{"id":454,"date":"2014-11-15T23:00:39","date_gmt":"2014-11-15T23:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/principlesmktg1x2kscope\/?post_type=chapter&p=454"},"modified":"2019-06-25T12:20:05","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T12:20:05","slug":"psychological-factors-that-influence-buying-behavior","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/oakwood-principlesofmarketing\/chapter\/psychological-factors-that-influence-buying-behavior\/","title":{"raw":"Buying Behaviors: Psychological Factors","rendered":"Buying Behaviors: Psychological Factors"},"content":{"raw":"

Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n
    \r\n\t
  1. Explain what marketing professionals can do to influence consumers\u2019 behavior.<\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Explain how Maslow\u2019s hierarchy of needs works.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
    \r\n
    \r\n

    Motivation<\/h2>\r\nMotivation<\/span><\/span> is the inward drive we have to get what we need. In the mid-1900s, Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, developed the hierarchy of needs shown in Figure 3.4 \"Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy of Needs\".\r\n
    \r\n\r\n\"\"<\/a>Maslow theorized that people have to fulfill their basic needs\u2014food, water, and sleep\u2014before they can begin fulfilling higher-level needs. Have you ever gone shopping when you were tired or hungry? Even if you were shopping for something that would make you the envy of your friends (maybe a new car) you probably wanted to sleep or eat even more. (Forget the car. Just give me a nap and a candy bar.)\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe need for food is recurring. Other needs, such as shelter, clothing, and safety, tend to be enduring. Still other needs arise at different points in time in a person\u2019s life. For example, during grade school and high school, your social<\/em> needs probably rose to the forefront. You wanted to have friends and get a date. Perhaps this prompted you to buy certain types of clothing or electronic devices. After high school, you began thinking about how people would view you in your \u201cstation\u201d in life, so you decided to pay for college and get a professional degree, thereby fulfilling your need for esteem<\/em>. If you\u2019re lucky, at some point you will realize Maslow\u2019s state of self-actualization<\/em>. You will believe you have become the person in life that you feel you were meant to be.\r\n\r\nFollowing the economic crisis that began in 2008, the sales of new automobiles dropped sharply virtually everywhere around the world\u2014except the sales of Hyundai vehicles. Hyundai understood that people needed to feel secure and safe and ran an ad campaign that assured car buyers they could return their vehicles if they couldn\u2019t make the payments on them without damaging their credit. Seeing Hyundai\u2019s success, other carmakers began offering similar programs. Likewise, banks began offering \u201cworry-free\u201d mortgages to ease the minds of would-be homebuyers. For a fee of about $500, First Mortgage Corp., a Texas-based bank, offered to make a homeowner\u2019s mortgage payment for six months if he or she got laid off.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhile achieving self-actualization may be a goal for many individuals in the United States, consumers in Eastern cultures may focus more on belongingness and group needs. Marketers look at cultural differences in addition to individual needs. The importance of groups affects advertising (using groups versus individuals) and product decisions.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    \r\n

    Perception<\/h2>\r\nPerception<\/span><\/span> is how you interpret the world around you and make sense of it in your brain. You do so via stimuli that affect your different senses\u2014sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. How you combine these senses also makes a difference. For example, in one study, consumers were blindfolded and asked to drink a new brand of clear beer. Most of them said the product tasted like regular beer. However, when the blindfolds came off and they drank the beer, many of them described it as \u201cwatery\u201d tasting.<\/span>\r\n\r\nConsumers are bombarded with messages on television, radio, magazines, the Internet, and even bathroom walls. The average consumer is exposed to about three thousand advertisements per day.<\/span> Consumers are surfing the Internet, watching television, and checking their cell phones for text messages simultaneously. Some, but not all, information makes it into our brains. Selecting information we see or hear (e.g., television shows or magazines) is called selective exposure.\r\n\r\nHave you ever read or thought about something and then started noticing ads and information about it popping up everywhere? Many people are more perceptive to advertisements for products they need. Selective attention<\/span><\/span> is the process of filtering out information based on how relevant it is to you. It\u2019s been described as a \u201csuit of armor\u201d that helps you filter out information you don\u2019t<\/em> need. At other times, people forget information, even if it\u2019s quite relevant to them, which is called selective retention<\/span><\/span>. Often the information contradicts the person\u2019s belief. A longtime chain smoker who forgets much of the information communicated during an antismoking commercial is an example. To be sure their advertising messages get through to you and you remember them, companies use repetition. How tired of iPhone commercials were you before they tapered off? How often do you see the same commercial aired during a single television show?\r\n
    \r\n

