CONSUMER BEHAVIOURDefinition:

“The study of motivation as covering all those things which

are biological, social, psychological and that they defeat our laziness

and move us, either eagerly or reluctantly, to action’. So simply stated

we can say that the study of motivation is concerned with why people

choose to behave in a certain way.”

- Psychologist.

Its can be said that all the activities of human being are caused

behind every action there is a particular need or motive. Needs can

be feeling or desire for something which is lacking and through

performing various activities to get the feeling of lacking removed

and thus become satisfied. Thus human behaviour is caused by

motives or needs. And motivation is the process of inducing persons

to experience needs for a certain goal or behaviour. So motivation is

concerned with:

Need – The most basic human requirements.

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Drives – Tells how these needs translate into

behaviour.

Goal – what these behaviour aim to achieve.

Motivation can be described the driving force within individuals

that impels them into action.

Need

Satisfaction Action

(Behaviour)

Vicious circle between Need, Action and Satisfaction.

Hull’s Drive reduction Theory:

One popular theory which links needs and drives with goals

is that of Hull. Hull’s drive reduction theory attempts to explain both

motivation and learning. This theory is based on principle which may

be of general interest, though Hull was mostly concerned with the

2Need Drive Goal-directed Behaviour

operation of primary needs. Hull’s theory is illustrated as follows with

pictorial and graphical representation:

Need Reduction Drive Reduction Drive Reduction

Reinforces drive reducing behaviour.

A simple view of Hull’s Drive Reduction Theory

As mentioned above a need give rise to a drive and the resulting

behaviour will be aimed at reducing the drive and thereby the need.

According to Hull, the drive reduction act (or act of reducing the drive)

reinforces drive reducing behaviour whereby it is likely the behaviour

be repeated again in case of recurrence of the need in future.

Motivation is a driving force is the outcome of a state of tension,

which arises because of unfulfilled need and desires. Individuals are

consciously and subconsciously engaged in a tension reduction

behaviour, which they presume will help in fulfilling their needs and

thus reduce the tension or stress felt by them. Of course the selection

of the specific goal and the action undertaken to meet the goal will be

based on the individual’s thinking and learning process. This can be

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illustrated with the help of a model of motivation process. From the

following diagram we can see that motivation is seen as a state of

need induced tension that will exert pressure on the individual to be

engaged in a behaviour which will satisfy the need and thus reduce the

tension.

We can see that both the ‘Hull’s drive Reduction theory and the

‘Model of Motivation process’ are similar. In both the cases it is

discussed that individuals are engaged in behaviour so as to reduce

the drive (or tension). In the above model it is emphasized upon that

the specific behaviour adopted by the individuals and his or her

specific goals selected will be influenced by their thinking process

(cognitive process) and precious learning. This only goes to show that

only goes marketers who understand motivational theory can attempt

at influencing the consumer cognitive processes.

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A Simple Model of Motivation Process

TensionUnfulfilled

needs, wants and desires

Drive BehaviourGoal or Need

fulfillment

Cognitive Processes

Learning

Tension Reduction

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Before going for an in-depth discussion on needs and goals, we

will understand the distinct connotation between the three inter-

related terms, motive, motivation, motivating. All the three terms have

been derived from the Latin word ‘Moyere’ meaning to move.

Motives:

It gives directions to human behaviour. A motive is an inner

state that energizes activates, or moves and directs or

channels behaviour towards goal.

Motivating:

It implies an activity engaged into by an individual, by which

he or she will channelize the strong motives in a direction

that is satisfactory.

Emotional Versus Rational Motives:

Traditionally the term ‘Rationality’ is associated with

persons who carefully weigh the Pros & Cons of all the

alternatives and then choose the one that gives them the

greatest utility. In the marketing context we can say that

consumers who are ‘rational’ will select the goals after

ascertaining various objective criteria such as size, weight

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price etc. as against this emotional motives are those goals

which are selected on the basis of emotion’s involvement.

Usually such goal are selected purely on personal or

subjective criteria such as desire for recognition of status,

fear, pride, esteem, love etc.

Though it may be argued that those who take

purchase decisions based on emotional motive do not

maximize utility or satisfaction need not always hold true.

For it may be counter argued that they (such consumers

who are influenced by emotional motives) also make

selection with a view to maximize satisfaction. Moreover,

‘satisfaction’ is a personal process and will vary from person

to person based on his or her need structure, past

experience and learning. Therefore it is improper to

distinguish between rational and emotional motives.

Positive Versus Negative Motivation:

Motivation can be positive or negative. If an individual

experiences a driving force towards an object or person or

situation, it is called positive or person motivation. Whereas

a driving force compelling the person to move away from

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someone or something will be known as ‘negative

motivation’.

Motivation:

It is process that starts with a physiological or psychological

deficiency or need that activities behaviour or a drive that is aimed at

a goal or incentive.

- Fred Luthans

Needs:

Needs could fall into three broad categories:

Physiological or Primary Needs:

These are referred to as innate needs or biogenic

needs. These are the needs that sustain life. That is

why these needs are considered as primary needs or

motives also. They include the need for food, air, sex

and self preservation.

Psychological Needs

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These are the needs that relate to our competence to

deal effectively with the outside world or environment.

In simple terms they are also termed as personal

compelence.

Learned or secondary or Cultural needs:

These are also known as acquired needs. Learned

needs are those needs which arise result of our

socialization. They are acquired from the individual’s

subjective psychological state and relationship with

other persons. As the name suggests, they are learned

and are dependent on the culture we grow up in. some

cultures may give ore value to power and status while

others to humility and a structured life. These are all

learned needs.

Needs Arousal:

We are aware of our needs only when we are aroused.

Needs can be aroused by four distinct stimuli:

Physiological

Cognitive

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Environmental

Emotional

Various Theories or Approaches of Needs:

Psychologists have been interested in the study of human

behaviour so as to understand the human needs or motives which

influence their behaviour. Professor Daniel Starch (1923) had

presented a list of forty four human motives and psychologist Henry

Murray (1923) had prepared a list of twenty eight psychogenic needs.

Murray had suggested that every person has the same basic set of

Type of Stimuli Mechanism Need Aroused

Physiological Fall in the blood sugar level Hunger (Primary)

Cognitive Remembering daughter who is staying far away Affection

Seeing an ad which reminds you to wish a friend Social

on her wedding anniversary

Emotional Elderly couple staying alone has a tear of being Security

burgled

Environmental Finding a dream house to match your budget and Success Prestige

Or Exterior conveys your prestige and status.

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needs but they have different ways and means of ranking these needs

on priority basis.

Marketers have always been interested in knowing about

human motives which influence consumer behaviour. There are certain

theories of motivation usually referred to in a marketing context. These

are:

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

Dr.Abraham H.Maslow, a famous social scientist had

developed a framework of needs and formulated a

widely accepted and approved theory of human

motivation based on the notion that there is a

hierarchy of needs which influences the person’s

motivation level. Maslow’s theory goes by the notion

that there are basically five levels of human needs

arranged in their order of importance. It starts from

the lower level basic (biogenic) needs and goes to

higher level (psychogenic) needs. He suggested that

needs have a certain priority and individuals try to

satisfy the lower level needs and then only go to

satisfy hi or her higher level needs. The lowest level of

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chronically unsatisfied needs will tend to motivate the

individuals behaviour. Once that need is fairly satisfied

a new and higher level of need emerges which the

individual is motivated to fulfill. When this new level of

need is satisfied another higher level of need emerges

and thus it goes on. However if a particular lower level

need is not fully satisfied it may become temporarily

dominant again.

Self Actualization

(Self Fulfillment)

Esteem Needs or Ego Needs

(Prestige, Status, Self-Respect)

Social or Affiliation Needs

(Affection, Friendship, Belonging)

Safety and Security Needs

(Protection, Order, stability)

Physiological Needs

(Food, Water air, Sex, Shelter)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Physiological Needs:

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In the hierarchy-of-needs theory the first and most basic

level of needs are the physiological needs. These primary

level of needs include all those needs required to sustain

biological life- such as hunger, thirst, air, shelter, sex and

clothing.

According to Maslow the physiological needs will have

highest strength and will be dominant until they are

reasonably satisfied. Especially in a developing economy

like India this physiological need will be dominant among all

those people lying below the poverty line focusing entirely

on trying to satisfy their biogenic needs.

Safety or Security Needs:

Once the first level of needs are satisfied, safety and

security needs will become the driving force behind an

individual’s behaviour. These needs are more concerned

with personal needs and security. Health and wealth are of

primary concern. People are concerned about the need for

being free from physical danger or self preservation. They

are more comfortable with the knowledge of having control

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over one’s life and environment and certainty about the

future (up to some extent).

The level of need is satisfied by opening saving account,

take insurance policies, through education and sufficient

vocational training etc. this safety and security needs will

make them feel from theft, health and also security order

and stability.

Social or Affiliation Needs:

The third level of needs is related to needs such as love,

affection, belonging and acceptance. Being a social being

man feels the need to belong to and be accepted by various

groups. When this need becomes dominant, a person will

strive for satisfying relations with others and are motivated

by love for their families. People are now looking for

relationship, affection and sense of belonging or

identification.

Ego or Esteem Needs:

When the social needs are more or less satisfied, the

esteem needs gain importance. The esteem needs are

concerned with ego. They reflect an individual’s need for

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self-respect, self-confidence, a feeling of personal worth,

prestige, success, power and control.

The satisfaction of esteem needs is not always obtained

through mature or adaptive ways. Sometimes individuals

(some teenagers or youth) while trying to achieve the ego

needs for adopt disruptive and irresponsible actions and

inability to satisfy esteem needs can also lead to frustration.

The society thus can play a bigger role in trying to change

the image of esteem needs especially in the eyes of such

misguided youth of our society.

Self-Actualization Needs:

This refers to the need to maximize one’s potential

(personal potential) – i.e. he or she desires to become

everything he or she is capable of becoming. As Maslow

says what a man can be he must be’. Though Maslow also

rightly said that most people are not able to satisfy their

esteem needs sufficiently or abundantly or adequately to

move up to the fifth level of needs – self actualization. This

is because needs imply control over environmental factors

both physical and social and achievement.

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Maslow also introduced two more categories of

‘enabling’ needs which can provide the channels through

which the five categories of needs can be achieved or

conquered or aspired.

Freedom of enquiry and expression needs:

This means the social conditions must exist to

provide free speech and encouragement of

justice, fairness and honesty.

Knowledge and understanding needs:

These needs will provide and help in gaining

knowledge of the environment so as to be able

to explore, learn and experiment.

Thus Maslow’s theory or hierarchy of needs theory

postulates of the hierarchy of prepotent needs. This theory also

emphasizes that only once the lower level needs are sufficiently

satisfied, will a higher level of need act as the motivating or driving

force.

Evaluation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

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Maslow’s theory has got a lot of intuitive appeal. If one is

dependently looking for food it is unlikely that he will concerned about

socializing or improving self potential. And it is very useful in that

Maslow has evolved all his suggestions and ideas around what ‘drives’

individuals. However, the theory doest not fully explain certain things

such as;

There is lack of evidence to support it. It is not

necessary that physiological and safety needs

will be the predominant factors in determining

behaviour.

Some people have been unhappy due to the

absence of money from the list of needs.

Elf actualization and esteem needs will be

dependent on each individual’s self perception.

Inspite of the above objections or problems, Maslow’s work has

provided a framework which is easy and useful for marketers.

Mc.Clelland’s Theory of Need achievement:

Shortly after world war II, a group of psychologists,

Mc.Clelland and his colleagues began to experiment

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with TAT (Thematic Appreciation Test) in order to

determine if it was sensitive enough to detect changes

in motivation that were caused by simple attempts to

change the individual’s attitude. Unlike Maslow, these

psychologists believed in the presence of three types

of basic motivating needs.

Need for Power:

This refers to have control over other

people and objects in the

environment (Similar to Maslow’s ego

Needs).

Need for Affiliation:

This refers to desire to belong to, be a

part of a group and to have friends.

(Similar to Maslow’s Social Needs).

Need for Achievement:

This relates to the needs to achieve

something (Close to Ego & Self-

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Actualization needs level in Maslow’s

Hierarchy).

Achievement – needs persons will strive hard to

achieve their goal. Today’s cutthroat and fierce competitive world or

environment makes people to develop an ever increasing need for

achievement – all to become something in life. Achievement of various

‘Milk Supplement’ or nourishing food drinks either malted or chocolate

flavor etc. stress on the intake of food rich in vital vitamins,

carbohydrates & minerals, is necessary to be able to satisfy the

achievement needs.

Ex: Complan, Viva etc.

The achievement needs is closely related to both esteem

needs and self actualization needs. Persons with high need for

achievement are found to be self confident, look out of various ways to

do self evaluation, enjoy being speculative or taking calculated risks,

are constantly doing research of their environment.

Ex:

Advertising appeal must emphasis on new innovative

or speculative shares stocks. They would also be interested in ‘career

progress oriented courses’.

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Incase of power needs – the individual desire to have

control over other persons and various objects. Such persons will be

interested in products like vehicles which highlight – powerful owners’

on the road (Mobikes Jeep/Car).

Affiliation need relate to man’s social concern for socializing

to gain friends, desires for being accepted and for belonging. Such

persons opt for purchase of products which will have social

acceptance. They prefer to make purchase decisions which meet the

approval of friends’ teenagers or college goer who hang around with

friends at the college canteen, go for movies, various music shows etc.

in the company of friends.

In the above theory we have seen or observed or

surveillance that individual with ‘specific needs’; tend to be receptive

to certain types of products. Thus awareness of such needs will provide

marketers information on what bases to concentrate while segmenting

their markets.

Other Theories of Motivation:

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There are two more theories of motivation which are

occasionally referred to in a marketing context. Thus a brief

explanation or gist of those theories is given here under.

Alderfer’s ERG hierarchy of needs:

This category proposes a hierarchy of three needs –

Existence, Relatedness and Growth (hence it is called

as ERG Theory). Though it is similar to Maslow’s theory

in any ways Alderfer has introduced another useful

notion of frustration. He says in the event of a need

not being satisfied it can result in frustration which in

turn may lead to other behaviours.

In the marketing context it can be said that when

consumers are not satisfied with a particular purchase

they may either opt for an alternative competitors

brand or may resort to complaining about what

(product) they have purchased. Thus accepting that

frustration is a defense mechanism adopted

consumers, marketers must plan how to handle their

consumer frustration (if any).

Vroomi’s Expectancy needs:

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This theory is very strongly related to the extended

Fishbone model of attitudes. Here it is believed that an

individual’s motivation will be based on the

expectation from a particular behaviour. It is based on

premise that behaviour will lead to a certain outcome

and the preference or Valence for that outcome.

Motivation = Valency * Expectancy

From a marketing view point, it can be said marketers

must work at increasing the perceived value of the

product / services in the eyes of the consumer. This

will increase the motivation of the consumer to buy

and also raise the expectance of satisfaction which will

result from the purchase of the product or service.

Measuring Motivation:

It is necessary to conduct researches for gauging because it

is an significant tool / through which marketers can get deeper insights

into many of the ‘whys’ of consumer behavior. More specifically put

motivation research helps in:

It provides marketers with the basic insight into how develop new

products and working on how consumers will react to such new

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product launches and then work out marketing programmes and

advertising appeals accordingly.

It enables marketers to understand ‘why’ consumer accepted or

rejected their products.

It helps marketers to devise suitable promotional techniques and

suggest ways of presenting their products to public.

The most popular technique for motivational research are projective

techniques – a tool for collection of primary data. Under projective

techniques more specifically put – the Word Association and

Thematic Appreciation Test (TMT). However, depth interviews and

group discussion are also used. These will help uncover ‘why’ a

particular behaviour look place. Both these are also used. Though

group discussion can yield more information than individual in-depth

interviews. But group discussion cannot be used especially for

discussion of certain topics such as those that might embarrass and

are difficult to discuss in company or may require very personal

(individual) consideration. Usually marketers use a combination of

two or more techniques.1

1 Source: “Consumer Behaviour”, Suja Nair. HPH.

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“A physical, Visual or Mathematical…..Simplifies

representation of a complex system”.

- Macmillan’s Dictionary of Retailing.

Unit -v

Consumer Models:

A model is very often referred to as an abstract representation of

a process or relationship. We (Human Being) hold various models in

our minds which allow us to make sense of the world and also help to

predict the likely course of events. Simple stated models help us in the

following way:

They help in the development of theories.

They help to understand complex relationships.

They provide the framework for discussions and research work.

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The primary concern or motto or motive of consumer modeling is to

use the models to understand consumer behaviour. Consumer

behaviorists as well as marketers are interested in understanding

how and why certain decisions are made. The discussion have been

about some of the significant models of consumer behaviour, which

attempts to give or render a comprehensive view of all those

aspects of the buying situations which are deemed to be significant

by their creators.

Models of Consumer Behaviour:

The following are the models of the consumer behaviour.

Economic Model:

Under economics, it is assumed that man is a rational

human being, who will evaluate all the alternatives in

terms of cost and value received and select that

product / service which gives him / her maximum

satisfaction (utility). Consumers are assumed to follow

the principle of maximum utility based on the law of

diminishing marginal utility. It is assumed that with

limited purchasing power, and a set of needs and tastes,

a consumer will allocate his / her expenditure over

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different products at given prices so as to maximize

utility.

The law of Equi-marginal utility enables him to secure

maximum utility from limited purchasing power.

Economic model of consumer behaviour is Uni-

dimensional. This means that buying decisions of a

person are governed by the concept of utility. Being a

rational man he will make his purchase decisions with the

intention of maximizing the utility /benefits.

Economic model is based on certain predictions of

buying behaviour.

Price Effect:

It depicts the lesser the price of the

product, more will be the quantity

purchased.

Substitution Effect:

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It portrays or gives a crystal clear picture of

the lesser the price of the substitution

product, lesser will be the quantity of the

original product bought.

Income Effect:

It delineates the more the purchasing

power, more will be the quantity

purchased.

The assumption about the rational behaviour of human

beings has been challenged by the behavioral scientist. They are

of the opinion that while the predictions are useful, the model

only explains how a consumer ought to behave. It doesn’t throw

or fling light on how the consumer actually behaves.

Behavioral scientists argue that the economic model is

incomplete. Economics is assuring the market. To be

homogeneous, and that buyers will think and act alike or identical

or coincide. And that they will only concentrate on one aspect of

the product, i.e., income. This model ignores or neglects all the

other aspects such as perception, motivation, learning, attitude

and personality and socio-cultural factors. It has always been

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agreed and accepted, approved upon that man is a complex

entity, a puzzle, a riddle. Hence, it is very significant to have a

multi disciplinary approach to understand consumer behaviour.

