This chapter discusses internal influences on consumer behavior, including motivation and involvement. It defines motivation as the inner drive directing energy towards achieving a goal. Motivation can fulfill utilitarian or hedonic needs and may be influenced by biological, psychological and cultural factors. The chapter also discusses Maslow's hierarchy of needs and McGuire's psychological motives that influence consumer behavior. It describes how different types of needs at varying strength can create approach-approach, approach-avoidance or avoidance-avoidance conflicts for consumers. The chapter concludes by defining involvement as the interest consumers have in the marketplace and describing different types of involvement like enduring, situational, cognitive and affective involvement.
This chapter discusses internal influences on consumer behavior, including motivation and involvement. It defines motivation as the inner drive directing energy towards achieving a goal. Motivation can fulfill utilitarian or hedonic needs and may be influenced by biological, psychological and cultural factors. The chapter also discusses Maslow's hierarchy of needs and McGuire's psychological motives that influence consumer behavior. It describes how different types of needs at varying strength can create approach-approach, approach-avoidance or avoidance-avoidance conflicts for consumers. The chapter concludes by defining involvement as the interest consumers have in the marketplace and describing different types of involvement like enduring, situational, cognitive and affective involvement.
This chapter discusses internal influences on consumer behavior, including motivation and involvement. It defines motivation as the inner drive directing energy towards achieving a goal. Motivation can fulfill utilitarian or hedonic needs and may be influenced by biological, psychological and cultural factors. The chapter also discusses Maslow's hierarchy of needs and McGuire's psychological motives that influence consumer behavior. It describes how different types of needs at varying strength can create approach-approach, approach-avoidance or avoidance-avoidance conflicts for consumers. The chapter concludes by defining involvement as the interest consumers have in the marketplace and describing different types of involvement like enduring, situational, cognitive and affective involvement.
This chapter discusses internal influences on consumer behavior, including motivation and involvement. It defines motivation as the inner drive directing energy towards achieving a goal. Motivation can fulfill utilitarian or hedonic needs and may be influenced by biological, psychological and cultural factors. The chapter also discusses Maslow's hierarchy of needs and McGuire's psychological motives that influence consumer behavior. It describes how different types of needs at varying strength can create approach-approach, approach-avoidance or avoidance-avoidance conflicts for consumers. The chapter concludes by defining involvement as the interest consumers have in the marketplace and describing different types of involvement like enduring, situational, cognitive and affective involvement.
MOTIVATION AND INVOLVEMENT Motivation is defined as “an inner state of arousal,” with the aroused energy directed to achieving a goal Motivation is the reason for behavior. A motive is a construct representing an unobservable inner force that stimulates and compels a behavioral response and provides specific direction to that response. CONT’D Motivation refers to the processes that cause people to behave as they do. From a psychological perspective motivation occurs when a need is aroused that the consumer wishes to satisfy. Once a need has been activated, a state of tension exists that drives the consumer to attempt to reduce or eliminate the need. This need may be utilitarian or it may be hedonic. CONT’D Whether the need is utilitarian or hedonic, a discrepancy exists between the consumer’s present state and some ideal state. This gulf creates a state of tension. Marketers try to create products and services that will provide the desired benefits and permit the consumer to reduce this tension. CONT’D The magnitude of this tension determines the urgency the consumer feels to reduce the tension. This degree of arousal is called a drive. A basic need can be satisfied in any number of ways. Personal and cultural factors combine to create a want, which is one manifestation of a need. MOTIVATIONAL STRENGTH AND DIRECTION Motivation can be described in terms of its strength, or the pull it exerts on the consumer, and its direction, or the particular way the consumer attempts to reduce motivational tension. TYPES OF NEEDS Biogenic Needs - necessary to maintain life, such as food, water, air and shelter Psychogenic needs - the need for status, power, affiliation, and so on. Psychogenic needs reflect the priorities of a culture, and their effect on behavior will vary in different environments. CONT’D Utilitarian needs- to get some practical benefits. -- emphasize the objective, tangible attributes of products such as fuel economy in a car Hedonic needs- are subjective and experiential. Here, consumers might rely on a product to meet their needs for excitement, self-confidence, fantasy, and so on CHARACTERISTICS OF NEEDS
Each of the preceding needs has several
