Motivation and
Values
Chapter 4
Opening Vignette: Paula
• What are Paula’s motivations for being
a vegetarian?
• How is vegetarianism being promoted
and who is promoting it?
• How is the beef industry responding to
this movement toward a meatless diet?
• How are values influencing individuals’
choices in consumption?
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Motivation & Values
• The forces that drive us to buy/use
products…
– Are usually straightforward
– Can be related to wide-spread beliefs
– Are emotional & create deep commitment
– Are sometimes not immediately recognizable
to us
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The Motivation Process
• Motivation:
– The processes that lead people to behave as
they do. It occurs when a need arises that a
consumer wishes to satisfy.
• Utilitarian need: Provides a functional or
practical benefit
• Hedonic need: An experiential need involving
emotional responses or fantasies
• Goal:
– The end state that is desired by the consumer.
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The Motivation Process
• Drive:
– The degree of arousal present due to a discrepancy
between the consumer’s present state and some
ideal state
• Want:
– A manifestation of a need created by personal and
cultural factors.
• Motivation can be described in terms of:
– Strength: The pull it exerts on the consumer
– Direction: The particular way the consumer attempts
to reduce motivational tension
4-5
Ads Reinforce Desired States
• This ad for exercise
shows men a desired
state (as dictated by
contemporary
Western culture), and
suggests a solution
(purchase of
equipment) to attain
it.
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Motivational Strength
• Biological vs. Learned Needs:
– Instinct: Innate patterns of behavior universal in a
species
– Tautology: Circular explanation (e.g. instinct is
inferred from the behavior it is supposed to explain)
• Drive Theory:
– Biological needs produce unpleasant states of
arousal. We are motivated to reduce tension caused
by this arousal.
• Expectancy Theory:
– Behavior is pulled by expectations of achieving
desirable outcomes – positive incentives – rather than
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pushed from within
Motivational Direction
• Needs Versus Wants:
– Want: The particular form of consumption used to
satisfy a need.
• Types of Needs
– Biogenic needs: Needs necessary to maintain life
– Psychogenic needs: Culture-related needs (e.g. need
for status, power, affiliation, etc.)
– Utilitarian needs: Implies that consumers will
emphasize the objective, tangible aspects of products
– Hedonic needs: Subjective and experiential needs
(e.g. excitement, self-confidence, fantasy, etc.)
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Motivational Direction
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Instant Gratification of Needs
• We expect today’s technical products to
satisfy our needs – instantly.
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Motivational Conflicts
• Goal valence
– Positively-valued
goal: approach
– Negatively-valued
goal: avoid
• Deodorants &
mouthwash
• Positive and
negative motives
often conflict with
one another
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Motivational Conflicts (Cont’d)
• Approach-Approach
– Two desirable alternatives
– Cognitive dissonance
• Approach-Avoidance
– Positive & negative aspects
of desired product
– Guilt of desire occurs
• Avoidance-Avoidance
– Facing a choice with two
undesirable alternatives
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Classifying Consumer Needs:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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Figure 4.2
Dutch Conception of Paradise
• A Dutch respondent’s collage emphasizes this
person’s conception of paradise as a place where
there is interpersonal harmony and concern for the
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environment.
Criticisms of Maslow’s Hierarchy
• The application is too simplistic:
– It is possible for the same product or activity to satisfy
every need.
• It is too culture-bound:
– The assumptions of the hierarchy may be restricted to
Western culture
• It emphasizes individual needs over group
needs
– Individuals in some cultures place more value on the
welfare of the group (belongingness needs) than the
needs of the individual (esteem needs)
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Discussion
• Devise separate promotional strategies for
an article of clothing, each of which
stresses one of the levels of Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs.
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Consumer Involvement
• Involvement:
– A person’s perceived relevance of the object
based on his/her inherent needs, values, and
interests.
• Object: A product or brand
• Levels of Involvement: Inertia to Passion
– Type of information processing depends on the
consumer’s level of involvement
• Simple processing: Only the basic features of the
message are considered
• Elaboration: Incoming information is linked to
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preexisting knowledge
Conceptualizing Involvement
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Figure 4.3
Increasing Involvement through Ads
• The Swiss Potato
Board is trying to
increase
involvement with its
product. The ad
reads, “Recipes
against boredom.”
