1. Personality and Consumer
Behavior
Module 3

2. Some Facts
 Mercedes Benz regained its market leadership in
luxury cars in India in July, powered mainly by the
demand for its „Dream car’ models- the two
door SLK and CLS and AMG range of models.
 Audi sold 705 units last month against
Mercedes tally of 810 units sold in July. BMW
India did not disclose its domestic sales.

3.  Hero MotorCorp, which exited all cricket
sponsorships including the Indian Premier
League earlier this year, is now betting on music
to connect with the youth. The top two-wheeler
maker will be presenting sponsor for
Sunburn, Asia’s biggest music festival, this
year
 Apart from Hero, other sponsors include
Budweiser and Kingfisher- all known as liquor
brands- besides energy drink Red Bull and
PepsiCo’s lime drink 7 Up.

4.  South Korean handset maker Samsung
Electronics dethroned its Finnish counterpart
Nokia as India’s largest mobile phone maker in
the last fiscal year by cornering 31.5% market
share compared with 27.2% for the latter, Voice &
Data survey revealed.
 When music channel network 9XMedia chose to
replace video jockeys with animated characters
such as Bheegi Billi, Betel Nuts and Bade Chote in
some shows, the idea was just to entertain viewers.
Today, these cartoon VJs account for more than onefifth of the network‟s revenues, with many marketers
including Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Coca-Cola and
Dabur using them to promote their products.

5. Examples
 Harley Davidson : “ We‟re all created equal. But
after that, it‟s up to you”
 Audi : “Never Follow”

6. What Is Personality
 The inner psychological characteristics that both
determine and reflect how a person responds to
his or her environment.
 The emphasis in this definition is on inner
characteristics- those specific qualities, attributes,
traits, factors, and mannerisms that distinguish
one individual from other individuals.

7. The Nature of Personailty
 Personality reflects individual differences
 Personality can change

8. Theories of Personality
 Freudian theory
 Unconscious needs or drives, are at the heart of human
motivation and personality
 Neo-Freudian personality theory
 Social relationships are fundamental to the formation
and development of personality
 Trait theory
 The orientation of trait theory is primarily quantitative or
empirical; it focuses on the measurement of personality
in terms of specific psychological characteristics, called
traits. A trait is defined as “ any distinguishing, relatively
enduring way in which one individual differs from
another.” Trait theorists are concerned with the
construction of personality tests (or inventories) that
enable them to pinpoint individual differences in terms of
specific traits.

9. Freudian Theory
 Id
 Warehouse of primitive and impulsive drives- basic
physiological needs such as thirst, hunger, and sex- for
which the individual seeks immediate satisfaction
without concern for the specific means of satisfaction.
 Superego
 Individual‟s internal expression of society‟s moral and
ethical codes of conduct. The superego‟s role is to see
that the individual satisfies needs in a socially
acceptable fashion.
 Ego
 Individual‟s conscious control. It functions as an internal
monitor that attempts to balance the impulsive demands
of the id and the sociocultural constraints of the
superego.

10. Freudian Theory and
“Product Personality”
 Researchers who apply Freud‟s psychoanalytic theory to
the study of consumer personality believe that human
drives are largely unconscious and that consumers
are primarily unaware of their true reasons for buying
what they buy.
 Consumer researchers using Freud’s personality
theory see consumer purchases and /or
consumption situations as a reflection and extension
of the consumer’s own personality.
 In other words, they consider the consumer’s
appearance and possessions- grooming, clothing,
jewelry, and so forth- as reflections of the individual’s
personality.