Further, in today’s environment, apart from the various

psychological, socio-cultural determinants of the consumer, it has

been observed that the consumer also gets influenced by other

marketing variables namely – products (ones which are

technologically techniques). Thus man cannot be assumed to be

a rational person and price is not the only factor which influences

his purchase decision. Behavioral scientists have opined that a

broader perspective has to be taken while trying to analyse

buying behaviour, not only economics but the role played by

needs, motives, personality and self concept and socio-cultural

factors should be considered to understand what will be the

buyer’s responses to various stimulus and an turn what will be

the effect of this on consumer’s buying behaviour.

Learning Model:

Unlike the economists, classical psychologists have

been interested in the formation and satisfaction of

needs and tastes. They argued that living being were

influenced by both innate needs such as the primary

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needs of hunger, thirst, sex shelter and learned needs

like fear & guilt. A drive (internal stimulus) which when

directed towards a drive reducing object becomes a

motive.

The various products or services will act as stimuli to

satisfy drives. For instance, a hunger person will be

driven towards food, which after or poet consumption

will reduce the drive and provide satisfaction.

According to learning theorists, this response of

satisfaction (feeling) reinforces the relationship

between drive and the drive reducing stimulus object

as well as the related cues. Further, when consumers

learn cognitive theorists, who have advocated that

human beings not only learn to link stimulus with

response (S-R) but also results in the formation of

other cognitive processes such as, attitudes, values,

beliefs, motivation etc.

In marketing context, ‘learning’ help marketers to

understand how consumers learn to response in new

marketing situations, or how have learned responded

in the past in similar situations. Very often observed

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that consumer’s experience with one product from a

firm is likely to be generalized to the other products of

the firm. Conversely, consumers also learn to

discriminate and this information will be useful in

working out different marketing strategies. Simple

stated this learning model will help marketers to

promote association of products with strong drives

and cues and positive re-inforcements.

Psycho-Analytical Model:

This model is based on the work of psychologists who

were concerned with personality. They were of the

view that human needs and motives operated at the

conscious as well as sub-conscious levels. This theory

was a developed by Sigmund Frued. According to him

human behaviour (personality) I the outcome of

Id:

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The source of all psychic energy which

drives us as action.

Ego:

The conscious directing ‘id’ impulses to find

gratification in a socially accepted manner.

Super ego:

The internal representation of what is

approved by the society.

Thus, we can say that human behaviour is directed by a

complex set of deep seated motives.

From marketing point of view this means that buyers will

be influence by symbolic factors in buying a product.

Motivational research has been involved in investing motives

of consumer behaviour so as to develop suitable marketing

implications accordingly. Marketers have been using this

approach to generate ideas for developing product – design,

features, advertising and other promotional techniques.

Sociological Model:

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According to this model the individual buyer is part of

the institution called society, he gets influenced by it

and in turn also influences it in its path of

development. He is playing many roles as a part of

various formal and informal associations or

organizations i.e. as a family member, as an employee

of a firm, as a member of a professional forum and as

an active member of an informal cultural organization.

Such interactions leave some impressions on him and

may play a role in influencing his buying behaviour.

Intimate groups comprising of family, friend and close

colleagues exercise a strong influence on the life style

and the buying behaviour of an individual member.

The peer group plays a very significant role in acting

as an influencing factor especially in adopting

particular life styles and buying behaviour patterns.

The group generally has an informal opinion leader,

whose views are respected by the group. This leader is

able to influence the member’s life style and buying

decisions.

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Similarly, depending on the income, occupation, place

of residence etc. each individual member is

recognized as belonging to a certain social class. As a

member of a particular class, he may enjoy certain

status and prestige. Further, each class has its own

standards of life style and buying behavior pattern. So

an individual member will adopt the rule suitable to

conform to the style and behavioral pattern of the

social class to which he / she belongs.

The marketers through a process of market

segmentation can work out on the common behaviour

patterns of specific class and group of behavior and

try to influence their buying behaviour.

Howard Sheth Model of Buying Behaviour:

This model basically serves two purposes:

It indicates how complex the whole question of

consumer behaviour really is.

It provides the frame work for including various

concepts like learning, perception, attitudes

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etc…which play role in influencing consumer

behaviour.

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35

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Input:

In the Howard-Sheth theory, the most

significant stimulus affecting the buying

behaviour is the information cues the traits of

the product. These cues may be significative

if it comes to the buyer from the product itself

when he is involved in a shopping activity, a

similar set of cues, which are symbolic in

nature may also act as information sources.

Both these significative and symbolic

information cues represent the firms

marketing efforts. The product or broad traits

acting as information cues are quality, price,

distinctiveness, service and availability. There

are impersonal sources like mass media

communication and advertising, over which

the firm has no control. However, the

information sources also include sale and

service personal who can add help the

marketing efforts of the firm. The third source

is social information cues which could affect

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buying behaviour towards the product or

brand and these include family, friends or

other members of the groups with whom

buyer comes into contact or to which he

aspires to be in. this social source is personal

and the company / marketer has no control

over this source.

Personal (Social) Impersonal

Commercial

Non - commercial

Information Sources2

Perceptual Constructs:

This refers to all the complex states or psychological

processes (perception) and how the individual deals with the

2 Source: Consumer Behaviour – Peter D.Bennett & Harold H.Kassarjian. ’87. (Only Diagram)

Sales Men

Service Personal

Product (Significative).

Advertising (Symbolic)

Family

Reference Groups

Social Class

Print Med (New Stories)

Independent Testing Such as Consumer Reports

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information cues received from various sources. It can be seen

that all information available is not attended to (attention) and

may not always be crystal clear in its meanings (stimulus

ambiguity). Although the individual may be engaged in an overt

search for information, sometimes he / she may be bombarded

with unwanted information. Moreover, any information cues to

which the individual may attend be distorted (perceptual bias) as

a result of his own frame of reference.

Learning Constructs:

The second set of hypothetical constructs in this

theory are more complex and numerous. ‘Motives” refers to the

goals the individual attempts to achieve through his / her buying

behaviour. These goals are derived from the various drives

(needs) which may be acting as a cue for his /her motive.

More closely related to the buyer’s intention is his

attitude towards the product/ brand. Whether he / she has

formed a positive attitude and if not will there be a change in the

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attitude etc…., are some of the factors which may affect the

attitude an individual has towards the product / brand.

Other learning constructs include ‘Brand

Comprehension’ i.e., Knowledge / Awareness about the brand

traits, features that form the basis for the buyers evoked set of

alternatives; choice criteria, and the confidence the individual has

about his / her brand comprehension, attitudes or intentions.

Finally, the model includes a construct, ‘Satisfaction’. This refers

to “Feedback” mechanism, i.e., the post purchase and post use

evaluation of the output of the process.

Exogenous Variables:

This theory also includes a number of variables which are

not explained but have learning on some or all of the

constructs discussed above and indirectly influences the

output or consumer response.

Social and Organizational Settings:

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Man is basically a social animal. Because of his

interactions with various groups and society, they look

to each other for guidance regarding what to buy, how

to buy / dress etc.

Social Class:

In order to conform to the norms of the social

class to which he / she belongs the individual will

be engaged oin a behaviour which will be

acceptable to the social class to which he

belongs.

Culture:

It refers to the shared, somewhat consistent

pattern of behaviour of a group a people. Each

culture has a set of beliefs, values etc. So the

pattern of buyer behaviour will be based on a

pattern of behaviour shared in a specific subset

of the larger culture a subculture trait.

Purchasing Power / Financial Status:

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The money / income available for purchasing

goods and services during some specified time period

also plays a role in influencing the consumption

pattern and thereby his buying behaviour.

Nicosia Model:

In the last recent years marketing scholars have build

buyer behaviour models taking the marketing man’s

point of view. The Nicosia Model is one such buyer

behaviour model. It also is said to be a systems model,

because the human behaviour as an output of the

system.

This model was developed in 1966, by Francesco

Nicosia, and expert in consumer motivation and

behaviour. The Nicosia model tries to explain buyer

behaviour by establishing a link between the

organisation and its (prospective) consumer. The

model suggests that messages from the firm first

influences the predisposition of the consumer towards

the product. This may result in a search for the

product or an evaluation of the product attributes by

42

the consumer. If the above step satisfies the

consumer, it may result in appositive response, with a

decision to buy the product otherwise the reverse may

occur. This is in brief about the activity explanations in

the above model.

The Nicosia model, groups the above activity

explanations into four basic areas.

First one has two sub areas – the consumers

attribute and the firm’s attributes. The advertising

message sent from the company will reach the

consumer’s attributes. Depending on the way, the

message is received by the consumer, a certain

attribute may develop. This newly developed

attribute become the input for Area two.

The second area or area two – is related the search

and evaluation, undertaken by the consumer, of the

advertised product and also to verify if other

alternatives are available. In case the above step

43

Howard Sheth Model Diagram or Pictorial or Graphical representation:

44

results in a motivation to buy the product

/service, it becomes the input for third area.

The third area explains how the consumer actually

buys the product.

And area four is related the uses of the purchased

items. This fourth area can also be used as an

output to receive feedback on sales results to the

firm.

Webstar and Wind Model of Organisational Buying

Behaviour:

This is a complex model developed by F.E.Webster

and Y.Wind, as an attempt to explain the

manufactured nature of organizational buying

behaviour. This model refers to the environmental,

organizational, interpersonal and individual buying

determinants which influences the organizational

buyer (s). these determinants influence both the

individual and group decision making processes and

consequently the find buying decisions.

45

The environmental determinants comprise of the

physical & technological factors, economic, political,

legal and social-cultural environmental factors. These

are external factors which cannot be controlled, but an

understanding of the same may be crucial to succeed.

The organizational determinant is based on Harold

Leavitt’s four elements of buying organisation namely

– people, technology, structure and task. This is seen

& mentioned in ‘Buying Center’. The buying concepts

emphasizes the fact that a number of people

participate in the buying decision process consisting of

individuals and groups from the various functional

areas in the organisation.

An individual may be involved in one or more buying

roles during organizational buying specifications.

Users:

The ultimate users who often initiate the

buying process and help in defining

specifications.

Influencers:

46

They may or may not be directly connected

with the decision. But their views or

judgments of a product or a supplier carry a

lot of weight-age.

Buyers:

Those people who negotiate the purchase.

Deciders:

The people who take the actual decision

(they may be formal or informal decision

makers).

Gate Keeper:

The person who regulates the flow of

information.

This model is a available contribution and helps in

revealing the whole range of direct & indirect influences which

affect the organizational buying behaviour. However, the

limitation is that this model provides a static representation of

a dynamic situation.

Engel-Kollat-Blackwell Model:

47

This model talks of consumer behaviour as a decision

making process in the form of five step (activities)

which occur over a period of time. Apart from these

basic core steps, the model also includes a number of

other related variables grouped into five categories.

Information Input

Information Processing

Product-Brand Evaluation

General Motivation Influences

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Webster and Wind Model Organisational Buying Behaviour

49

50

Internationalized Environmental Influences

The arrows shown in the model indicate the

direction in which the influence is exerted. The five

steps (activities) involved in the decision process

stage are briefly explained hereunder;

Problem Recognition:

The consumer will recognize a

difference between his or her actual

state and what the ideal state should

be. This may occur on account of

external stimuli.

Ex:

A Young Girl has seen an

advertisement of an exhibition of

American Diamonds and may feel the

desire to possess the same or seeing

a beautiful attire or costume or

garment displayed in the show-room

may make a youngster to feel the

need for a new dress.

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It may be noted that the consumer must

perceive a sufficiently or adequately or

abundantly large discrepancy between actual

and ideal states in order to be activated,

recognize a problem and find a way to solve it.

Information Search:

Initially the information available with

the consumer may be consistent to

the belief and attitudes held by him or

her. While being involved in an

information seeking or search stage,

the consumer will try to gather more

information from various sources.

These sources could be sales persons,

personal or friends or neighbors or

mass communication media. The

information processing takes place in

various stages. The individual gets

exposure of the stimuli which may

catch his or her attention, be received

and stored or retained in memory.

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This method of information processing

is selective in nature and the

consumer will accept the information

which conclusive to what is perceived

by them.

Alternative Evaluation:

Now the individual will evaluate the

alternative brands. The methods used

for evaluating the various products

will be dependent on the consumers

underlying goals, motives and

personality. The consumer also has

certain (predominant) belief about the

various brands in terms of the traits

associated with the different brands.

Based on these beliefs the consumer

will respond either positively or

negatively towards a particular brand.

Choice:

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The consumer’s choice will depend on

his or her intention and attitude. The

choice will also depend upon

normative compliance and anticipated

circumstances.

Normative compliance relates to the

extent to which the consumer is

influenced by other people like

friends, family members etc. Thus

normative compliance and anticipated

circumstances will attempt to

influence the individual. The person’s

choice of the product can also be

dependent on the sensitivity of the

individual to handle unanticipated

circumstances like losing the job, fund

diverted for another urgent cause etc.

At this stage, a purchase decision is

likely to occur unless when confronted

by unanticipated circumstances. In

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case of the latter occurring. It may act

as a barrier to the purchase decision.

Outcome:

The outcome may be either positive

or negative. If the end result is

positive, the outcome will also be

positive. Conversely, if there is

dissonance, that is, a feeling of doubt

experienced by the consumer, about

the choice made by him or her

outcome will not be positive. Now the

consumer will search for more

information to support or cooperate or

patronage his or her choice.

The above mentioned Engel-Kollat-Blackwell model

has taken into consideration a large number of

variables which influences the consumer. The model

has also emphasized on the conscious decision

making process adopted by a consumer. The model is

easy to understand and is flexible, that is, it

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recognizes that a consumer may not go through all the

steps always. This is because in case of repeat

purchase the consumer may bypass some of the

steps.

One limitation of this model is the inclusion of

environmental variables and general motivating

influences but not specifying the effect of these on the

buyer behaviour.

\

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57

Engel-Kollat-Blackwell Model

58

Engel, Blackwell and Miniard Model

59

Engel, Blackwell and Miniard (EBM) Model:

This model is a development of the original Engel,

Kollat and Blackwell model first introduced in 1968. It

shares certain thing with the Howard-Sheth model.

Both have similar scope and have the same level of

complexity. Primarily the core of the EBM model is a

decision process, which is augmented with inputs from

information processing and other influencing factors

also.

The model has distinctive four sections, namely: Input,

Information Processing, Decision Process and

Variables influencing decision process.

Information Input:

Information from marketing and non-marketing

sources are fed into the information processing

section of the model. The model also suggest

additional information to be collected as a part of

an external information search especially when

not enough information is available from

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memory or when post0purchase dissonance

occurs.

Information Processing:

Before information can be used in the rest of the

model, the consumer will first be exposed to the

information processing. That is the consumer

must get exposed to the information, attend to

it, comprehend or understand it, accept it and

finally retain it in memory. Any selective

attention or exposure mechanisms (which may

occur in post-purchase dissonance) would

operate at this stage.

Decision Process:

This process consists of five stages.

Need Recognition:

This acknowledges the fact that there

exists a problem. That is, the

individual is aware that there is a

need to be satisfied.

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Search:

When enough information is available

in memory to take decision, then only

internal search will be required. If

information is scarce, an external

search for information undertaken.

Alternative Evaluation:

Now an evaluation of the alternatives

found during the search is

undertaken. We can see from the

model, that this takes into account

our attitudes and belief also.

Purchase:

A purchase is made based on the

chosen alternative.

Outcomes:

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The outcome can be either positive or

negative depending on whether the

purchase satisfies the original

perceived need. Dissatisfaction can

lead to post-purchase dissonance.

Variables Influencing Decision Process:

This section will consider the individual, social,

and situational factors which influence the

decision processes.

The EBM model is very flexible and more

coherent than the Howard Sheth model of

consumer behaviour. It also includes human

processes like memory, information processing

and consider both the positive and negative

purchase outcomes.

However the model has been criticized on two

aspects. Firstly, on the somewhat vague

definition of the role of the influencing variables

and secondly, it is felt that the separation of

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information search and alternative evaluation is

somewhat artificial.

Sheth Model of Industrial Buying:

This model concentrates on the purchasing process

and highlights the significance of four main factors:

The expectations of the individuals making up

the DMU

The traits of both the product and the

organisation

The nature of the decision making process

The situation variables

These factors are discussed more in detail:

Expectations within the organisation:

These elements are mentioned under (1),

according to Sheth, every person in the

DMU brings with them, their own unique set

of attitudes and orientations. Their

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expectations will be conditioned by the

individual background (1a) education

(general or professional), role orientation

(Accountant, Production Manager, Engineer

etc.,) life style.

Their expectations will all be influenced by:

The various sources of information (1b) –

(sales persons, exhibition and trade

shows, direct mail, press releases, journal

advertising, professional and technical

conferences, trade news, word of mouth)

and the process through which they have

obtained the information.\

Perceptual Distortion (1d) (could be as a

result of the form of communication).

The person’s previous experience (1e)

which will mediate the incoming

information.

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The active search (1c) can be carried out

by anyone listed in the DMU – purchasing

agents, engineers, users, others.

Traits of the product and the Buying

Organisation:

In this Sheth talks of the actual buying

process and contends that is affected by:

The product specific Factors (2a):

Time Pressure:

Group decision will take longer time

as compared to individual ones.

Perceived Risk:

When the decision involves risk, more

members of the DMU will be involved.

Types of Purchase:

If the type of problem is an extensive

problem, then more members of the

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DMU will be required unlike a simple

repeat purchase, where a single

individual can be asked to carry out the

decision.

Company Specific Factors (2b):

Organizational orientation:

Is the firm sales and marketing

oriented? Or is it technology

dominated one etc., Depending on

how the organisation sees itself will

determine the internal power balance

and influence in the DMU.

Organisation size:

Depending on the size of the

organisation, will determine the group

decision making. If the organisation

size is small, it is more likely that a

single buyer will possess all the

relevant information. But if the

organisation is a large one, it is more

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likely that there will be group decision

making.

Degree of centralization:

Decentralized organisation

involve a lot more people in the

decision making than centralized

organisation, which have a

centralized buying function.

Nature of the Decision-Making Process:

In the model, the elements are coded (3)

Sheth has differentiated between

autonomous decisions and those taken

jointly by the DMU. When a decision is

taken autonomously, it is usually

(relatively) straight forward. However,

when a group is involved in decision

making, conflict is likely to arise because of

the different goals and orientations with the

people within the group. The model also

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devotes a section (3) on how to solve the

conflict:

Problem solving

Persuasion

Bargaining

politicking

Situation Variables:

These elements are coded (4) in the model.

Here Sheth has referred to unforeseen

factors, those which fall outside the control

of the DMU and could affect the purchasing

organisation or the suppliers.

