Consumer Behavior

Buying, Having, and Being

Tenth Edition
Global Edition

Michael R. Solomon
Saint Joseph's University and
The University of Manchester (U.K.)

PEARSON
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River
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CON

About the Author 13

Preface 17
Acknowledgments 23

TENTS

Section 2 Consumers
as Individuals 66
Chapter 2 o Perception 68
Sensory Systems 69
Hedonic Consumption and the Design Economy 71
Sensory Marketing 72

r 1 o Buying, Having, and Being 28

Consumer Behavior: People in the Marketplace 29
What Is Consumer Behavior? 31
Consumer Behavior Is a Process 32
Consumers' Impact on Marketing Strategy 33
Consumers Are Different! How We Divide Them Up 33
Marketing's Impact on Consumers 38
PopulanCulture 39
What Does It Mean to Consume? 39
The Global Consumer 40
the Digital Native: Living a Social [Media] Life 42
Marketing Ethics and Public Policy 44
Needs and Wants: Do Marketers Manipulate
Consumers? 45
Are Advertising and Marketing Necessary? 46
Do Marketers Promise Miracles? 46
Public Policy and Consumerism 4 7
Consumer Behavior as a Field of Study 53
Where Do We Find Consumer Researchers? 53
Interdisciplinary Influences on the Study
of Consumer Behavior 54
Should Consumer Research Have an Academic
or an Applied Focus? 56
Two Perspectives on Consumer Research 56
Taking It from Here: The Plan of the Book 58
Chapter Summary 58
Key Terms 59
Review 59
Consumer Behavior Challenge 60
Case Study 62
Notes 63
Nielsen Nugget 65

Exposure 81
Sensory Thresholds 81
Augmented Reality 84
Subliminal Perception 84
Attention 86
Multitasking and Attention 88
How Do Marketers Get Our Attention? 88
Interpretation 92
Stimulus Organization 94
The Eye of the Beholder:
Interpretational Biases 95
Perceptual Positioning 98
Chapter Summary 100
Key Terms 1 0 1
Review 101
Consumer Behavior Challenge 101
Case Study 102
Notes 103

Chapter 3 o Learning and Memory 106

Learning 107
Behavioral Learning Theories 108
Marketing Applications of Classical
Conditioning Principles 110
Marketing Applications of Instrumental
Conditioning Principles 116
Cognitive Learning Theory 116
Memory 118
How Our Brains Encode Information 119
Memory Systems 120
How Our Memories Store Information 121

Contents

How We Retrieve Memories When We Decide

What to Buy 124
What Makes Us Forget? 125
Pictorial versus Verbal Cues: Is a Picture
Worth a Thousand Words? 128
How We Measure Consumers' Recall
of Marketing Messages 130
Bittersweet Memories: The Marketing Power
of Nostalgia 132
Chapter Summary 133

Key Terms 134

Review 135
Consumer Behavior Challenge 135
Case Study 136
Notes 137

Chapter 4 o Motivation
and Global Values 140
The Motivation Process: Why Ask Why? 141
Motivational Strength 143
Needs versus Wants 144
How We Classify Consumer Needs 149
Maslow's Hierarchy ofNeeds 151
Consumer Involvement 153
Levels of Involvement: From Inertia
to Passion 154
The Many Faces ofInvolvement 155
Values 162
Core Values 163
How Do Values Link to Consumer Behavior? 164
Conscientious Consumerism:
A New American Core Value? 168
Materialism: "He Who Dies with the Most
Toys Wins" 170
Cross-Cultural Values 171
Adopt a Standardized Strategy 173
Adopt a Localized Strategy 174
Cross- Cultural Differences Relevant to Marketers 176
Does Global Marketing Work? 176
The Diffusion of Consumer Culture 177
Emerging Consumer Cultures in Transitional
Economies 178

