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Consumer Motivation
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter students should be able to:
1. Explain motivation.
2. Define the terms needs and goals in the context of consumer behavior.
3. Understand positive and negative motivation.
4. Discuss the difference between rational and emotional motives.
5. Understand the dynamic nature of motivation.
6. Explain the various defense mechanisms people use to manage their frustration.
7. Identify the four types of arousal stimulus.
8. Explain need systems, specifically, identify the components of Maslows need theory, and
offer a critique of needs theory.
9. Define a trio of needs theory.
10. Define validity and reliability in terms of researching consumer behavior.
11. Discuss motivational research, past and present, and its limitations.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Motivation is the driving force within individuals that impels them to action. This driving force
is produced by a state of uncomfortable tension, which exists as the result of an unsatisfied need.
All individuals have needs, wants, and desires. The individual's subconscious drive to reduce
need-induced tension results in behavior that he or she anticipates will satisfy needs and thus
bring about a more comfortable internal state.
All behavior is goal oriented. Goals are the sought-after results of motivated behavior. The form
or direction that behavior takesthe goal that is selectedis a result of thinking processes
(cognition) and previous learning. There are two types of goals: generic goals and productspecific goals. A generic goal is a general category of goal that may fulfill a certain need; a
product-specific goal is a specifically branded or labeled product that the individual sees as a
way to fulfill a need. Product-specific needs are sometimes referred to as wants.
Innate needsthose an individual is born withare physiological (biogenic) in nature; they
include all the factors required to sustain physical life (e.g., food, water, clothing, shelter, and
sex). Acquired needsthose an individual develops after birthare primarily psychological
(psychogenic): they include love, acceptance, esteem, and self-fulfillment. For any given need,
there are many different and appropriate goals. The specific goal selected depends on the
individuals experiences, physical capacity, prevailing cultural norms and values, and the goals
accessibility in the physical and social environment.
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Needs and goals are interdependent, and change in response to the individuals physical
condition, environment, interaction with other people, and experiences. As needs become
satisfied, new, higher-order needs emerge that must be fulfilled.
Failure to achieve a goal often results in feelings of frustration. Individuals react to frustration in
two ways: fight or flight. They may cope by finding a way around the obstacle that prohibits
goal attainment or by adopting a substitute goal (fight); or they may adopt a defense mechanism
that enables them to protect their self-esteem (flight). Defense mechanisms include aggression,
regression, rationalization, withdrawal, projection, autism, identification, and repression.
Motives cannot easily be inferred from consumer behavior. People with different needs may seek
fulfillment through selection of the same goals: people with the same needs may seek fulfillment
through different goals. Although some psychologists have suggested that individuals have
different need priorities, others believe that most human beings experience the same basic needs,
to which they assign a similar priority ranking. Maslows hierarchy of needs theory proposes five
levels of prepotent human needs: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, egoistic needs,
and self-actualization needs. Other needs widely integrated into consumer advertising include the
needs for power, affiliation, and achievement.
There are three commonly used methods for identifying and measuring human motives:
observation and inference, subjective reports, and qualitative research (including projective
techniques.) None of these methods is completely reliable by itself. Therefore, researchers often
use a combination of two or three techniques in tandem to assess the presence or strength of
consumer motives. Motivational research is qualitative research designed to delve below the
consumers level of conscious awareness. Despite some shortcomings, motivational research has
proved to be of great value to marketers concerned with developing new ideas and new copy
appeals.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
1. Human needsconsumer needs are the basis of all modern marketing.
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c)
The marketing concept implies that the manufacturer will make only what it knows
people will buy; a production orientation implies that the manufacturer will try to sell
what it decides to make.
3. Marketers who base their offerings on recognition of consumers needs find a ready market
for their products.
*****Use Table 4-1 Here*****
action. This driving force is produced by a state of tension, which exists as the result of an
unfilled need.
2. The specific courses of action that consumers pursue and their specific goals are selected on
the basis of their thinking process and previous learning.
*****Use Key Term motivation Here; Use Learning Objective #1 Here; Use Figure 4-1
Here*****
Needs
1. Every individual has needs; some are innate, others are acquired.
2. Innate needs are physiological or biogenic, and include food, water, air, clothing, shelter,
and sex.
a) These needs (innate) are considered primary needs or motives.
3. Acquired needs are needs that we learn in response to our culture or environment and include
the need for self-esteem, prestige, affection, power, and learning.
a) These needs are generally psychological (i.e., psychogenic or acquired) and are
considered to be secondary needs or motives.
b) They result from the individuals subjective psychological state and from relationships
with others.
*****Use Key Terms innate needs, biogenic needs, primary needs, acquired needs, and
psychogenic needs Here; Use Learning Objective #2 Here; Use Discussion Question #1,
#2, #3, and #4 Here*****
Goals
1. Goals are the sought after results of motivated behavior. All behavior is goal oriented.
2. Generic goals are the general classes or categories of goals that consumers select to fulfill
their needs.
