CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY

Author: Forero C., José

The psychology of the consumer
Latin American Journal of Psychology, vol. 10, no. 1, 2019.
Konrad Lorenz University Foundation
Bogotá, Colombia.
Resumen
Se presentan y analizan las principales áreas de la psicología del consumidor: el estudio
de las actitudes, motivación del consumidor, imágenes, hábitos de consumo,
personalidad del consumidor, publicidad y estilos de vida.
De vida. Se presenta el papel de la psicología del aprendizaje en los hábitos de
consumo. Algunos se describen algunos estudios representativos de la psicología del
consumidor, haciendo hincapié en las contradicciones de la psicología con la
investigación de marketing.
De la psicología del consumidor en pandemia de COVID-19 es mucho más que una
crisis sanitaria: ha cambiado de forma imprevisible todo nuestro modo de vida. Nuestro
modo de vida. Como sugiere el análisis de los datos económicos sobre ventas, este
dramático escenario ha también ha tenido un fuerte impacto en los niveles de gasto de
los individuos. Para comprender mejor estos cambios, el estudio se centra en el
comportamiento del consumidor y sus antecedentes psicológicos.
Introduction
In this article we wish to show how the application of psychology has reached a great
development in several countries around the world. Development in several countries of
the world that has received the name of “Consumer Psychology”. Consumer
Psychology”. In Latin America some psychologists have taken the first steps in order to
introduce this branch of psychology in the field of consumer psychology.researc this
branch of psychology in the field of market research.
Based on a descriptive definition, we might say that consumer psychology is the scientific
study of habits, attitudes, motives, personality, environment and perceptions in general,
which determine the buying behavior of a product. Perceptions in general, which
determine the buying behavior of a product. Consumer psychology can be considered
as the evolution of the motivational research so widespread in the United States.
Research so widespread in the United States from the 1940s onwards. At that time, the
Social Research 1n The Social Research 1nc. In Chicago and later the Institute for
Motivational Research were founded.
The orientation of these centers was eminently psychoanalytic. Their aim was to learn
not only about conscious motives, but also about But also the unconscious motives that
set consumer behavior in motion. Consumer behavior. At a time when Freudian ideas
were so much in vogue, it was only natural that such an approach should be adopted,It
was only natural that such an approach should be very popular.
Background
Conducting both individual and group interviews, rarely standardized, since the
interviewer must use different “resources” each time, according to the subject or group.
Interviewer must use different “resources” each time, according to the subject or group
interviewed. These disadvantages have been partly obviated with the use of projective
drawings such as TAT and Rosenzweig’s test, where silhouettes are used performing an
action X, for example, drinking Coca-Cola.
The interviewee is asked a series of standardized questions regarding the reason for
that action.
Action. With questionnaires of this type it is possible to reach representative samples of
the population by presenting equal population, presenting equal stimuli in an equal
manner. The use of this technique has been widely used not only for the measurement
of motivations but also for the evaluation of images and attitudes.
For the evaluation of images and attitudes. Waltet Thompson Company (1961), brings
research of this type to evaluate attitudes toward the use of corduroy and cotton, as well
as to study the reasons leading to the use of corduroy and cotton. To study the reasons
that lead to the use of these two types of fabrics. Although this is the topic for which
psychology psychology made its entrance into the field of market research, little
progress has been made in the has been made in the measurement of consumer
motivation. This may be largely due to a lack of this may be largely due to a lack of
operationalization; it has not been defined what is meant by motivation in market
research; for those involved in marketing, the reasons or motives may be conscious or
"unconscious" and the most important may be the study of the market. reasons can be
conscious or "unconscious" and the most important can be the study of the unconscious.
unconscious. If it is difficult to work with constructs such as motives, it is even more
difficult to work with the "unconscious". "unconscious". Udell (1965) departs from the
traditional classification of motives into rational and emotional motives proposed by
Coppell. and emotional motives proposed by Copeland to replace the terms conscious
and unconscious. unconscious. For him, there is a continuum of purchase motives, at
the extremes of which would be the motives that can be operationalized, and at the other,
what he calls Socio-psychological motives for purchasing, within which psychological
motives for purchase, which include the social prestige that the product can give to its
user. Its user. The motives of achievement, power and affiliation studied by MeClelland,
although they fall within the study of motivation, have been treated in the same way. the
study of motivation, they have been treated by authors such as Webster (1972),
considering them a useful approach to show aspects of the a useful approach to show
aspects of consumer personality. This point of view is not shared by other authors who
have devoted themselves to the study of the consumer. Something similar has happened
with the research of needs. 3) Images: the study of images is related to the study of
perception. Ruch (1971), says that people who want to sell a product use the fact that
"we tend to perceive that which we want to sell". we tend to perceive what we want".
CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY This perception of products, brands, etc., also has a lot to
do with activities and stereotypes. and stereotypes. For Markin (1969), image can be
defined as a "total conceptualization of a person or object", conceptualization of a person
or object".
