Hedonic Vs Utilitarian

Consumers are considered as an important factor of market analysis. In

marketing, various studies have been done in the past talking about

consumer behavior and their decision making. The consumer decision-

making process involves the various stages that a consumer follows

while making a purchasing decision.

Fig. 4.1 : Consumer Decision-Making Process

Source : Adapted from Kotler and Armstrong and Blackwell, Minird, and Engel
 Chapter 4 – Hedonic Vs Utilitarian

As Figure 2(a); adapted from Kotler and Armstrong and Blackwell,

Miniard and Engel; shows it clearly that the consumer decision-making

process contains five stages viz. need recognition, information search,

evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase

evaluation. The purchasing process is deemed to be start before actual

purchase and continues even after the purchase.

By going through the consumer decision making process, companies or

marketing head can learn about the consumer’s preferences but what

attracts them more is the most important examination. A consumer buys

what he likes, and so the sellers are required to make their product in

the way they like so as to maximize their sales as well as the profit of

the company.

The present study aims at finding out the consumer’s trade-off between

the two attributes of goods i.e. Hedonic and Utilitarian in purchasing

personal vehicle by the consumers. And hence in order to find the

trade-off between the two, we firstly need to learn deeply about the

term hedonism and utilitarianism so as to learn, analyze and classify the

hedonic factors and utilitarian factors of personal cars, as the study aims

to focus.

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To satisfy the customers is considered to be most important, because

companies’ sales come from two basic groups of customers viz. new

customers and retained customers. Generally, attracting new customers

cost higher than retaining current customers. And the best way to retain

current customers is to keep them satisfied. Satisfied consumers buy a

product again, say good things to others about the product, pay less

attention to competing brands and advertising, and buy other products

from the companies. On the other hand, dissatisfied consumers

responds differently. Bad word of mouth travels farther and faster than

good word of mouth. Bad word of mouth can quickly damage consumer

attitudes about the companies and their products.

This chapter thus deals with the definition, meaning, origin and theories

existing behind hedonism and utilitarianism.

4.1 HEDONISM

‘Hedonism’ has come from the Greek word meaning ‘for pleasure’. It

relates itself to the pleasure that is experienced or anticipated from the

consumption behavior. This aspect argues that pleasure is the primary

or most important intrinsic good. However on the other hand, hedonism

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has been referred to the several related theories about what is good for

us, how we should behave, and what motivates us to behave in the way

that we do. All these hedonistic theories have identified pleasure and

pain as the two important elements. Pleasure in this sense is understood

broadly as including or as included in all the pleasant feeling or

experience: contentment, ecstasy, delight, gladness, elation, euphoria,

enjoyment, exhilaration, exultation, gratification, liking, gratitude,

relief, joy, love, Schadenfreude, satisfaction, tranquility, and so on.

Whereas, Pain or displeasure is understood as including or as included

in all unpleasant experience or feeling: ache, agitation, agony, angst,

anguish, annoyance, anxiety, apprehensiveness, boredom, chagrin,

dejection, depression, desolation, despair, discomfort, ennui

desperation, despondency, distress, discontentment, disgust, dislike,

dismay, disorientation, dissatisfaction, disgruntlement, dread, enmity,

terror, sorrow,, fear, gloominess, grief, guilt, hatred, vexation, horror,

hurting, irritation, loathing, suffering, melancholia, throb, nausea,

queasiness, remorse, resentment, sadness, shame, sullenness, unease,

and so on.

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Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) developed an experiential perspective

of hedonic consumption that limited its scope of interest not only to the

attitudes but also to many other aspects; and thus he centered it

primarily around aesthetic products such as novels, movies, and art.

Their resulting propositions, however, extend to all product classes.

Defining hedonic consumption as "those facets of consumer behavior

that relate to the multisensory, fantasy, and emotive aspects of one’s

experience with products", several detailed propositions were

developed under the general thesis that hedonically consumed products

stimulate internal imagery and emotional arousal. Hirschman (1983)

proposed that some offerings, such as art and ideologies, are almost

entirely hedonic. Value for the consumer stems from the subjective

response evoked, there being little utility derived from, say, a painting.

Establishing a more developed theory, Hirschman (1984) considered all

consumption an "experience seeking" phenomenon. According to

Epicurus, we should pursue those things that are pleasurable without

also having pains associated with them. In other terms, he believes,

that one's pleasures always should be the real pleasure i.e. the pleasure

in the absence of pain.

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It has been considered under hedonism, that every human action is

motivated by the pursuit of pleasure (psychological hedonism) or ought

to be motivated by the pursuit of pleasure (moral hedonism). Similar

theories have been involved which includes, enjoyment, happiness,

satisfaction, as the concepts substituted for the term ‘pleasure’.