Ex:

Industrial relations problem, major

breakdowns, cash flow problems,

bankruptcy etc.

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Personality:Personality is a term very frequently used by everyone. It

should be noted that while perception, learning and motivation deal with some specific aspects of human behaviour, personality takes the whole person concept because it affects the various psychological processes. This is why marketers have also been using personality traits and building personality brands to appeal to consumers. Even most of the advertisements have been incorporating certain specific personality traits and characteristics while communicating advertising messages. To quote a few examples:

Femina: A woman of substance,

Tata Sumo Delux: The tough and rugged one with much more comfort.

Nivea: For men, who dare to show they care.

Thums Up: Adventurous, Excitement seeker (I want my thunder).

Peter England: The honest shirt, and so on

Meaning and Nature:

Though the term personality is used frequently there seems

to be various views about its meaning. Some people refer to

personality as a general sum of traits or characteristics of the

person, while others refer to it’s as a unitary way of responding to

particular situations. This means that some theorists like to view

personality as a unified whole while others focus on some

particular traits. In view of the absence of a consensus on the

70

definition of personality we could focus our attention on a widely

accepted definition of personality by Morgan & King.

Definition:

Personality may be defined as “The characteristic and

distinctive trait of an individual, the stable and shifting pattern of

relation between these traits and the way the traits interact to help r

hinder the adjustment of a person to other people and situations”.

- Morgan & king.

From the above definition, we can see that the emphasis is on

certain traits features.

There are certain distinctive and characteristic traits

There is a sort of integration and organisation between the

physiological and psychological facets of a person.

Each person has a unique nature.

Personality is something which gets habitually associated to

a particular individual.

Personality relates to certain behaviour or mannerisms,

which distinguishes one person from another.

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Schiff man & Kanuk have proposed a very simple definition of

personality – “Personality can be defined as those inner

psychological characteristics that both determine and reflect

how a person responds to his or her environment”.

Characteristics or Nature of Personality:

Broadly stated, there are three distinct characteristics of an

individual’s personality.

Personality as a reflection of a preferences or differences.

Personality of an individual is usually stable.

Personality can change under certain circumstances.

Personality is a reflection of individual preferences or

differences:

Traditionally the term personality was used in reference to

how individuals could influence others through their

external appearances or actions. No two individuals are

alike and this is visible in the way they express themselves,

their attitudes and interest, mode of behaviour, acting,

ability to adapt to the social features of their environment

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and so on. Thus there are sp many personal qualities or

traits which may vary from person to person. Though each

individual’s personality will include a unique combination of

traits (different from others), it is possible to find individuals

having a single personality characteristic.

Personality of an individual is more stable; quite

consistent and enduring:

Man has been consistently coping with the environment.

That is, man has adopted a consistent pattern of responding

to all the internal and external factors in the environment,

which impinges {impose, intrude, be in somebody’s space,

interrupt, encroach, and invade} upon him or her. It is

believed that how an individual will react to an internal or

external situation will depend on his or her ability to be

consistent and their power of endurance {stamina,

patience, fortitude, survival, staying power, and continued

existence}. These two qualities are very significant and will

help marketers to understand and predict consumer

behaviour also. However, it must be noted that even though

the person may be consistent in his behaviour there are

other sociological, psychological and even environmental

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factors which may affect the behaviour. We have been

using various terms such as aggressive, as strong or weak,

as dominant or dull and docile, as characteristic or

obnoxious {loathsome, hateful, horrible, insufferable,

intolerable, detestable, unbearable, abhorrent, abominable,

despicable, repugnant, repellent, nice} and son on to

describe an individual’s personality.

Personality can change:

Although it bee accepted that the personality of an

individual tends o be consistent and enduring, there could b

a change in his or her personality due to certain events,

environment, circumstances or situations. Very often an

individual’s personality can undergo changes due to some

happenings- death of a change of a close family member,

marriage, career promotion etc. Even person’s personality

can change as a part and parcel of the gradual maturing

process.

Theories or Approaches or Models of Personality:

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Theories of personality will reveal more information on the

nature of personality. They can be broadly put under various

categories such as;

Type theories

Trait theories

Psycho-Analytical theory

Social Learning Theory

Humanistic Approach Theories

Jungian Theory

Neo-Freudian Theory

But in this section, the discussions will have relevance only on those

of personality which have played a prominent role in the study of

consumer behaviour, they are

Trait theory

Psycho-Analytical Theory (including Freudian stages)

Jungian Learning Theory

Neo-Freudian theory

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These are broadly delineated as follows;

Trait theory:

A trait can be defined as a distinguished and enduring

of a person which is portrayed consistently in a

number of

situations, and differs from person to person. This

means trait of a person is quantitative and empirical.

Here the focus is on the measurement of personality

on the basis of certain specific psychological

characteristics or traits. Thus a person could be rated

on a scale of intelligence, aggressiveness, emotional

stability and so on.

Trait theorists advocated that personality tests will

indicate the individual differences in terms specific

traits. There are some personality tests based on a

single traits personality (which measures only one trait

– say self confidence) being specifically used to

analyse consumer behaviour. Such tailor made

personality tests are specifically used to measure

consumer traits such as:

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Consumer innovativeness (to what extent a person is

receptive to a new buying experience).

Consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence

(SUSCEP) to understand how consumer will respond to

social influences).

Consumer Materialism (to ascertain the extend to

which consumer’s are attached to worldly ‘material’

possessions).

Consumer ethnocentrism (CETSCALE) (the likelihood of

consumer accepting or rejecting foreign-made

products).

Psycho-Analytical Theory:

Psycho-analytical theory goes beyond studying the

traits of groups of people. This theory is based on

indepth study of individual personalities. Psycho-

analytic theory developed by Sigmund Freud at the

beginning of the twentieth century has been major

contribution to psychological thought especially on the

term ‘Personality’. This theory has been developed on

the premise that unconscious (biological) needs or

77

drives all are root forces determining human

motivation and personality.

The psycho-analytic theory of Freud emphasizes on

the fact that human personality is made of three main

interdependent forces-the Id, the Ego and the Super-

ego. And human behaviour is dependent on the

interaction of these three systems.

Id:

The Id is referred to as the source of all its

driving psychic energy (the Libido). All the

instinctive cravings, needs, desires which

demands immediate gratification – all have

their origin in Id. The human being will seek

immediate satisfaction without much

concern for the specific means of

satisfaction. However, it is not possible for

man to express his basic impulses or

animalistic nature in society because then

it would mean going against rules, mores

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and values. Thus this makes it necessary to

have a second system of personality.

Personality Traits

Ego:

There could be conflict between ‘Id’ and

Super-Ego’. Ego is the individual‘s

conscious control. It will act as an internal

force to control and re-direct the id-

impulses and the socio-cultural restraints

exercised by the super ego.

ATTITUDES

INTEREST TEMPERAMENT

Needs

Morphology

PHYSIOLOGY APTITUDE

PERSONALITY

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System – 1 System - 2

The inter-relation between the ‘Id’, ‘Super-Ego’ and ‘Ego’ systems of

personality.

Super-Ego:

It is the internal representative of the

traditional values and ideals of society. The

function of the super ego is to restrict those

impulses (which are condemned by the

System – 1 System -2

GRATIFICATION

Id

(Basic, instinctive, needs, desires,

impulses that demand immediate

gratification)

Super Ego

(Internal expression of society’s values and

moral conscious arm of personality)

Ego

(Individual’s conscious control. Internal monitor to balance the impulsive demands of

the Id and restraints put by the Super-Ego)

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society) of the Id. The Super-Ego can be

conceptualized as the moral arm of the

personality. The super-ego’s role is to

ensure that the individual satisfies his

needs in a manner which is acceptable to

the society.

Stages in the Development of Personality:

Sigmund Freud has also suggested various stages in the

development of personality. He stresses on the information of an

individual’s personality as he or she passes through a number of

distinct stages in infant and child development. Sigmund Freud

has named the stages based on the regions of the body whose

stimulation allows the discharge of sexual energy or Libido. He

has labeled these as Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency and Genital

stages. Sigmund Freud was the first psychologist to propagate

that childhood events may have a bearing on adult behaviour and

consciousness.

Oral Stage:

This refers to the first and foremost of the

psycho-analytical theory. This indicates the

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first year of life. Infants are totally

dependent on others for survival. It is the

first time the infant experiences social

contact with the outer world by using his or

her mouth for eating, sucking and drinking.

Freud believed that the mouth remains an

important erogenous zone throughout life.

The first stage problem arises at the end of

the oral stage when the child is made to

wean from the mother’s breast or from the

feeding bottle.

Anal stage:

During this stage (i.e. the second and third

years of life) the focus of the libido energy

shifts from mouth to the anal stage or

region. Now the child’s primary source of

pleasure is by trying to control bowel

movements. The problem in this stage is

when parents try to toilet train their child.

The method used by the parents will have

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an influence in the personality exhibited

during the child’s adulthood.

Phallic stage:

In this stage (at around four years of age)

the child will experience self-oriented

sexual pleasure by examining their sexual

organs and showing interest in matters of

birth to sex. The problem arises with the

occurrence of the so called Oedipus

complex. The child experiences sexual

desires for the parent of the opposite sex,

though he or she may both love and hate

his parents. Freud has opined that how the

child resolves this crisis will be reflected in

his or her relationships with persons of the

opposite sex and authority figures.

Latency stage:

This period is referred to the period

between the ages of four – six years till the

onset of adolescence.

Stage Period of Life Characteristics

Oral From Birth to One Year Oral gratification through the

mouth and first social contact with the outside world.

Anal One to Three Years Derives Pleasure from trying to

control bowel movements, given exposure to toilet training.

Phallic Three to Four Years interested in sexual organs, may

experience oedipal conflict, may sex parent

Latency Five to Adolescence Sexual concerns lie dormant.

Genital Adolescence to Adulthood Renewal of sexual interest and

establishment of nature sexual relationship.

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Freud believed that during the period of five

years till the beginning of adolescence, the child loses

interest in sexual matters and is more interested in

the external world and wants to increase his

knowledge about the external world. He or she is to

acquire knowledge and skill needed to move along in

the work day world.

Genital stage:

This stage occurs during adolescence to

adulthood. Now the individual experiences

an increased awareness of an interest in

the opposite sex. They also go beyond self

oriented love and love for parents.

Neo-Freudian Personality Theory:

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There were several Freud’s colleagues who dis-agreed

his rigid adherence to consider only the basic

biological or instinctive as determinants of personality.

According to these Neo-Freudian’s, social relationships

played a vital role in the formation and development

of personality. Alfred Adler, for instance, was of the

opinion that the basic drive of man is to Strive for

Superiority. So all efforts of the individual will be

aimed at perfecting oneself and to overcome the

feeling of inferiority. A unique aspect of personality is

that each child is born in a different world and hence

will learn and adopt different behaviour patterns for

striving.

Eric Fromm speaks on man’s goal to escape or skip

from his bonds (loneliness) and seek, love,

brotherliness and security. Another Neo Freudian,

Harry Stack Sullivan was the one to stress on man’s

need for inter-relationships with other men. He opined

that people continuously looked for establishing

significant and rewarding relationships with others. He

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gave a lot of emphasis on the individuals’ efforts to

reduce tensions, such as anxiety.

Another social theorist, Karen Horney also felt that the

main drive of man to cope with anxiety. She gave

importance to the parent-child relationship and on

how an individual’s personality can develop life long

patterns of behaviour as he learns to cope with his

anxieties and strives to reduce them.

Horney’s views have been expressed well in a

research project by Jeol Cohen. Horney had proposed

to classify three personality groups of individuals, in

coping with anxiety:

Complaint type of individuals.

Aggressive individuals.

Detached persons

The complaint individuals are those who desire

to be included in activities of groups. They desire

to be loved, want appreciation feeling of being

needed.

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The aggressive individuals seek to cope with

anxiety by going against others. They try to

achieve or conquer success, prestige and

administration. They desire to excel and see

others as competitors.

Jung’s personality theory:

Carl Jung of Zurich was a contemporary and colleague

of Freud. He had undertaken systematic investigations

of the unconscious dynamic with the association test.

He had given more attention to the question of

personality type in the association test. And based on

the typology of the personality, he had grouped them

into two fundamental types;

Extrovert:

This was very much or immense interested

in building a social relationship.

Introvert:

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This was found to be pre-occupied with his

own inner world fantasy and body activity

and was relatively incapable of outgoing

social interactions.

This conception was further elaborated by going for a

sub division of the mental operation into four fundamental

activities;

Sensing

Feeling

Thinking

Intuiting

These four psychological functions of ‘grouping

personality’ are very often used for gathering

and evaluating information. According to Jung,

individuals are strong either in ‘sensation’ or

intuition’ while gathering information, and while

evaluating the information they are strong either

in ‘thinking’ or ‘feeling’.

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Carl Jung’s theories and personality types are

very relevant to consumer behaviour. Marketers

are benefited by using Myers-Briggs type

indicators that measures the following pairs of

psychological dimensions;

Sensing – Intuiting.

Thinking – Feeling.

Extroversion – Introversion.

Judging – Perceiving.

Each of the above four pairs show two distinct

different personality characteristics which

offers a picture of how consumers respond to

the world around them. In order to avoid

complexities with too many combinations of

personality types, a consumer researcher

suggested to investigate consumption

relevance with two pairs of dimensions.

Sensing – Intuiting.

Thinking – Feeling.

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Sensing and intuiting will help consumers to

obtain and find out about things and products.

Whereas, the thinking and feeling dimensions

can be related to the decision styles adopted by

the consumers.

Consumer Behaviour:

More than a century ago, the father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi,

had made a visionary and deep meaningful statement at

Johannesburg, South Africa in 1890 – “A Consumer is the most

significant visitor on our premises; he is not dependent on us. We are

dependent on him. He is not an interruption on our work. He is the

purpose of it and an outsider on our premises. He is a part and parcel

of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving and supplying him. He is

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doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so”. Though this

statement was not made in the marketing concept. There is a lot of

wisdom and insight into Mahatma’s words.

Today, all the firms are engaged in a process of creating a life

value and relationship with their customers.

Concept and Need for studying Consumer Behaviour:

Consumer behaviour can be said to be the study of how

individuals make decisions on how to spend their available

resources (time, money, effort) on various consumption-related

items. This sample definition of consumer behaviour tells

marketers to resolve every activity around the ultimate consumer

and gauge their behavior specifying focusing on:

Who buys products or services?

How do they buy products or services?

Where do they buy them?

How often do they buy them?

When do they buy them?

Why do they buy them?

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How often do they use them?

These questions will help in understanding better what factors

influence the decision making process of the consumers. The

decision making process identifies the number of people who are

involved in this process and ascribes a role to them – like the

user, decider, influencer, and buyer.

It is believed that consumer or customer make purchase

decisions on the basis of receipt of a small number of selectively

chosen pieces of information.

The following diagram will help in throwing light on the consumer

decision making behavior.

Decision making (Information

search, consider Brand alternatives)

Habit (Little or no information

Search, considers only one brand)

Involvement in Purchase Decision

Consumer Decision Making

High involvement purchase decision

Complex decision making (Automobiles, autos)

Brand loyalty

(Cigarettes, Perfumes)

Low involvement purchase decision

Variety Seeking (Cereals)

Inertia (Canned Vegetables Paper Towels)

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From the above diagram or figure we can see that the

involvement of the consumer in the decision making process will vary

with the type of purchase involved – like in case of complex product

there will be high involvement and so on. Thus, it is very significant to

understand what information the customer feets will help them to be

able to elevate goods and services.

The consumer decision making process goes beyond the facets

such as what features or product design will be acceptable to

consumers, what benefits are they seeking from their products, what

price will be suitable etc., today consumer behaviour even includes the

pos- purchase satisfaction or dissatisfaction behaviour. Because the

post-purchase behaviour of the consumers will have repercussions on

the communications (word-of-mouth). They have with the firm’s

prospective customers.

Usually, there are two types of customers-the personal consumer

and organizational consumer. The various factors influencing the

consumers purchase decision is given hereunder:

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Cognitive Thinking Processes

Perception

Attitudes

Needs & Motives

Consumer Personal Characteristics

Demographic

Lifestyles

Personality Traits

Culture

Values & Beliefs

Cross Cultural Influences

Sub-Cultural Influences

Social Class

Social Class Structure

Society

Influence Groups

Reference groups

Family

Opinion Leaders

Innovations

Situational Variables Influences

Purchases Occasion

Market Communication

Product Positioning

Stores Patronage & Shopping Behaviour

Price

Sales Personnel Influence

Individual Factors Environmental Factors

Stimuli Informational Processing

The Consumer Decision Making

Response

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Above picture or image or flick portrays or depicts that right from

stimuli (stimulant) till the consumers response, there are many

individual and environmental factors influencing the consumers

purchase decision.

In the case of organizational buying process the types of buying

situation will be different but the categorization in terms of low

involvement purchases made by individuals is similar. The usual

types of buying situation in organizational buying is straight re-

buy, modified re-buy and new task.

Development of Consumer Behaviour as a Filed of Study:

Consumer behaviour as a separate field of study has only

gained attention from the 1960s. In the absence of a history or a

separate research of its own, this new discipline drew or borrowed

concepts from other scientific disciplines such as –

Psychology (the study of individuals)

Sociology (the study of groups)

Socio-Psychology (the study of how persons are influenced by

groups)

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Cultural Anthropology (the influence of the culture and society on

the individuals)

Economics (relationship between demand and supply in the flow

of marketing activity)

History of Consumer Behaviour:

Consumer research, as mentioned earlier has developed as an

extension of the field of marketing research with more emphasis on

the consumer behavioral aspects. The initial thrust on studying

consumer behaviour, by marketers was done for two reasons.

To determine as to why consumers made the purchase

decisions.

To understand how consumers would react to promotional

messages

It was presumed that if they (the marketers) could have access to

all the information about the consumer decision making process,

it will help them in formulating various marketing strategies and

in developing appropriate promotional messages, which could

induce consumers to take a positive purchase decision prior to

this, it was believed that economics was marketing’s “Mother

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discipline”. Thus going by the economic presumption that

consumers are rational human beings or decision makers, it was

assumed that they would evaluate the goods and services

available and make the choice based on maximum utility value at

fewer prices.

Then come to the Modernist Era. The positivists (researchers who

endorsed the assumptions of modernism) conducted research

studies by adopting the methods of experimenting, though

observation and survey techniques. Since the data collected by

this method was quantitative in nature, various statistical

methods had to be used for analysis purposes.

