Ch5 Self Image and Personality

One debate about the nature of personality and personality traits is the questions about

"Nature vs. Nurture". How much of our personality is innate and how much of it is acquired or influenced by our environment?

Inner-Directedness vs. Other-Directedness:

*Idiocentric (Inner-Directedness): Individuals who have an individualist orientation Product features focus, Innovators *Allocentrics (Other- Directedness): Individuals who have a group orientation Social context focus

General Personality Traits : Cognitive Factors

*Need for Cognition: A person's craving for enjoyment of thinking -Individual with high NFC =more likely to respond to ads rich in product information -Think through purchase decisions more thoroughly *VISUALIZERS (prefer visual information) vs. VERBALIZERS (prefer verbal information)

TRAIT APPROACH TO PERSONALITY

*Understands consistent tendencies to respond to a given situation in certain ways *People share similar traits but express them at different levels and different combinations => Different Personalities

*Why the TRAIT APPROACH is Useful for Marketers:

*Useful for Marketers: Ability to analyze market segments

Symbols are LEARNED ASSOCIATIONS between two or more entities, we learn to GIVE MEANING to certain entities (whether a product, a color, a logo...)

- You buy products that are consistent with your actual self-image because of the self-consistency motive - Self-esteem motives drive the consumption of products and services that symbolize the ideal self -Usually, people do not consume products that contradict with their social self-image because of social consistency motives -Social approval motives drive consumers to use products that represent their ideal self-image - how they would like to be perceived

Consumers have a variety of enduring images of themselves

-Consumers have a variety of enduring images of themselves -These images are tied to their personality and affect their consumption behavior

EXCITEMENT

-Daring -Spirited -Imaginative -Up-to-date

SINCERITY

-Down-to-earth -Honest -Wholesome -Cheerful

RUGGEDNESS

-Outdoorsy -Tough

COMPETENCE

-Reliable -Intelligent -Successful

Consumer Innovativeness:

-The degree to which a consumer is open to new ideas -Tendency to be among the first to purchase new products

STATE APPROACH TO PERSONALITY

-Understands the individual in the context of the whole -Predict what a person will do in a given situation

SOPHISTICATION

-Upper Class -Charming

Other-directed individuals

...gravitate to ads that that show approving social environment rather than product information - they want to look to others to understand how to act or be accepted

Inner-directed people

...prefer ads that stress product features. They are more likely to be innovators.

General Personality Traits: New Product/Innovation Related -These 3 traits are very important for marketers of New Products! These characteristics help determine the LIKELIHOOD of adoption of a new product for an individual. -They are also related to a Consumption Specific Personality Trait: CONSUMER INNOVATIVENESS

1. DOGMATISM 2. TOLERANCE OF AMBIGUITY 3. NEED FOR UNIQUENESS - Consumers who avoid conforming to expectations or standards of others 4. OSL

**SYMBOLIC CONSUMPTION** & HUMAN NEEDS BRAND IMAGE =>

1. UTILITARIAN/ FUNCTIONAL ATTRIBUTES 2. EXPERIENTIAL/AESTHETIC ATTRIBUTES 3. **VALUE-EXPRESSIVE**/ SYMBOLIC ATTRIBUTES

Optimum Stimulation Level (OSL): Sensation Seeking, Variety or Novelty Seeking

=Desire to explore the environment and seek stimulation *High OSL consumers tend to accept risky and novel products more readily than low OSL consumers

PERSONALITY

A person's unique psychological makeup and how it consistently influences the way a person responds to the environment

One or Multiple Selves: Marketers can target products to a particular "self"

A single consumer will act differently in different situations or with different people We have a variety of social roles => Multiple Selves Daughter, athlete, friend, student, and so on

TOLERANCE OF AMBIGUITY

Acceptance of uncertainty *Low TA: Shopping around and search for information

Product-Specific Self-Efficacy

Belief in own performance capability or competence in relation to a product category

Brand personality can be tied to many successful brands. -If the personality is favorable and strong, it will strengthen the brand and lead to a more favorable attitude, brand preference, higher purchase intention, and brand loyalty. -In addition, in commodity category, detergent for example, it can help differentiate a brand ("it's the one with the Snuggly Teddy Bear")

Brand Personality Framework: 1. Sincerity 2. Excitement 3. Competence 4. Sophistication 5. Ruggedness

Introversion vs. Extraversion

Concerned with one's own mental life Seeking gratification from outside the self Extraverts seek stimulation from the environment, enjoy social activities... Introverts enjoy solitary activities: video games, drawing, reading...

Product-Specific Self-Confidence

Confident about decisions regarding a product category

Working on the Body

Cosmetic Surgery: Consumers are increasingly electing to have cosmetic surgery to change a poor body image or enhance appearance Body piercings and tattoos are other ways of self-expression

DOGMATISM

Degree of rigidity a person displays toward the unfamiliar and toward information that is contrary to his or her own established beliefs Less receptive to new or unfamiliar stimuli, less likely to try new products, prefers ads with celebrities or experts

VALUE EXPRESSIVE NEEDS

EXPRESSION OF ONE'S SELF

Product-Specific Involvement

Emotional involvement in a particular product class or category

*Limitation OF STATE APPROACH :

Examines individuals, not groups or market segments

Technology Anxiety

Fear, apprehension, and hope when considering or actually using technology, ex: computers

