means of that satisfaction
superego
The superego is the individual’s internal expression of society’s moral and ethical
codes of conduct.
• The superego’s role is to see that the individual satisfies needs in a socially
acceptable fashion.
• The superego is a kind of “brake” that restrains or inhibits the impulsive forces
of the id.
ego
The ego is the individual’s conscious control, which functions as an internal
monitor that attempts to balance the impulsive demands of the id and the
sociocultural constraints of the superego
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 Ad….

MAC vs PC - Angel and Devil

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 How Does This Marketing Message Apply the
Notion of the Id?

It Captures Some
of the Mystery
and The
Excitement
Associated With
the “Forces” of
Primitive Drives.

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 Parle’s Hide&Seek Milano – Freudian overtones

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 Freud’s Theory and an Indian Brand Reflecting the
Importance of Personality

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 Neo-Freudian Personality Theory

Neo-Freudian theory posits that, in addition to Freud’s

concepts, social relationships are crucial factors in the
development of personality.

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 The neo-Freudians believed that the patterns of social
relationships impact the development of personality
1. Alfred Adler viewed human beings as seeking to attain various
rational goals, which he called style of life, placing emphasis on
the individual’s efforts to overcome feelings of inferiority (i.e.,
by striving for superiority).
2. Harry Stack Sullivan stressed that people continuously attempt
to establish significant and rewarding relationships with
others, placing emphasis on efforts to reduce tensions.
3. Karen Horney focused on the impact of child-parent
relationships, especially the individual’s desire to conquer
feelings of anxiety. She proposed three personality groups:
1. Compliant,
2. Aggressive, and
3. Detached.
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 CAD Scale
The CAD scale measures the extent to which individuals are
Compliant, Aggressive, and Detached.
1. Compliant individuals:
Are those who move toward others and wish to be loved, wanted
and appreciated
2. Aggressive individuals:
Are those who move against others and desire to excel and win
admiration.
3. Detached individuals
Are those who move away from others and seek independence,
self reliance, self sufficiency, and life without obligations.

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 Researchers developed a personality test based on
Horney’s theory – the CAD scale – that measures
whether a person is primarily compliant, aggressive, or
detached.

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 Personality Traits

Personality traits are inner psychological characteristics

that distinguish one individual from other individual

The are measured through self-administered questionnaires

to pinpoint individual differences in terms of “high” versus
“low” scores on specific traits.

Researchers have discovered that personality traits are reflected in

consumers’ shopping patterns, but rarely influenced brands
selections.
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 Personality Traits

1. Innovators versus Laggards

2. Open-versus Closed-Minded
3. Conformity versus Individuality
4. Preference for Thinking
5. Preference for Written or Visual
6. Importance of possessions
7. Compulsions and Fixations
8. Consumer Ethnocentrism
9. Personality and colour

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 Big 5 Personality
Traits

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 Innovators

Consumers who are open to new ideas and among the first
to new ideas and are among the first to try new products,
services, or practices.

Researchers have discovered that consumer innovativeness

strongly affects the likelihood of consumers to purchase brand
extensions, and therefore firms introducing such products must
target innovative consumers

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 Dogmatism

A personality trait representing one’s degree of cognitive

rigidity – the opposite of being open-minded – toward
information and opinions contradictory to one’s own.

• Highly dogmatic consumers tend to be more receptive to ads

that contain appeals from authoritative figures such as
celebrities and experts.
• Low-dogmatic consumers are more receptive to messages that
stress factual differences, product benefits, and other product-
usage information.

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 CONFORMITY VERSUS INDIVIDUALITY

Inner-directed
Other-directed
Need for Uniqueness

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 CONFORMITY VERSUS INDIVIDUALITY
Need for Uniqueness
Need for uniqueness is defined as an individual’s pursuit of
differentness relative to others that is achieved through the acquisition
of consumer goods in order to enhance one’s personal and social
identity

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 Materialism

A personality trait that gauges the extent to which an individual is

preoccupied with the purchase and display of non-essential and
often conspicuous luxury goods

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 Ethnocentrism

A personality trait representing one’s tendency toward

buying or not buying foreign-made products.

