HUMAN BEINGS AND THE CONSUMER GLOBE

Topic: Human Beings and the Consumer Globe.

Subtopic: Psychology in the success of Consumer Globe.

Presented by: B. Shivani

Class: B. A. Journalism, III Semester

College: Presidency College, Bangalore

Stream of the paper: Psychology

Faculty guide: Dr Kavita Rai Sinha

ABSTRACT

Every consumer has a keen eye on the product they buy. The place, the seller, and most

importantly, the product should attract and appeal the consumer. The interest of any consumer is

drawn with the price module. Many studies talk about the success rate of Psychology in

consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour is calculated based on many models proposed by

famous psychologists. Value Attitude and Lifestyle (VALs) is such a model which was founded

by social scientist and consumer futurist Arnold Mitchell. This model is used in psychographic

market segmentation and helps in improving the marketing strategies to appeal the consumers

more.

The following points are the types of the horizontal dimension of VAL’s model

1. Consumers driven by knowledge and principles are motivated primarily by ideals. These

consumers include groups called Thinkers and Believers.

2. Consumers driven by demonstrating success to their peers are motivated primarily by

achievement. These consumers include groups referred to as Achievers and Strivers.

3. Consumers are driven by a desire for social or physical activity, variety, and risk-taking

are motivated primarily by self-expression. These consumers include groups known as

Experiencers and Makers.

The research paper revolves around the horizontal dimension of VAL’s model. The main

objective is to determine the horizontal dimension of consumers in the market and how will it

impact the realm of Consumer Psychology.

The methodology used is a quantitative or primary form of research. A sample size of 50 people

in the age group of 20-30 is given questionnaire and assessed on the type of horizontal dimension

in terms of behaviour and thoughts of the consumer while buying a product.

From the study we conclude that majority of the population of the sample size agrees with the

hypothesis which states that,

Hypothesis 1: The consumer is open to socialise as well as create a self opinion while buying any

product. This calls for an ideal situation.

Hypothesis 2: The consumer strives and achieves to buy a product and in turn motivate others to

buy them by making them understand the pros and cons of any product.

Hypothesis 3: The consumer balances between the duties and responsibilities of one’s own self

and the family as well as experiencing new brands.

Although the subcategory strivers of achievement, under horizontal dimension showed an

exceptional number which might have resulted from the subject’s variation in thoughts.

KEY WORDS: Consumer Psychology, VALs segmentation, Vertical segmentation, Horizontal

segmentation, Hypothesis

INTRODUCTION

Every seller is a consumer. To understand the behaviour of the seller or the vendor and the

customer or the consumer, it is essential to delve into the field called, Consumer Psychology.

Consumer Psychology is the thought pattern, decision-making ability, and reasoning effectively

while buying any product. According to the preferences or the changes made by the consumer, it

is helpful for the designing industry to enhance their existing quality of the product.

“Consumer Psychology, a branch of social psychology1 concerned with the market behaviour of

consumers. Consumer psychologists examine the preferences, customs, and habits of various

consumer groups; their research on consumer attitudes is often used to help design advertising

campaigns and to formulate new products,” by Jeannette L. Nolen.

Any realm in Psychology is more functional when it is accompanied by models. One such model

given in Consumer Psychology is VALs. It is proposed in the year 1978 by social scientist and

consumer futurist Arnold Mitchell and his colleagues at SRI International. “VALS ("Values and

Lifestyles") is a proprietary research methodology used for psychographic market segmentation.

Market segmentation is designed to guide companies in tailoring their products and services in

order to appeal to the people most likely to purchase them.”2

The two main criteria under VALs segmentation are Vertical and Horizontal dimensions. These

two determine the marketing segment (Vertical) and the behavioural segment (Horizontal) of a

resource.

The vertical dimension segments people based on the degree to which they are innovative and

have resources such as income, education, self-confidence, intelligence, leadership skills, and

energy.

The horizontal dimension represents the primary motivations and includes three distinct types:

Consumers driven by knowledge and principles are motivated primarily by ideals. These

consumers include groups called Thinkers and Believers.

Consumers driven by demonstrating success to their peers are motivated primarily by

achievement. These consumers include groups referred to as Achievers and Strivers.