Jeremy Bentham has asserted both of the perspectives, i.e.

psychological and ethical hedonism in the first two sentences of his

book An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation:

“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign

masters, pain, and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we

ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do”. Not only he, but

also Aristotle, Epicurus, Butler, , Sidgwick, Aquinas, Mill, Hume,

Nietzsche, Brentano Moore, Ross, Broad, Ryle and Chisholm are the

other who had different perspective on hedonism.

A major problem of hedonism is getting clear as of what pleasure and

pain consist. Are pleasures events, properties, states, or some other

kind of entity? It has been considered that Psychological or

motivational hedonism claims that only pleasure or pain motivates us.

However, Ethical or evaluative hedonism claims that only pleasure has

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worth or value and only pain or displeasure has disvalue or the opposite

of worth. Based on the different perspectives, the hedonism theory has

been developed which can be explained below as:

4.1.1 Hedonism Theories:

1. Psychological Hedonism: (a descriptive theory): According to this

theory, all people do in fact pursue pleasure. It says that this is not

the way people ought to be; this is the way people actually are—they

naturally seek pleasure. Hence, this theory is an inductive

generalization from experience by social scientists.

2. Ethical Hedonism (a prescriptive theory): This theory gives the

idea that all people have the right to do everything in their power to

achieve the greatest amount of pleasure possible to them i.e. whether

or not people pursue pleasure, they should or ought to do so. It is

also the idea that every person's pleasure should far surpass their

amount of pain. A right action is productive of pleasure; a wrong

action is productive of pain. This type of hedonism is said to have

been started by Aristippus of cyrene, a student of Socrates. He held

the idea that pleasure is the highest good.

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Fig. 4.2 : Types of Hedonism

Based on the different perspectives of people on hedonism, various

types of hedonism has been developed,

4.1.2 Types of Hedonism

a) Folk Hedonism

The everyday understanding of the hedonism has been referred to as

"Folk Hedonism." When the term "hedonism" is used in the modern

literature, or by non-philosophers in their everyday talk, its meaning

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gets quite different from the meaning it takes when it is used in the

discussions of philosophers. Thus, Philosophers has referred to Folk

Hedonism is a rough combination of Motivational Hedonism, Egoistic

Hedonistic, and a lack of foresight.

b) Value Hedonism and Prudential Hedonism

It is considered that, when philosophers discuss hedonism, they are

most likely to be referring to hedonism about value. Hedonism as a

theory about value (best referred to as Value Hedonism) holds that all

and only pleasure is intrinsically valuable and all and only pain is

intrinsically disvaluable. Value Hedonism reduces everything of value

to pleasure.

Prudential Hedonism on the other hand, is an integral part of several

derivative types of hedonistic theory, all of which have featured

prominently in philosophical debates of the past.

c) Motivational Hedonism

Motivational Hedonism (Psychological Hedonism) is the theory that the

desires to encounter pleasure and to avoid pain guide and motivates our

behavior. Most accounts of Motivational Hedonism include both

conscious and unconscious desires for pleasure, but emphasize the

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latter. It holds that all behavior is governed by the desires to encounter

pleasure and to avoid pain.

d) Normative Hedonism

The theory that happiness should be pursued (that pleasure should be

pursued and pain should be avoided) is referred to as Normative

Hedonism and sometimes Ethical Hedonism. Value Hedonism,

occasionally with assistance from Motivational Hedonism, has been

used to argue for specific theories of right action (theories that explain

which actions are morally permissible or impermissible and why).

There are two major types of Normative Hedonism, Hedonistic Egoism

and Hedonistic Utilitarianism. Both types commonly use happiness

(defined as pleasure minus pain) as the sole criterion for determining

the moral rightness or wrongness of an action. Important variations

within each of these two main types specify either the actual resulting

happiness (after the act) or the predicted resulting happiness (before the

act) as the moral criterion. Although both major types of Normative

Hedonism have been accused of being repugnant, Hedonistic Egoism is

considered the most offensive.

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e) Hedonistic Egoism

Hedonistic Egoism is a hedonistic version of egoism, it is the theory

that we ought, i.e. speaking on moral side, is says that it is the theory of

to do whatever makes us happiest – that is whatever provides us with

the most net pleasure after pain is subtracted. Hedonistic Egoism is very

unpopular amongst philosophers, because it suffers from all of the

objections that apply to Prudential Hedonism.

f) Hedonistic Utilitarianism

Hedonistic Utilitarianism is the theory that the right action is the one

that produces (or is most likely to produce) the greatest happiness for

all concerned. It is often considered fairer than Hedonistic Egoism

because the happiness of everyone involved is taken into account and

given equal weight. Hedonistic Utilitarian tend to advocate not stealing

from needy orphans because to do so would usually leave the orphan

far less happy and the (probably better-off) thief only slightly happier

(assuming he felt no guilt).