Another significant research technique called the Motivational

Research. It w3as came to be widely used by marketers and

advertising agencies in the late 1950s. This research

methodology was developed by Earnest Dichter, a Psycho-

Analyst, with the help of various Sigmund Freud’s psycho-analytic

techniques. Motivational research method involves using

projective techniques and in-dept interviews. The effectiveness of

motivational research depends on having highly trained

personnel who are required to collect data and analyze research

findings. Since research studies involve probing into their

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(consumers) basic innovations, usually the sample sizes are small

and hence the findings cannot be extended to larger populations.

Moreover, such research findings are subjective and qualitative

involving of analyst interpretation.

While working out strategic marketing programmes, marketers

prefer to make use of combination of qualitative and quantitative

research techniques. Qualitative research findings enable

marketers to gain insights into some of the psychological aspects

of consumer behaviour which will help in the generation of new

product ideas. While quantitative research help in analyzing the

likely behaviour to be adopted by the consumer based on various

promotional inputs.

There are another group of researchers or academicians

interested in the act of consumption of rather than in the act of

buying adopted by the consumers. These researchers are more

interested in the consumer experiences. This approach when

used for consumer research can also be known as post

positivism, or experientialism and those researchers engaged in

such research activities are known as experientialists, post-

modernists or interpretivists. The research methodologies used

by them are ethnography, semiotics and in-depth interviews.

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Ethnography:

It is related to cultural anthropology, where in he

researchers out themselves in the society under so as

to absorb all the implications of the cultural practices.

Semiotics:

The study of symbols and their interpretations or

meanings.

In-depth Interviews:

It is a method where the questions are asked to obtain

a gainful insight into the understanding of consumer

behaviour.

The Value of Consumer Research:

The success of an organisation will depend on a constant

effort made by it to match needs of the customers. This is where

market research, especially consumer behaviour research provides

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information which will not only be useful in tak8ing various marketing

decisions but also help reduce the risk in decision making.

Marketing Research is the collection and analysis of data

from a sample of individuals or organizations related to their

characteristics, behaviour, attitudes opinions or possessions. It

includes or indulges all forms of research such as consumer and

industrial survey, psychological investigations, observations and panel

studies.

Consumer research is very much an integral part of the

marketing research and enables the marketer to:

Provides information on how the consumers are behaving at

the market place.

It can be used as a means of recognizing future consumer

needs or marketing opportunities.

Consumers are influenced by the ‘macro environment’ in which

they live. Marketers are unable to control this ‘macro

environment’, which has an impact on the way has an impact on

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the way consumers behave and hence it is necessary to monitor

these needs.

The PEST analysis will enable firms to understand the

opportunities and threats which can affect the firm and in turn

have an impact on the consumer behaviour. While undertaking

researchers, marketers have to consider the micro environmental

factors as well. Micro environmental factors indulge vendors or

suppliers, competitors, marketing intermediaries, customers,

media or public, and the firm.

Consumer research can be either an adhoc research study

(specific problem requiring specific information) or a continuous

research (as on going basis, research will be done to determine

whether the customers are satisfied with the firm’s products or

services etc.).

Consumer Research Process:

The consumer research process can be carried out by

following steps:

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Suppose the problem is “There is a decline in the consumer

purchase of product “A’”. So the

First requirement will be convert this problem into a specific

question in order to collect the necessary data needed to

solve it.

Is the economy affecting the consumer behaviour?

What is the reaction of the largest customer to the

competitor’s brand?

How is the firm’s product in terms of its effectiveness

as compared to the competitor’s brands?

What is the customer’s opinion – is there a difference

between the performances of product?

Has the firm used sufficient amount of promotional

tools to facilitate easy recall of the product?

These questions and queries can be extended and even

refined by:

Setting up a hypothesis which forms the research

objectives.

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Diagram as follows. (consumer research process)

Collect secondary research data.

This secondary data can be obtained from various

sources such as:

Consumer Research Process

Insufficient information Sufficient Information

To achieve or conquer objectives to achieve objective

Develop research

objectives

Perform secondary research

Analyze secondary

data

Pilot studyMake decision about the

primary research method to be used

Undertake primary research (qualitative or quantitative)

Report or presentation of data

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Internal Sources:

The firms various financial statements like

profits and loss statements, balance sheets,

sales reports, recorded invoices, inventory

records or earlier research reports.

External Sources:

Various government publications published

annually and give information on the profile

of the people in the form of demographic

details, social status, economic status and

so on (Census survey, NCEAR reports etc.).

Books & Periodicals:

Business world, Business India, Business

Today, Advertising & Marketing etc.

Analyze data

Report or presentation of data

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Agencies carrying out periodic research and

publishing data on products categories and

industry wise – ORG, MARG, MBL, RCG. etc.

Analyzing secondary data information:

If there is adequate information to the research

objectives, write a data and present the data.

In case there is not sufficient information to

address the objectives, decision will be taken to

conduct or carry out primary research.

Take a decision related to the primary research method to

be adopted. This will be dependent on the purpose of study.

That’s why, if descriptive information is required – a

quantitative method of research will have to be undertaken.

If the purpose of study is to obtain new product ideas or

repositioning of a product etc. then a quantitative research

method will have4 to be adopted.

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Qualitative Research:

In qualitative research, there are three way of collecting

primary data;

Depth Interview.

Focus/Discussion Groups

Projective Technique.

Depth Interviews:

This is an unstructured discussion between interviewer

and respondent and is best carried out by trained

experienced interviews. The aim is to obtain the

maximum amount of useful information from the

respondent on a particular aspect of topic with

minimum help or intervention from the intervention. It

is necessary to select the respondents with care so as

to obtain good information.

Depth interviews are particularly useful during the

early stages of the development of a product or brand

or when new product ideas have to be obtained.

Focus Groups:

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Focus groups are similar to depth interviews; the main

difference is that the discussion involves a group of

seven to ten respondents unlike depth interviews

where the discussions are on a one-on-one basis.

These groups are sometimes called Discussion Groups

and the researcher taking the leading role in the group

is known as the Moderator or Facilitator. Much of the

discussion takes place among the group members.

The role of the facilitator is to ensure that the

discussion evolves around the research topic only.

They direct the group whenever required but limit

their involvement as much as possible.

Focus group members are usually pre-selected to

reflect a cross section of the intended target audience

on the basis of their creative abilities.

Such group discussion is useful generating new ideas

and under certain circumstances they are useful in

solving difficult problems (suitable techniques are

‘brain storming’ and symectics).

Projective Techniques:

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This set of technique are similar to those used by

clinical psychologists, in order to understand a

person’s hidden ‘attitudes’, ‘motivation’ and ‘feelings’.

While being used in a consumer research, it is used to

understand consumer’s knowledge in association with

a particular product or brand.

Word Association:

Here respondents are presented with a series of words

or phrases and asked to say the first word which

comes to their mind.

Ex:

“What is the first word or phrase you will

associate with each of the following:

Tooth paste - T

Coffee - C

Soft drink - S

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Ice cream - I

Watch - W

This method is helpful to check whether the proposed

product names have undesirable associations (in

terms of culture and cultural values).

Sentence Completion:

The beginning of a sentence is read out to the

respondent and the he or she is asked to complete it

with the first word that comes to the mind. For

instance, “People who don’t prefer to eat from fast

food joints are ……….

Third Party Technique:

Here respondent are asked to describe a

third person about whom they have little

information. This method is useful in

determining ‘attitude’ of the respondents.

Thematic Appreciation Test:

Under this technique, the respondents are

shown an ambiguous picture or drawing or

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fill in a blank ‘Speech Bubble” associated

with a particular character in an ambiguous

situation and then asked to interpret the

same. This test helps in understanding the

underlying perception of the respondents

towards the various aspects (price or

quality etc.) of the product.

Repertory Grid (Rep Grid):

Respondents are presented with grid and

asked to title the columns with brand

names or various types of a particular

product (say tastes of various soft drinks,

types of two wheelers etc.). then they are

asked to select any three of these products

and think of a phrase which will describe

the way in which any two are different from

the third. This description will be used as

the title of a row and each of the other

products are rated accordingly. By

repeatedly selecting and describing the

items, the researcher will be able to find

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the way in which the respondent perceives

the market. Such information can be used

for identifying consumer attitudes towards

various products and also in planning the

promotion techniques.

Role Playing:

Respondents are asked to visualize that they are a

product (car, TV say) or a different person (financier,

or vendor say) and asked to enact or perform their

role – describing their feelings, thoughts and actions.

Quantitative Research:

In quantitative research, primary data can be collected in

three ways.

Experimentation

Observation or Surveillance

Surveys

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Experimentation:

This is a special form of research which sets out to

examine the relationship between two factors by

manipulating one whilst measuring the changes in the

other.

Ex:

The marketer may test our three different

packaging designs and measure the effect on sales.

In this way, it is possible to measure the relative effect

of sales on other variables such as a prices,

promotional tools or advertising copy themes through

experimentation. So, experiments are used to

determine the existence of a casual relationship.

Experiments can also be performed ion the laboratory

by using specific instruments, such as eye camera – to

determine the eye movement of subjects when

viewing competitor’s advertisements.

Observation or Surveillance:

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Through observational research, marketers have

noted that it is an significant method to understand

the relationship between people and products by

observing their behaviour while purchasing and using

these products. Though it is used to observe the

behaviour of buyers, it cannot tell us what they are

thinking or feeling. So this technique is quite limited

but nevertheless it will be useful under those

circumstances where the marketer’s interest is more

on observation than mental processes. There are three

basic types of observation:

Secretive:

The subjects are unaware of being

observed.

Non-participatory:

The subjects under study are aware of

being observed though the experimenter does

not participate in observing their behaviour.

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Participatory:

Where both the subject and experimenter

interact.

Through observation, the researcher is very often able to

gain a better understanding of how much the consumer is

attached to the product or brand loyal based on the symbolic

value the product conveys to him or her. Observational research

is widely used by interpretive researchers to understand the

buying and consumption process.

Surveys:

This is a very common method used for collecting

qualitative information. Surveys can be conducted by

meeting the respondents in person, by mailer over the

telephone. Each of these survey methods has gotten

advantages and certain disadvantages which will be

weighed before deciding in favor of a particular survey

method.

It is necessary to approach the design and

administration of surveys to avoid errors, wastage of

time and money, as well as to avoid poor quality

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Reponses. The survey project is carried out in the

following steps;

Deciding on survey goals – what is to be learned

or understood?

Determine the sample – who are to the

approached?

Decide interviewing methodology – how to ask or

pose or place or pretense questions?

Design the questionnaire – what questions are to

be posed?

If possible, pre-test the questionnaire.

Administer interviews.

Enter the data (information).

Analyze the information.

Present the data.

Now, soon after taking a decision on the primary research

method – the next step will be to conduct a Pilot Study.

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After the Pilot study, depending on the specific information

being sought to by the researcher, the primary research is

conducted.

Above, we have explained the various methods of collecting

the data, which is the next step in the research process.

Once the information is collected, the next step involves in

analysisng and interpreting the data. Which means to wark

out and find out what are the results?

The last step is to present the data in a written form or

written the report. This writing report will be done keeping

in mind.

Who will read the report?

What is the outcome behind writing the report?

How should the report be written?

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Perception:

“Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and

implementing or attaching meaning to events happening in

environment”

- L.M.Prasad.

The above definition emphasizes on certain features of

perception:

Perception is a mental process, whereby an individual

selects data or information from the environment, organizes

it and then draws significance or meaning from it.

Perception is basically a cognitive or thinking process and

an individual’s activities, emotions, feelings etc. are based

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on his or her perceptions of their surroundings or

environment.

Perception, being an intellectual and cognitive process will

be subjective in nature. That is, as a subjective process,

different people may perceive the environmental

occurrence of an event, differently based on which aspects

of the situations is absorbed by them, how they organize

this information and on how they draw meaning and

interpret it so as to obtain a meaningful understanding of

the situation. From this we can see that subjectivity

‘perceived reality’ will vary from person to person in a given

situation.

Sensation:

There is a need to differentiate between sensation and

perception. Sensation may be described as an immediate direct

response of a physical sensory organ. The physical senses are

vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste. These physical senses are

continuously exposed to internal and external stimuli and human

sensation occurs because of these. The sensation may be in the

form of reaction of eye to color or mouth to taste and so on. Thus

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we can see that sensation is related to very elementary or basic

behaviour which is based on physiological functioning. And

sensitivity of the person to the stimuli to which he or she is

exposed.

Perception is something more than sensation. It co-relates,

integrates and comprehends the various sensations and

information received forms the different organs of the body by

means of which a person develops his sensitivity to various

things and objects. Perception is determined by both

physiological and psychological factors. This is because

perception is developed based on previous experience (learning),

feeling and motives. Whereas sensation only activities the

sensory organs of the body. Simply stated, activation of the early

to hear what another person is saying is sensation and the

inference of what is heard is perception. An individual’s

sensitivity will depend on the sensory inputs.

Absolute threshold and Different threshold:

The point at which an individual senses a difference

between ‘something’ and ‘nothing’ is referred to as the “Absolute

Threshold” for a particular stimulus. For instance, two friends

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after a long ride on the motor bike are hungry. When these two

friends first spot a restaurant, it is said to be their absolute

threshold. If both of them spot the restaurant at different times,

they are said to have different absolute thresholds.

Under conditions of constant stimulation, i.e., the individual

getting continuous exposure to certain objects or events, then

inspite of the absolute threshold increasing, due to the ‘adapt ion’

process, the stimuli will cease to make a positive impression.

This sensory adaption is a problem, which most of the

advertisers try to avoid. If viewers are continuously exposed to

the same ad for a long and continuous period, after some time

they will no longer see the ad as it is. That is, they will no longer

‘See’ the ad such as to provide sufficient sensory input. It is due

to this sensory adaption problem that many of the TV advertisers

change their advertising campaigns after some time.

The minimal difference that can be noticeable between two

similar stimuli is known as the differential threshold or the

justifiable difference.

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Factors Contributing to Perception:

There are broadly two types of factors contributing to

perception. The manner in which either a product or service is

perceived will depend upon both internal and external factors.

This is to say that both external reality and internal reality are

intertwined. As human beings we carry all of our experiences in

our mind and have our own selfish interests, needs, motives, and

expectations into the way in which we would like ‘reality’ to exist

in the world.

External factors can be said to be related to the physical

character of the stimulus, while internal factors include our

motives and expectation. Both the internal and external factors

influences the way in which an individual perceives a product or

service or brand.

External factors:

Physical properties of the stimulus include intensity, size,

position, contrast, novelty, repetition and movement.

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Intensity and Size:

The brighter the sound (intensity) or more louder the

sound, the more likely the person’s attention is drawn

to it. Large sized advertisement in a newspaper or

magazine will be noticed and also read more than

often than a small insertion given although the

increase in size may not be linear. Loud sound and

bright colors especially when the atmosphere or

environment otherwise is serene will again draw the

attention of the people. If the information is

communicated via loudspeakers installed on the

mobile vehicles, it helped in drawing the attention of

many people.

Position:

The position of display of the product or advertisement

also is a determining factor of attracting the attention.

An advertisement placed next to a compatible

editorial column of magazines, and newspapers is

thought to attract more readership response. Even

number of pages in the newspaper or magazine is

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assumed to be likely to attract or fascinate more

reader than the odd number pages. In magazines

more readerships is obtained when advertisements

are put on the cover pages or within the first 10% of

the pages.

Similarly, positioning of point-of-purchase, placement

of the products (i.e., brands) at prominent places on

the shelves at the retail outlet, rotating bill boards,

hoardings at certain significant points is more easily

perceived by consumers and people.

Contrast:

Human beings have the ability to adapt to sounds,

odors (smell), pain, bright lights, neon signs and

movements. That is, human beings are able to use

sensory organs to adapt themselves to various stimuli.

This is where contrast will help in the perception

process.

In the marketing context, media planners also plan

their advertisements, keeping in the mind the impact

of contrast on perception. Like:

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A black and white advertisement with a small spot

is likely to attract attention.

Advertisers consider color advertisements to be

more effective than black and white advertisement.

Some advertisers alternatively make use of large

and small sizes, loud and soft tones or primary and

pastern shades to attract more attention rather

using only one stimulus.

A quiet commercial after a loud programme can

attract attention.

Showing an object or product out of its normal

setting will also attract attention.

Novelty:

It has been observed by marketers that anything

which is different from what are normally expect tend

to attract attention like an unusual bottle shape or a

perfume strip in a magazine and so on.

Repetition:

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Advertisements are repeated more often to enable

consumers for brand recall as well as stimulate them

and create a strong desire for interest in the purchase

of the product.

Movement:

Advertisers have also started using billboards or

hoardings with movement, mobile vans etc. so as to

inject a feeling of movement into it. Many marketers

are finding or verdict out smarter ways to reach out to

the consumer by organizing some movement-full

activities like holding free traits, demonstrations,

exhibitions, mobile vans etc. such exercises could also

result in creating excitement and reinforce top of mind

recall and also stimulate or induce the purchase

decision and then go a long way in building or

establishing long-term relationship with their

customer.

Internal factors:

Customers may not receive the messages passively. Usually

customers may take the messages given to them by the

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marketers and then use it so that is may fit into their own

internal world and then try to work out it their mind about

clues to determine the brand’s capability.

Selective Attention:

There is a tendency among people to consciously

see and hear only aspects of the advertising message

which is being communicated.

Perception is a selective process. Usually, people

are able to sense and receive only limited information

from the environment and hence are characteristically

selective. During this process of selection, certain

aspects of stimuli are screened out and others admitted.

These aspects of the stimuli which are remain and fall

within the threshold of the person, while those which are

screened out fall out or below the threshold limit.

This perceptual selectivity can be associated with

the inner needs of an individual. This feeling of

awareness of a need results in the person experiencing

discomfort or tension, when he thinks he is missing

something.

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Selective Exposure:

Though selective exposure people try to avoid coming

into contact with or avoid any message that may go

against or be contradictory to the strongly held beliefs

and attitudes. A person’s beliefs very strongly

influences his perception about people or things.

Because of this, a fact is conceived not on what it is

but on what a person believes it to be. Thus the

individual normally puts a censorship on the stimulus

(inputs) to avoid disturbance of his existing beliefs and

value.

Selective Reception, Comprehension and

Pretension:

There is a natural tendency among people to notice

the stimuli such that the information received will fit

into his or her existing mind set. People are selective

in their tendency to receive certain information and

retain it in such a way that will support their

preconceptions.

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People have a tendency to forget or fail to remember

{overlook, put out of your mind, put behind you, fail to

remember, not recall, disregard, stop thinking about}

many of the things they learn. Further, they are likely

to retain information that supports their beliefs and

attitudes.