According to this author, images are made up of knowledge, perceptions one has of the
object concerning its characteristics, memory, impressions and an acquired value
system, impressions and a system of acquired values. In Latin America, some
psychologists who in Latin America, some psychologists who conduct research on image
have taken Markin's concept and have designed an instrument to measure these
elements of image. instrument to measure these elements of image. The questionnaire
is characterized by being completely objective and allows to establish comparative
profiles of the image of products, companies, etc.
Research in this area has been facilitated by the delimitation of what is considered to be
an image. As an image. However, it is not uncommon to find somewhat vague definitions,
such as one of those brought by Kropf (2017), in a list of definitions: the image would be
“a psychic ensemble of operating psychic energies that merge into a dynamic unity
replete with forces.”
The images studied in marketing are grouped by Brink and Kelley (1963), in: Image
image, Institutional image, Product image, Brand image, Brand line image, and
Consumer demand image. Brand image and consumer demand image. Studies of this
type make it possible to establish. The position of a product, brand or institution as well
as the convenience or not of using the names of companies or a particular brand. Or a
particular brand for a given product or product line.
Products. Likewise, image studies are used in advertising to create, improve or
strengthen what has become known as a “brand”, improve or strengthen what has come
to be called “product personality”.
4) Consumer habits: the study of habits corresponds to the application of the psychology
of learning. Of learning. This study could be divided into two main areas: (a) the
evaluation of what has been learned in a consumer and (b) the evaluation of what has
been learned in a consumer. The evaluation of what has been learned in a consumer
and (b) what should be taught to him. The first of these relates more directly more directly
to habits.
Generally, studies in this field have focused on finding out what are the “rituals” of use
and purchase of a product. Of the “rituals” of use and purchase of a product. Teaching,
on the other hand, has had more to do with advertising. With advertising. From this point
of view, Henderson (1955) cites 20 principles of learning psychology applicable to
advertising. Of learning applicable to advertising, they are:
1) “Displeasurable things can sometimes be learned as quickly as pleasurable
things, but pleasant stimuli can sometimes be learned as quickly as pleasurable
things. But the most ineffective stimuli are those that elicit little or no emotional
response. Emotional response,
2) “The capabilities of learners are important in determining how much they can
learn and how quickly they will learn. And in how much time they will do so.”
3) “Things that are learned and understood tend to be better retained than things
learned by machine repetition. Learned by machine-like repetition”.
4) “Practice over periods of time is more economical in learning than the same
amount of practice concentrated in single periods of time. Of practice
concentrated in single periods”.
5) “When teaching how to perform a task, it is better to show the execution to the
learner as if he were doing it himself”.
6) “The order of presentation of the material to be learned is very important.” .
7) “If the material to be learned is different or unique it will be better retained”.
8) “Showing mistakes can increase learning”.
9) “Learning situations that are rewarded only occasionally are more effective than
those in which reinforcement is used. Than those where continuous
reinforcement is employed.”
10) “It is easier to recognize something than to remember it”..
11) ‘The rate of recall tends to be very rapid immediately after learning.’
12) “Messages attributed to people held in high esteem influence opinion change
more than messages from people who are not. change of opinions more than
messages from people who are not well known; but after a few weeks, both
messages are equally effective. Weeks, both messages are equally effective”.
13) “Repetition of identical material is often as effective in recalling something, as
repetition using some variations on the same material”.
14) “In a learning situation a moderate fear is more effective than an intense fear”.
Intense fear.”
 15) “Knowledge of the results increases learning”.
16) “Active learning is better than passive learning”.
17) “A message is more easily learned and accepted if it does not interfere with early
habits. early habits.
18) “Mere repetition of a situation does not necessarily lead to learning it. For this to
happen, it is there needs to be a relationship in what is presented and a source
of satisfaction.”
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CONSUMER CONSUMPTION ll
Some new learning may interfere with the recall of some early learning. early learning.
The application of these principles to the field of advertising has been particularly
developed in the United States. In a special way in the United States. In our environment,
with the exception of very few cases, advertising agencies have not seen the need to
advertising agencies have not seen the need for learning experts for the planning of the
advertising message.
Planning of the advertising message. As far as "rituals" or buying habits are concerned,
some psychologists have used them with great success, some psychologists have
employed with great success the method of systematic observation.
This procedure, in conjunction with the use of other techniques, has provided valuable
information to consumer goods producers. information to producers of popular consumer
goods, not only for planning marketing strategies, but also for targeting the strategies,
but also for targeting product advertising.
5) Consumer personality: the evaluation of consumer personality has had several
approaches. on the one hand, the personality traits possessed by the consumer of a
given product have been studied. of a given product; research has also been carried out
on the consumer's self-image, his values, and his. The consumer's self-image, his
values, the type of motive that governs his behavior in particular, and the desired
personality traits have also been investigated, and desired personality traits.
The most commonly used tests have been the Edwards and the Mc.CleIland test.
Personality studies seek to know what the consumer is like or would like to be like, to
talk to them in a certain way, or to offer them certain products.
products.