1 https://www.britannica.com/science/social-psychology

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VALS

Consumers driven by a desire for social or physical activity, variety, and risk taking are

motivated primarily by self-expression. These consumers include the groups known as

Experiencers and Makers.3

These are the aspects which helps an industry grow according to the psychology of the

consumer. In VALs, to understand the psychological behaviour of the consumer, there needs to

go a deep research on the horizontal aspect which includes ideals, achievements, and self-

expression.

1. Thinkers – A well educated professional is an excellent example of Thinkers in the

vals framework. These are the people who have high resources and are motivated

by their knowledge. These are the rational decision making consumers and are well

informed about their surroundings. These consumers are likely to accept any social

change because of their knowledge level.

2. Believers – The subtle difference between thinkers and believers is that thinkers

make their own decisions whereas believers are more social in nature and hence

also believe other consumers. They are characterized by lower resources and are

less likely to accept innovation on their own. They are the best class of word of

mouth consumers.

3. Achievers – The achievers are mainly motivated by – guess what –

Achievements. These individuals want to excel at their job as well in their family.

Thus they are more likely to purchase a brand which has shown its success over

time. The achievers are said to be high resource consumers but at the same time, if

any brand is rising, they are more likely to adopt that brand faster.

4. Strivers – Low resource consumer group which wants to reach some achievement

are known as strivers. These customers do not have the resources to be an achiever.

But as they have values similar to an achiever, they fall under the striver category.

If a striver can gain the necessary resources such as a high income or social status

then he can move on to becoming an achiever.

5. Experiencers – The group of consumers who have high resources but also need a

mode of self expression are known as Experiencers. Mostly characterized by young

adults, it consists of people who want to experience being different. This class of

consumers is filled up with early adopters who spend heavily on food, clothing and

other youthful products and services.

3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VALS

6. Makers – These are consumers who also want self expression but they are limited

by the number of resources they have. Thus they would be more focused towards

building a better family rather than going out and actually spending a higher

amount of money. Making themselves into better individuals and families becomes

a form of self expression for the Makers.4

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

4 https://www.marketing91.com/vals-values-attitude-lifestyle/

1. A study was conducted by Peggy J Liu, Steven K Dallas, Gavan J Fitzsimons on

consumers’ choices, and resulting insights to assess why should marketers, consumers,

and policy makers care when choices are made for others, and what should they do

differently? A 2 × 2 framework of consumers’ choices for others addresses these

questions. This framework has two fundamental dimensions: the chooser’s social focus

(relationship vs. recipient oriented) and the chooser’s consideration of consumption

preferences (highlight the recipient’s preferences vs. balance the recipient’s preferences

with the chooser’s preferences). This framework captures most choosing-for-others

situations, and each cell involves a distinct profile of motives, ultimately affecting

choices. This framework integrates the choosing-for-others literature, which we hope will

guide future research, and it also offers practical implications for marketers, consumers,

and policy makers.5

2. A study was conducted by Sharon E. Beatty Lynn R. Kahle Pamela Homer Shekhar

Misra on alternative measurement approaches to consumer values: The list of values and

the rokeach value survey. Two methods of measuring consumer values, the List of Values

and the Rokeach Value Survey, are compared. Both involve some social desirability

responding but both have convergent, discriminant, and empirical validity for consumer

research. The List of Values may be preferable for some types of research because it

detects more daily influence in people's lives and because it is simpler to administer.6

3. A study was conducted by Dawn B. Valentine , Thomas L. Powers on generation Y

values and lifestyle segments. The purpose of the research presented in this paper is to

provide a segment characterization of Generation Y using the VALS typology and

provide insights into the media habits of this population. The results contribute to the

literature by providing for the first time a segmented characterization of Generation Y

consumers.7

OBJECTIVE

5 https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/46/3/407/5372346?searchresult=16 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mar.42200203057 https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JCM-07-2013-0650/full/html

To understand the nature of the consumer, it opens a path to study on the behaviour through

certain ways. The main objective of this research work is,

“to understand the elements of horizontal dimension of VALs segmentation and in turn

learn about the people’s behaviour while buying a product”.

The study classifies the number of people in the sub category of ideals, achievement, and self-

expression (the determinants of horizontal dimension).

Hypothesis 1: The consumer should be open to socialise as well as create self opinion while

buying any product. This calls for an ideal situation.

Hypothesis 2: The consumer should strive and then achieve to buy a product and in turn motivate

others to buy them by making them understand the pros and cons of any product.