11. Snack Foods and Personality Traits
Potato Chips:
Ambitious, successful, high achiever, impatient
Nuts:
Easygoing, empathetic, understanding, calm, even tempered
Popcorn:
Takes charge, modest, self-confident but not a show-off

12. Neo-Freudian Personality Theory
 Neo-Freudians believed that social relationships are
fundamental to the formation and development of
Personality.
 We seek goals to overcome feelings of inferiority
 We continually attempt to establish relationships with
others to reduce tensions
 Karen Horney was interested in child-parent
relationships and the individual‟s desires to conquer
feelings of anxiety. Proposed three personality
groups
 Compliant move toward others, they desire to be
loved, wanted, and appreciated
 Aggressive refers to individuals being an extrovert
and getting noticed in all what he does
 Detached move away from others. They desire
independence, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and
individualism or freedom from obligations)

13. Trait Theory
 Personality theory with a focus on psychological
characteristics
 Trait - any distinguishing, relatively enduring way
in which one individual differs from another
 Personality is linked to how consumers make
their choices or to consumption of a broad
product category - not a specific brand. For
example, there is more likely to be a relationship
between a personality trait and whether or not an
individual owns an SUV than between a
personality trait and the brand of SUV purchased.

14.  Selected single-trait personality tests (which
measure just one trait, such as self-confidence)
are often developed specifically for use in
consumer behaviour studies. These tailor-made
personality tests measure such traits as
consumer innovativeness (how receptive a
person is to new experiences), consumer
materialism ( the degree of the consumer‟s
attachment to “worldly possessions”), and
consumer ethnocentrism (the consumer‟s
likelihood to accept or reject foreign-made
products)

15. Consumer innovativeness and
related personality traits
Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
 Consumer





Innovativeness
Dogmatism
Social character
Need for uniqueness
Optimum stimulation
level
Variety-novelty seeking
 The degree to which
consumers are
receptive to new
products, new services,
or new practices

16. A “General” Consumer
Innovativeness Scale
 I would rather stick to a brand I usually buy than




try something I am not very sure of
When I go to a restaurant, I feel it is safer to order
dishes I am familiar with.
If I like a brand, I rarely switch from it just to try
something different
I enjoy taking chances in buying unfamiliar
brands just to get some variety in my purchase.
When I see a new brand on the shelf, I‟m not
afraid of giving it a try.

17. Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
 Innovativeness
 Dogmatism
 Social character
 Need for uniqueness
 Optimum stimulation
level
 Variety-novelty seeking
 A personality trait that
reflects the degree of
rigidity (versus openness)
a person displays toward
the unfamiliar and toward
information that is contrary
to his or her own
established beliefs

18. Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
 Innovativeness
 Ranges on a continuum
 Dogmatism
from inner-directedness to
other-directedness
 Inner-directedness
 Social character
 Need for uniqueness
 Optimum stimulation level
 Variety-novelty seeking
 rely on own inner values when
evaluating products
 Innovators
 Other-directedness
 look to others for guidance as
to what is appropriate or
inappropriate

19. Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
 Innovativeness
 Dogmatism
 Social character
 Need for uniqueness
 Optimum stimulation
level
 Variety-novelty seeking
 Consumers who avoid
appearing to conform to
expectations or
standards of others

20. Sample Items from a Consumers‟ Need
for
Uniqueness Scale
1. I collect unusual products as a way of telling people
2.
3.
4.
5.
I‟m different
When products or brands I like become extremely
popular, I lose interest in them
As far as I‟m concerned, when it comes to the products
I buy and the situations in which I use them, custom
and rules are made to be broken
I have sometimes purchased unusual products or
brands as a way to create a more distinctive personal
image
I avoid products or brands that have already been
accepted and purchased by the average consumer

21. Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
 Innovativeness
 A personality trait that
 Dogmatism
measures the level or
amount of novelty or
complexity that individuals
seek in their personal
experiences
 High OSL consumers are
linked with greater
willingness to take risks, to
try new products, to be
innovative, to seek
 Social character
 Need for uniqueness
 Optimum stimulation level
 Variety-novelty seeking

22. Consumer Innovators
And Noninnovators
 Innovativeness
 Measures a consumer‟s
 Dogmatism
degree of variety seeking
 Examples include:
 Social character
 Need for uniqueness
 Optimum stimulation
level
 Variety-novelty seeking
 Exploratory Purchase
Behavior
 Use Innovativeness
 Vicarious Exploration

23. Exploratory Purchase behaviour: Switching
brands to experience new, different, and possibly
better alternatives.
Vicarious Exploration: Securing information about
a new or different alternative and then
contemplating or even daydreaming about the
option.
Use Innovativeness: Using an already adopted
product in a new or novel way.