BlackweIl and Engel (1971), after reviewing some studies on consumer personality and
its relationship with and its relation to the purchase behavior of certain products,
conclude that the relationship between purchase and personality is that the relationship
between purchase and personality is quite low. For this reason, studies on personality
studies have focused mainly on consumer needs assessment and personality image.
and on the image of the buyer's personality for specific items or products. products. From
this point of view, some studies have been carried out in our country.
6) Advertising: we have already seen some applications of psychology to advertising, in
the studies on image, habits and personality of the consumer. on image, habits and
personality of the consumer. Psychologists have worked on what is known as television
pre-testing. known as television pre-testing; this is an evaluation of the television
commercial before it is aired. before it is aired. The evaluation is made taking into account
the recall of the message, understanding of the commercial, purchase intention and
attitudes towards the commercial. In this regard In this regard, there is an evaluation
technique developed in Colombia and standardized by Forero and Pineda (1974).
By way of illustration, we can cite studies on “children’s reactions to television
commercials” (Goldberg, Marvin & Gorn, 1974), research on persecution and (Goldberg,
Marvin and Gorn, 1974), research on persuation (Robertson and Rossiter, 1974), racial
influences on preferences for (Robertson and Rossiter, 1974), racial influences on
commercial preferences and levels of recall (Barry and Hansen, 1973).
Of recall (Barry and Hansen, 1973). In this area, work has also been done on subliminal
advertising, where studies have not Subliminal advertising, where studies have not
proliferated due to well-known ethical considerations, considerations.
7) Lifestyle: the effort to understand the consumer has led to the study of his or her
lifestyle. If life. This term, used by Adler to refer to the effort of each individual to realice
The fundamental goal of superiority (Ruch, 1971), has been applied to consumer
research, modifying the ideographic approach that has been used by The consumer,
modifying the ideographic approach that this author gave to lifestyle, for a nomoretic
treatment, in order to Nomoretic treatment, in order to make it applicable to the study of
groups.
Baller and Charles (1967) define lifestyle as the way of acting, feeling and thinking of a
community or group. Community or group. Lifestyle has been studied by comparing the
consumer behavior of different social conglomerates.
Different social conglomerates: cities, classes, age groups, etc., looking for what
differentiates them and what are those qualities or characteristics that make them
different. What differentiates them and what are those qualities or characteristics that
best describe a society or a segment of it. A society or a segment of it the choices that
are made for certain products, as well as the way they are consumed, are taken as a
reflection of the taken as a reflection of a society’s way of life (Markin, 1969). A study
that A way of applying this concept is that of Alpert and Gatty (1969), who, using factorial
analysis, succeeded in using factor analysis, they were able to isolate those variables
correlated with 25 characteristics or factors of a group of 54 characteristics or factors of
a group of 5424 male consumers. The factors that Theo factors that made it possible to
establish categories within this group were related to “heavy drinkers. Heavy drinkers”,
“travelers”, “smokers”, etc.
CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY
The most relevant characteristics of each of these subgroups were obtained.
Subsequently, the different groups were correlated with the consumption of two brands
of beer. Beer. The objective of this research was to study the position of one of the two
brands in a market segment. Market segment. In Colombia, some studies have been
carried out involving both psychologists and non-psychologists.
Psychologists. However, the number of studies on this subject is quite small. The
research areas shown here refer only to general aspects; in each of them there are
specific aspects that psychologists deal with. Specific aspects that the psychologist
dedicated to consumer research is concerned with in each of them. Consumer research.
Hence, there is no mention of “name tests”, Studies on consumer needs, special
techniques used to measure advertising impact, Advertising impact, etc.
The contribution of psychology to market research, together with the contributions of
sociologists, have brought about the need for a new approach. The contribution of
psychology to market research, together with the contributions of sociologists, has made
it necessary to rely on these disciplines to provide the most complete.
The COVID 19
We administered an online survey to 3833 participants (age range 18 to 64 years) during
the first peak period of infection in Italy. During the first peak period of the contagion in
Italy. Consumer behavior towards needs was predicted by COVID-related anxiety and
fear, while consumer behavior toward non-needs was predicted by COVID-related
anxiety and fear, while consumer behavior toward non-needs was predicted by COVID-
related anxiety and fear.
Consumer behavior toward non-needs was predicted by depression. In addition,
consumer behavior toward needs and non-needs was predicted by personality traits,
COVID-related anxiety and fear, while consumer behavior toward non-needs was
predicted by depression. Personality traits, perceived economic stability, and self-
justifications for purchasing, self-justifications for purchasing. The present study
extended our understanding of changes in consumer behavior during the pandemic. In
consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results could be the results
could be useful in developing marketing strategies that consider psychological factors to
meet the needs and feelings of consumers.
To meet the needs and feelings of real consumers. While consumer behavior toward
nonessentials was predicted by depression. By depression. In addition, consumer
behavior toward needs and non
needs was predicted by personality traits, perceived economic stability and self-
justifications for buying. Self-justifications for buying. The present study extended our
understanding of changes in consumer changes in consumer behavior during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The results could be useful in developing marketing strategies
that consider psychological factors to meet the needs and feelings of consumers.
Psychological factors to meet the needs and feelings of real consumers.

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