Personality

It refers to those behavioral characteristics, both inherent and acquired that distinguish each individual. It is the distinctive behavior patterns i.e. thoughts, emotions, interests, attitudes, and values that characterize an individuals adaptation to the environment. Personality may mean how people affect others and how they understand and view themselves as well as their pattern of inner and outer traits. The definition suggests that people are not static, i.e. acting the same in all situations, but instead are ever changing and flexible to new environments. Aspects of Personality 1. External aspect: the facets of personality that is known to ourselves and others. 2. Internal aspect: the psychological core values, attitudes and beliefs which it may only be possible to infer from behavior. 3. Dynamic aspect: the ability to adapt to a changing environment. 4. Consistent aspect: the stable cognitive process that gives rise to what we may recognize as a characteristic style of the individual. 5. Role aspect: the behavior that is associated with specific roles or interactions. Characteristics of Personality 1. In order to be called a personality, behavior should show some degree of consistency that distinguishes the behavior from ones random response. Personality characteristics are relatively stable and are long-term rather than short-term. 2. The behavior should distinguish one from another. 3. Personality interacts with the situation i.e. people tend to behave differently in different situations. 4. An individuals behavior cannot be determined by one single personality trait (e.g. aggressive or charismatic) i.e. the choice of a particular brand or product may not depend on a single trait but the interaction of personality, the situation, and the product itself. Personality Theories. 1. Psychoanalytic theory It was developed by Sigmund Freud. He argued that personality results from a dynamic struggle between inner psychological drives e.g. hunger, sex, aggression and societal pressures that require the individual to adhere to societal norms, laws and moral codes of conduct. He also argued that human beings have a conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind. He postulated that personality results from a clash of three forces originating from the three levels of the mind i.e. the Id, the ego and the super-ego. The Id represents the psychological drives that propel a person to action. These drives are completely unconscious and exist at birth. The Id operates on the pleasure principle and demands constant gratification of its instincts- man is a painavoiding and pleasure- seeking animal and that he will, when faced with alternatives, choose the course of action to maximize pleasure and avoid any action that leads to pain. The ego begins to develop as an individual grows and its functions are to control the appetite of the id and help a person to function effectively. The ego stands for the voice of reason (the reality principle) while the id stands for untamed primitive passions. Much of the activities of the ego are sub-conscious while those of the id are unconscious. The super ego is represented by the conscious mind and in the voice within a person that echoes the moral values and norms of society and parents. The super ego opposes and clashes with the id and one of its roles is to resolve this conflict. That is why this theory is also called the Conflict Theory of personality. Mr. Werre, lecturer, K.I.M., Kisumu.

Application of the theory to marketing 1. Advertising firms hire psycho-analysts to help develop advertising themes, messages, and packages that appeal to the unconscious minds of consumers e.g. the use of sexual symbols in advertising. 2. Freuds research has been translated by marketers into the use of depth interviews; these are one-on-one interviews to identify hidden motives for buying products. 3. Focus-group interviews are long, probing sessions in which 6-10 consumers are encouraged to talk freely about their feelings, attitudes, and thoughts towards a certain product. 2.Trait theory of personality Traits are attributes that identify a person and make him who he is. They act as regulators and people with similar traits are believed to behave in a similar way. Traits are relatively stable, influence behavior and can be inferred from consistencies observed in the behavior of the individual, e.g. cool submissive shy trusting Others are; 1. Extrovert; the extent to which an individual is socially outgoing 2. Creative; the extent to which an individual is imaginative and experimental 3. Leader; the extent to which an individual appears to have the traits that are commonly associated with leadership potential, e.g.; sociable, relaxed, assertive, self-assured e.t.c. Each individual has a unique way of responding to environmental stimuli and our consistent responses become our personality traits, i.e. any consistent human characteristic that distinguishes behavior from one individual to another. Personality traits are different and therefore they can be used as a basis for segmenting markets. 3. Self-concept theory of personality This is how one views oneself. It is generally considered from two dimensions; the I and the ME. The I is a private picture we hold of ourselves based on the experiences we have undergone. It comprises of all we have learnt and accepted as part of ourselves. The ME is the view of self as reflected in the way others behave towards us. The more the I and the ME agree, the more consistent and harmonious is our relationship with others. The Johari Window of Self Concept known to self(ego) known to others unknown to hidden unknown open unknown to self(id) blind warm dominant bold suspicious

others
The open section shows the facets of ourselves (attitude, behavior, beliefs) which are known to us and others. The hidden area represents those elements which we keep to ourselves and do not disclose to others. The unknown section describes those parts of us which are unknown to both ourselves and others but which also influence behavior. The blind section encompasses those aspects which are evident to other people of which we are unaware. Mr. Werre, lecturer, K.I.M., Kisumu.

Importance to Marketing Peoples natural response is to maintain or enhance their self- concept i.e. people attempt to keep a positive view of themselves and try to make others accept this view. They will buy products that reflect their self-concept.

Mr. Werre, lecturer, K.I.M., Kisumu.