Chapter 5 o The Self 188

What Is the Self? 189
Does the SelfExist? 189
Self-Concept 190
Fantasy: Bridging the Gap Between the Selves 193
Virtual Identity 194
Consumption and Self-Concept 197
Sex Roles 202
Gender Differences in Socialization 202
Female Sex Roles 205
Male Sex Roles 206
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT)
Consumers 212
Body Image 214
Ideals ofBeauty 214
Working on the Body 222
Body Image Distortions 226
Chapter Summary 227
Key Terms 228
Review 228
Consumer Behavior Challenge 229
Case Study 230

Notes 231

Chapter 6 o Personality
and Psychographics 236
Personality 237
Consumer Behavior on the Couch:
Freudian Theory 239
Neo-Freudian Theories 242
Trait Theory 244
Brand Personality 247
Psychographics 251
The Roots of Psychographics 253

Psychographic Segmentation Typologies 256

Geodemography 258
Behavioral Targeting 259

Chapter Summary 180

Key Terms 180

The Dark Side of Consumer Behavior 260

Consumer Terrorism 260
Addictive Consumption 261
Compulsive Consumption 262
Consumed Consumers 263
Illegal Activities 264

Review 181
Consumer Behavior Challenge 181
Case Study 182
Notes 183
Nielsen Nugget 187

Chapter Summary 265

Key Terms 266
Review 266
Consumer Behavior Challenge 266

Contents

Case Study 267

Notes 267

Chapter 7 o Attitudes and Persuasion 272

The Power of Attitudes 273
The ABC Model ofAttitudes 274
Hierarchies ofEffects 275
How Do We Form Attitudes? 277
All Attitudes Are Not Created Equal 277
The Consistency Principle 278
Self-Perception Theory 279
Social Judgment Theory 280
Attitude Models 282
Do Attitudes Predict Behavior? 284
The Extended Fishbein Model 284
Trying to Consume 287

Mental Accounting: Biases in the Decision-Making

Process 330
How Do We Decide Among Alternatives? 336
Product Choice: How Do We Selectfrom the
Alternatives? 341
Heuristics: Mental Shortcuts 345
Market Beliefs: Is It Better ifI Pay More for It? 346
Do We Choose Familiar Brand Names Because of Loyalty
or Habit? 348
Chapter Summary 3 5 1
Key Terms 352
Review 353
Consumer Behavior Challenge 353
Case Study 354
Notes 355

Chapter 9 o Buying and Disposing 358

Situational Effects on Consumer Behavior 359
Our Social and Physical Surroundings 362
Net Profit 363
Temporal Factors 363

How Do Marketers Change Attitudes? 288

Decisions, Decisions:
Tactical Communications Options 289
The Elements of Communication 289
An Updated View: Interactive Communications 289
New Message Formats 291
The Source 292
The Message 297
Types ofMessage Appeals 301
The Source versus the Message:
Do We Sell the Steak or the Sizzle? 307

The Shopping Experience 367

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Go Shopping 368
E-Commerce: Clicks versus Bricks 369
Retailing as Theater 372
Store Image 373
In-Store Decision Making 374
The Salesperson: A Lead Role in the Play 377

Chapter Summary 308

Key Terms 309

Product Disposal 382

Disposal Options 382
Lateral Cycling: Junk versus "Junque" 383

Review 309

Consumer Behavior Challenge 310

Case Study 312
Notes 312
Nielsen Nugget 317

Chapter 8 o Decision Making 318

We Are Problem Solvers 319
Perspectives on Decision Making 321
Types of Consumer Decisions 322
Steps in the Decision-Making Process 325
Problem Recognition 325
Information Search 327
Do We Always Search Rationally? 328

Postpurchase Satisfaction 378

Just What Is Quality? 378
What Can We Do When We're Dissatisfied? 379
TQM: Going to the Gemba 381