24. Cognitive Personality Factors
 Need for cognition (NC)
 A person‟s craving for or enjoyment of thinking
 Individual with high NC more likely to be responsive
to the part of an ad that is rich in product-related
information or description, consumers who are
relatively low in NC are more likely to be attracted to
the background or peripheral aspects of an ad, such
as an attractive model or well-known celebrity.
 Visualizers versus verbalizers
 A person‟s preference for information presented
visually or verbally. Visualizers are consumers who
prefer visual information.
 Verbalizers prefer written or verbal information over
graphics and images.

27. Norwegian Cruise
+

28. 28

29. 29

30. From Consumer Materialism to
Compulsive Consumption
 Consumer materialism
 Materialism, as a personality-like trait, distinguishes
between individuals who regard possessions as
essential to their identities and their lives and those
for whom possessions are secondary.
 Fixated consumption behavior
 Somewhere between materialism and compulsion,
with respect to buying or possessing objects, is the
notion of being fixated with regard to consuming or
possessing.
 Fixated consumers do not keep their objects or
purchases of interest a secret; rather, they
frequently display them, and their involvement is
openly shared with others who have a similar
interest.

31. Sample Items from a Materialism
Scale
 Success
 I admire people who own expensive homes, cars,
and clothes
 I like to own things that impress people
 Centrality
 I like a lot of luxury in my life
 Happiness
 My life would be better if I owned certain things I
don‟t have
 It sometimes bothers me quite a bit that I can‟t
afford to buy all the things I‟d like

32.  Compulsive consumption behavior
 “Addicted” or “out-of-control” consumers
 Consumers who are compulsive have an addiction;
in some respects they are out of control, and their
actions may have damaging consequences to them
and to those around them. Examples of compulsive
consumption problems are uncontrollable shopping,
gambling, drug addiction, alcoholism, and various
food and eating disorders.
 To control or possibly eliminate such compulsive
problems generally requires some type of therapy
or clinical treatment.

33. Sample Items from Scales to measure
Compulsive Buying
1. When I have money, I cannot help but spend
part or the whole of it.
2. I am often impulsive in my buying behavior.
3. As soon as I enter a shopping center, I have an
irresistible urge to go into a shop to buy
something.
4. I have often bought a product that I did not
need, while knowing I had very little money
left.
Copyright 2007 by Prentice
Hall

34. Consumer Ethnocentrism
 Ethnocentric consumers feel it is wrong to purchase
foreign-made products because of the resulting
economic impact on the domestic economy, whereas
nonethnocentric consumers tend to evaluate foreignmade products-ostensibly more objectively- for their
extrinsic characteristics (e.g., “how good are they?”).
A portion of the consumers would score low on an
ethnocentric scale are actually likely to be quite
receptive to products made in foreign countries.
 Marketers successfully target ethnocentric consumers in
any national market by stressing a nationalistic theme in
their promotional appeals (e.g., “Made in America “ or
“Made in France”) because this segment is predisposed to
buy products made in their native land.

35.  Honda, the Japanese automaker, in an indirect
appeal to ethnocentric Americans, had advertised
that its Accord wagon is “Exported from
America” to other markets

37. The Consumer Ethnocentrism Scale
-CETSCALE
 American people should always buy American





made products instead of imports
Only those products that are unavailable in the
United States should be imported
Buy American – made products. Keep America
working
American products, first, last, and foremost
Purchasing foreign-made products is unAmerican
It is not right to purchase foreign products,
because it puts Americans out of jobs
A real American should always buy American-

38. Brand Personality
 Personality-like traits associated with brands
 Examples
 Perdue (chickens) and freshness
 Nike and athlete
 BMW is performance driven
 Levi‟s jeans are dependable and rugged

