Motivation and Emotion:

Driving Consumer Behavior

Motivation Process
Motivations
▮The inner reasons or driving forces
behind human action as consumers
are driven to address real needs
• Human motivations are oriented toward
two key groups of behavior:
▪ Homeostasis - The body naturally reacts in a
way so as to maintain a constant, normal
blood stream
▪ Self-improvement - Changing one’s current
state to a level that is more ideal
Findings of some recent consumer studies
Regulatory Focus Theory
▮Consumers orient their behavior
either through a prevention or
promotion focus
• Prevention focus - Orients consumers
toward avoiding negative consequences
• Promotion focus - Orients consumers
toward the pursuit of their aspirations or
ideals
Consumer
Motivations Hedonic
According to Self Actualization: Giving a
Value

Maslow’s
large saving post retirement
to charity
Hierarchy Esteem: Posting
achievements in online
gaming
Belongingness and love:
Fitting in with college group

Safety and Security: Gated

Apartment Complex

Physiological Needs: Eat

Maggie as an evening snack
Utilitarian
Value
Ernest Dichter’s Consumption Motives

• Product consumption was driven by 12 key motives,

namely power–masculinity–virility, security, eroticism,
moral purity/cleanliness, social acceptance,
individuality, status, feminity, reward, mastery over
environment, desalienation, and magic mastery. Each
of these motives translates into requirement for
different goods and service offerings.

• Dichter’s motives can explain why people get

motivated towards purchase and consumption
patterns of certain goods or service offerings.
▮David McClelland’s Trio of Needs
Theory
➢Human behaviour is affected by three needs,
which can be classified into three categories,
and thus constitute the trio, namely needs for
power (nPow), affiliation (nAff), and
achievement (NAch).
▮Jagdish Sheth's Consumer Motives
➢Sheth classified motives into five dimensions,
namely functional motives, aesthetic/emotional
motives, social motives, situational motives, and
curiosity motives.
▪ According to him, each of these is oriented towards
the achievement of specific goals.

➢The trio of needs theory could explain why

people get motivated towards purchase and
consumption patterns of certain good/service
offerings.
Simpler Classification of Consumer Motivations

▮Utilitarian motivation - A drive to

acquire products that consumers can
use to accomplish things
▮Hedonic motivation - Involves a drive
to experience something personally
gratifying
Utilitarian and Hedonic Motivation
Utilitarian motivations leads to Hedonic motivations lead to

Joining LinkedIn to network Posting photographs on Instagram

professionally

Buying tank full of petrol Driving the car fast on a curvy road
even when not rushed

Purchasing clothes at Big Bazar Purchasing tailored clothes at

Raymond

Purchase of a deodorant Purchase of an exotic perfume

Motivational research

▮ During the 1950s, many observers began to believe that the

‘unconscious part’ played a major role in ‘what’ and ‘why’ people buy and
use goods and services.
▮ Researchers began using qualitative techniques such as projective
techniques.
▮ Interviews to determine consumer’s unconscious, and this led to what
came to be known as ‘motivational research’.
▮ The term ‘motivational research’ refers to qualitative research that is
used to discover the subconscious motivations of consumers.
▮ Motivational research attempts to identify underlying motives, feelings,
and desires concerning consumption of product and service offerings,
and corresponding consumption patterns.
Definition and meaning of
consumer emotions and moods

▮There is a two-way relationship

between emotions and moods,
and human motives
Human Motives Emotions and
Moods

Relationship between human motives and

emotions and moods
▮ Emotions
➢ Emotions are changes in the body state that impact
psychological processes, thereby resulting in expression
of feelings and observable behavioural reactions.
➢ Emotions comprise three components, namely
subjective feelings, physiological responses, and
observable behaviour.
▮ Moods
➢ Moods are defined as emotional states that are less
intense, transient, and short term.
➢ Moods are defined as emotional states that are less
intense, transient, and short term.
➢ Similar to emotions, moods are internal subjective states
that can be inferred through our body language,
gestures, and behaviours.
Emotions, moods, and
consumer behaviour
▮ As consumers, we experience pleasantness or unpleasantness
towards goods and service offerings and/or brands.
▮ Emotions and moods can exert a powerful force on consumer
behaviour.
▮ Strong emotions and moods, either positive or negative, can
influence a person to purchase certain products and/or brands
and perform certain acts of behaviour.
▮ In the context of a marketplace, this means that purchase and
consumption behaviour is strongly influenced and often
controlled by our emotions and mood states.
Differences in Emotional Behavior

▮Emotional expressiveness
• Extent to which a consumer shows
outward behavioral signs and otherwise
reacts obviously to emotional
experiences
▮Emotional intelligence
• Capture one’s awareness of the
emotions experienced in a situation, and
an ability to control reactions to these
emotions
Emotions - Example
▮A big toy company recalls a popular
product after concerns of lead
contamination were reported.
• How differently are consumers likely to
behave in this situation?
Emotion and Cognitive Learning Interplay
▮Semantic wiring
• Consumers link concepts for memory
retrieval
• The active process and storage of
knowledge is influenced by emotions
• When marketing presents a product that
evokes emotions, consumer recall is
likely to increase
Emotion and Cognitive Learning Interplay
▮Mood-congruent recall
• Events are associated with moods
• When a mood can be controlled by
marketing, consumers evaluations of a
product can be influenced
Emotion and Cognitive Learning Interplay
▮Nostalgia
• Events in the past may be remembered
more positively than they were in reality
• Consumers can make purchases based
on nostalgic feelings brought up about
the past by the product
Self-Conscious Emotions
▮Specific emotions that result from
some evaluation or reflection of one’s
own behavior
• Include pride, shame, guilt, and
embarrassment