CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT-1

Q.1. Write answers for any two questions from below.

A. Explain the Strategies to Change Attitude.

Attitudes are influenced by personal experience and other sources of information, and
personality. Altering consumer attitudes is a key strategy for marketers. Marketers have to
create a positive attitude in consumer mind to attract them in comparison with the
competitor's products. Following are strategies to change attitude: 

1. Changing the consumer's basic motivational function : The consumer attitudes towards
a product or brand can be changed by making a particular need important. The approach
which is used to change the motor is functional. According to this approach, attitudes can
be classified in terms of four functions: Utilitarian function, Ego-defensive function,
Value-expressive function, or Knowledge function. 
2. Associating the product with an admired group or event: Attitudes are related, at least
in part, to certain groups, social events or causes. It is possible to alter attitudes toward
companies and their products, services, and brands by pointing out their relationships to
particular social groups, events, or causes. Companies regularly include a mention in their
advertising of the civic and public acts that they sponsor to let the public know about the
good that they are trying to do. 
3. Resolving two conflicting attitudes: Attitude change strategies can sometimes resolve
the actual or potential conflict between two attitudes. Specifically, if consumers can be
made to see that their negative attitude toward a product, a specific product, a specific
brand, or its attributes is not in conflict with another attitude, they may be induced to
change their evaluation of the brand.
4. Altering components of the multi attributes model : Multi-attitude models have
implications for attitude change strategies; specifically, they provide us with additional
insights as to how to bring about attitude change:
 Changing the relative evaluation of attributes: The overall market for many
products categories is often set out so that different consumer segments are offered
 different brands with different features or benefits. For instance, within a product
category such as dishwashing liquids, there are brands such as Scotch that stress
potency and brands such as Dove that stress gentleness. These two brands of
dishwashing liquids have historically appealed to different segments of the overall
dishwashing liquid market. Similarly, when it comes to coffee, or when it comes to
headache remedies, there is a division between aspirin and acetaminophen.
 Changing brand beliefs: A second cognitive-oriented strategy for changing attitudes
is changing beliefs or perceptions about the brand itself. Advertising helps us to find
out what a particular product has “more” or is “better” or “best” in terms of some
important product attribute.
 Changing the overall brand rating: Another strategy consists of attempting to alter
consumers’ overall assessment of the brand directly, without attempting to improve or
change their evaluation of any single brand attribute. Such a strategy frequently relies
on some form of a global statement that “this is the largest selling brand” or “the one
all others try to initiate” or a similar claim that sets the brand apart from all its
competitors.

B. What are the personality traits under 16 Personality Factors?

The 16 Personality factors test, Cattell’s 16 Personality Factors, or Cattell's 16 personality

traits theory is an assessment tool used to establish a person’s personality, usually in the
form of a test consisting of a questionnaire. Using filling in the questions, various personality
characteristics are identified and subsequently, the combination of characteristics is provided
overarching name. According to several personality theories, the human personality consists
of several broad characteristics or dispositions. 

The characteristics below represent broad personality fields of the Cattell 16 personality traits
theory / 16 PF test. The various groups of personality traits occur in a lot of people. People
who have a high need for social contact, for instance, tend to be more talkative and more
open. However, these don’t always occur together in a certain individual. Personality is
complex and each individual can display behaviour in conformity with these different
characteristics. Furthermore, behaviour is an interaction between personal and situational
variables. The situation a person is in plays a large role. The Cattell 16 personality traits
theory identifies the following personality traits:
1. Emotional engagement: The desire to develop intimate relationships with others:
outgoing versus reserved.
2. Emotional stability: How calmly people respond to what life brings or what happens
in life: calm versus stressed.
3. Liveliness: How free and spontaneous a person expresses themselves: spontaneous
versus restrained.
4. Socially secure: The extent to which a person feels at ease in social situations:
uninhibited versus shy.
5. Vigilance: The extent to which someone is cautious about the intentions and
motivations of others: suspicious versus trusting.
6. Openness: The extent to which someone wishes to keep personal information to
themselves: discreet versus openness.
7. Openness to change: The extent to which a person enjoys new situations and
experiences: Flexible versus connected to the familiar.
8. Perfectionism: The need someone feels to trust in structure rather than leaving things
to chance: controlled versus undisciplined.
9. Reasoning ability: The extent to which a person can identify and solve numerical and
verbal problems and connections: abstract versus concrete.
10. Dominance: The tendency to have influence and control over others: powerful versus
submissive.
11. Rule aware: The extent to which a person values rules: conforming versus non-
conforming.
12. Sensitivity: The extent to which emotions and feelings of others affect a person:
tender versus tough.
13. Abstractness: The amount of attention that someone pays to abstract rather than
concrete observations: imaginative versus practical.
14. Uncertainty: A person’s tendency to self-criticism: self-critical versus self-assured.
15. Independence: The extent to which a person trusts in his judgments and capacities
and opts to work solo: self-reliant versus dependant.
16. Tension: The extent to which a person may be frustrated by different situations:
impatient versus relaxed.
Because of the scientific background of Cattell and his 16FP theory, this is used in a wide
range of contexts. The test is taken and used in various industrial, organisational, research,
educational, and medical environments.