39.  Brand personification: It tries to recast
consumers‟ perception of the attributes of a
product or service into a human-like character.
 Example: Mr. Coffee, a popular brand of automatic-
drip coffee makers, unexpectedly found in its focus
group research that consumers were referring to Mr.
Coffee as if the product were a person (e.g., “he
makes good coffee” and “ he‟s got a lot of different
models and prices”). After careful consideration, the
marketers decided to explore the possibility of
creating a brand personification. Initial consumer
research indicated that Mr. Coffee was seen as
being “dependable,” “Friendly”, “efficient”,
“intelligent”, and “smart”.

41. A Brand Personality Framework
Copyright 2007 by Prentice
Hall

42.  Product Personality Issues
 Gender
 Often used for brand personalities
 Chinese consumers perceived coffee and
toothpaste to be masculine products, whereas
bath soap and shampoo were seen as feminine
products.
 Geography
 Example includes Philadelphia cream cheese
and Arizona iced tea
 By employing geography in the product‟s name,
the product‟s manufacturer creates a
geographic personality for the product

45. Marketers
often use a
fictitious
location to
help with
personality.

46.  Color
 Color combinations in packaging and products
denotes personality. For instance, Coca-Cola is
associated with red, which connotes excitement.
Yellow is associated with novelty, and black
frequently connotes sophistication. Blue is
associated with respect, authority and Green is
associated with secure, natural, relaxed
 The IBM Thinkpad has consistently used an all-back
case with a red button to house its very successful
line of laptops. Nike has used black, white, and a
touch of red for selected models of its sports shoes.
This colour combination seems to imply advancedperformance sports shoes. Many fast food restaurants
use combination of bright colours like red, yellow and
blue for their roadside signs and interior designs. It
denotes fast service and inexpensive food.

52. Financial Services Firms Often Feature
Blue and Green on Their Sites

53. Self and Self-Image
 Consumers have a variety of enduring images of
themselves
 These self-images, or perceptions of self, are
very closely associated with personality in that
individuals tend to buy products and services and
patronize retailers whose images or personalities
relate in some meaningful way to their own selfimages.

54. Issues Related to
Self and Self-Image
 One or multiple
selves
 Makeup of the selfimage
 Extended self
 Altering the selfimage
 A single consumer will act
differently in different
situations or with different
people

55. Issues Related to
Self and Self-Image
 One or multiple
 Contains traits, skills, habits,
selves
 Makeup of the self image
 Extended self
 Altering the selfimage
possessions, relationships and
way of behavior
 Developed through
background, experience ,and
interaction with others
 Consumers select products
congruent with this image

56. Different Self-Images
Actual SelfImage
Ideal Social
Self-Image
Ideal Self-Image
Social Self-Image

57. Issues Related to
Self and Self-Image
 One or multiple
selves
 Makeup of the selfimage
 Extended self
 Altering the selfimage
 The interrelationship between
consumers‟ self-images and
their possessions is an exciting
topic. Specifically, consumer‟s
posessions can be seen to
confirm or extend their selfimages. For instance,
acquiring a desired or
sought-after pair of “vintage”
Levi jeans might serve to
expand a teenager‟s image
of self. The teenager might

58. Sample Items from an Extended
Self-Survey
 My -------- holds a special place in my life
 My -------- is central to my identity
 I feel emotionally attached to my …………
 My ----------helps me narrow the gap between
what I am and try to be
 If my -------- was stolen from me, I would feel as if
part of me is missing
 I would be a different person without my ----------

59. Issues Related to
Self and Self-Image
 One or multiple
selves
 Makeup of the selfimage
 Extended self
 Altering the self
 Sometimes consumers wish
to change themselves to
become a different or
improved self. Clothing,
grooming aids or cosmetics,
and all kinds of accessories (
such as sunglasses, jewelry,
tattoos, or even colored
contact lenses) offer
consumers the opportunity to
modify their appearances (to