    The parody of an iPhone commercial below pokes fun at the pervasive, enthusiastic commercials.<\/p>\r\nhttp:\/\/youtu.be\/4vle73VqtHw\r\n\r\nAnother potential problem that advertisers (or your friends) may experience is selective distortion<\/span><\/span> or misinterpretation of the intended message. Promotions for weight loss products show models that look slim and trim after using their products, and consumers may believe they will look like the model if they use the product. They misinterpret other factors such as how the model looked before or how long it will take to achieve the results. Similarly, have you ever told someone a story about a friend and that person told another person who told someone else? By the time the story gets back to you, it is completely different. The same thing can happen with many types of messages.\r\n\r\nUsing surprising stimuli or shock advertising<\/span><\/span> is also a technique that works. One study found that shocking content increased attention, benefited memory, and positively influenced behavior among a group of university students.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nSubliminal advertising<\/span><\/span> is the opposite of shock advertising and involves exposing consumers to marketing stimuli such as photos, ads, and messages by stealthily embedding them in movies, ads, and other media. Although there is no evidence that subliminal advertising works, years ago the words Drink Coca-Cola<\/em> were flashed for a millisecond on a movie screen. Consumers were thought to perceive the information subconsciously and to be influenced to buy the products shown. Many people considered the practice to be subversive, and in 1974, the Federal Communications Commission condemned it. Much of the original research on subliminal advertising, conducted by a researcher trying to drum up business for his market research firm, was fabricated. People are still fascinated by subliminal advertising, however. To create \u201cbuzz\u201d about the television show The Mole<\/em> in 2008, ABC began hyping it by airing short commercials composed of just a few frames. If you blinked, you missed it. Some television stations actually called ABC to figure out what was going on. One-second ads were later rolled out to movie theaters.<\/span>\r\n\r\nDifferent consumers perceive information differently. A couple of frames about The Mole<\/em> might make you want to see the television show. However, your friend might see the ad, find it stupid, and never tune in to watch the show. One man sees Pledge, an outstanding furniture polish, while another sees a can of spray no different from any other furniture polish. One woman sees a luxurious Gucci purse, and the other sees an overpriced bag to hold keys and makeup.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n

    Learning<\/h2>\r\nLearning<\/span><\/span> refers to the process by which consumers change their behavior after they gain information or experience. It\u2019s the reason you don\u2019t buy a bad product twice. Learning doesn\u2019t just affect what you buy; it affects how you shop. People with limited experience about a product or brand generally seek out more information than people who have used a product before.\r\n\r\nCompanies try to get consumers to learn about their products in different ways. Car dealerships offer test drives. Pharmaceutical reps leave samples and brochures at doctor\u2019s offices. Other companies give consumers free samples. To promote its new line of coffees, McDonald\u2019s offered customers free samples to try. Have you ever eaten the food samples in a grocery store? While sampling is an expensive strategy, it gets consumers to try the product and many customers buy it, especially right after trying in the store.\r\n\r\nAnother kind of learning is operant or instrumental conditioning<\/span><\/span>, which is what occurs when researchers are able to get a mouse to run through a maze for a piece of cheese or a dog to salivate just by ringing a bell. In other words, learning occurs through repetitive behavior that has positive or negative consequences. Companies engage in operant conditioning by rewarding consumers, which cause consumers to want to repeat their purchasing behaviors. Prizes and toys that come in Cracker Jacks and McDonald\u2019s Happy Meals, free tans offered with gym memberships, a free sandwich after a certain number of purchases, and free car washes when you fill up your car with a tank of gas are examples.\r\n\r\nAnother learning process called classical conditioning<\/span><\/span> occurs by associating a conditioned stimulus (CS) with an unconditioned stimulus (US) to get a particular response. The more frequently the CS is linked with the US, the faster learning occurs and this is what advertisers and businesses try to do. Think about a meal at a restaurant where the food was really good and you went with someone special. You like the person and want to go out again. It could be that classical conditioning occurred. That is, the food produced a good feeling and you may associate the person with the food, thus producing a good feeling about the person.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    \r\n

    Attitude<\/h2>\r\nAttitudes<\/span><\/span> are \u201cmental positions\u201d or emotional feelings, favorable or unfavorable evaluations, and action tendencies people have about products, services, companies, ideas, issues, or institutions.\u201c<\/span> Attitudes tend to be enduring, and because they are based on people\u2019s values and beliefs, they are hard to change. Companies want people to have positive feelings about their offerings. A few years ago, KFC began running ads to the effect that fried chicken was healthy\u2014until the U.S. Federal Trade Commission told the company to stop. Wendy\u2019s slogan that its products are \u201cway better than fast food\u201d is another example. Fast food has a negative connotation, so Wendy\u2019s is trying to get consumers to think about its offerings as being better.\r\n\r\nAn example of a shift in consumers\u2019 attitudes occurred when the taxpayer-paid government bailouts of big banks that began in 2008 provoked the wrath of Americans, creating an opportunity for small banks not involved in the credit bailout and subprime mortgage mess. The Worthington National Bank, a small bank in Fort Worth, Texas, ran billboards reading: \u201cDid Your Bank Take a Bailout? We didn\u2019t.\u201d Another read: \u201cJust Say NO to Bailout Banks. Bank Responsibly!\u201d The Worthington Bank received tens of millions in new deposits soon after running these campaigns.<\/span>\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.openassessments.com\/assessments\/432\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

    Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. Explain what marketing professionals can do to influence consumers\u2019 behavior.<\/li>\n
    2. Explain how Maslow\u2019s hierarchy of needs works.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
      \n

      Motivation<\/h2>\n

      Motivation<\/span><\/span> is the inward drive we have to get what we need. In the mid-1900s, Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, developed the hierarchy of needs shown in Figure 3.4 “Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy of Needs”.<\/p>\n

      \n

      \"\"<\/a>Maslow theorized that people have to fulfill their basic needs\u2014food, water, and sleep\u2014before they can begin fulfilling higher-level needs. Have you ever gone shopping when you were tired or hungry? Even if you were shopping for something that would make you the envy of your friends (maybe a new car) you probably wanted to sleep or eat even more. (Forget the car. Just give me a nap and a candy bar.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      The need for food is recurring. Other needs, such as shelter, clothing, and safety, tend to be enduring. Still other needs arise at different points in time in a person\u2019s life. For example, during grade school and high school, your social<\/em> needs probably rose to the forefront. You wanted to have friends and get a date. Perhaps this prompted you to buy certain types of clothing or electronic devices. After high school, you began thinking about how people would view you in your \u201cstation\u201d in life, so you decided to pay for college and get a professional degree, thereby fulfilling your need for esteem<\/em>. If you\u2019re lucky, at some point you will realize Maslow\u2019s state of self-actualization<\/em>. You will believe you have become the person in life that you feel you were meant to be.<\/p>\n

      Following the economic crisis that began in 2008, the sales of new automobiles dropped sharply virtually everywhere around the world\u2014except the sales of Hyundai vehicles. Hyundai understood that people needed to feel secure and safe and ran an ad campaign that assured car buyers they could return their vehicles if they couldn\u2019t make the payments on them without damaging their credit. Seeing Hyundai\u2019s success, other carmakers began offering similar programs. Likewise, banks began offering \u201cworry-free\u201d mortgages to ease the minds of would-be homebuyers. For a fee of about $500, First Mortgage Corp., a Texas-based bank, offered to make a homeowner\u2019s mortgage payment for six months if he or she got laid off.<\/span><\/p>\n

      While achieving self-actualization may be a goal for many individuals in the United States, consumers in Eastern cultures may focus more on belongingness and group needs. Marketers look at cultural differences in addition to individual needs. The importance of groups affects advertising (using groups versus individuals) and product decisions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      Perception<\/h2>\n

      Perception<\/span><\/span> is how you interpret the world around you and make sense of it in your brain. You do so via stimuli that affect your different senses\u2014sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. How you combine these senses also makes a difference. For example, in one study, consumers were blindfolded and asked to drink a new brand of clear beer. Most of them said the product tasted like regular beer. However, when the blindfolds came off and they drank the beer, many of them described it as \u201cwatery\u201d tasting.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Consumers are bombarded with messages on television, radio, magazines, the Internet, and even bathroom walls. The average consumer is exposed to about three thousand advertisements per day.<\/span> Consumers are surfing the Internet, watching television, and checking their cell phones for text messages simultaneously. Some, but not all, information makes it into our brains. Selecting information we see or hear (e.g., television shows or magazines) is called selective exposure.<\/p>\n

      Have you ever read or thought about something and then started noticing ads and information about it popping up everywhere? Many people are more perceptive to advertisements for products they need. Selective attention<\/span><\/span> is the process of filtering out information based on how relevant it is to you. It\u2019s been described as a \u201csuit of armor\u201d that helps you filter out information you don\u2019t<\/em> need. At other times, people forget information, even if it\u2019s quite relevant to them, which is called selective retention<\/span><\/span>. Often the information contradicts the person\u2019s belief. A longtime chain smoker who forgets much of the information communicated during an antismoking commercial is an example. To be sure their advertising messages get through to you and you remember them, companies use repetition. How tired of iPhone commercials were you before they tapered off? How often do you see the same commercial aired during a single television show?<\/p>\n

      \n

      The parody of an iPhone commercial below pokes fun at the pervasive, enthusiastic commercials.<\/p>\n