Q.2. Write short notes on all of the following topics.

A. Involvement Theory.

The involvement theory states that the consumer's involvement in high and low purchases
depends upon the degree of personal relevance and preference for that particular product.
High-involvement purchases are very important for consumers because they solve extensive
problems and process quality information, whereas Low-involvement purchases hold little
relevance because they are not very important to the consumers as are much risky and contain
limited information. For example, consumers purchase ready-to-eat food items because they
are time-efficient, hence in these products, there is a high degree of involvement, instead of
food products made from scratch.

B. Definition and concept of Groups.

A group refers to two or more people who interact with each other and share a set of values,
norms, and beliefs to accomplish certain goals. A group can be primary or secondary, formal
or informal, large or small, membership or symbolic, but all these groups are formed with the
sole objective to allow an individual to learn and socialize. For example, at jobs, people have
work groups that serve a major influence on the consumption behaviour of their members.
Similarly, there are shopping groups in which two or more people shop together with those
having more knowledge about the desired product.

C. Cultural influences on Consumer Behaviour

To study consumer behaviour, cultural influences can be a paramount factor to study a set of
behavioral patterns. It is the total of learned beliefs, values, and customs that serve to guide
and direct the consumer behaviour of all members of that society. This factor includes
knowledge, art, belief, morale, laws, customs, attitudes, and all other habits acquired by a
man as a part of society and are transmitted from generation to generation within that society.
Cultural influence can be learned through formal learning, informal learning, and technical
learning. The study of consumer behaviour by cultural influences determines what people
prefer.

D. Factors affecting Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour refers to the study of individuals or organizations and the processes
consumers use to select, search, use, and dispose of products and services. The study of
consumer behaviour is essential for marketers to understand consumers for surviving and
succeeding in this competitive marketing environment. Five factors are affecting consumer
behaviour. These are:

 Psychological factors including motivation, perception, learning, and attitudes

 Social factors include family, reference groups, roles, and status.
 Cultural factors include culture, subculture, and social class.
 Personal factors include age, occupation & style, and personality.
 Economic factors include the country's economic situation, personal income, and
liquid assets.

E. Perceived Risk

Perceived risk is the feeling of uncertainty or unreliability a consumer has when he/she
purchases exceptionally expensive items, for example, cars, electronic items, houses, etc. A
consumer has certain doubts while buying these kinds of goods in respect of their value for
money. This perceived risk can be identified by the period of warranty or guarantee on any
product, the presence of hidden extra costs, and the reputation or brand name of a product.
This perceived risk can be countered by giving attention to every detail the customer wants,
convincing them to buy products, and reassuring them about the product's quality.

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT-2

Q.1. Write answers for any two questions from below.

B. Explain various applications of Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes
they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to
satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society.
Application of Consumer behaviour

1. Analysing market opportunity: A consumer behaviour study helps in identifying the

unfulfilled needs and wants of consumers. This requires examining the trends and
conditions operating in the marketplace, consumers' lifestyles, income levels, and
emerging influences. The trend toward an increasing number of dual-income households
and greater emphasis on convenience and leisure has led to emerging needs for household
gadgets such as washing machines, mixer grinders, vacuum cleaners, childcare centers,
etc. Mosquito repellents have been marketed in response to a genuine and unfulfilled
consumer need.
2. Selecting Target market: A review of market opportunities often helps in identifying
distinct consumer segments with very distinct and unique wants and need. Identifying
these groups, learning how they behave and how they make purchase decisions enables
the marketer to design and market products or services particularly suited to their wants
and needs. For example, consumer studies revealed that many existing and potential
shampoo users did not want to buy shampoo packs priced at Rs. 60 or more and would
rather prefer a low-priced sachet containing enough quantity for one or two washes. The
finding led companies to introduce the shampoo sachet which became a good seller.
3. Marketing mix: Once unsatisfied needs and wants are identified, the marketer has to
determine the right mix of product, price, distribution, and promotion. Here too,
consumer behaviour study is very helpful in finding answers to many perplexing
questions.
4. Use in social and Non-profit marketing : Consumer behaviour studies are useful to
design marketing strategies by social, governmental, and not-for-profit organisations to
make their programs such as family planning, awareness about AIDS, crime against
women, safe driving, environmental concerns, and other more effective. UNICEF
(greeting cards), Red Cross and CRY, etc. make use of consumer behaviour
understanding to sell their services and products and also try to motivate people to
support these institutions.
5. Making better consumers: As a final benefit, studying consumer behavior should make
us better consumers. Common sense suggests, for example, that if you buy a 64 liquid
ounce bottle of laundry detergent, you should pay less per ounce than if you bought two
32-ounce bottles. In practice, however, you often pay a size premium by buying the larger
 quantity. In other words, in this case, knowing his fact will sensitize you to the need to
check the unit cost labels to determine if you are getting a bargain.

C. Discuss the elements of Consumer Learning.

Consumer learning is defined as a process by which people gather and interpret information
about products and services and use this information/knowledge in buying patterns and
consumption behaviour. Consumer learning may be intentional, where learning is an outcome
of a careful search for information; learning can also be incidental, where learning occurs as a
matter of chance, by accident, or without much effort.