characteristics: Needs are dynamic. Needs are never fully satisfied; satisfaction is only temporary. Also, as soon as one need is satisfied, new needs emerge. Needs exist in a hierarchy. Although several needs may be activated at any one time, some assume more importance than others. CONT’D Needs can be internally or externally aroused. Although many needs are internally activated, some needs can be externally cued. Smelling pizza cooking in the apartment next door may, for example, affect your perceived need for food. Needs can conflict. With the many motives consumers have, there are frequent conflicts between motives. Some of the conflicts are considered below. MOTIVATIONAL CONFLICTS A goal has valence, which means that it can be positive or negative. Consumers are motivated to approach a positively valued goal and will seek out products that will help them to reach it. On the other hand, consumers may instead be motivated to avoid a negative outcome. They will try to reduce the chances of attaining this end result. There are three general types of conflicts can occur: approach–approach; approach–avoidance and avoidance–avoidance. APPROACH–APPROACH CONflICT In an approach–approach conflict, a person must choose between two desirable alternatives. A student might be torn between going home for the holidays or going on a skiing trip with friends. APPROACH–AVOIDANCE CONflICT When we desire a goal but wish to avoid it at the same time, an approach–avoidance conflict exists. In this, the consumer is faced both by positive and negative consequences in the purchase of a particular products. If one likes chocolates and is diabetic. This conflict can be solved by taking sugar free chocolate resolve the conflict. AVOIDANCE–AVOIDANCE CONflICT
They may face a choice with two undesirable
alternatives, for instance the option of either throwing more money into an old car or buying a new one. Marketers frequently address an avoidance-avoidance conflict with messages that stress the unforeseen benefits of choosing one option (e.g. by emphasizing special credit plans to ease the pain of new car payments). SPECIfiC NEEDS AND BUYING BEHAVIOR Other motivational approaches have focused on specific needs and their ramifications for behavior Need for achievement refers to the desire to accomplish something. Sometimes people will express a need for achievement with premium products that express success. Eg. Luxury brands Need for affiliation is the desire to be with other people. Products that express emotion and aid in group activities are relevant. Eg. Alcoholic beverages, Sports, etc. CONT’D Need for power is the need to control one’s environment. Products that allow us to feel mastery over our surroundings and situation meet this need. Eg car, luxury resorts, etc. Need for uniqueness is the need to assert one’s individual identity. Products that pledge to illustrate our distinct qualities meet this need.eg. Perfumes, clothing MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS IMPLICATION TO MARKETERS 1. Physiological: Food, water, sleep, and, to an extent, sex, are physiological motives. Products
Health foods, medicines, sports drinks, low-
cholesterol foods, and exercise equipment 2. Safety: Seeking physical safety and security, stability, familiar surroundings, and so forth are manifestations Products
Smoke detectors, preventive medicines, insurance,
retirement investments, seat belts, burglar alarms, and sunscreen. CONT’D 3. Belongingness: Belongingness motives are reflected in a desire for love, friendship, affiliation, and group acceptance. Products:- Personal grooming, foods, entertainment, clothing, and many others 4. Esteem: Desires for status, superiority, self- respect, and prestige are examples of esteem needs. These needs relate to the individual’s feelings of usefulness and accomplishment. Products:- Clothing, furniture, liquors, hobbies, stores, cars, and many others. CONT’D 5. Self-Actualization: This involves the desire for self-fulfi llment, to become all that one is capable of becoming. Products
Education, hobbies, sports, some vacations,
gourmet foods, museums. MCGUIRE’S PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVES McGuire developed a classification system that organizes these various theories into 16 categories. Need for Consistency- People try to buy things which are consistent with their liking and taste Need for Attribution-We often attribute the cause of a favorable or unfavorable outcome to ourselves or, to some outside element Need to Categorize - objects are categorized in a number of ways Need for Objectification - These motives reflect needs for observable cues or symbols that enable people to infer what they feel and know CONT’D Need for Autonomy -Consumers like to own products which give them a feeling of independence Need for Stimulation - People often seek variety and difference out of a need for stimulation Teleological Need - Consumers are pattern matchers who have images of desired outcomes or end states with which they compare their current situation. Utilitarian Need - to achieve some practical benefit such as durability, economy, warmth that define product performance. CONT’D Need for Tension Reduction-Recreational products and activities are often promoted in terms of tension relief. Need for Expression - We want to identify ourselves and go in for products that let others know about us Need for Ego Defense - When our identity is threatened or when we need to project a proper image, we use products in our defense Need for Reinforcement-When we buy a product which is appreciated by others, it reinforces our views, our behaviour CONT’D Need for Assertion -These needs are fulfilled by engaging in those kind of activities that bring self-esteem and esteem in the eyes of others. Need for Affiliation -We like to use product which are used by those whom we get affiliated to Need