Perceptual Vigilance or Defence:

Perceptual defence refers to the individual being

vigilant and screening out of those stimuli or

elements which create conflict or may give rise

to a threatening situation. The consumers may

subconsciously screen out the stimuli which are

found to be psychologically threatening, even if

the exposure has taken place.

According to John Lofflin, at the same level of

exposure, damaging, harmful or threatening

stimuli are less likely to be consciously perceived

as compared to neutral stimuli. Perceptual

vigilance or defence can be said in reference to

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the way in which people maintain their prior

beliefs.

Expectation:

Expectations affect what a person perceives.

Expectation refers to the state of anticipation of a

particular behaviour from a person. Even in the

marketing, people often perceive what they expect to

perceive rather than the message they actually

receive. Simply stated, expectation refers to the way

people respond in a certain way to a given situation or

set stimuli. This is usually the result of either known or

unknown past experiences or familiarity or a

preconditioned set.

Advertisers are looking out for various ways to

fascinate the attention of the readers or viewers. They

have found that stimuli which sharply conflicts with

expectations often receive more attention than those

which conform or conventional expectations.

Subliminal Perception:

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Subliminal perception is used to describe

something that is below the level of perception.

People can get sstimulated below their conscious

awareness level. Such persons can perceive

stimuli without being consciously aware the they

are doing so. For effective perception, the

threshold for conscious awareness will be higher

than the absolute threshold. And stimuli which

are weak to be consciously heard, may actually

be strong enough to be perceived by the

receptor cells. This process is called Subliminal

Perception process. Because the stimulus is

beneath the threshold of awareness, but not

below the absolute threshold of the receptors.

Perception of the stimuli that are above the level

of conscious awareness is called supraliminal

perception.

There are three forms of subliminal perception:

Visual stimuli presented in brief.

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Speech given fast in low volume auditory

messages.

Embedded or hidden or latent imagery or

words, given either in print ads or on

product labels.

The concept of subliminal perception had

created a lot of flutter during the late 1950’s in

USA. There was a lot of hue and cry when it was

felt that consumers were being exposed to

subliminal advertising messages were

persuading people to buy goods and services

without them realizing why they were being

motivated to do so.P

E

R

C

E

P

T

I

O

N

EXTERNAL FACTORS

INTENSITY AND SIZE

POSITION

CONTRAST

NOVELTY

REPETITION

MOVEMENT

INTERNAL FACTORS

Selective Attention

Selective Exposure

Selective Reception, Comprehension and retention.

Perceptual vigilance or defence

Expectation

Subliminal Perception.

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Perceptual Process:

Our sensory world indulges sensory inputs such as sound,

smell, pressure etc will which will be perceived and

cognitively organised into logical pattern before acting upon

it. Our cognitive structures only go for meaningful

interpretation. This selective organisation of perception is

the result of two kinds of inputs that interact to form the

final or finale perception:

Physical stimulus (lies outside in the environment)

Internal individual’s predispositions based on his or

her previous experience.

Further, each individual is unique and his or her perceptions

are based on their unique experiences, needs, wants,

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expectations etc. this means that each individual’s

perceptual process will be based on how each one sees and

perceives the world.

The perceptual process consists of or comprises many sub-

processes. The dynamics of perception can be understood

by taking a note of the input-throughout-output approach.

This approach is based on the fact that there is an input,

which when processes given outputs. That is, the perceptual

inputs will comprise of stimuli in the environment-various

subjects, events or people.

The actual aspects of perceptual mechanism include –

the selection, organisation and interpretation

The perceptual outputs will be the behaviour or

actions of the individuals i.e., the resultant opinions,

feelings, attitudes etc.

The Perceptual Process

Perceptual Inputs

Stimuli

Perceptual Mechanisms

Received Selection Organisation Interpretation

Perceptual Output

Behaviour or Action

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Perceptual Inputs:

The first and foremost process in the perceptual process is

the presence of stimuli like people, objects, events,

information etc. Though the presence of stimulus is

necessary for perception, it is not the actual process of

perception. Nevertheless the perception process cannot

start in the absence of stimuli.

Perceptual Mechanism:

The actual perception process starts with the receipt of

information or data (of stimuli) from various sources. The

receipt of stimuli is a psychological aspect of the perception

process. Most perceptual inputs are received from various

from sensory inputs.

Individual are very selective in choice of stimuli which they

recognize. After this they will subconsciously organize the

stimuli they recognize according to some widely held

psychological principles. And then they will give a

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meaningful interpretation of the stimuli, which will once

again be based on their needs, expectations and

experiences. The perceptual mechanism selection,

organisation and interpretation are very significant for

understanding perception.

Perceptual Selection:

Individuals exercise, selectivity in consciously recognizing

only aspects of the environment as stimuli. So when they

are bombarded with various stimuli, they will be selective in

the perception process. The selection of the stimuli will be

dependent on two major factors apart from the nature of

the stimulus itself – the individual’s (consumer’s) previous

experience as it affects their expectations and their motives

at that time. Either of these factors can raise the probability

of the stimulus to be perceived.

Nature of Stimulus:

The nature of stimulus could be its physical attributes,

the packages design, the brand name, the

advertisement, the infomercials, the placement or

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methods with varying differentiation such as penetrate

the consumer’s perceptual screen.

Expectations:

Expectations affect what a person perceivers. Expectations

are related with the state of anticipation a consumer has

from a particular product or service.

Motives:

People have a tendency to perceive things they need or

want. There is more awareness of the stimuli which are

relevant to the consumer’s needs and interest. At that time

he or she won’t be aware of or not be motivated by those

stimuli which are irrelevant to their needs.

Perceptual Blocking:

Another aspect of perceptual selectivity is perceptual

blocking. When consumers are bombarded with lots of

information, there is a general tendency to ‘block out’ some

stimuli from their conscious awareness. It will be noticed

that when consumers are exposed to many advertisements

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together, they will automatically switch off from their

mental set most of the advertisements.

Perceptual Organisation:

People don’t experience all the stimuli selected by them as

separate and discrete sensations. They rather, organize this

stimulus into groups and perceive them as unified wholes.

This method of perceptual organisation enables individuals

to view life in a simplified manner.

The underlying principles helping individuals in perceptual

organisation was first developed by the Gestault

Psychologists. These principles help in understanding

perceptual organisations, which are primarily related to the

physiological events occurring in the nervous system of the

individual in direct reaction to stimuli by the physical

objects. There are these three basic principles used in

perceptual organisation. – Figure and ground, grouping and

closure.

Figure and Ground:

People tend to organize information on what os known

as the figure ground principle. This involves that in

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perceiving stimuli or phenomena, the tendency is to

keep certain phenomena in focus and other

phenomena in the background. Figure is perceived to

be dominant and more attention is paid to it, while

ground is given less prominence and attention and is

kept in the background.

Grouping:

In grouping, the perceiver groups the different stimuli

based on the principle of their similarity or proximity.

This means all those stimuli which are grouped

together are likely to be perceived as having same

characteristics. The perception of stimuli as groups of

information will facilitate easy memorizing and recall

by consumers.

Marketer was using this principle to enable to get a

unified picture and co-relate desired connection with

their products.

Closure:

When faced with incomplete information, individuals

have the tendency to fill in the gaps themselves so as

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to gain more meaningful information. They feel ill at

ease when faced with an incomplete picture. They

prefer to organize their perception so as to form a

complete picture. In other woods, if people are

exposed to incomplete stimuli, they tend to perceive it

as complete, by wither consciously or sub0consciously

filling up the missing gaps. This may be done on the

basis of his or her past or previous experience, past

information or on hunches. This concept of closure can

be seen as the tension experienced by a person when

a task is incomplete, and the satisfaction and relief

that may be experienced ion its completion.

Perceptual Interpretation:

People have tendency to interpret the meaning of what they

have selectively perceived and organized on the basis of

their own assumptions about the stimuli. This interpretation

of the stimuli will be dependent on what the individual

expects to see in the light of his previous experience,

intuition data received, motives and interests at the time of

perception.

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Factors Responsible for Perceptual Distortion:

Personality or Physical Appearance:

Personality of the perceiver greatly influences the

perception process; researchers have shown that people

have a tendency to perceive others to be having the same

attributes or qualities as themselves. People have the

tendency to associate certain persons with others who may

have certain attributes, irrespective of whether they

consciously recognize the attributes or not.

Stereo Types:

This term ‘Stereotype was first used by Walter Lippman in

1922, while describing ‘biases’ involved in perceiving

people. This means there could be a bias involved when the

perceiver sees / perceives the person or individual on the

basis of a single class or category to which he or she

belongs stereotypes also convey another meaning that is

there is general concurrence on the attributed traits and

also the possibility of a discrepancy between attributed

traits and actual traits. Accordingly stereo may attribute

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favorable and unfavorable traits to the person being

perceived.

Halo Effect:

The term ‘Halo effect’ was first used in 1920, to describe a

process, in which judges used the general, impression either

favorable or unfavorable to evaluate certain specific traits.

Here ‘Halo’ acts as a barrier or screen to keep the perceiver

away from actually seeing the trait he is judging. The broad

difference between the halo effect and stereotyping error is

that---in stereotyping the person is perceived on the basis of

a single category, while under halo effect the person is

perceived on the basis of one trait or event.

According to consumer behaviorists, ‘halo effect’ includes

the evaluation of multiple brands say a product line of a

firm by evaluating just one dimension either be endorsing

brand name or celebrating endorsement. Going by this

perspective of halo effect, marketers can extend the use of

a brand name associated with one line of products to

another.

Irrelevant Cues:

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Sometimes, consumers form perceptual judgment based on

their giving significance to irrelevant cues. In the case of

purchase of automobiles, at times, consumers purchase

decisions are based on the significance given to the look,

leather upholstery etc. rather than giving due consideration

to the mechanical and technical superiority.

First Impressions:

There is a very old click or clique or adage which goes as

“first impression tends to be lasting ones”. However, this

wisdom will depend on the context and also on the extent

to which perceiver is aware of the relevance of the stimuli

considered by him or her.

First have to exercise care, especially when launching new

products and trying to create a good first impression on the

minds of the consumers. If the product fails to make the

desired ‘first’ impact, a second chance’ to taste success

may not occur. And, any subsequence attempts at

communicating the advantages may not be sufficient to

delete from the consumers mind about its (unsuccessful)

earlier attempts.

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Hasty Conclusions:

Very often people have the tendency to arrive at

conclusions very quickly, before examining all the relevant

evidence. This behaviour can be based on the person’s

attitude, motivation level, interest and past experience also.

Consumers at times develop the attitude of drawing factors

and come in the way of his perceptual process.

It is once again reassuring that to observe that very often

an individual’s past experiences may help in resolving

stimulus ambiguity in a more realistic way, right up to the

‘interpretation’ in the perceptual process. Moreover, it is

only under changing stimulus condition situations that the

individual’s expectations may lead to wrong interpretations.

Consumer Imagery:

Consumers have a number of enduring perceptions or

images, which are quite relevant to the study of consumer behaviour,

thus it becomes very difficult to gauge the consumers mind.

Brands and Self Image:

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An important aspect of self concept is the person’s level of

aspiration. Generally products, brands, other people and

possessions have symbolic value and are judged on the

basis of how they fit with the personal picture of

themselves. The different types of self-images.

Actual self-image: How consumers see themselves.

Social self-image: consumer’s perception of how they are seen by others.

Ideal self-image: How consumers would like others to see

them as

Expected self-image: Consumers expectations of how

they would like to be seen as, at

some specified time in the

future.

Researchers have revealed or disclosed or divulged that

consumers prefer brands which relate to their self perception

and to their subjective images of brands.

Advertising and Images:

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In marketing, advertising techniques makes use of

symbols as metaphors, thereby implying that there is

a similarity between the brand and the symbol.

By adopting various techniques, marketers try to link

existing concepts or images that people have in their

minds to a ‘sense image’. This sense image is then

linked to an object or event in the external, outside

world. Attempts are made to increase or amplify or

enhance or boost or intensify or step-up or foster or

fuel or swell or proliferate or escalate and elevate, or

mushroom or snowball or mount or upsurge or the

value of the brand to favorable and pleasurable events

or places.

Perceptual Mapping and Perceptual Positioning:

This technique had been introduced by Volney Steffre to

marketing, in order to determine the share of consumer

choices that a new brand will draw when introduced in the

market, and also to ascertainthepatterns of subsituation

and competition that is likely to occur after a new brand is

made available in the market. Simply stated, the technique

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of perceptual mapping will help or assist and aid or lend a

hand or facilitate or ameliorate or alleviate or evade or

service and support marketers to make an estimate on how

their products or services will appear to the consumers in

comparison to competitive brands based on one or more

relevant characteristics. Such technique will also help the

marketer to position their brand in the particular product

category.

The Perception of Quality:

Consumers of quality is often based his or her evaluation of

a product’s attributes. This turn is determined by certain

physical cues such as taste, smell or stink or stench or reek

or tang or odor or sniff or aroma or get a whiff of or scent,

size and shape. But, in many instances, the consumer is

unable to form a judgment (perception) view, by merely

going on the basis of product’s physical characteristics. This

is because

The physical differences that exist between competing

brands are not able to penetrate across consumer’s

sensory thresholds.

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The consumer may not be sufficiently or adequately

experienced so as able to determine which product

differentiation is more important.

In the absence of first hand experience with the product,

consumers assess its quality on the basis of certain clues

or indicators. At times, these indicate=ors may be

external, extrinsic to the product itself-such as price,

brand name, promotion, display, P.O.P. (Point of

Purchase)retail outlet and so on.

There are intrinsic factors, related to the actual

characteristics of the product self-size color, feel and

functional effectiveness.\generally extrinsic and intrinsic

cues will effect the consumer’s perception about the

quality of the product and its perceived value.

In case of services, it becomes very difficult for the

consumer to evaluate the quality of services. This

because of certain distinctive characteristics associated

with services like intangibility, variability, perishability

and that they are simultaneously produced and

consumed. These characteristics are not easily

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measurable, can vary from day to day , from person to

another and from profession to profession.

The Perception of Price and its relationship to Quality:

Consumers perceive value in brands when:

They are cost driven brands, i.e., the brands

costs less as compared to competing brands

offering similar benefits.

The product brands have certain unique benefits

which offsets {counterbalance, make up for,

counteract, compensate, equalize, balance} their

premium prices i.e., they are referred to as value

added benefits.

Various research studies have revealed that

consumers rely on price as an indicator of

product quality. This is especially true when they

have little information on the product or brand or

they are not confident about their ability to make

decisions on such ground as – familiarity with the

brand name, and experience with the product.

This view holds true even in case of the services,

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though here the price/quality relationship will

depend on the particular category of service.

Perceived Risk:

Perceived risk can be defined as the uncertainty

experienced by the consumers due to their inability to foresee

the consequences of their purchase decisions.

The major types of ‘risk’ perceived by consumers when

making purchase decisions are

Financial Risk:

The risk that the product may not be worth its cost.

Functional Risk:

The perception that the product may not function well as

expected.

Physical Risk:

The risk related to the physical characteristics or features of

the product.

Social Risk:

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The risk of the product not being accepted by the society as

a good choice.

Time Risk:

The risk combined with the fear that the time spent in

product search may be in vain if the product does not

perform as expected.3

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Unit II:

Learning:

Simply stated learning can be defined as “it is relatively enduring

change in behaviour due to experience”. But, since learning theorists

do not agree on how learning takes place, it will be difficult to come up

with a generally acceptable definition of learning. However, from a

marketing perspective, consumer learning can be said to be “The

process by which persons acquires the purchase and consumption

3 Source or Reference: Consumer Behavior, Suja Nair. Perception Chapter.

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knowledge and experience that they apply to future related

behaviour”.

Meaning:

There are a few significant aspects in both the above

definitions worth nothing.

Leaning involves a change in behaviour, though this change is

not necessarily an improvement over previous behaviour.

Learning is process which continuously evolves and changes as a

result of newly acquired knowledge. This consumer learning can

occur with increased knowledge based on getting information

from reading magazines or articles or books, through observation

or surveillance, from thinking or from discussions.

The behavioral change is based on some form of practice or

experience. This newly acquired knowledge and experience serve

as a feed back to the person and also forms the basis for future

behaviour in similar situations.

Components or Elements of Learning Process:

An individual receives a variety of stimulus inputs. When

specific stimuli become associated with specific responses in a

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sufficiently permanent manner then the occurrences of the stimuli

tends to bring out a particular response, we say learning has

occurred. The components or elements of learning are: Drive, Cues,

Response, Reinforcement and Retention.

Drive:

Learning occurs because of the presence of drive. Drive is

said to be any strong stimuli that impels action. The drive

arouses in an individual an urge to respond to the stimuli

and thus forms the basis of motivation. There is a lot of

difference between a motive and a drive.

A motive is based on needs and goals, i.e., a motive is

purposeful or directed towards the specific goal while refers

to an increased probability of activity without actually

specifying the nature of the activity.

Cues:

Cues stimuli can be any object existing in the environment,

as perceived by the individual. If motive stimulates the

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learning process, it is the cues which serve the purpose for

stimuli and gives direction to these motives. So marketers

have to determine the conditions under which a stimulus or

cue will increase the probability of eliciting a specific

response.

Marketers have to take care that the4 cues used by them to

stimulate the consumers are consistent with consumer

expectations. They have to exercise care so as not to fall

below consumer’s expectations.

Response:

The stimuli will result in responses. How people react to a

drive or cue, i.e. how they behave constitutes their

response. The response may be in the physical form or may

be in terms of complex phenomena such as attitudes,

familiarity, perception, etc. learning can take place even

when the responses are not over.

Reinforcement:

Reinforcement is avery basic condition of learning. Without

reinforcement, we cannot observe any measurable

modification of behavior. Reinforcement is closely related to

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the psychological process of motivation. Reinforcement

refers to the environmental events, which increases the

likelihood of specific response occurring in the future as a

result particular cues or stimuli. The role of reinforcements

in learning has been highlighted by Edward L.Thorndike – of

several responses made to the same situation, those which

are accompanied or closely followed by satisfaction

(reinforcements) will be more likely to recur. Those which

are accompanied or closely followed by discomfort

(negative reinforcement or punishment) will be less likely to

occur.

Retention:

The stability of learned behaviour maintained by the

individual over a period of time is called retention.

Retention is a well learned response which is achieved with

the passage of time. Thus under repeated conditions of

positive reinforcement, there is a tendency for the

conditioned response to continue for a long period of time.

Types of learning processes:

Learning processes can be of two types. Those are

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Routines:

Many of the consumer behaviour occurs without the

involvement of extensive consideration and reflection like –

shopping in a departmental store, have a snack at the

restaurant, going out for a movie with friends and so on.

Such forms of consumption are routine in nature.

