Chapter 5

Personality and
Consumer Behavior
 What Is Personality
• The inner psychological characteristics that both
determine and reflect how a person responds to his
or her environment
• Why this is important?
- Consumer’s varying inner characteristics
- Personality, response to stimuli and segmentaiton
 The Nature of Personality
• Personality reflects individual
differences
• Personality is consistent and
enduring
• Personality can change
under certain circumstances
(gradual maturity and or
because of any abrupt event)
 Theories of Personality
• Freudian theory
– Unconscious needs or drives are at the
heart of human motivation
• Neo-Freudian personality theory
– Social relationships are fundamental to the
formation and development of personality
• Trait theory
– Quantitative approach to personality as a
set of psychological traits
 Freudian Theory
• Id
– Warehouse of primitive or instinctual needs for which individual seeks
immediate satisfaction. ID is “selfish”
• Superego
– Individual’s internal expression of society’s moral and ethical codes of
conduct. A “caution” on ID
• Ego
– Individual’s conscious control that balances the demands of the id and
superego
Instincts vs Reality v Morality
“Early childhood experiences, obsessions and their
impact”
A Representation of the Interrelationships
Among
the Id, Ego, and Superego
 Freudian Theory and
“Product Personality”
• Consumer researchers using Freud’s
personality theory see consumer
purchases as a reflection and extension of
the consumer’s own personality
Neo-Freudian Personality Theory
• Consumer’ seek goals based on:
• Rationality and “life style”
• Overcome feelings of inferiority
• We continually attempt to establish relationships with others to reduce tensions

• Karen Horney proposed three personality groups based on variety of situations

including direct or indirect domination, indifference, erratic behavior, lack of respect
for the child's individual needs, lack of real guidance,too much admiration or the
absence of it, lack of reliable warmth, having to take sides in parental disagreements,
too much or too little responsibility, over-protection, isolation from other children,
injustice, discrimination, unkept promises, hostile atmosphere, and so on and so on:

– Compliant move toward others, they desire to be loved, wanted, and appreciated

– Aggressive move against others – Desire for power, be respected, people look
up to me, urge for domination, cold, aloof

– Detached move away from others – Ignore others. Look for self reliance, self
sufficiency and freedom from obligation
 Trait Theory
• Based on verifiable and observable measures called
Traits
• Trait - any distinguishing, relatively enduring way in
which one individual differs from another
• The “high” and “low” end of various traits and how it
drives consumer decision making
• Personality is linked to how consumers make their
choices or to consumption of a broad product category -
not a specific brand
 Trait Theory
Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
• Innovativeness • The degree to which
• Dogmatism consumers are
• Social character receptive to new
products, new
• Need for uniqueness services, or new
• Optimum stimulation practices
level
• Variety-novelty
seeking
 Trait Theory
Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
• Innovativeness • A personality trait that
• Dogmatism reflects the degree of
• Social character rigidity a person
displays toward the
• Need for uniqueness unfamiliar and toward
• Optimum stimulation information that is
level contrary to his or her
• Variety-novelty own established
seeking beliefs
 Trait Theory
Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
• Innovativeness • Ranges on a continuum
• Dogmatism for inner-directedness to
• Social character other-directedness
• • Inner-directedness
Need for uniqueness
– rely on own values when
• Optimum stimulation evaluating products
level – Innovators
• Variety-novelty seeking • Other-directedness
– look to others
– less likely to be innovators
 Trait Theory
Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
• Innovativeness • Consumers who
• Dogmatism avoid appearing to
• Social character conform to
expectations or
• Need for uniqueness standards of others
• Optimum stimulation
level
• Variety-novelty
seeking
 Trait Theory
Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
• Innovativeness • A personality trait that
• Dogmatism measures the level or
• Social character amount of novelty or
complexity that
• Need for uniqueness individuals seek in their
• Optimum stimulation personal experiences
level • High OSL consumers tend
• Variety-novelty seeking to accept risky and novel
products more readily
than low OSL consumers.
 Trait Theory
Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
• Innovativeness • Measures a consumer’s
• Dogmatism degree of variety
• Social character seeking
• • Examples include:
Need for uniqueness
– Exploratory Purchase
• Optimum stimulation Behavior
level – Use Innovativeness
• Variety-novelty – Vicarious Exploration
seeking
Cognitive Personality Factors
• Need for cognition (NC)
– A person’s craving for enjoyment of thinking
– Individual with high NC more likely to respond
to ads rich in product information
• Visualizers versus verbalizers
– A person’s preference for information
presented visually or verbally
– Verbalizers prefer written information over
graphics and images.
From Consumer Materialism
to Compulsive Consumption
• Consumer materialism
– The extent to which a person is considered
“materialistic”
– How much possessions are essential to
consumer identity
– How does it affects societal values?
From Consumer Materialism
to Compulsive Consumption
• Fixated consumption behavior
– Consumers fixated on certain products or categories
of products. Collectors and hobbyists
– They spend considerable time, resources and efforts
in the process of acquiring certain products
• Compulsive consumption behavior
– “Addicted” or “out-of-control” consumers
 Consumer Ethnocentrism