for Identification -The need for identification results in the consumer’s playing various roles. Need for Modeling - to copy our heroes and our parents and those we admire CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT Involvement is the intensity of interest with which consumers approach their dealings in the market place. Involvement is a motivational state caused by consumer perceptions that a product, brand, or advertisement is relevant or interesting Needs play a strong role in determining what is relevant or interesting to consumers TYPES OF INVOLVEMENT Felt involvement can be (1) enduring, (2) situational, (3) cognitive, or (4) affective. Enduring involvement exists when we show interest in an offering or activity over a long period of time. Car enthusiasts are intrinsically interested in cars and exhibit enduring involvement in them. CONT’D Situational involvement - Temporary interest in an offering, activity, or decision, often caused by situational circumstances. Cognitive involvement - Interest in thinking about and learning information pertinent to an offering, activity, or decisions. Affective involvement - Interest in expending emotional energy and evoking deep feelings about an offering, activity, or decision. CONCEPTUALIZING COMPONENTS OF INVOLVEMENT LEVELS OF INVOLVEMENT: FROM INERTIA TO PASSION
A person’s degree of involvement is a continuum that
ranges from absolute lack of interest in a marketing stimulus at one end to obsession at the other end. Inertia is consumption at the low end of involvement; decisions made out of habit (lack of motivation) At the high end of involvement, we can expect to find the type of passionate intensity reserved for people and objects that carry great meaning for the individual. INVOLVEMENT DECISIONS Routinized response behavior or least involvement. In routinized response, we buy things as a routine. These are products of daily use which keep buying almost every now and then. Low Involvement Decision: These are decision in which some involvement is necessary. These are higher value products and involve certain amount of risk. These products are not bought everyday. These can be like refrigerators, T.V., Sofa Sets, Computers. CONT’D High Involvement Decision Making: These decisions are very important as these products are of very high value and involve a lot of risk and are bought once in a life time or a few times in a life time. These can a house or an expensive car. CONT’D There are actually several broad types of involvement related to the product, the message, or the perceiver. Product involvement is related to a consumer’s level of interest in a particular product. Many sales promotions are designed to increase this type of involvement. Message–response involvement (also known as advertising involvement), refers to the consumer’s interest in processing marketing communications CONT’D Purchase situation involvement refers to differences that may occur when buying the same object for different contexts Ego involvement (sometimes described as enduring involvement) refers to the importance of a product to a consumer’s self-concept. This concept implies a high level of social risk: the prospect of the product not performing its desired function may result in embarrassment or damage to the consumer’s self-concept CONSUMERS’ VALUES Values are beliefs that guide what people regard as important or good. Products/services = help in attaining value- related goal We seek others that share our values/ beliefs
Thus, we tend to be exposed to
information that supports our beliefs VALUE A value can be defined as a belief about some desirable end-state that transcends specific situations and guides selection of behavior. Thus, values are general and different from attitudes in that they do not apply to specific situations only. A person’s set of values plays a very important role in his or her consumption activities, since many products and services are purchased because (it is believed) they will help us to attain a value-related goal. VALUE SYSTEMS One perspective on the study of values stresses that what sets cultures apart is the relative importance, or ranking, of these universal values. This set of rankings constitutes a culture’s value system. Every culture is characterized by its members’ endorsement of a value system. CONT’D It is usually possible to identify a general set of core values which uniquely define a culture. These beliefs are taught to us by socialization agents, including parents, friends and teachers. Core values: values shared within a culture
Enculturation: learning the beliefs and values
of one’s own culture Acculturation: learning the value system and behaviors of another culture CONT’D It is suggested that the consumer experience may generate eight distinct types of consumer value: Efficiency – referring to all products aimed at providing various kinds of convenience for the consumer. Excellence – addressing situations where the experience of quality is the prime motivation. CONT’D Status – when the consumer pursues success and engages in impression management and noticeable consumption. (Self-)Esteem – situations where the satisfaction of possessing is in focus, as is the case with materialism. Play – the value of having fun in consuming. CONT’D Aesthetics – searching for beauty in one’s consumption of, e.g., designer products, fashion or art. Ethics – referring to motivations behind, e.g., morally or politically correct consumption choices. Spirituality – experiencing magical transformations or sacredness in the consumption, as known from devoted collectors. End of the Chapter!