Elaborate Learning:

Routines help to ensure efficient consumer behaviour in the

purchase of routine products. But there are different

learning processes also which influences purchase

behaviour. One such well known type of learning is

conditioning, here the behaviour becomes dependent on

certain stimuli or events in the environment.

Behaviour Learning Theories or Approaches:

Behavioral learning theories are sometimes referred to as

stimulus-response theories also. This is because according to

these theories it is concluded that learning has taken place based

on some observable responses to specific external stimuli. In

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other words, an individual is said to have “learned”, when he or

she responds in a predictable manner to a known stimulus.

Behavioral theorists are interested in the relationship between

the inputs selected by the consumers and the outcome

(behavioural outcome). And learning is the acquisition of new

behaviour. There are many views on the process through which

new behaviour is acquired.

Behavioural theorists suggested two types of approaches.

Those are

Classical Conditioning:

Definition:

Classical conditioning is a process in which a

previously neutral stimulus acquires the ability to elicit a

response by repeated association with a stimulus that

naturally produces a similar response.

Thus the starting point of classical conditioning is the

presence of an unconditioned stimulus (US) which results in

a neutral spontaneous reaction: the unconditioned response

(UR). The Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, was the first to

suggest “conditioning” as a general model in describing

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how learning occurs. Classical conditioning describes

behaviour as a learned process, by repetitive association

between a stimulus and response (S.R.Association). Pavlov

demonstrated or experimented the classical conditioning on

a dog, who upon seeing food (US) starts to salivate (UR).

Thus phenomenon of salvation was originally studied by

Pavlov as a reflex action. In the experiments, when Pavlov

presented a piece of meat (unconditioned stimulus) to the

dog, a great deal of salvation was noticed (unconditioned

response). On the other hand, on ringing the bell (neutral

stimulus), the dog had no salvation. This established that

merely ringing the bell had no effect on the salivation of the

dog.

In the next step Pavlov presented meat along with ringing

of the bell. To this, the dog salivated this experiment was

repeated many times. After this, Pavlov rang the bell

without presenting the meat. To this the dog salivated to

the bell alone (This was a neutral stimulus in the beginning

of the experiment). But in the new situation, the dog

becomes classically conditioned to salivate (CR Conditioned

Response) to the sound of the bell (CS).

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We can see that the dog learned to associate between the

signal of the approaching food and hence the reflex. The

development of this dependency or association in the

learning process is known as the Classical Conditioning. As

one can observe from the above discussion, after a while,

the dog started to salivate (CR) to the sound of the bell

(CS). Further, unlike the unconditioned response (UR), the

conditioned response can be activated without seeing the

food (US).

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Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Food (Meat)

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Food (Meat)

Conditioned (CS)

Bell

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Bell

Unconditioned Response (UR)

Salivation

Unconditioned Response (UR)

Salivation

Conditioned Response (CR)

Salivation

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Stimulus Association:

All the recent views on classical conditioning speak on

the association of the CS to the US. According to this

perspective, classical conditioning is said to be

considered as the learning of associations among

events which will allow the firm or organisation to

anticipate and represent “its environment”.

Classical conditioning is also seen as Cognitive

Associative Learning, i.e., the acquisition of new

knowledge about the world. Some researchers have

opined that the best learning result is given by a

conditioned stimulus (CS) which just precedes a US

called forward conditioning. The presentation pf a

conditioned stimulus (CS) just behind or forward by a

US (called Reverse Conditioning) does not give good

results. The strength of the conditioned response can

be obtained by taking into consideration the frequency

and the amount of consumptiuon.this means the

marketing policy to be followed by any firm will be to

ensure that the brand image or logo is noticed even

before the consumption takes place.

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Repetition:

There are some researchers who believe that

by repetition, there are more chances of increasing

the strength of association and thereby slowing

down the process of forgetting. But, of course there

is also a limit to the amount of repetition which will

help in retention. But if this repetition is continued

beyond a certain limit or in the event of over

exposure, beyond a certain point, there are chances

of the individual becoming satiated {full, satisfied,

replete, status, quench, fill, slake} and this over

learning can also result in a decline in the attention

as well retention. This effect is referred to as

‘Advertising Wear-Out’. Advertisers try to reduce

this effect by repeating the advertisements with

varying advertising messages.

Stimulus Generalization:

Definition:

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“Stimulus generalization is the phenomenon in

which stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus will

elicit a similar response without prior learning”.

According to classical conditioning theorists, a

part from repetition, learning depends on the ability of

an individual to generalize. During the experiments,

Pavlov had observed that the dog learned to salivate

not only the sound of bell, but also t some extent to

the somewhat similar sound of jangling keys. Thus, it

is because we are capable of responding in a similar

manner to slightly different stimuli, that is, it is due to

stimulus generalizations, that learning process is

taking place.

Product Line Extensions:

Marketers have observed that it

significantly easier to attract the attention

of the consumers by associating a new

product with a known and trusted brand

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name rather then going for a totally new

product – brand name.

Family Branding:

Some companies follow the strategy of

marketing a whole line of company

products under the same name. this is

sometimes referred to as super branding or

family branding. The rationale or logic

behind this strategy is that the generalized

favorable brand association can be

extended from one product to another

under the family brand name.

Licensing:

This is another marketing strategy operating on

stimulus generalization principle. For variety of

products, the name of the designer, producer

celebrities etc. are taken on rent by the licensee,

enabling them to achieve instant recognition and

a well known indication of the quality for the

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licensed products. To quote an example is Lux

international (Karishma Kapoor), Hyundai Santro

(Sharuk Khan).

Stimulus Discrimination:

Definition:

“Stimulus discrimination is the process in which

the organism responds only to the exact, original

conditioned stimulus and not to similar stimuli”.

Stimulus discrimination is the opposite of

stimulus generalization. Under this the consumer will

select a specific ‘stimulus’ form among all similar

stimuli. The consumer will learn to discriminate and

select a particular, stimulus form the other similar

stimuli – the stimuli which has established a unique

brand image in his or her mind.

Application of Classical Conditioning Theory:

There are also different phases in the classical

conditioning of the learning process. In the first phase, the

connection between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and

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unconditioned stimulus (US) to established. In the second

phase, on presentation of the CS, CR will occur.

Consequently, if US is behind even after the CS is provided,

then there will be seen a decrease in the Conditioned

Response (CR). The third phase is known as the resting

phase because no presentation of stimuli takes place. It will

look as though the learned behaviour is forgotten. But once

again in the fourth phase, the CS is presented, and a

spontaneous recovery of the learner response is seen. I.e.

CR occurs. And then after further extinction, this will

disappear or vanished or gone astray.

Stre- - - - - - - -

ngth Spontaneous

of Recovery

Resp- - - - - - - --

-onse

Learning Extinction Rest Further Extinction

1st Phase 2nd Phase 3rd Phase 4th Phase

Time

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The relationship between learning and the phases of conditioned

response.

Factors influencing Classical Conditioning Learning:

There are several cognitive factors which affect the classical

conditioning process. Those are:

Consumer characteristics or traits:

In case the stimuli is visual, the extent of conditioning will

depend on the visualization capacity of the individual. It

should also be noted that unconditioned stimuli will have

different meanings for different consumers.

Stimulus Characteristics:

The learning process is influenced by salient unconditioned

stimulus (US). Advertisers have to take care and see that

the US is clearly distinguishable and build on unique

association.

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They usually try to avoid already known stimuli for several

reasons. This is because due to pre-exposure of the

stimulus, the desired impact may not be obtained. A pre-

exposure of stimuli may not be viewed positively by

consumers and they may even become bored or fed up or

vexed up with the stimulus.

Another effect is known as the blocking of association. This

‘blocking’ can occur if when there already exists an

association between CS, and US and then one may try to

associate CS 2 with the US.

Nature of Conditioned Response:

In a classical conditioning process, the conditioned response

(CR) is usually based on the evaluation or attitude in

relation to a conditioned stimulus (CS). Attitude places a big

role in learning process. By determining whether the stimuli

is good or bad, one is in a better position to deal with the

situation. According to the attitude theory, attitudes are

predictors of different but related behaviour. So during the

learning process, attitude will affect a wide range of

responses.

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Certain technical aspects of the conditioning process:

There are a few technical factors which influence the

conditioning process. These technical aspects are:

The number of associations needed to achieve or

accomplish the learning result. This means the

frequency of contact between the consumer and a

commercial message.

The time gap between associations and the time taken

up by each association. This is with reference to the

time internal between two contact intervals. This time

will be only limited lasting for 20-30 seconds.

To maintain the effect of fast conditioning, the contact

frequency needs to be high with short intervals. This is

known as concentration condition.

Evaluation of Classical Conditioning:

The principles of classical conditioning have gotten many

marketing applications.

Neo-Pavlovian theorists have opined that individuals are

information seekers who use logics in understanding perceptual

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relationships between events, along with their own pre-

conceptions so as to get a sophisticated view of the world. If we

were to analyse buyer behaviour, it is seen that though some of

our purchase decisions are based on exposure to repetitive

advertising messages, more often the other purchase behaviour

exhibited is as de-pendent on the individuals of the products

based on the anticipated reward from using the products-in other

words, from operant or instrumental conditioning.

Operant Conditioning:

Definition:

Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which the

consequences of behaviour lead to changes in the

probability of that behavior’s occurrence.

American psychologist Burrhus Skinner is known as the

discover of operant conditioning. According to this, the

process of operant or instrumental conditioning rests on the

unconditioned stimulus (US) after or post certain behavior is

shown. The unconditioned response is said to be the

positive or negative reinforcement of the performed

behavior. The effect of operant conditioning is based on the

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strengthening or weakening of the performed behaviour. A

positive stimulus (reward) increases the chances of the

given behaviour being performed again (strengthening). On

the other hand, a negative stimulus (punishment) reduces

the chances of a given behaviour be repeated again. The

operant conditioning is also known as Instrumental

conditioning. According to Skinner, most of the learning

takes place in a controlled environment, where in the

individuals are rewarded for the selection of an

appropriate4 behavior. While analyzing consumer behavior,

it can be said that as per instrumental conditioning,

consumers learn through a trail and error process, in which

some purchase behaviour can have favorable outcomes. So

a favorable experience is instrumental in encouraging the

individual to repeat the purchase behaviour.

Skinner also developed his model of learning by workijg

animals. He placed in his ‘skinner box’ small animals such

as rats and pigeons. Whenever they made appropriate

movements, such as if they depressed levers or pecked

keys, they received positive reinforcement in the form of

food. Skinner also did amazing things with this simple

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model like teaching pigeons to play ping pong, dance and

so on.

Operant conditioning in the marketing can be explained

with an example .We presume a person can behave in three

ways A,B,C as shown below diagram.

Three types of reinforcement in operant conditioning

The purchase behavior is influenced by operant conditioning.

College students may try out much post or after shave lotions pre or

before deciding on a particular one that he feels will suit has

personality (positive reinforcement). The student is said to be engaged

in instrumental learning. And if he is appreciated for his ruggedness

Behavior A Reward Strengthening of Behaviour

Behavior B Punishment Weakening of Behavior

Behavior C No Reward Neutral or No Change

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and choice of after shave lotion, he will continue to purchase this

product. This model of instrumental conditioning is shown below.

A model of instrumental conditioning

Shaping:

Shaping is a process of gradual formation of certain

behavior using operant conditioning. Shaping can be defined as

‘a process of rewarding approximations in a sequence to desired

Stimulus situation (need a good after

shave lotion)

Try Brand A

Try Brand B

Try Brand C

Unrewarded

No good fragrance

Unrewarded too strong a smell

Reward, feels good, satisfied.

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behavior which encourages the person to perform the desired

behavior eventually’.

A reward is given after a small change in behavior in the

desired direction is seen. Shaping is based on rewards being

given in the form of steps. Very often a gradual change in

attitude also takes place as a result of shaping.

Habituation:

Habituation is in a way related to shaping. In shaping,

sequential approximation leads to desired behavior. While, in

habituation the desired behavior is obtained by gradually offering

decreasing discounts.

In practice both shaping and habituation are used to enable

customer experience a positive reward with their behavior.

Timing and Rewards:

In the operant conditioning process, it is not necessary to

reward the behavior each time. This is based on the fact that a

reward given occasionally is more effective than giving one each

time.

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If a reward is given for some behaviors, it is referred to as a

ratio reward. The ratio reward can be either fixed ratio

reinforcement or variable ratio reinforcement. Whenever, rewards

of stamps or sale coupon are given for a fixed time schedule, it is

called a fixed ratio schedule. Such schemes can also result in

strengthening brand and store loyalty. Rewards for answering

quiz questions, lotteries etc, have a chance of reward factor

involved, thus they form a part and variable ratio schedule.

Positive and Negative Reinforcement:

In operant conditioning process, skinner talks of two types

reinforcement which can increase the chances of a response

being repeated. These are:

Positive reinforcement:

This communicates the positive response and the likelihood

of a specific behaviour in the positive direction.

Negative reinforcement:

It is an indication of a negative or unpleasant response in

the form of a specific negative behavior.

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Using of an herbal anti bacterial disinfectant and pore cleaner

which minimizes the reoccurrence of pimples is a positive

reinforcement and increases the likelihood of a repeat purchase. Fear

appeals in ad messages are examples of negative reinforcement. The

fear of aversion {dislike, hatred, loathing, repugnance, distaste, hate}

from peers and friends due to body odor {smell, scent, aroma, whiff,

stink, stench} (Ad of Lifebouy plus soap) uses negative reinforcement

to illustrate the effective ness of the above soap.

Observational Learning:

The learning processes under classical and operant

conditioning are more or less mechanical. In cognitive learning it has

been discussed that considerable amount of learning takes place

because of consumer thinking and problem solving. There is another

form of learning which is based on the social aspects and the imitation

of the behavior of other’s behavior, as a ‘model’. This means that the

model person serves as an ‘ideal’ and their behavioral pattern will be

the goal or other to follow.

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Stages in the Observational Learning Process:

There are usually four stages in the observational learning

[process, namely; attention, reproduction, learning and reward.

Attention:

Salient activities along with striking audion visual sound and

objects are used to draw the attention to the behavior.

Though attention may be sought, more emphasis must be

made to see that while demonstrations are carried out, the

details be highlighted so as to match the language,

knowledge and experience of the observer. In other words,

attention of the observer can be retained only by nothing

the relevance to the consumer.

Learning:

Observed behaviors are stored in memory and acted upon

based on how much of the observed behavior is learned and

remembered. The individual usually makes an abstract of

what is observed and this is what determines the ease with

which the observation has been remembered and collected.

Reproduction:

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The reproduction of the observed behavior may not always

be correctly imitated. The reproduction of the actions of the

model will be dependent on the abilities of the observer.

There are many factors such as age, the product, its utility,

and the model demonstrating the product visual-audio used

etc. which will determine the ease with which reproduction

of the action of model take place.

Reward:

Positive reinforcement in a social learning process will be

dependent on the observed results of the model’s

behaviour. However, here the consumer will himself or

herself develop a standard of fairness and make comparison

of the rewards to these standards. And this reward will work

as a motivating factor to encourage the individual to keep

performing the learned behavior4.

4 Source or Reference: Consumer Behavior, Suja Nair.

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Group Dynamics:

Groups exist in every formal and informal type of

organisations. Such groups are created by the members for its

satisfaction. Very often groups get formed automatically because of

the operation of various socio-psychological factors. Such groups affect

the behaviour of its members.

Group dynamic is related to determining the interactions

and forces between group members in a social situation. The term

dynamics originated from the Greek word meaning force. Thus, if this

term can be extended to group dynamics, it refers to the study of

forces operating within groups. Here it would be proper to mention the

difference between aggregates and groups. Aggregation of individuals

refers to where the individuals are not aware of each other, or if aware,

do not interact with each other in a meaningful way. This haphazard

collection of people is known as an aggregate collection and dance

lovers have gathered at a theater auditorium, to witness the dance

performance of a well known dancer. A group will comprise

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Two or more people who are interdependent on each other, with

group members

The group shares a set of beliefs values and norms, which

regulates their mutual conduct.

In order to have a better understanding of the group, its functioning

and its impact on the behaviour of an individual, group dynamics

will throw or fling light on the dynamics of members of various

groups with whom the individual is having interactions and how this

affects his buyer decision making process.

Definition:

Marvin .E.Shaw has defined group as “two or more persons who

are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person

influences and is influenced by each other”.

“A group may be defined as the aggregation of small

number of persons who work for common goals, develop a shared

attitude and are aware that they are part and parcel of group and

perceive themselves as such”.

- Clouis R.Shepherd.

Features of group:

Two or more person:

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To form a group, there should be at-least two persons,

because a single individual cannot interact. Though no

maximum limit has been set, the size of the group should

be such, so as to allow meaningful interaction among the

members of the group.

Collective identity or recognition:

Each member of the group must believe that he is a

member of the group and also be aware of his participation

in the group activity.

Interaction:

Members of the group will interact with each i=other, share

their ideas and communicate with each other. Though it is

not necessary for all members of the group to interact

simultaneously, but each member must at-least

occasionally interact with the members of the group.

Shared Goal interest:

Members of the group should concur to the attainment of

objectives; each one must at-least share one of the groups

concerns.

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Reasons for formation of Group:

Interpersonal attraction:

People are drawn to those groups which are physically

attractive or luring or fascinating and similar to themselves.

Groups help in meeting people’s affiliative needs by being

involved in various social recreational activities.

The group acts as a vehicle of socialization:

Keith Davis in his Human Behaviour at work, has observed

“along with men’s technical imperative, there is also a

social imperative to work together. Man is a social being. He

wants to belong, to associate with others rather than to

work in isolated loneliness. Out of this basic drive of man,

the informal organisation arises”.

In order to overcome psychological fatigue and boredom of

the daily routine, people generally have a desire to socialize

with others.

Groups serve as a means of need satisfaction:

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Members of a group interact towards achieving a common

need or goal. Groups take care of our affiliation needs; hat

is our need for friendship, support and love.

A change from usual work environment:

People seek routine to escape from their job, when their

capabilities exceed job requirement. Moreover, bigger the

display the especially when more time is available for

informal interaction.

Helps in group decision making getting the job done:

This activity is based on the old adage. “Two heads are

better than one”. In the same time don’t precede or

followed with “Too many cooks spoil the broth”. This allows

many individuals to simultaneously interact and arrive at a

decision. This can result in either a consensus’ means all

the group members agree to the proposed decision,

whereas ‘majority’ implies that it is enough even if majority

of the group members agree to the decision taken.

Of course the situation analysis for group decisions are

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If the nature of the problem requires a variety of

expertise, then group decision making is suitable or

There will be more acceptance of a group ‘decision’ when

it is a consensus or a ‘majority’ decision of the group or

There will be more acceptance of a group member brings

with him / her expertise of a particular area, group

decision masking leads to better to better quality

solutions.

