Consumer Personality

What is Personality?

The inner psychological characteristics that

both determine and reflect how a person
responds to his or her environment.
 The Nature of Personality

Personality reflects individual differences

Personality is consistent and enduring
Personality can change
 Theories of Personality

Freudian theory
Unconscious needs or drives are at the heart of
human motivation
Neo-Freudian personality theory
Social relationships are fundamental to the
formation and development of personality
Trait theory
Quantitative approach to personality as a set of
psychological traits
 Freudian Theory

Id
Warehouse of primitive (ancient) needs for which individual
seeks immediate satisfaction
Superego
Individual’s internal expression of society’s moral and
ethical codes of conduct
Ego
Individual’s conscious control that balances the demands of
the id and superego
 A Representation of the Interrelationships
among the Id, Ego, and Superego

Gratification ID EGO
System 1 System 3

SUPEREG
O
System 2
 Freudian Theory and
“Product Personality”
Consumer researchers using Freud’s
personality theory see consumer purchases as
a reflection and extension of the consumer’s
own personality
 Snack Food Personality Traits

Potato Chips:
Ambitious, successful, high achiever, impatient (annoyed)

Tortilla Chips:
Perfectionist, high expectations, punctual, conservational

Pretzels:
Lively, easily bored, flirtatious, intuitive

Snack Crackers:
Rational, logical, contemplative, shy, prefers time alone
 Horney’s CAD Theory

Using the context of child-parent

relationships, individuals can be classified
into:
Compliant individuals
Aggressive individuals
Detached (separate) individuals
Compliant (in One who desires to be
compliance) loved, wanted, and
Personality appreciated by others.
 One who moves against
Aggressive others (e.g., competes
Personality with others, desires to
excel and win admiration).
 One who moves away
from others (e.g., who
Detached
desires independence, self-
Personality
sufficiency, and freedom
from obligations).
 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
 Personality Traits and Consumer
Innovativeness Innovators
Optimum
Dogmatism stimulation level
Social Character Variety-novelty
seeking
Need for uniqueness
 The degree to which
Consumer consumers are receptive
Innovativeness to new products, new
services or new practices.
 A personality trait that
reflects the degree of rigidity
a person displays toward the
Dogmatism unfamiliar and toward
information that is contrary
to his or her own established
beliefs.
 Dogmatism

Consumers low in dogmatism (open-minded)

are more likely to prefer innovative products
to established or traditional alternatives
Highly dogmatic consumers tend to be more
receptive to ads for new products or services
that contain an appeal from an authoritative
figure
 Social Character
Inner-Directed Other-Directed
Consumers who tend to Consumers who tend to
rely on their own inner look to others for
values direction
More likely to be Less likely to be
innovators innovators
Tend to prefer ads that Tend to prefer ads that
stress product features feature social acceptance
and benefits
 Consumers who avoid
appearing to
Need for Conform (being conventional)
Uniqueness to
expectations or
standards of others.
 A personality trait that measures
the level or amount of novelty
Optimum (innovation) or complexity that
individuals seek in their personal
Stimulation experiences. High OSL
Levels (OSL) consumers tend to accept risky
and novel products more readily
than low OSL consumers.
 A personality trait characterized by
the need for varied, novel, and
Sensation complex sensations and
Seeking (SS) experience, and the willingness to
take physical and social risks for
the sake of such experience.
 A personality trait similar to OSL,
which measures a consumer’s
Variety- degree to variety seeking
Novelty Examples:
Seeking •Exploratory Purchase Behavior

•Use Innovativeness
 Cognitive Personality Factors

Need for cognition

A person’s craving (passion) for enjoyment of
thinking to use a product.
Visualizes versus verbalizes
A person’s preference for information presented
visually or verbally.
i.e. TV, Internet
Radio
 Need for Cognition (NC)

Consumers high in NC are more likely to

respond to ads rich in product-related
information
Consumers low in NC are more likely to be
attracted to background or peripheral aspects
of an ad
 From Consumer Materialism to
Compulsive Consumption
Consumer materialism
The extent to which a person is considered
“materialistic”
Fixed consumption behavior
Consumers fixated on certain products or
categories of products
Compulsive consumption behavior
“Addicted” or “out-of-control” consumers
 Materialistic People

