Attitudes and Consumer Behaviour

Lecture 8 covered chapter 7 on attitudes and consumer behavior. Attitudes were described as a general evaluations that lasts about a subject. Therefore, people can form an attitude about other people, about objects, advertisements and issues. Most importantly, these formed attitudes affect what people consume.

A theory that incorporates attitudes that was discussed was cognitive dissonance. A consumer can develop cognitive dissonance when they are exposed to either an advertisement or a product that evokes conflicting attitudes. Thereafter, the consumer will attempt to resolve the conflict by counter-arguing or stopping the behavior.

An example that can be found in society would be the hummer advertisement below.

As we can see, this advertisement can cause cognitive dissonance because someone can have a negative attitude toward the lack of the fuel economy and have a positive attitude toward the horsepower and the status that the hummer incorporates upon purchase. Therefore, in order to resolve the dissonance the consumer would either need to counter-argue or stop feeling that fuel economy is an important decision factor.

Additionally, the theory of post-purchase dissonance was discussed. Post-purchase dissonance is the feeling of lack of commitment after the purchase of a product.

An example that occurred a couple years ago for me was when I purchased a Honda civic similar to the picture below.

The reason that the post-purchase dissonance occurred was because having a two-door vehicle causes the insurance to double compared to the four-door model. However, every time I start to think that I should have purchased the four-door model, I simply remind myself of how much fun it is to drive a standard two door while I am young and do not have kids.

Finally, it is important to understand how attitudes can affect consumer behaviour because it can help people understand and reduce the dissonance they fell upon selecting and purchasing a product.

Thank you,

Tarah Whissell

Picture Sources:

"2007 Honda Civic Consumer Reviews." Edmunds. Web. 13 Nov. 2014. <http://www.edmunds.com/honda/civic/2007/consumer-reviews/>.

"Thirsty Hummer." Greenwashing Index. 29 Oct. 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://www.greenwashingindex.com/thirsty-hummer/>.

Society Members Self-Concept and Consumer Behaviour

On October 14^th the lecture discussed “The self” therefore topics such as the ideal self, actual self and self-concept were linked to consumer behaviors in society. Simply stated, the ideal self is who we would like to be compared to the actual self that focuses on the qualities that we currently have. Therefore, products that members of society consume can assist in attaining an ideal self or remaining consistent with the actual self.

The self-concept is a very broad theory as there are many variables involved in identify one’s self. Therefore, for the simplicity of this task, I will focus on groups that distinguish certain members of society.

The group that I decided to focus on was members of a gym such as goodlife fitness. Therefore, gym members typically will have an ideal self as being strong, energetic, at their fitness goals and eat a healthy diet. However, the actual self-concept for some gym members might be that have some lazy moments, they may cheat on their diet and they do not have their highest amount of strength and energy.

Here are examples of products that gym members can consume that will help them attain the ideal self:

Therefore many members of society who associate with being part of a gym will try to obtain an ideal self by consuming products that allow them to reach their goals.

However, there are products that gym members consume to remain consistent with their actual self:

Some gym members may not have the will power to only consume products that will help them obtain their ideal self. Therefore, products such as nutella can often be consumed. 

Thank you,

Tarah Whissell

Image References:

"Nutella Celebrates Morning Rituals with First Campaign by BMF - MUmBRELLA." MUmBRELLA. Web. 3 Nov. 2014. <http://mumbrella.com.au/nutella-celebrates-morning-rituals-with-first-campaign-by-bmf-109189>.

"Healthy Food-pyramid - Healthiest Food to Eat." Fashionsunrisecom RSS. Web. 3 Nov. 2014. <http://fashionsunrise.com/what-are-the-healthiest-food-to-eat-daily/healthy-food-prymid-july-9-2012/>.

Jungian Theory and Consumer Behaviour

On October 21^st, the consumer behavior lecture involved discussing how values, lifestyles and personality affect the daily consuming behavior of members of society.