Chapter Summary 384

Key Terms 385
Review 385

Consumer Behavior Challenge 385

Case Study 387
Notes 387
Nielsen Nugget 391

Chapter 10 Q Organizational and

Household Decision Making 392
Organizational Decision Making 393
Organizational Buyers and Decision Making 394
B2B E-Commerce 398

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Contents

The Family 399

The Modern Family 399
Animals Are People Too! Nonhuman
Family Members 402
The Family Life Cycle 403
The Intimate Corporation:
Family Decision Making 406
Sex Roles and Decision-Making Responsibilities 407
Heuristics in Joint Decision Making 411

Consumer Behavior Challenge 460

Case Study 4 6 1
Notes 462

Children as Decision Makers:

Consumers-in-Training 412
Consumer Socialization 413
Sex-Role Socialization 415
Cognitive Development 416
Marketing Research and Children 417

Consumer Spending and Economic Behavior 467

Income Patterns 468
To Spend or Not to Spend, That Is the Question 468
The Great Recession and Its Aftermath 470

Chapter Summary 419

Key Terms 419
Review 420
Consumer Behavior Challenge 420
Case Study 422
Notes 422

Section 4 Consumers
and Subcultures 426

Chapter 11 o Groups
and Social Media 428
Reference Groups 430
When Are Reference Groups Important? 430
Types of Reference Groups 433
Conformity 438
Opinion Leadership 439
How Influential Is an Opinion Leader? 440
Types of Opinion Leaders 440
How Do We Find Opinion Leaders? 442
Online Opinion Leaders 444
Word-of-Mouth Communication 445
Negative WOM: The Power ofRumors 448
Buzz Building 450
The Social Media Revolution 452
Social Media and Community 452
Social Networks 453
Characteristics of Online Communities 454
Chapter Summary 458
Key Terms 459
Review 459

Chapter 12 o Social Class

and Lifestyles 466

Social Class Structure 471

Pick a Pecking Order 4 71
Class Structure in the United States 474
Class Structure Around the World 475
Social Class and Consumer Behavior 477
Components of Social Class 478
Status Symbols 486
How Do We Measure Social Class? 490
Lifestyles 493
Lifestyle: Who We Are, What We Do 493
Lifestyles as Group Identities 494
Products Are the Building Blocks of Lifestyles 496
Chapter Summary 500
Key Terms 5 0 1
Review 501

Consumer Behavior Challenge 502

Case Study 503
Notes 503

Chapter 13 o Subcultures 506

Subcultures, Microcultures, and Consumer Identity 507
Ethnic and Racial Subcultures 508
Ethnicity and Marketing Strategies 509
Ethnic and Racial Stereotypes 511
The "Big Three" American Ethnic Subcultures 514
Religious Subcultures 518
Organized Religion and Consumption 519
Born-Again Consumers 520
Islamic Marketing 521
Age Subcultures 522
The Youth Market 524
Gen Y 526
Tweens 528
Big (Wo)Man on Campus 529
How Do We Research the Youth Market? 530

Contents

GenX 531
The Mature Market 531
Chapter Summary 539
Key Terms 540
Review 540
Consumer Behavior Challenge 5 4 1
Case Study 543
Notes 544

Chapter 14 o Culture 548

What Is Culture? 549
Cultural Systems 551
Cultural Stories and Ceremonies 552
Myths 553
Rituals 557
Sacred and Profane Consumption 565
Sacralization 565
Domains of Sacred Consumption 566
From Sacred to Profane, and Back Again 568

Popular Culture 569

How Do We Know What's "In?" 570
High Culture and Popular Culture 572
Reality Engineering 575
The Diffusion of Innovations 581
How Do We Decide to Adopt an Innovation? 581
Behavioral Demands of Innovations 583
Prerequisites for Successful Adoption 584
The Fashion System 585
Chapter Summary 5 9 1
Key Terms 592
Review 592
Consumer Behavior Challenge 593
Case Study 594
Notes 595

Glossary 601
Index 615

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