Following are the elements of consumer learning:

1. Motivation: Consumer motives lie at the very heart of consumer behaviour. When a
consumer is faced with a need/want situation, there occurs an urge within him to act
towards the fulfilment of the need/want through the problem-solving/decision-making
process. So he is motivated to search for information, either internally from his memory
or externally through commercial, non-commercial, and public sources or the experience
of self and others. This desire to search for knowledge and information about the
product/service gets intensified with the degree of relevance or involvement. The
marketer can play an important role by identifying or helping the consumer identify the
sub-conscious and hidden motives, and triggering off motives and desires. In both these
ways, the consumer would be motivated to search for information, in so far as that
product/service would help satisfy the need/want.
2. Cues: A cue may be defined as a weak stimulus that gives strength and direction to the
motives; All the 4Ps could act as cues and give direction to motives; e.g. the packaging of
the product (colourful design; easy to carry; reusable containers), price (discounts, sales),
place (store display, store layout, window dressing) and promotion (advertisement).
3. Response: The behaviour of a person constitutes the response; i.e. how a person reacts to
a drive or a stimulus, reflects a response. This response could take various forms:
 It may be overt and lead to action; the consumer may decide to purchase the
product/brand.
 The response may just be learning for the future, i.e. the purchase is postponed for the
future; he decides to buy at a later date.
  A favorable image about the product and the brand may get created; the consumer
develops an intention to buy; as and when the consumer decides to make the
purchase, he would consider that brand.
4. Reinforcement: An action always reacts; based on the reaction, the behaviour gets
reinforced. In other words, if the action is followed by a reaction that is positive or
pleasant, or rewarding, the action gets positively reinforced; the likelihood of repetition of
that activity increases. The same holds vice versa. If the action is followed by a reaction
that is negative or unpleasant or unrewarding, the action gets negatively reinforced; and
the likelihood of repetition of that action decreases. In terms of consumer learning, if a
person buys a particular product, and the purchase leads to satisfaction, the consumer
would feel that he has got value for money. Through positive reinforcement, learning
would take place, and the consumer would prefer to buy the same product/brand in the
future.

Q.2. Write short notes on all of the following topics.

A. Applications of Consumer Behaviour.

There are four applications of consumer behaviour in the real life. These are:

1. To analyze the market opportunity by identifying the unfulfilled needs and wants of
consumers.
2. To select the target market by reviewing the market opportunities and identifying
district consumer segments.
3. To make marketing-mix decisions once the unidentified needs of consumers are
identified. The factors of marketing-mix decisions are product, price, promotion, and
distribution.
4. To use this consumer behaviour in the social and non-profit market and design
marketing strategies that can be helpful to social, governmental, and non-profit
organizations by making their programmes effective.

B. Adopters

The concept of adopter categories involves a classification scheme that indicates where a
consumer stands concerning other consumers in terms of time. Five adopter categories are
frequently used viz., innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.
  Innovators are venturesome risk-takers. They are younger, more educated, and
socially mobile.
 Early adopters take a calculated risk before investing and using innovations.
 Early majority tend to be more continuous and use the product after the innovators
and early adopters seem to be satisfied with it.
 Late majority are doubtful and skeptical about the innovation of new products.
 Laggards are traditional and possess limited social interaction.

C. Relationship of Motivation with Consumer Behaviour.

Consumer behaviour and motivation are always interlinked as there is a motivation to

consumers in purchasing or availing a particular good or service. The needs and wants of the
consumers are the core of the marketing concept and the study of motivation help in
understanding the drive in a person to perceive such need and follow a definite course of
action to satisfy that need. Various theories deal with consumer behaviour and motivation
such as Maslow's theory of need hierarchy, Herzberg's two-factor theory, and McClelland's
theory of achievement motivation. Marketers must understand the motives of their potential
consumers to relish good revenue.

D. The Big Five Personality traits

The Big Five personality traits refer to as OCEAN encompasses five key attributes of a
consumer's personality. These five traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion,
agreeableness, and neuroticism.

 Openness means being open to experiencing new or different things by being

intellectually curious and more creative or unconventional.
 Conscientiousness refers to acting in an organized or thoughtful way and tends to be
more disciplined.
 Extraversion is seeking stimulation in the company of others and tends to be very
social and energetic.
 Agreeableness entails being compassionate and cooperative towards others.
 Neuroticism refers to emotional sensitivity—particularly when it comes to
environmental or situational factors.

E. Consumer Imagery.
Consumers endeavor to preserve or enhance their self-images by buying products they
believe approve with that self-image and avoiding products that do not agree. This is called
consumer imagery. Consumers tend to shop in stores that have images perceived with their
self-images. For example, a health-conscious consumer will purchase products from brands
like Quaker, Kellogg's, or a consumer who wants ayurvedic products for him and his family
will purchase from Patanjali. Hence, Consumer imagery is a total perception of something
that a person forms by retaining all the information he is exposed to over time such as price,
quality, risk, etc.