Advantages of Groups:

We had spoken about the various reasons for formation

group, how we will look into the advantages of being members of

the group.

Greater Sum total of knowledge and information:

In a group all tasks are carried out effectively with the help

of all group members, group decisions and sharing job

knowledge. Each there will bring with him / her knowledge

and expertise of his or her field. Thus there will be immense

contribution in terms of knowledge and information which

will add to the total effort, resulting in effective performance

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of work and also help in solving the problems of group

members.

Greater number of approaches to the problem:

Groups perform the role of problem solving by adopting a

task accomplishing mechanism. Thus in an informal

atmosphere, the group members through discussions and

deliberations suggest various approaches to solve the

problem.

Participation increases acceptance:

The attraction of a particular group for a member is because

there is a shared goal / objective or interest which binds the

group members together. The group members perceive a

collective identity and share their ideas, interest, problem

etc. with the fellow group members. These interactions with

each other facilitate more participation amongst their group

members. It is more likely that there will be more

concurrence or acceptance to the solutions which are

arrived at.

Better comprehension of the problems and the solution:

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A group provides the supportive climate for decision

making. The issue can be tackled from various angles and

helps in a better comprehension of the problem resulting in

arriving at a useful consensus or solution to the problem.

Group acts as a motivator:

Individual satisfaction and commitment in group decision

making are enhanced and help in effective implementation

or execution of the decision. Group decision making is a

source of development of individuals in the organisation.

Because learning is enhanced, individual group member

learns to gather data, evaluate it, generate alternatives,

calculate risks and select the best solutions by practicing in

group decision making. All these factors act as motivators

for individual group members.

Lacunaes or Loopholes of groups:

Inspite of the numerous advantages associated with

group, there are also certain disadvantages of group behavior,

which is given hereunder;

Solution mindedness:

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Though the group members bring with tyhem

expertise in the form of knowledge and experience,

sometimes due to want of time, the group members

may pressurize all concerned with the group to arrive

at a solution to the problem quickly. In such cases, the

decision arrived at may be improper / hasty /

premature one and need not be the correct one.

Compromised results:

In case of problems the group members through

interaction and discussions, will understand the

problem, hold discussions and try to arrive at a

consensus. However, sometimes when consensus is

not being arrived at, the group perceives group

harmony as more significant than any given tasks

decision. This results in a compromise on the solution

arrived at.

Ultimately decisions:

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One of the characteristic features of a group is that

decisions can be taken very fast. But at times leader

of the group will as a rule of the thumb take a decision

and then communicate it to the group. In such cases,

the very purpose for formation of group is defeated.

By following thumb of rule, the group leader will be

taking a unilateral decision and not a united one.

Moreover, since the decision taken single and also

arrived at quickly, it may be an untimely decision.

Conflicts:

Since the informal group exists to meet and satisfy the

social needs of members, there are chances of

occurrence of role conflict. This problem arises when

the individual group member becomes more

committed to his or her own goal and seen to

undermine their group member’s problem. An

important feature goal to be successful is that each

group member perceives his or her individual goal to

be the same as the goals of the group. In case of

imbalance between the two and if the group as such is

not constituted properly conflicts may arise.

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Diffusion of responsibility:

The group members develop awareness of the other

member’s problem and one free to express their

opinions and participate in the process of decision

making. However, no individual member can be held

individually responsible for incorrect decision taken by

the group. It may be noted that the decision arrived at

by the group is delegated to the whole group, which

means the authority is dispersed of s group. Since no

one can practically or logically feel personally

accountable for the actions of a group, no individual

feels personally for any action within it.

Free riding or social loafing:

Groups will be successful if decisions are taken in an

atmosphere of team spirit and cooperation with all the

group members getting involved in the discussion and

openly and freely expressing their opinions. This will

also facilitate faster and smoothen the process of

decision making. However, sometimes, the group

members may delude themselves into believing that

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the onus {responsibility, obligation, duty, burden} of

responsibility of decision making lies in the hands of

the formal leader of the group or the active group

members and deliberately and knowing shun away

from active participation. This attitude is referred to as

free riding or social loafing.

High coordination cost in time and money:

Groups exist so as to take care of the social needs of

persons. Whenever there is group meeting, the

individuals, may be required to travel some distance

to reach the venue. The meeting point should be

conducive to justify the time spent on hearing the

members, discussing their points of view, to challenge

and cross examine the view of others and to analyze

the reasons for a discussion is likely to be lengthy. And

if a decision is reached quickly, the group meeting

may not be necessary in the first place.

Dominance:

Groups are useful for transmitting and sharing

information. In case of a problem all members can discuss it

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together and decisions can be arrived at, with opportunities

for clarification. However, there is always a fear of a single

person, a dominant personality assuming unofficial

authority. A person who considers it his right to exercise

influence over the group members and more so if it is a

leaderless group.

Pressures to Conformity:

The group will function smoothly if the members follow

the ‘principle of equals’. But at times, the group may

perceive it more important to reach a unanimous

agreement rather than arriving at a sound decision.

Most often reasons for this is that there is pressure for

conformity to group norms and members avoids being

too harsh in their decisions. Thus, the decisions

arrived at may be on the basis of compromise and

reflects accommodation of various view points of the

members. This will have to bearing on the quality of

the decision taken, which may not be in the best

interest of the individual or group.

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Types of Groups relevant to consumer behaviour:

To understand the group more effectively, we have to aware of or

be au faith with a family. Among all factors, the single most influential

group in the consumption behaviour pattern of an individual is the

family. If the family has teenaged children, they have their own set of

tastes and preferences especially related to clothing, cosmetics, film

and magazines. These teenagers get easily motivated by novelties,

have a variety of interests, are quick at adopting fashions and give a

lot of value to possessing material comforts and physical wellbeing. If

its is a joint family consists of or comprises one’s parents, the couple

and their children, the individual acquire an orientation towards

religion, economics, politics and a sense of personal ambition, self-

worth and love.

Role of Family Members in Decision Making Process:

While on family decision making, one should be aware of

specific roles and tasks assumed by the family member in their every

day functioning and the bearing of the role on their consumer decision.

Influencer:

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This role is assumed by the family member who

gathers and imparts information to the other

family members about a particular product /

service.

Ex:

A school going child intending to buy a new

toy, will gather information about the toy to

convey and influence his parents to buy the toy

for him.

Gate Keeper:

The family member who controls the flow of

information about a product / service into the

family.

Ex:

The house wife will be the gate keeper at

home and no household item can gain entry to

the house without her consent.

Decider:

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The family member who decides when to shop

for, purchase, use, consume or dispose of a

specific product or service.

Ex:

The father acts as a decider, when he plans

to purchase a bicycle for his young son.

Buyer:

The family member who actually buys the

product or service.

Ex:

A grown up son in the family purchases a

private 14inches T.V> as a gift to be presented

to his parents on their wedding anniversary.

Preparer:

The family member who transforms the product

into a form suitable for consumption by other

family members.

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Ex:

The husband on reaching home early from

office thinks of surprising or astonishing his

spouse and children by preparing their favorite

‘snack’ of the ingredients he had purchased

enroot from office.

User:

The family member who makes actual use of the

product.

Ex:

The son is the user of the ‘Kinetic Honda’

presented to him by his father.

Maintainer:

The family member who services or repairs the

product so that it will provide continued

satisfaction.

Ex:

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The husband, at-least once in a month

services ‘the car’, so that the vehicle will

continue to run with out problems.

Disposer:

The family member who takes the decision to

dispose of or discontinue with the usage of a

particular product or service.

Ex:

On purchasing a new car, the husband may

decide to dispose of the old car.

The above mentioned role s vary from family to family and from

product to product depending upon the consumption style or pattern

and the product life cycle.

Family Life Cycle:

Even though it is the family unit, which

purchases home appliances, toys, furniture etc.,

it cannot be implied that all the families are in

the market at the same time or for that matter at

any time. This means that along with family

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decision making, the family life cycle also plays a

role in influencing consumer behavior and also

helps in gaining insight into the consumption

related behavior.

Family life cycle has four stages. Those are

Bachelorhood:

Its traits are young, single and staying

alone. The economic circumstances of

bachelorhood are earning reasonable good

salary, no financial burdens.

Likely buying behaviour pattern of

bachelorhood is buy, basic kitchen

equipment basic furniture, a two wheeler

vacation with friends.

Parenthood:

The traits of parenthood are young married,

just attained parenthood.

The economic circumstances of parenthood

is better off financially, though home

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purchases at peak, less liquid assets, not

able to save more.

They buy baby food, toys, diapers, and

chest & cough medicines.

Post-parenthood:

The traits of post-parenthood is growing

children or grown up children.

The economic circumstances of post-

parenthood is financial position improved

with wife working, probability of home

ownership on the higher side.

They concentrate on home improvements.

They buy more tasteful furniture, car, home

appliances, and magazines. They are

interested in vacation packages.

Dissolution:

The traits of dissolution are retired & lone

surviving spouse.

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The economic circumstances of dissolution

are income though good, not interested in

spending. At times drastic cut in income is

likely.

They buy medicinal products and other

products like the retired people. They seek

more of security conscious.

Friendship Groups:

Leon Festinger has claimed that there exists in

the human organism a drive to evaluate his

opinions and abilities. If objective, non social

means are not available, people evaluate his

opinions and abilities. By comparison with the

opinions and abilities of others. In other words

human beings prefer the company of others and

these people’s opinion also matter to them.

Consumers also enjoy the company of their

friends when purchasing certain types of goods.

Such friendship group is able to influence the

consumer especially for products like clothing,

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fine jewellery, cosmetics and personal care

items, food items etc.

Formal social groups:

Human beings are generally considered to be

sociable in nature, spend much of his/her time in

group situations. They like to be associated with

formal social clubs like the Rotary Clubs, Lions

Club etc. the reason for their getting

advancement or purchasing a special interest or

promoting a specific cause. Such formal social

system generally comprises three elements.

Those are

Activities:

Activities are the tasks that people perform.

Interactions:

Interactions are the behavior that occurs

between people in performing tasks.

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Sentiments:

Sentiments are the attitudes that develop

between individual within the group.

In formal organisation setup, job (activities) has to be

done, that require people to work together (interaction).

These jobs must be sufficiently satisfying (sentiments) for

people to continue doing them.

Shopping friends or groups:

According to psychology, ‘group’ refers to the

number of people who interact with one another,

are psychological aware of one another and

perceive themselves to be a group. In the same

way, shopping groups can be assumed to exist

because the friends or group members need to

relate to each other mainly because of the

physical location of people, same perception of

things, matching personality, styles, outlooks

etc. these factors are also responsible for the

increase in the frequency of the interactions

between the members of a shopping group.

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Since the shopping group will comprise of

individuals who interact frequently, the group’s

views on fashion, lifestyles etc. exercise a strong

influence on the living style and buying pattern

of the individual. Further, since the shopping

groups are close knit, they act as advocators and

stabilizers of styles and behaviour pattern of the

individual members. The shopping group will

express their views on various aspects of the

purchase – the cost angle, prestige, usage or

utility, aspects, availability of competitors brands

and past experience of the member who has

made use of product. Since the buyer has a lot of

faith and confidence and rely in the views

expressed by this shopping group, the aspects

will be analyzed by the buyer in depth before

deciding on the purchase of the product.

Work group:

This group can comprise of formal work group

informal work group. The formal work groups are

those which are deliberately created by

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companies in order to fulfill specific tasks or

functions clearly related to the total

organizational goals and objectives. Based on

their duration, the formal work groups can be

two types.

Permanent formal work group:

The permanent work group is the part and

parcel of the top management team, work

units in various departments of the

organisation, staff groups providing

specialized services to the line people in

the organisation, permanent committees

and so on.

Temporary formal work group:

Temporary formal wok group is committees

or task forces created for a particular

purpose / mission. They may be created to

study and review the salary policies, to

suggest measures to improve the

relationship between the union and

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management or to think of new products

and services and so on. This temporary

formal group may exist till the task

assigned to them has been completed.

Very often the committee / temporary work

group will comprise members, who are

already on the permanent payroll of the

company. However, till the completion of

the group of the work assigned to the

committee, there will be close interactions

between the members. Irrespective of

whether the formal work group is

permanent or temporary in nature, due to

the close interactions between the

members of the work groups at the place of

work, the group can influence the

consumption related attitudes of its

members.

Reference group:

Generally speaking a reference group can

designate to any person or group that serves as

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a point of comparison or reference for an

individual informing either general or specific

values, attitudes or behaviour. Every human

being because of his sociable nature prefers to

evaluate his abilities and opinion based on the

comparison of others abilities and opinions.

The type of group that an individual uses as a

point of reference in determining his own

judgments, preferences, beliefs and behavior.

- Herbert Hyman

Types of groups:

Reference groups are classified into following types.

Those are

Normative reference group:

The reference group that directly influence

general or broadly defined values or

behaviour are usually called Normative

reference group.

Ex:

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A child’s normative reference group

will be his family. The family inculcates

certain norms of behavior, which will be

complying with “good values” and “belief”.

Comparative reference group:

This group will serve as a benchmark for

specific or narrowly defined attitudes are

called Comparative reference group. Such

group serves as a pointy of comparison

especially for evaluating ones own status.

Indirect reference group:

This could be in the form of movie stars,

sports personalities etc. the above

mentioned categories / types of people

generally have a long following in the form

of fans. Though there is a face-to-face

contact or touch or interaction between the

fan and respective star, they there able to

influence their fans. The fans admire their

hero/heroine and try to imitate their hair

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do, dress code, life styles, attitude and

behavior also.

Contractual group:

This reference group will be in te4rma of a

person’s membership or degree of

involvement with the group and in terms of

the positive or negative influence they are

able to evolve on the person’s attitudes,

behavior and values.

Aspirational group:

It is one to which the individual wishes or

aspires to belong. The individual may not

have a formal membership and also does

not have face-to-face contact but he

aspires to be a member. This aspiration

acts as a positive influence on that person’s

attitude and behavior.

Disclamant group:

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This is a group whose values or behavior

does not appeal to the individual. Here a

person may have membership or face-to-

face contact but the disapproves of the

group values, attitudes and behavior. Here

his behavior will be the opposite or reverse

to the norms of the particular reference

group.

Avoidance group:

This may be a group with which the person

may not hold membership nor have face-to-

face contact and also of which values,

attitudes and behavior, the person totally

disapproves. Here the person will tend to

avoid the group and will adopt values,

attitudes and behavior which will be in

opposition to that of the group.

Finally marketers have to recognize the reference groups

relevant to a particular market. They also have to look out for

ways to reach a particular reference group. Opinion group are

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found in all strata of society. It may be noticed that a particular

person may be a opinion leader in certain product areas while a

follower in other areas. So especially in areas where group

influence is strong, marketers must work out on how to reach the

opinion leaders. This can be done by identifying certain personal

characteristics matching with opinion leadership, analyzing and

determining the media preferred by them and then involving the

opinion leaders to participate in influencing the group.

Factors which play a role in Reference group

influences:

Information and experience:

The last few years have enormous diversity in

the amount of information available to the

marketing decision makers. Our own

government’s economic liberalization programs

have brought about a lot of changes in the

structure of the market place. We have a host of

MNCs entering the Indian markets bringing with

them a better technology, international quality

and also a unknown customer focused

209

orientation. The customer has also responded in

a more conscious and choosy manner. They are

involved in a process of gathering, interpreting

and using market information in a more

systematic and thoughtful way. The consumer

will not accept the marketing messages at face

value. He would prefer to filter out the messages,

choose the source and message appropriate to

him.

Credibility, Attractiveness and power of the

reference group:

The group members are attracted to each other

by some social bonds because they share some

common concerns, value or ideology. The group,

through interactions with the members assures

that a process of two communications exists,

without any boundaries. This facilitates sharing

of knowledge and information about the

products/services available in the market by the

group members.

Conspicuous of the product:

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It is to be noted conspicuous {obvious,

noticeable, eye-catching, striking, prominent,

evident, clear, plain, patent, inconspicuous} of

the product could be visually conspicuous one or

a verbally conspicuous one.

Visually conspicuous means the product appeals

to others without any barriers of communication.

The product as it is can be seen by the

consumer. Visualization of the product in its

actual form and simultaneous appeal to eyes and

ears will tend to form lasting impressions of the

products on the minds of the consumers.

Recognition of reference group:

Reference group can be identified based on either of the

following.

Admiration:

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The target market admires the personality/look

up with awe at the person who is shown

promoting a particular brand of the product.

On Aspiration:

The target market aspires/dreams of a particular

life style or way of life. This image or ideology is

more relevant in the case of cosmetics, clothing

etc.

On Empathy:

The media should communicate about the

product/service such that it represents a self

expression or portrays a vision of the model.

On Reorganization:

Here the marketer will advertise showing or

recognition of a situation or a person (real or

stereotype).

How to add value to group conformity:

Explore consumption habits and identify common needs.

Reference Group

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Benefits of reference group appeal:

Better communication and increased brand

awareness:

Reference group acts as the source of learning

through observation and hearing other experiences

Inform the individual about the product.

Provide opportunity for comparison of individual

thinking with group thinking.

Attract or fascinate or lure customer / individual by

highlighting or associating brand of the product with conformity

to group norms.

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and also with more data and information available

from other group members. The individual customer is

able to communicate and interact with the group. He

is able to learn more about the brand based on the

views and facts expressed by the group. This constant

interactions between the individual and group,

influences his buying behaviour and consequently

increases his awareness of the brand.

Reduces perceived risk:

On one hand the marketer is continuously and

consistently involved in trying to identify consumer

needs, her /his motives, their buying habits, behaviour

pattern and their decision making process and

accordingly manufacture and sell products matching

such needs and desires. At the same time, the

consumers also have to be convinced that the

product/service being offered to them will satisfy their

needs. There may be hesitation on the part and parcel

of the consumer to immediately accept a product as it

is because of the perceived risk associated with its

utility aspect. This perceived risk is reduced with the

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customers association with the reference group. The

group provides and shares the information about the

product with the members in an open environment.

Moreover, past or previous experience of other

members with the usage of the product brand is also

revealed. There is also group pressure to confirm to

group behavior. All these will pave the way to remove

whatsoever doubt the individual has about the product

and enables him to whole heartedly accept the

product due to reduction in perceived risk now

associated with the usage of the product.

Conclusion:

Human being by nature is gregarious {outgoing, sociable,

social, extroverted, expressive, expansive, unreserved,

companionable, convivial, and shy} and group living is one of the

most enduring features of this race. There is a natural inclination

for closely interacting with one another and this has resulted in

the emergence of a variety of social groupings, such as family,

friendship group etc. Such social grouping comprises individuals

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who are bound together in a network of relatively stable social

relationships an account of certain common goal and ideologies.