Despite treating all individuals equally, Hedonistic Utilitarianism is still

seen as objectionable by some on the ground that it assigns no intrinsic

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moral value to justice, friendship, truth, or any of the many other goods

that are thought by some to be irreducibly valuable. Hedonistic

Utilitarianism is rarely endorsed by philosophers, but mainly because of

its reliance on Prudential Hedonism as opposed to its utilitarian

element.

4.2 UTILITARIANISM

Utilitarian aspect of an attitude toward a behavior relates to usefulness,

value, and wiseness of the behavior as perceived by the consumer. It is

an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that

maximizes the overall "good" of the society. It can be said to be one

form of consequentialism, i.e. the concept under which the moral worth

of an action is determined by its resulting outcome. The most influential

contributors to this theory are considered to be the 18th and 19th-

century British philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.

Conjoining hedonism—as a view as to what is good for people—to

utilitarianism has the result that all action should be directed toward

achieving the greatest total amount of happiness. Thus, it can be said to

move beyond the scope of one's own interests and takes into account

the interests of others.

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Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that places the locus of right

and wrong solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one

action/policy over other actions/policies. Based on the theoretical

aspects, Bentham and Mill have given their principles of utility as

discussed hereunder:

(a) Bentham's Principle of Utility:

According to Bentham, people should do what produces pleasure,

considering the intensity, duration, certainty, quickness, how many

other pleasures are produced, freedom from pains, and the number of

people affected. Every person's happiness, no matter how mundane or

qualitatively inferior, is given equal weight: democracy permits

allowing standards to fall to the lowest common denominator. Pleasure

and pain dictate all human behavior. He has given the principles of

utility, which:

(1) Recognizes the fundamental role of pain and pleasure in human life,

(2) Approves or disapproves of an action on the basis of the amount of

pain or pleasure brought about i.e, consequences,

(3) Equates good with pleasure and evil with pain, and

(4) Asserts that pleasure and pain are capable of quantification (and
hence 'measure').

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In measuring pleasure and pain, Bentham introduces the following

criteria: INTENSITY, DURATION, CERTAINTY (or

UNCERTAINTY), and its NEARNESS (or FARNESS). He also

includes its "fecundity" (will more of the same follow?) and its "purity"

(its pleasure won't be followed by pain & vice versa). In considering

actions that affect numbers of people, we must also account for its

EXTENT.

(b) John Stuart Mill Princliples of Utility:

He begins his concept by claiming that ethical claims are not

susceptible to (scientific or mathematical) proof. They can be argued

for on broader grounds of rationality, however, and he will do this to

argue for his view of Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism in his view comes as

the "actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness."

And "By happiness is intended pleasure." Here he included both, his

decision theory and his value theory: hedonism with consequentialism.

Hedonism = the claim that pleasure is good (or, is The Good).

Consequentialism = the claim that actions are to be valued in terms of

their outcomes (as opposed to in and of themselves).

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He adjusted the more hedonistic tendencies in Bentham's philosophy by

emphasizing that

(1) It is not the quantity of pleasure, but the quality of happiness that is

central to utilitarianism,

(2) The calculus is unreasonable -- qualities cannot be quantified (there

is a distinction between 'higher' and 'lower' pleasures), and

(3) Utilitarianism refers to "the Greatest Happiness Principle" -- it

seeks to promote the capability of achieving happiness (higher

pleasures) for the most amount of people (this is its "extent").

Thus, Utilitarianism can also be considered as social hedonism, which

believes that the good is what produces the greatest amount of

happiness for the greatest number of people (including oneself), even if

it causes unhappiness to oneself.

4.3 HEDONIC VERSUS UTILITARIAN - GOODS AND

ATTRIBUTES
(a) Hedonic versus utilitarian goods

Various studies have been done in the past, in order to analyze that

what are utilitarian goods and what falls under hedonic goods. Few

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researchers have used the terms luxury and necessity implying that

luxuries are consumed primarily for hedonic pleasure while necessities

are required to meet more utilitarian goals (Dubois, Laurent, and

Czellar 2004; Kivetz and Simonson 2002a, b; Strahilevitz and Myers

1998). As the theories are concerned, Hedonic goods are those goods

which provide sensory pleasure i.e. multisensory and provide for

experiential consumption, fun, pleasure, and excitement; for example:

designer clothes, Flowers, sports cars, music, luxury watches etc.