This lecture content led to the Jungian theory of analytical psychology and archetypes. Basically, analytical psychology discusses how our past generational experiences and culture shape members of society. Additionally, archetypes are shared memories and themes. The members of our current society are frequently exposed to advertisements that shape consuming behavior. However, some of these advertisements use strategies such as archetypes in order influence some of these members of society to consume the product.

As an example: This 2009 Ford F-150 commercial demonstrates the use of Jungian Theory in society. 

During the video, they have actors who represent the ideal customer. These target consumers are mainly male, wear work boots and look like they use their truck to carry work supplies daily. The truck itself is demonstrating it’s handling for all types of tasks such as pulling a trailer or traveling in rough terrain.  The commercial demonstrates both the warrior and destroyer archetypes. The warrior archetype represents power, confidence and heroism. A subliminal message that the commercial is demonstrating would be that the consumer who drives an F-150 would be a warrior. The destroyer archetype represents destruction, anger and aggressiveness; this archetype is found in the use of the vehicle for the consumer. Therefore, the message of this advertisement would appeal to consumers through the use of archetypes found in our society. 

Thank you,

Tarah Whissell

Video Citations:

"F-150 Way Of Life." YouTube. YouTube, 4 Nov. 2008. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhEkVakVWFE>.

Reflexion on Sensations and Consumer Behaviour

Hello,

In class and during the required readings there has been discussion that sensations have an impact on consumer behaviour. Therefore, I will further discuss how everyones five senses play a role in our daily lives by describing my analytical experience at the Cineplex movie theatre.

The five senses are of course the sense of smell, sight, sound, taste and touch. The main senses that I focused on during the experiment at Cineplex were the sense of smell, sight and sound. The sense of smell has the ability to stir up emotions and can also have a triggering affect on our ability to recall past memories. Furthermore, the sense of sight has the ability to see colours which subsequently can induce moods and emotion. Finally, the tempo of sounds can affect behaviour.

Previously, when I have gone to the movie theatre, I have a tendency to bring snack foods with me therefore I simply purchase my ticket and bypass all the stands and games to go straight to my seat. Therefore, upon arriving at the movie theatre entrance with an analytical mentality, you realize the mass range of advertising from upcoming movies to the variety of foods sold at the concession stand. At this particular cineplex, all of the walls and carpeting were very dark therefore causing my attention to be drawn to the luminous concession stand and advertising. Additionally, the concession stand was strategically placed in the middle of the building creating the inability of customers to head to their seats without having to pass by the crowded lineups. Although, what happened to be more overwhelming than the right was actually the smell of popcorn that hits you like a wall when you enter. However, this smell is not quite the same as when I make popcorn at home because I usually do not cover the top layer with liquid melted butter… Finally, my sense of sound was directed towards the arcade area as it was the only area with high tempo music.

In order for you to be able to stimulate your visual senses of an experience at Cineplex, I have posted a picture of a Cineplex from Google below:

After my experience at the Cineplex, I wanted to dig a little bit deeper to find some specialists opinions on sensations and consumer behaviour. The globe and mail led to me come across the quote below:

“Scent affects mood and scent affects emotion,” says Kevin Bradford, a marketing professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. “It works without you having the opportunity to filter it. To me, that is extremely unethical.”

I find that Kevin Bradford puts an interesting perspective on scent marketing. As an avid consumer, the idea that sensations can trigger subconscious emotions that we cannot filter is unsettling. However, hopefully sharing this knowledge will allow the realization upon exposure that we should make rational purchasing decisions.

Thank you,

Tarah Whissell

Sources:

Lewis, Carly. "When scent crosses the ethical line." The Globe and Mail. N.p., 10 Sept. 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/fashion-and-beauty/beauty/when-scent-crosses-the-ethical-line/article20517586/>.

Trial #1 - Introduction

Hello everyone,

My goal for this consumption journal task is to conduct discussions on interesting topics throughout the term as it is a task that I must accomplish for my Consumer Behaviour class.

Throughout the next couple of months, I will relate something that I have come across during my everyday life to a topic that was presented in one of my consumer behaviour classes.

Thank you,

Tarah Whissell