EXPERIENTIAL NEEDS

HAVING A HEDONIC SENSORY STIMULATING EXPERIENCE

Personality stems from

Heredity, Childhood Experiences, and other Social and Environmental Influences

Self-Consciousness is ________: Use products to convey an appropriate self-image

High awareness of self

Ideal Self-Image

How consumer would like to see themselves => SELF ESTEEM MOTIVE

Social Self-Image

How consumers feel others see them => SOCIAL CONSISTENCY MOTIVE

Actual Self-Image

How consumers see themselves => SELF CONSISTENCY MOTIVE

Ideal Social Self-Image

How consumers would like others to see them => SOCIAL APPROVAL MOTIVE

Body Image:

How people view their bodies, physical selves, appearance

Also important is ideal body image:

How people would like their bodies to be

General Personality Traits : SOCIAL FACTORS

INTROVERSION VS. EXTRAVERSION Extraverts are outgoing and socially active. To market to extraverts, use positive appeals that evoke feelings of warmth. INNER-DIRECTEDNESS VS. OTHER-DIRECTEDNESS This personality trait has its origins in sociological research but it is of great interest to marketers because it differentiates the type of advertising that influences these customers.

Need for Cognition (NFC)

Individuals with a high need for cognition like to think and solve puzzles. NFC is an important factor in explaining variations in response to advertisements.

The Market Maven Type:

Likes to shop and has information about many kinds of products and places to shop

Consumption-Specific Personality Traits -Best Targets!

Marketers of new products should target consumers considered market mavens, high on innovativeness, and opinion leaders and expose them to their new products. Doing so is likely to facilitate the diffusion of these new products in the marketplace because they are the first to adopt products and they help spreading the word! 1. MARKET MAVEN TYPE 2. CONSUMER INNOVATIVENESS 3. OPINION LEADERSHIP

BRAND IMAGE =

OVERALL VISION OR POSITION OF THE BRAND IN CONSUMER'S MIND -consumers give meaning to brands/products... -consumers use brands that are related to forms of the self, WHICH CAN EXPRESS THEIR OWN SELF-IMAGE [Value-Expressive Need]

BRAND PERSONALITY

PERSONALITY-LIKE TRAITS ASSOCIATED WITH BRANDS -Competitive, Strong, Reliable...

The actual and ideal self-image are related to the ______ self,

PRIVATE SELF

The social and ideal social self-image are related to the ____ self.

PUBLIC SELF

Self-Esteem is ____: Affects product preferences, pricing sensitivity, shopping habits, and media habits

Positive feeling about self People with high self-esteem generally feel positive about themselves while people with low self-esteem don't. Sara Lee found that consumers with low self-esteem felt they lacked self-control and consequently preferred portion-controlled packages.

Consumption-Specific Personality Trait affects the consumer only in situations related to consumption

Product innovativeness, Product-specific self-efficacy

CONSUMPTION-SPECIFIC PERSONALITY TRAITS

Product-Specific SELF-EFFICACY Product-Specific SELF-CONFIDENCE Product-Specific INVOLVEMENT TECHNOLOGY ANXIETY

UTILITARIAN NEEDS

SOLVING A PROBLEM

People consume products and services that symbolize in some way, one form of the self: This is called ______.

SYMBOLIC CONSUMPTION

*Limitations of TRAIT APPROACH:

Scale reliability & validity; tendency not behavior

GENERAL PERSONALITY TRAITS

Self-Esteem, Self-Consciousness, Self-Monitoring

General Personality Trait affects an individual across a range of situations

Self-confidence, Shyness, Aggressiveness

Two approaches to studying personality:

State vs. Trait: A STATE is situation dependent - can change, ex: Happiness A TRAIT is characteristic of the individual and does not change in different situations, ex: Pessimism

Self-Monitoring is _____: Perceives high risk in all products that can have socially adverse effects

Tendency to self-monitor in social situations

Self-image is the configuration or collection of beliefs one has about the self or related to the self.

There are different self-images that have been recognized in consumer behavior. They all deal with the ACTUAL IMAGE of an individual and the IDEAL or expected IMAGE of that same person. Many consumers will purchase products to MEET THE GAP between their actual and ideal selves.

BODY IMAGE *Consumers buy products related to positive feelings --Body cathexis --Buying more products related to positive parts, ex: Hair *Consumers want to "correct" problems that make them feel negative

There is contradictory behavior when it comes to consumers and body image. *Consumers focus on their problem areas to fix them, but they are more likely to buy products associated with body parts that they are *satisfied with. For example, if someone is dissatisfied with their weight but they are satisfied with their hair, they are more likely to buy and be involved in hair products rather than clothes.

To understand multiple selves, think of the way you present yourself and think about yourself at a formal university function (career fair perhaps) vs. a party with good friends. Next, think of the clothing you would purchase for these events. It would likely be very different as you are presenting a different "self" at each event.

This is very similar to the Consumption Situation and how it affect behavior but in this case the behavior is guided by internal factors that make up the self (how we view ourselves as son, athlete, student, parent..., how others view us...)

Symbolic Consumption of Brands is related to ______ needs.

VALUE-EXPRESSIVE

Brands also symbolize certain meanings and these meanings create the Brand image in the consumer's mind.

We consume brands related to a form of the self => it is important to understand Brand Image and Brand Personality (the meanings we give to brands)

Opinion Leadership:

Well versed (expert) in a product category -Motivated to "spread the word", works best for diffusion of tech innovations

Personality affects

choice of activities, political outlook, aesthetic tastes...

Body cathexis

—being satisfied with a body part