3. Product-specific goals are the products they select to fulfill their needs.
4. Individuals set goals on the basis of their personal values and they select means (or
behaviors) that they believe will help them achieve their desired goals.
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*****Use Key Terms generic goals and product-specific goals Here; Use Figure 4-1, 4-2 (A,
B, and C), and 4-3 Here; Use Learning Objective #2 Here; Use Discussion Question #4
Here*****
The Selection of Goals
1. Goal selection by individuals depends on:
psychological needs.
*****Use Discussion Question #4 and #5 Here*****
Positive and Negative Motivation
1. Motivation can be positive or negative in direction.
a)
We may feel a driving force toward some object or condition, or a driving force away
from some object or condition.
2. Some psychologists refer to positive motivation as needs, wants, or drives.
a) They may refer to negative motivation as negative drives, fears, and aversions.
3. Some distinguish between needs and wants by calling wants product-specific needs.
a) Although positive and negative motivational forces seem to differ dramatically in terms
of physical (and sometimes emotional) activity, they are basically similar in that both
serve to initiate and sustain human behavior.
b) There is no uniformly accepted distinction among needs, wants, and desires.
*****Use Key Terms positive and negative motivational forces Here; Use Learning Objective
#3 Here*****
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approach object.
6. A negative goal is one from which behavior is directed away, and thus is sometimes referred
to as an avoidance object.
7. People become motivationally aroused by a threat to, or the elimination of, a behavioral
freedom
a) This motivational state is called psychological reactance and is usually manifested by a
negative consumer response.
*****Use Key Terms approach object, avoidance object, and psychological reactance
Here; Use Figure 4-5 (A and B) Here; Use Learning Objective #3 Here*****
Rational versus Emotional Motives
1. Some consumer behaviorists distinguish between so-called rational motives and emotional
motives.
2. They use the term rationality in the traditional economic sense, which assumes that
consumers behave rationally when they carefully consider all alternatives and choose those
that give them the greatest utility.
3. In a marketing context, the term rationality implies that consumers select goals based on
totally objective criteria, such as size, weight, price, or miles per gallon. Emotional motives
imply the selection of goals according to personal or subjective criteria (e.g., pride, fear,
affection, status).
*****Use Key Terms rational motives and emotional motives Here; Use Learning Objective
#4 Here*****
4. The assumption underlying this distinction is that subjective or emotional criteria do not
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a) They dont cease because existing needs are never completely satisfied.
b) Newer, higher-level needs replace fulfilled needs.
*****Use Learning Objective #5 Here; Use Figure 4-6 Here*****
Needs Are Never Fully Satisfied
1. Most human needs are not fully or permanently satisfied.
2. Temporary goal achievement does not adequately satisfy the need.
new and higher goals for themselves. Individuals raise their levels of aspiration.
2. The nature and persistence of an individuals behavior often is influenced by expectations of
a) Advertisements should not promise more than the product can deliver.
b) Creating unrealistic expectations can backfire on the marketer.
*****Use Key Term levels of aspiration Here; Use Learning Objective #5 Here; Use
Discussion Question #6 Here*****
Substitute Goals
1. When an individual cannot attain a specific goal or type of goal that he or she anticipates will
Frustration
1. Failure to achieve a goal often results in feelings of frustration. Individuals react differently
to frustrating situations.
2. Some people are adaptive and manage to cope by finding their way around the obstacle or, if
order to protect their self-image and defend their self-esteem. These reactions are known as
defense mechanisms.
2. Reaction to the frustration of not being able to reach goal attainment can take many forms,
such as aggression, rationalization, regression, withdrawal, projection, autism, identification,
and repression.
3. Marketers often consider the protection of self-esteem by consumers when selecting
advertising appeals. The ads (appeals) often portray a person resolving a particular frustration
through the use of the advertised product.
*****Use Key Term defense mechanisms Here; Use Learning Objective #6 Here; Use
Table 4-2 Here; Use Exercise #2 Here*****
Multiplicity of Needs
1. Consumer behavior often fulfills more than one need.
2. Specific goals are often selected because they fill several needs.
a)
although people with the same needs may seek fulfillment through different goals.
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Arousal of Motives
1. Specific needs of an individual are dormant much of the time.
a)
The arousal of any particular set of needs at a specific point in time may be caused by
internal stimuli found in the individuals physiological condition, emotional or cognitive
processes, or by stimuli in the outside environment.
a)
These thoughts tend to arouse dormant needs, which may produce uncomfortable
tensions that push them into goal-oriented behavior.
needs.
*****Use Learning Objective #7 Here; Use Discussion Question #6 Here; Use Figure 4-8
Here*****
Environmental Arousal
1. The set of needs activated at a particular time is often determined by specific cues in the
environment.