Utilitarian goods, on the other hand, have been termed as of primarily

instrumental in nature; their purchase is considered to be motivated by

functional product aspects. It includes detergents, microwaves, home

security systems, or personal computers etc.

Both utilitarian and hedonic consumption are discretionary and the

difference between the two is a matter of degree or perception.

Different products can be high or low in both hedonic and utilitarian

attributes at the same time. A person evaluating a pair of sneakers may

care for both functional features (e.g., durability) as well as hedonic

features (e.g., design). Usage and consumption motives are central in

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determining whether an item is perceived as primarily hedonic or

utilitarian (e.g., Pham 1998). For example, purchasing a cell phone to

access help in times of trouble makes a cell phone a utilitarian product.

Buying the same phone to chat with friends makes it hedonic.

(b) Hedonic versus Utilitarian Attributes

Based on the theoretical background and theories of hedonism and

utilitarianism, we have gained the sufficient knowledge on the topic so

as to distinguish between the two attributes. As the present study talks

about the automobile industry thus, in order to analyze the hedonic and

utilitarian attributes of the car market, the researcher, on the basis of

theories, featured the factors distinguishing them as hedonic attributes

and utilitarian attributes (to use it in the questionnaire formed for

studying the influencing factor of consumer purchasing behavior in

automobile industry). The utilitarian and hedonic attributes as used in

the survey, is thus been represented below in table 2(a):

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Table 4.1 : Utilitarian and hedonic attributes of automobile

(cars)
Utilitarian Attributes Hedonic Attributes
Lifelong durability Brand
Material Design
Quality Color
body type Comfort
Warranty Speed
Space Handling
Airbags Prestige
safety rating Air Conditioning (Taking it not as a
necessity item)
number of seats Size
Fuel Efficiency Ease of maintenance
Engine No. of Doors
Fast service
Automatic Transmission

4.4 TRADEOFFS BETWEEN HEDONIC AND

UTILITARIAN ATTRIBUTES
Trade-off is a technique that involves reducing or forgoing one quality or

aspect of something in exchange for increasing or obtaining other quality

of aspect in order to maximize the total return or effectiveness under

given circumstances. Several streams of literature have examined

tradeoffs among goods that are chosen and consumed to induce pleasure

and make consumers feel good or to achieve an instrumental purpose.

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These streams have distinguished between hedonic and utilitarian goods.

The theoretical framework of this study, differs from the constructs of

Chitturi, Raghunathan, and Mahajan (2007) and Cathy Kittson (2013)

trade-offs. The first study, involved hedonic and utilitarian attributes as

expected to evoke eight types of emotions where the intensities of these

emotions are expected to be moderated by the goal (desired) and actual

values of the available alternatives. Whereas in the second study i.e. of

Kittson it has been considered that goal condition (high versus low-

goals) affects the intensities of the eight emotions as summarized in his

model represented below in the figure 2(c).

Fig. 4.3 : Theoretical Model of Hedonic Vs Utilitarian Trade-off

Source: Cathy Kittson (2013)

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As our study focuses on the Automobile sector of India and being a big

amount of investment, consumers want both of the aspects i.e. hedonic

as well as utilitarian attributes while making purchasing decision, hence

what is the trade-off level of their purchasing decision is the question of

this study. Distinctly from the model proposed by Chitturi,

Raghunathan, and Mahajan (2007) and Cathy Kittson (2013) our study

rather than focusing on the emotions tries to find out what consumer

wants as a mix of attributes? More of utilitarian or more of hedonic

attributes; while purchasing a personal car.

We assume that as the consumer tries to trade-off the hedonic and

utilitarian attributes of two alternatives and considers which one he

likes more as compared to other rating it on a scale of likert. Instead of

estimating their emotions, the study denotes the overall affective

evaluation of each of the two alternatives about which the individual

eventually expresses a preference. In this context, the overall affective

evaluations can be regarded as the affective component of attitude

towards each alternative (Bagozzi and Burnkrant 1979; Ostrom 1969;

Peters and Slovic 2007). Also, this affective evaluation is assumed to be

a holistic evaluation ranging from a negative (dislike) to positive (like)

(Peters and Slovic 2007).

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Secondly analyzing the influencing factor of consumer preferences of

buying and distinguishing them under hedonic and utilitarian heads, the

model formulates the importance of each factor one has towards buying

personal cars, by rating it under scale of five degrees ranging from “not

at all important” to “extremely important”.

Based on both the evaluations i.e. overall preference of the consumer

and individual preference of attribute to consumers of car market, the

trade-offs will be developed and evaluated in the further chapters of the

study so as to analyze the consumer behavior and contribute towards

the literature on automobile industry.

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