• Highly ethnocentrism consumers feel that it is inappropriate or

wrong to purchase foreign-made products because of the
resulting impact on the domestic economy. Whereas non-
ethnocentric or less ethnocentric consumers tend to evaluate
foreign-made products – ostensibly more objectively – for their
extrinsic characteristics.

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 Targeting the Ethnocentric Consumer
Ruf-and-Tuf Jeans

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 Marketers successfully target ethnocentric consumers by
stressing nationalistic themes in their promotional
appeals

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 PERSONALITY AND COLOUR

Not only do consumers ascribe personality traits to products and

services, but some also associate personality characteristics and
genders with specific colours.

Red Black
Excitement Sophistication
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 Many fast-food restaurants use combinations of bright
colours – such as red, yellow and blue – for their
roadside signs and interior designs because researchers
discovered that consumer associate these colours with
fast service and inexpensive food

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 In contrast, most fine restaurants use sophisticated colours
like grey, white, shads of tan, or other soft pales, and
muted tones to underscore their classy environments

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 Consumer Personality and Brand
Personality

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 Brand Personification and Anthropomorphism

Brand Personification Anthropomorphism

Communicating human Assigning human

features of a brand in characteristics to an object
advertising

• A recent study found that the ease with which consumers could
anthropomorphize an offering was a function of how the product was
presented to the public and the inclusion or absence of human-like
product features.

• Products presented as human but which lack human features tend to be

evaluated less favorably by consumers than products that are presented
as human and have human-like attributes.
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 A “brand personality” provides and emotional identity
for the brand, which produces sentiments and feelings
toward the brand among consumers.

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 Brand personification

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 Brand Personality Framework

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 What brand personality is reflected here?

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 What brand personality is reflected here?

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 What brand personality is reflected here?

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 What brand personality is reflected here?

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 Self-Concept-Types and
Applications

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 Self-image

Self-image is defined as how people perceive themselves.

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 Self and Self-Image

• Consumers have a
variety of enduring
images of themselves

• These images are

associated with
personality in that
individuals’ consumption
relates to self-image

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 One or Multiple Selves

• A single consumer will act differently in different situations or with

different people
• We have a variety of social roles
• Marketers can target products to a particular “self”

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 Different Self-Images

Actual Self-Image • How consumers see themselves

• How consumer would like to see

Ideal Self-Image
themselves
• How consumers feel others see
Social Self-Image
them
Ideal Social • How consumers would like others
Self-Image to see them
Expected • How consumers expect to see
Self-Image themselves in the future
• Traits an individual believes are in
Out-to self
her duty to possess
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 Brands and Extended Self

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 Consumer behaviour researchers identified four
components of self-image

1 Actual self-image how consumers see themselves

2 Ideal self-image how consumers would like to see

themselves

3 Social self-image how consumers feel others see them

4 Ideal social self- how consumers would like others to see

image them

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 The Extended Self Image
Consumers’ possessions can be seen to “confirm” or “extend” their
self-images using possessions in a number of ways:

Actually By allowing the person to do things that otherwise

would be very difficult or impossible to accomplish
(e.g., problem-solving by using a computer)

Symbolically how consumers would like to see themselves

By conferring (e.g., status among collectors of rare works of art

status or rank because of the ownership of a particular
masterpiece
By bestowing by leaving valued possessions to young family
feelings of members (this also has the potential of extending
immortality the recipients’ “selves”)

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 Symbolic-
feel better

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 Conferring status or
rank- art collector

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 Bestowing feelings of immortality-legacy

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 Ideal Self Image

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 Altering the Self

Consumers often wish to change themselves—to become a different or

improved self.
a. In using self-altering products, consumers are frequently attempting to
express their individualism or uniqueness by creating a new self or
take on the appearance of another type of person.
b. Clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, grooming aids, and all kinds of accessories
offer consumers the opportunity to modify their appearance and
thereby to alter their selves
c. Personal vanity and self-image and alteration of the self are closely
related.
i. Physical vanity is excessive concern with or inflated view of one’s
physical appearance
ii. Achievement vanity is excessive concern with or inflated view of
one’s personal achievements
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 Ideal Self Image
Brands, Actual Self, and Ideal Self

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 Altering the Self

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 Class Discussion

Discuss how you curate your own social media self-image.

What are your rules for posting or viewing social media?

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 Thank You

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