Consumer Psychology

Consumer psychology seeks to describe and explain consumer behavior. It provides the advertisers opportunities to investigate issues such as factors that are most important when people decide to purchase a particular item. Also, it seeks to analyze the benefits of a product or service relating to a set of market segments; and whether or not advertisements such as, television, billboards or magazines can convince an unenthusiastic customer to try a new product or service for the first time.

The first noted consumer psychologist was John B. Watson. Watson suggested that baby powder advertisements should play on the inherent sense of insecurity experienced by many first-time mothers.

“If psychology would follow the plan I suggest, the educator, the physician, the jurist,and the businessman could utilize our data in a practical way.” -John B. Watson

In addition, Ivan Pavlov’s introduced his philosophy of Classical Conditioning. Classical Conditioning is a condition centered on stimulus association. Classical Conditioning has 4 components:

• Unconditioned Stimulus: Causes automatic reflex response.
• Conditioned Stimulus: Something that is learned before creating a response.
• Unconditioned Response: A reflex that has happened automatically without having to learn how to do it.
• Conditioned Response: A reflex that can be evoked in response to a conditioned stimulus.

Each Component generates a stimulus response through association. Therefore, in theory, Classical Conditioning is used to stimulate the unconscious trigger from a previous association with a product.

John B. Watson and Ivan Pavlov noted that conditioning is the process of learning. Consumer Psychology is, based on these applied theories, motivation of particular interest groups by appealing to basic needs and/or desires. Carl Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs explores the range of consumer emotions and desires that advertisers hope to appeal to. The Five Levels of Hierarchy coincide with the consumers needs: The Psychology Need, Security Need, Social Need, Esteem Need and Self-Actualizing Need. Each need consists of a fulfillment that the consumer desires and each need must be met in order to reach the next level of fulfillment. The three classical Psychology authors teach us basic fundamentals of Human Nature and Conditioning which are essential when using advertising that manipulate the consumer.

Take Away: Critical thinking must be exercised when subjected to this manipulation versus the actual need or desire for the product or service.

Reference:
http://www.chroniclebooks.com/ image of dog w/leash
http://www.cartoonstock.com/ image of dog in chair
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/classical_conditioning.com
http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonailiy/a/hierachryneed.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/637615/John-B-Watson
http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/watson.htm
http://www.wsu.edu/~taflinge/psych1.html
http://www.myscp.org/media.aspx
http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/