Consumer Behavior Chapter 6

approach to studying personality in which behavior is assessed at a number of points in time

activity, interest, and opinion statements that are used in lifestyle studies

collection of human characteristics that can be associated with a brand

enduring tendency to strive to be better than others

extent to which consumers tend to voice complaints about unsatisfactory product purchases

component in psychoanalytic theory that attempts to balance the struggle between the superego and the id

multiple–trait perspective that proposes that the human personality consists of five traits: agreeableness, extroversion, openness to experience (or creativity), conscientiousness, and neuroticism (or stability)

techniques that combine data on consumer expenditures and socioeconomic variables with geographic information in order to identify commonalities in consumption patterns of households in various regions

approaches to personality inquiry that assume that personality traits exist at varying levels of abstraction

the personality component in psychoanalytic theory that focuses on pleasure–seeking motives and immediate gratification

approach to personality that focuses on understanding the complexity of each individual consumer

descriptions of how individual consumers differ according to specific trait patterns of behavior

degree to which an individual is open to new ideas and tends to be relatively early in adopting new products, services, or experiences

distinctive modes of living, including how people spend their time and money

extent to which material goods have importance in a consumer’s life

era in consumer research that focused heavily on psychoanalytic approaches

approach in trait research wherein the focus remains on combinations of traits

variable–centered approach to personality that focuses on particular traits that exist across a number of people

totality of thoughts, emotions, intentions, and behaviors that a person exhibits consistently as he or she adapts to the environment

principle found in psychoanalytic theory that describes the factor that motivates pleasure–seeking behavior within the id

popular geodemographic technique that stands for Potential Ratings Index by ZIP Market

approach to personality research, advocated by Sigmund Freud, that suggests personality results from a struggle between inner motives and societal pressures to follow rules and expectations

quantitative investigation of consumer lifestyles

the principle in psychoanalytic theory under which the ego attempts to satisfy the id within societal constraints

totality of thoughts and feelings that an individual has about him– or herself

theory that proposes that much of consumer behavior can be explained by the congruence of a consumer’s self–concept with the image of typical users of a focal product

positivity of the self–concept that one holds

study of symbols and their meanings

approach in trait research wherein the focus is on one particular trait

component in psychoanalytic theory that works against the id by motivating behavior that matches the expectations and norms of society

perspective that proposes that consumers live in a symbolic environment and interpret the myriad of symbols around them and that members of a society agree on the meanings of symbols

distinguishable characteristic that describes one’s tendency to act in a relatively consistent manner

approaches in personality research that focus on specific consumer traits as motivators of various consumer behaviors

popular psychographic method in consumer research that divides consumers into groups based on resources and consumer behavior motivations

the extent to which consumers tend to maximize what they receive from a transaction as compared to what they give