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Consumer Involvement (cont.)
• Involvement as a Continuum:
– Ranges from disinterest to obsession
• Inertia (Low involvement consumption):
– Consumer lacks the motivation to consider alternatives
• Flow State (High involvement consumption):
– Consumer is truly involved with the product, ad or web
site
• Cult Products:
– Command fierce consumer loyalty and perhaps worship
by consumers who are highly involved in the product
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Cult Products
• Command fierce consumer loyalty,
devotion, and worship
– High involvement in a brand
– E.g., Apple computers, Harley-Davidson
CLICK ON LOGO TO SEE
VIDEO ABOUT
CONSUMERS’ DEVOTION
TO HARLEY DAVIDSON
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The Many Faces of Involvement
• Product Involvement:
– Related to a consumer’s level of interest in a
particular product
• Message-Response Involvement:
– (a.k.a. advertising involvement) Refers to a
consumer’s interest in processing marketing
communications
• Purchase Situation Involvement:
– Refers to the differences that may occur when
buying the same product for different contexts
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Customizing for Product Involvement
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Purchase Situation Involvement
• Differences that may occur
when buying the same
object for different contexts
– Social risk is a consideration
– Gift as symbol of
involvement
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Measuring Involvement
• Teasing out the Dimensions of Involvement:
– Involvement Profile:
•
•
•
•
•
Personal interest in a product category
Risk importance
Probability of making a bad purchase
Pleasure value of the product category
How closely the product is related to the self
– Zaichkowsky’s Personal Involvement Inventory Scale
• Segmenting by Involvement Levels:
– Involvement is a useful basis for market segmentation
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Table 4.1: Involvement Scale
To Me (Object to be Judged) Is
1. important
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
unimportant
2. boring
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
interesting
3. relevant
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
irrelevant
4. exciting
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
unexciting
5. means nothing
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
means a lot
6. appealing
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
unappealing
7. fascinating
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
mundane
8. worthless
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
valuable
9. involving
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
uninvolving
10. not needed
_:_:_:_:_:_:_
needed
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Strategies to Increase Involvement
• Appeal to hedonistic
needs
• Use novel stimuli in
commercials
• Use prominent stimuli in
commercials
• Include celebrity endorsers
in commercials
• Build consumer bonds via
ongoing consumer
relationships
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Values
• Value:
– A belief that some condition is preferable to its
opposite (e.g. freedom is better than slavery)
• Core Values:
– General set of values that uniquely define a
culture
• Value system: A culture’s unique set of
rankings of the relative importance of
universal values.
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Core Values
• Every culture has its own set of values
– E.g., individualism vs. collectivism
• Value system
• Enculturation vs. acculturation
– Socialization agents: parents, friends, teachers
– Media as agent
• Discussion: Core values evolve over time. What
do you think are the 3–5 core values that best
describe Americans today?
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Using Values to Explain
Consumer Behavior (Cont’d)
• List of Values (LOV)
– Nine consumer segments/endorsed values
– Values by consumer behaviors
– E.g., those who endorse sense of belonging
read Reader’s Digest & TV Guide, drink &
entertain more, and prefer group activities
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Means-end Chain Model
Product
Florist
Important
Product
Attributes
Beauty
Instrumental
Values
(flexible)
Love
Cheerful
Terminal
Values
True Friendship
Happiness
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Materialism
• Materialism:
– The importance people attach to worldly
possessions
– Tends to emphasize the well-being of the
individual versus the group
– People with highly material values tend to be
less happy
– America is a highly materialistic society
– There are a number of anti-materialism
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movements
Values of Materialists
• Materialists value visible symbols of success such
as expensive watches.
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Discussion Question
• Materialists are more
likely to consume for
status. Can you think
of products and brands
that convey status?
• There is a movement
away from materialism
in our culture. Can you
think of products, ads,
or brands that are antimaterialistic?
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Consumer Behavior in the
Aftermath of 9/11
• Need for balance…
– 9/11 & consumer
values
• Redirecting focus
from luxury goods to
community/family
• Terror Management
Theory
• Consumer privacy vs.
security
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