Consumer Decision Making Process:

Consumers arte interested in the purchase of goods and services,

so as to satisfy their personal social and environmental needs.

Meaning of decision making:

Almost daily all of us are involved in taking decisions related

to various aspects of our lives. Usually such decisions are taken

automatically without the involvement of any particular decision

making process.

The marketing environment has also witnessed many

changes and has become more competitive with more and more of

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these becoming buyers’ markets. It is on account of these changes

that buyers hove gotten the freedom to make a selection of an option

from two or more alternative choices.

Different views of Consumer Decision Making:

The changing environment provides the impetus

{momentum, force, impulsion, thrust, drive, forward motion, motion,

and movement} for a careful or prudent study of consumer decision

making or buyer behavior. The term ‘model’ generally refers to a

general ‘view’ or perspective as to when and why individuals behave

as they do.

An Economical view or Model:

Traditionally, economics has been considered to be

the mother discipline of marketing. Economists believe

that consumers derive some utility (a feeling of

satisfaction) from consuming a particular product and

so their consumption activity will be directed towards

pursuing maximization of utility. This is the reason

why if given a certain amount of purchasing power,

and a set of needs and tastes, a consumer will allocate

his expenditure over different products at given prices

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rationally so as to maximize utility. Economists also

postulate that the utility from the consumption of a

certain product diminishes or vulnerable as the

quantity of the product consumed increases (based on

the principle of diminishes marginal quantity}.

According to this model it is also possible to make a

number of predictions about the behavior of buyers in

terms of the price effect, income effect, and

substitution effect.

A Cognitive View or Model:

As per cognitive view consumers are involved in an

information seeking and processing method. They try

to gather all the necessary information from various

sources.

An Impulsive or Economic View of Consumer:

Very often, we as consumers are involved in

purchases by impulse or on a whim {impulse, urge,

notion, quirk, caprice, fad, and craze} for such

emotional buying, the consumer may not undergo the

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usual process of carefully searching, evaluating and

then deciding on the brand or outlet to purchase from.

For emotional or impulse purchases, in the absence of

a search for pre-purchase information, it is the mood

and feelings of the consumer which will decide on the

emotional purchase decision. Emotional decision s

could be rational to some extent also. That is, the

consumer may take an emotional decision to purchase

a product but he will be rational while deciding or

choosing one brand over another.

Brand Motives:

‘Motives’ can be a strong desire, feeling, an urge from

within, a drive, stimulus or emotion which plays role in the consumer’s

decision to purchase a product/service.

Prof.D.J.Duncan has defined “buying motives” as “those

influences or considerations which provide the impulse to buy induce

action or determine choice in the purchase of goods or services”.

Basically buying motives are of two kinds:

Product motives:

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Product is said to be a bundle of satisfaction to take care

of consumer needs and desires. The impulses, considerations,

and desires that induces a person to be positively inclined

{tending, disposed, apt, liable, prone, of a mind, learning,

sloping, slanting, tilting, orientation} to purchase a particular

product is called product motives. The product is inclusive of

the attributes color, size, attractive design, package, price etc.

which may be the reason behind a person having product

motive.

Emotional Motive:

These are those impulses which persuade a

consumer to purchase a product spontaneously

and without fore-thinking on the consequences

of the action or decision. Evaluation of the pros

and cons of the decision or logical reasoning

analysis is not behind such purchase decisions.

Here the buyer lets the heart rule over the mind.

That is, emotional product motives usually

appeal to the buyers’ sense of ego, to display his

social status, tendency to imitate other or

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convey the feeling of love and affection to close

friends and family members.

Rational Motives:

On the other hand, involves careful reasoning

and logical analysis of the intended purchase.

The buyer will work-out whether it is worthwhile

to purchase the product. He will think on the

lines-the purpose to be served by the intended

product purchase, the various alternatives

available to the buyer and so on. The buyer will

think and work-out the valid and relevant

reasons to justify the proposed purchase of the

product.

Patronage motives:

Patronage motives are categorized into two namely,

emotional patronage motives and rational patronage

motives.

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Buying Motives

Buying Motives

Product Motives

Emotional Product Motives.

Rational Product Motives.

Patronage Motives

Emotional Patronage Motives

Rational Patronage Motives

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Emotional Patronage Motives:

These are those impulses which motivate and

persuade a buyer to purchase from specific shops.

There may be no logical reasoning behind his decision

to purchase from a particular a shop. He may simply

decide to buy from his “most preferred or favorable”

shop, merely based on subjectively reasons. This is

referred to as emotional patronage motives. Here also

it may be the urge to gain social recognition or urge to

imitate others etc. which may be responsible for the

buyer developing patronage to a specific shop (s).

Rational Patronage Motives:

If a buyer solicits a particular shop after or post

following a logical reasoning of the mind, this is called

rational patronage motives. He/she may effect select a

shop because it offers a wide variety of products, or

stocks the latest designs and models or prompt

delivery or assures good after or post-sales service.

Then we can say that the buyer is influenced by

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rational patronage motives. Knowledge of the product

motives and patronage motives will help the

marketers to devise or formulate sales promotion

programmes so that the same product appeals to the

different motives of the buyers and also work-out

strategies to attract and retain patronage from many

buyers to their shops.

Buying Roles:

A big task before or in-front of the marketer is to recognize

the target buyers of the particular new product. The marketer has

to know {be acquainted with, be familiar with, be on familiar

terms with, recognize, identify, make out, discern, distinguish,

see, tell, be aware of, be knowledge about, comprehend,

appreciate, realize, grasp, get, go through, live through,

experience} who makes to buying decision for the particular

product category. Very often, most of the purchase decisions

involve a decision making unit (DMU) comprising of more than

one person. So he has to understand the role of the various

people involved in the decision making process. The person/s

involved can play either of these roles.

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Initiator:

The person who is the first to suggest or think of the

idea of purchasing a product or service.

Influencer:

A person who has influence, whose views or advice is

given weightage while taking the final decision.

Decider:

The person who finally takes the decision of whether

to buy, what to buy, how to buy, or from where to buy.

Buyer:

The person who actually buys the product.

User:

The person who make use or consumes the product or

service.

Types of Decision Making:

The decision making process varies with the type of the

product involved.

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Routinised response behaviour / Habitual buying

behaviour:

This is the simplest type of buying behaviour. This

behaviour i adopted for the purchase of low cost,

frequently purchased items. Here the buyers do not

give much thought, or search or take or lot of time to

make the purchase. The products in this class are

generally classified as low involvement goods. The

buyers are very well aware of the product class, know

the brands and also have a clear preference among

the brands. So the buyers have to very few decisions

for the purchase of such type of goods.

The marketer must ensure two tasks. Those are

The marketer must continue to provide

satisfaction to the existing customers by

maintaining quality, service and value.

He must try to attract {pull towards you, be a

magnet for, be focus for, create a center of

attention or attraction, catch the attention of,

exert to pull on, magnetize, invite, repel, appeal

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to, charm, interest, fascinate, lure, allure, draw}

new customer by making use or utilize of sales

promotion techniques like point of purchase

displays, off-price offers etc., and also introduce

new features to the products.

Limited problem solving / dissonance reducing

buying behaviour:

Here the buying behaviour is more complex as

compared to routine buying behaviour because the

consumer is confronted with an unfamiliar brand in a

familiar product class.

Here the marketer’s job is to design a communication

programme which will help the buyer to gather more

information, increase his brand comprehension and

gain confidence in the band.

Extensive problem solving / Complex buying

behaviour:

This buying referred to as a complex buying behaviour

because the consumer is in an unfamiliar product class

and

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is not clear what criteria to consider for buying.

The marketers must understand the information

gathering and evaluation activities of the prospective

consumers. They have to educate the prospective

buyers to learn about the attributes of the product

class, their relative significance and the high standing

of the marketer’s brand on the pore significant brand

attributes. In other words, the marketing

communications should aim at supplying information

and help the consumer to evaluate and feel good

his/her brand choice.

Schiffman and Kanuk’s Model of Consumer Decision

Making:

This model of consumer decision making developed by

schiffman and Kanuk is related to the problem solving consumer and to

some extent the emotional consumer model. It provides an overview of

the consumer decision making process. The model is made up of three

major components: input, process and output.

Input:

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The input component comprises of the external

influences, which are the sources of information used

to make a positive influence on the consumer’s

product related values, attitudes and behaviour. The

input component includes the marketing mix elements

i.e. the various marketing stimuli used by the

organisations and the socio-cultural environmental

factors, which will also act as a stimuli and influence

the consumer’s purchase decision.

Firm’s Marketing –mix efforts or Marketing

Stimuli:

The firms marketing stimuli will consist of the

four P’s product, price, place and promotion. The

marketers are interested in knowing how

consumers will respond to the various marketing

stimuli. These are marketing activities or efforts

to communicate the benefits of their products

and services to potential consumers. I the

absence of direct contact between the

consumers and the firm, marketers make use of

various marketing strategies and programmes to

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communicate with the prospective customers.

These may be in the form of attractive product

features site, packages, suitable prices; mass

media advertising, personal selling, direct

marketing, other sales promotion measures and

the selection of suitable distribution channels to

ensure the availability of the product at the

market place.

Inspite of all these efforts, marketers are

interested in knowing and understanding how

these marketing efforts have had an impact on

the consumers mind. To understand this better

and gauge the consumers’ behaviour, many

marketers are turning to consumer researchers.

Socio-Cultural Environment:

The socio-cultural inputs also play a major role in

influencing the consumer’s decision making

process. These social cultural environmental

factors include the family, social class, culture

and sub culture, informal sources and all the

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other non-commercial sources. Generally stated

the socio-cultural input will consist of wide range

of non-commercial influences.

Process:

The process component of the model is indicative of

the consumer decision making. This starts with the

psychological field. This refers to the psychological

factors such as motivation, perception, learning,

personality and attitudes which will determine the

consumers needs or wants, their knowledge about the

various product choices, how they gather more

information and then their evaluation of alternatives.

Need Recognition Stage:

The consumer is likely to ‘recognise a need’

when he is faced with a ‘problem’. The

need or problem recognition, among

consumers can be of varied types. Some

consumers may experience the ‘actual

state type of problem’. This may occur

when they recognize a problem in the form

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of a product and performing satisfactorily.

Another type of need or problem

recognition could be the desired state

consumer. Here the consumer may

experience the desire for something new,

which again may trigger the decision

making process.

The need or problem recognition can be

simple or complex. Simplex problem

recognition refers to needs that occur

frequently and can be dealt with almost

automatically, such as thirsty and not

having a ‘Pepsi’. Complex problem

recognition is characterized as a state,

when a problem occurs over a period of

time and the actual state and desired state

gradually moves apart.

Pre-Purchase Search Stage:

During this stage the consumer recognizing

a need that requires being satisfied, now is

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engaged in an information seeking process.

In case of having been satisfied with the

product in the past, the consumer will make

a choice without going for an extensive

search for information. On the other hand,

in case of no prior experience, the

consumer will go on elaborate information

seeking before making a particular choice.

The amount of information a consumer will

gather also depends on various situational

factors. The situational factors can be

broadly classified into three;

Experience:

This will be in relation to

whether it is a new experience

or whether the past experience

with the product has been

satisfactory or not.

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Social acceptability of the

product:

It will consider whether the

product is socially visible and

acceptable to the society.

Value related considerations:

In this the consumer will

evaluate and consider whether

the purchase is discretionary

rather than necessary, all the

possible alternatives, family

members’ assessment of

product requirements, reference

group influences and all the

possible source of information.

While being involved in a pre-purchase search,

the consumer will try to search and gather information

from all the possible known sources.

Evaluation of Alternatives Stage:

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The usual human tendency is to select a

brand from a sample of all possible brands.

The evaluation of alternatives is carried out

by using two types of information;

The evoked set

The criteria used to evaluate

each brand.

The evoked set refers to the

specific brands a consumer

considers while making a purchase

within a product category. Usually

consumers evoked set will

comprise of only few brands. Since

the evoked set will vary from

consumer to consumer, the

marketers must use promotional

techniques designed to impart a

more favorable and more relevant

product image to the target

consumer. At times this may also

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include a change in product

features or attributes.

Compensatory and Non-compensatory

Rules:

According to compensatory decision rule,

the consumer evaluates brand options in terms

of each relevant attribute and computes a

weighted or summated score for each brand. The

computed score will indicate the brands merit as

a potential purchase choice. It is assumed that

the consumer will select the brand that scores

highest among the alternatives evaluated.

Another unique feature related to the

compensatory decision rule is that it allows a

positive evaluation of a brand on one attribute to

balance out a negative evaluation on some other

attribute.

Where or while as the non-compensatory

decision rules do not aloe consumers to balance

positive evaluations of a brand on one attribute

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against a negative evaluation on some other

attribute.

Output:

The output component of the consumer decision making

is closely related or associated to two kinds of past decision

activity.

Purchase Behaviour:

The consumer may make three types f

purchases, namely; first time or trail

purchase, repeat purchases and long term

commitment purchases. When the

consumer is purchasing the product for the

first time, he or she may buy lesser

quantity than usual. This will be a trail

purchase because the consumer would

purchase the product to try it out on an

experimental basis. The consumer would

prefer to evaluate the product through

direct use in a smaller quantity, especially

when purchasing a new brand.

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If the consumer finds the new brand, after

or post the trail to be more satisfactory,

he/she is likely to repeat the purchase.

When a consumer goes for repeat

purchase, it is an indication that the

product meets the consumers approval and

that he or she is willing to purchase it again

in target quantities. Then the firm can look

forward to a long term commitment from

the purchaser.

Post-Purchase Evaluation:

There is a general tendency among

consumers to judge their experience

against their expectations when being

involved a post-purchase evaluation

process. There are three possible outcomes

of the consumers’ evaluation of the

product’s performance in light of their own

(consumers) expectations; these outcomes

are;

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Actual performance matches

expectations, leads to a neutral

feeling.

Performance of product surpasses or

exceeds expectations, which results in

positive disconfirmation of

expectations and this leads to

satisfaction.

Performance of the product falls

below expectations, causing negative

disconfirmation of expectations

leading to dissatisfaction.

A very significant component of post-

purchase evaluation is the reduction of

uncertainty or doubt that the consumer might

have regarding their selection. Generally

consumers, as a part of their post-purchase

evaluation will try to reassure themselves that

their decision was the right one. That is they try

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to reduce their post-cognitive dissonance by

adopting one of the following strategies;

They may rationalize that the decision

is a wise one.

They will look out for advertisements

to support their choice and avoid

those of competitive brands.

They may attempt to persuade friends

or neighbors to buy the same brand

and thus confirm their own choice.

They may turn to other satisfied

owners for their reassurance.

Diffusion of Innovation:

Definition:

Diffusion of Innovation is the process by which

acceptance of an innovation (new product or new service or new

idea) is spread or propagated or disseminated or by

communication (mass media, sales people, and informal

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conservation) to members of the target market over a period of

time.

Meaning:

The four basic elements innovations, channels of

communication, social system and time are included in this

definition. These are some of the areas where companies

will do always surveys before launching new products or

services. Yet, the success of the innovation is evolved

around the target customer. The diffusion of innovation or

consumers acceptance of new products will depend on the

positive response from the customer’s side. One way of

ensuring faster acceptance of the innovation will be by

educating the customers about the benefits of the new

product/service. This means with the help of mass

communication media (television, story boards, audio,

publicity, sales promotion techniques and efficient sales

personnel) the firm has to ensure that the consumer

understands and perceives the benefit offered by the new

concept or new concept.

The Innovation:

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Approaches to understand the newness of products:

Since there is no accepted definition of the term

‘product innovation’ or ‘new product’, various approaches

have been taken to define the same, which are given under

or below:

Firm Oriented:

The ‘newness’ of the product or service is perceived

from the company point of view. The company has to

always scan the environment for continuous growth

opportunities. In today’s competitive environment, the

firm has to remember the significant role of

‘Innovation or Innovative Product/Services’. But the

new innovation or new product under this approach

does not consider the newness or innovativeness of

the product from the competitors or consumers point

of view.

Product Oriented:

Under this approach, the focus is on the product-

mainly the product features. Here the emphasis is on

the product itself. All efforts will be made to change or

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modify or alter the product features and observe how

these features are likely to affect the behaviour

pattern of consumers. The change in the features may

be taken the form of:

A continuous innovation:

Here the firm may introduce a

modified version of the existing

product rather than going for a totally

new product.

Ex:

Muruthi Udyog Limited-Murthi 800,

Zen.

A dynamic continuous innovation:

Here the company will be involved in

the creation of a new product or

complete modification of an existing

product. Since the innovation will be a

dynamic innovation, the firm will be

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interested in knowing the behaviour

pattern of the consumer.

A discontinuous innovation:

Here the product may be a new

innovation, such that the consumers

will be required to adopt a new

behaviour pattern. This is to say that

the new product innovation will

change the consumers’ behaviour

pattern.

Market Oriented Approach:

Under this approach the newness of the product is

viewed form angle of the market. In other words the

‘newness’ or innovativeness of the product is judged

based on the on how much exposure consumers have

to the new innovation or new product. Here the

emphasis will be on the consumer’s reaction to the

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new product at the market lace. This is judged based

on

A product is accepted to be a new

innovation or a new product, if it has been

purchased by a relatively small but fixed

percentage of the identified potential or

target market.

A product is considered to be a ‘new’ one if

it has been available in the market for

relatively specified short period or span of

time, i.e., with regards to the time duration.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Unit I: contemporary dimensions of Consumer Behaviour, CB Research

Process. Concepts and Theories of Motivation and Personality and their

Marketing Implications. The Concept of Perception and its impact on

Marketing Strategies.

Unit II: Learning Principles and their Marketing implications; Concepts

of Conditioning, Significant Aspects of Information Processing Theory;

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Encoding and Information Retention; Retrieval of Information, Split-

Brain Theory.

Unit III: Social and Cultural Settings; Culture, Sub-Culture and Cross

Culture and Cross Culture Marketing Practices. Family Life Cycle – 1,2,3

and Reference Groups – Direct and Indirect – and Their Marketing

Implications.

Unit IV: Information Search, Evaluation of Alternatives. Steps between

Evaluation of Alternatives and Purchase Decision. Post-Purchase

Behaviour, Customer Action and Disposal of Product.

Unit V: Models of Consumer Behaviour: Modeling Behavior Traditional

Models, Contemporary Models. Generic Model of Consumer Behaviour,

Nicosia Model, Howard Sheth Model, Engel-Blackwell and Miniard

Model.

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