2. When people live in a complex and highly varied environment, they experience many
opportunities for need arousal. Conversely, when people live in a poor or deprived
environment, fewer needs are activated.
3. The behaviorist school considers motivation to be a mechanical process; behavior is seen as
the response to a stimulus, and elements of conscious thought are ignored.
4. The cognitive school believes that all behavior is directed at goal achievement.
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a)
Needs and past experiences are reasoned, categorized, and transformed into attitudes
and beliefs that act as predispositions to behavior.
a)
theory postulates five basis levels of human needs, which rank in order of importance from
low-level (biogenic) needs to higher-level (psychogenic) needs.
2. Maslows hierarchy of needs theory suggests that individuals seek to satisfy lower-level
needs before higher-level needs emerge.
*****Use Key Term Maslows hierarchy of needs Here; Use Learning Objective #8 Here;
Use Figure 4-9 Here; Use Discussion Question #7 Here*****
Physiological Needs
1. Physiological needs are those things that are required to sustain biological life; food, water,
stability, routine, familiarity, control over ones life and environment, and certainty. Health is
also a safety concern.
*****Use Learning Objective #8 Here; Use Figure 4-9 Here*****
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Social Needs
1. Social needs relate to such things as love, affection, belonging, and acceptance.
for success, for independence, for personal satisfaction with a job well done.
3. Outwardly-directed ego needs include the needs for prestige, for reputation, for status, for
recognition from others.
*****Use Learning Objective #8 Here; Use Figure 4-9 and 4-10 Here*****
Need for Self-Actualization
1. Need for self-actualization refers to an individuals desire to fulfill his or her potential to
easy way to measure precisely how satisfied one need is before the next higher need becomes
operative.
2. Maslows hierarchy offers a useful, comprehensive framework for marketers trying to
develop appropriate advertising appeals for their products.
3. The hierarchy enables marketers to focus their advertising appeals on a need level that is
likely to be shared by a large segment of the prospective audience.
4. The hierarchy facilitates product positioning or repositioning.
*****Use Learning Objective #8 Here; Use Discussion Question #7 Here; Use Exercise #1
Here*****
Segmentation and Promotional Applications
1. Needs hierarchy is often the basis for market segmentation with specific advertising appeals
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Positioning Applications
1. The key to positioning is to find a niche that is not occupied by a competing product or
brand.
a) This application of the needs hierarchy relies on the notion that no need is ever fully
satisfied, that it always continues to be somewhat motivating.
A Trio of Needs Theory
1. Some psychologists believe in the existence of a trio of basic needs: the needs for power, for
people.
*****Use Learning Objective #9 Here; Use Exercise #3 Here; Use Figure 4-12 Here*****
Affiliation
1. The affiliation need suggests that behavior is highly influenced by the desire for friendship,
end in itself.
2. The achievement need is closely related to both the egoistic need and the self-actualization
need.
a) People with a high need for achievement tend to be more self-confident, enjoy taking
calculated risks, actively research their environments, and value feedback.
b) Monetary rewards provide an important type of feedback as to how they are doing.
3. People with high achievement needs prefer situations in which they can take personal
responsibility for finding solutions.
4. Individuals with specific psychological needs tend to be receptive to advertising appeals
directed at those needs. They also tend to be receptive to certain kinds of products.
5. Knowledge of motivational theory provides marketers with additional bases on which to
segment their markets.
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*****Use Learning Objective #9 Here; Use Exercise #3 Here; Use Figure 4-14 Here*****
a)
Because of the intensive nature of qualitative research, samples necessarily were small;
thus, there was concern about generalizing findings to the total market.
b) Also, marketers soon realized that the analysis of projective tests and depth interviews
was highly subjective. The same data given to three different analysts could produce
three different reports.
5. Other consumer theorists noted additional inconsistencies in applying Freudian theory to the
study of consumer behavior.
6. There are a number of research techniques that can be used to delve into the consumers
unconscious or hidden motivations.
*****Use Learning Objective #11 Here; Use Table 4-4 and 4-5 Here*****
Evaluation of Motivational Research
1. Despite these criticisms, motivational research is still regarded as an important tool by
marketers who want to gain deeper insights into the whys of consumer behavior than
conventional marketing research techniques can yield.
2. Motivational researchs principal use today is in the development of new ideas for
promotional campaigns, ideas that can penetrate the consumers conscious awareness by
appealing to unrecognized needs.
3. Motivational research also provides marketers with a basic orientation for new product
categories, and enables them to explore consumer reactions to ideas and advertising copy at
an early stage to avoid costly errors.
4. Despite the drawbacks of motivational research, there is new and compelling evidence that
the unconscious is the site of a far larger portion of mental life than even Freud envisioned.
a) Research studies show that the unconscious mind may understand and respond to
nonverbal symbols, form emotional responses, and guide actions largely independent of
conscious awareness.
*****Use Learning Objective #11 Here*****
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