Value acquiring and showing-off possessions

Are particularly self-centered and selfish
Seek lifestyles full of possessions
Have many possessions that do not lead to
greater happiness
 Fixated Consumption Behavior

Consumers have
a deep interest in a particular object or product
category
a willingness to go to considerable lengths to
secure items in the category of interest
the dedication of a considerable amount of
discretionary (optional, flexible) time and money
to searching out the product
Examples: collectors, hobbyists
 Consumers who are
compulsive buyers have an
Compulsive addiction; in some respects,
they are out of control and
Consumption their actions may have
Behavior damaging consequences to
them and to those around
them.
 Consumer Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentric consumers feel it is wrong to

purchase foreign-made products
They can be targeted by stressing nationalistic
themes
 Brand Personality

Personality-like traits associated with brands

Volvo - safety
Nike - the athlete
BMW - performance
Levi’s 501 - (rough, harsh)
 A Brand Personality Framework

Brand
Personality

Sincerity Excitement Competence Sophistication Ruggedness

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

earth •Spirited •Intelligent •Charming •Tough

• Honest •Imaginative •Successful

• Wholesome •Up-to-date

• Cheerful
 The Personality-like Associations of
Selected Colors
Commands respect, • IBM holds the title to blue
authority • Associated with club soda
• Men seek products packaged in blue
BLUE
• Houses painted blue are avoided
• Low-calorie, skim milk
• Coffee in a blue can be perceived as “mild”

Caution, novelty, • Eyes register it faster

temporary, warmth • Coffee in yellow can be perceived as “weak”
YELLOW • Stops traffic
• Sells a house
Secure, natural, • Good work environment
relaxed or easy • Associated with vegetables and chewing gum
GREEN going, living things • Canada Dry ginger ale sales increased when it
changed sugar-free package from red to green
and white
 …..continued
Human, exciting, hot, • Makes food “smell” better
passionate, strong • Coffee in a red can be perceived as “rich”
RED • Women have a preference for bluish red
• Men have a preference for yellowish red
• Coca-Cola “owns” red

Powerful, affordable, • Draws attention quickly

ORANGE informal
Informal and relaxed, • Coffee in a dark-brown can was “too strong”
BROWN masculine, nature • Men seek products packaged in brown
Goodness, purity, • Suggests reduced calories
chastity, cleanliness, • Pure and wholesome food
WHITE delicacy, refinement, • Clean, bath products, feminine
formality
Sophistication, power, • Powerful clothing
BLACK authority, mystery • High-tech electronics

SILVER, Regal, wealthy, stately • Suggests premium price

GOLD
 Different Self-Images
Actual Self-
Ideal Self-Image
Image

Ideal Social
Social Self-Image
Self-Image

Expected
Self-Image
Possessions Act as Self-Extensions

By allowing the person to do things that

otherwise would be very difficult
By making a person feel better
By conferring status or rank
By bestowing feelings of immortality
By endowing with magical powers
 Virtual Personality

Online individuals have an opportunity to try on

different personalities
Virtual personalities may result in different
purchase behavior
 Sample Items - Materialism
SUCCESS
The things I own say a lot about how well I’m doing in life.
I don’t place much emphasis on the amount of material objects
people own as a sign of success.a
I like to own things that impress people.
CENTRALITY
I enjoy spending money on things that aren’t practical.
I try to keep my life simple, as far as possessions are concerned.a
Buying things gives me a lot of pleasure.
HAPPINESS
I’d be happier if I could afford to buy more things.
I have all the things I really need to enjoy life.a
It sometimes bothers me quite a bit that I can’t afford to buy all the
things I’d like.
 Sample Items 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 am one of those people who often responds to
direct mail offers.
5. I have often bought a product that I did not need,
while knowing I had very little money left.
 Sample Items 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 am one of those people who often responds to
direct mail offers.
5. I have often bought a product that I did not need,
while knowing I had very little money left.
 Sample Items 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 am one of those people who often responds to
direct mail offers.
5. I have often bought a product that I did not need,
while knowing I had very little money left.
Thank You!