• Ethnocentric consumers feel it is wrong to

purchase foreign-made products
• They can be targeted by stressing
nationalistic themes
 BRAND PERSONALITY
• Consumers also subscribe to the notion
of brand personality, i.e. they attribute
various descriptive personality like traits
or characteristics to different brands in a
wide variety of product categories
• A brand’s personality can either be
functional or symbolic
• Brand personality as long as it is strong
and favorable, strengthens a brand
• How many consumers are willing to pay
premium for brand personality?

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 BRAND PERSONALITY FRAMEWORK
Consumers perceive brand
Brand Personality
personalities in terms of five basic
dimensions, each with several facets

Sincerity Excitement Competence Sophistication Ruggedness

• Down to earth • Daring • Reliable • Upper class • Outdoorsy

• Honest • Spirited • Intelligent • Charming • Tough
• Wholesome • Imaginative • Successful
• Cheerful • Up-to-date

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 Product Personality Issues
• Gender
– Often used for brand personalities
– Some product perceived as masculine
while others as feminine
 PRODUCT PERSONALITY AND
GEOGRAPHY
• Some products, in the minds
of consumers, possess a
strong geographical
association
• By employing geography in a
product’s name, the
manufacturer creates a
geographic personality for
the brand
 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
 The Marketing Concept
Issues Related to
Self and Self-Image
• One or multiple • A single consumer will
selves act differently in
• Makeup of the different situations or
self-image with different people
• We have a variety of
• Extended self
social roles
• Altering the self- • Marketers can target
image products to a
particular “self”
 The Marketing Concept
Issues Related to
Self and Self-Image
• One or multiple • Contains traits, skills, habits,
selves possessions, relationships
• Makeup of the self and way of behavior
• Developed through
-image
background, experience, and
• Extended self
interaction with others
• Altering the self- • Consumers select products
image congruent with this image
 Different Self-Images
How I
What am
want to
1
be

Actual Self-
Ideal Self-Image
Image
What
traits or
characteri
Ideal Social Ought to Self-
stics I
Self-Image Image believe I
should
How I possess
want Expected
other to Self-Image How I
see me want to
be in
future
 The Marketing Concept
Issues Related to
Self and Self-Image
• One or multiple • Possessions can extend
selves self in a number of ways:
– Actually
• Makeup of the – Symbolically
self-image – Conferring status or rank
• Extended self – Bestowing feelings of
immortality
• Altering the self- – Endowing with magical
image powers
 The Marketing Concept
Issues Related to
Self and Self-Image
• One or multiple • Consumers use self-
selves altering products to
• Makeup of the express individualism
self-image by
– Creating new self
• Extended self – Maintaining the existing
• Altering the self self
– Extending the self
-image
– Conforming