Hypothesis 3: The consumer must balance between the duties and responsibilities to look after

one's own self and the family and experiencing new brands.

METHODOLOGY

The study was conducted through primary method. It is a quantitative research. A sample size of

50 was taken to understand the ideology of the consumers in the horizontal dimension of VALSs

segmentation. The subjects were provided with a questionnaire which contained 6 questions

based on the categories under horizontal dimension. The age group was between 20 - 30 which

includes both male and female.

The pattern of the questionnaire was grouped as 2 questions where 1 question was dedicated for

each sub category under one category of the horizontal dimension.

Eg: Questions 1, 2, 3, 4 belong to the ideal category (thinkers and believers), questions 5, 6, 7, 8

belong to the achievement category (achievers and strivers), questions 9, 10, 11, 12 belong to the

self-expression category.

The responses are displayed in the form of a pie chart which helps follow the discussion.

RESULTS

Questions and Responses

QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. IDEALS:

The first subcategory of ideals is thinkers. Those set of consumers who are flexible enough to

buy a product based on the knowledge gained as well as are open to the changes of any product

through the environment are known as thinkers. The above two questions are posed to know the

number of people who fall under this category. In this part, the independent variable is the

criteria through which the respondent responded and the dependent variable is the response.

The second subcategory of ideals is believers. Those set of consumers who depend more on the

external sources of information to buy any product than much of self research. They believe

more on what people insist about any product. The above two questions are posed to know the

number of people who fall under this category. In this part, the independent variable is the

criteria through which the respondent responded and the dependent variable is the response.

8 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZxlXw8DI5qG2-aETmzhW_7oA0C5uQSOB8hEUw03vSQg/edit#gid=979418234https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZxlXw8DI5qG2-aETmzhW_7oA0C5uQSOB8hEUw03vSQg/edit#gid=979418234

2. ACHIEVEMENT:

The first subcategory in achievement is achievers. They are driven by the success in their career

by achieving something great. Thus they purchase brands which are more in trend. They are high

resource consumers. The above two questions are posed to know the number of people who fall

under this category. In this part, the independent variable is the criteria through which the

respondent responded and the dependent variable is the response.

The second subcategory of achievement is strivers. They are low consumers of resources as they

strive to manage to purchase any brand. So this makes them work hard, in turn, to become an

achiever. The above two questions are posed to know the number of people who fall under this

category. In this part, the independent variable is the criteria through which the respondent

responded and the dependent variable is the response.

SELF-EXPRESSION:

9 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZxlXw8DI5qG2-aETmzhW_7oA0C5uQSOB8hEUw03vSQg/edit#gid=1140828353

The first subcategory of self-expression is experiencers. Those set of consumers who like

experiencing different brand and products mostly irrespective of the cost are experiencers. They

mainly spend on clothing, food, and lifestyle products. The above two questions are posed to

know the number of people who fall under this category. In this part, the independent variable is

the criteria through which the respondent responded and the dependent variable is the response.

The second subcategory of self-expression is makers. Their self-expression is mostly in taking

care of the family and meeting their needs. They limit their resources and dedicate more to the

responsibilities they have to bear. The above two questions are posed to know the number of

people who fall under this category. In this part, the independent variable is the criteria through

which the respondent responded and the dependent variable is the response.

10 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZxlXw8DI5qG2-aETmzhW_7oA0C5uQSOB8hEUw03vSQg/edit#gid=1561202145

DISCUSSION

The study conducted was conducted under the purview of 3 hypothesis under the categories of

the horizontal dimension of VALs segmentation. The hypotheses are as follows:

Hypothesis 1: The consumer is open to socialise as well as create a self opinion while buying any

product. This calls for an ideal situation.

Hypothesis 2: The consumer strives and achieves to buy a product and in turn motivate others to

buy them by making them understand the pros and cons of any product.

Hypothesis 3: The consumer balances between the duties and responsibilities of one’s own self

and the family as well as experiencing new brands.

IDEALS

The first two graphs establish the ratio between thinkers and believers to deduce the category of

ideal.

1. According to the pie chart below, we learn that the majority of the sample size agrees to

the norms of a thinker’s behaviour. The blue part shows YES, which is major between

the three options. It indicates that the majority population of the sample size go with the

hypothesis for thinkers that “The consumer should be open to socialise as well as create

self opinion while buying any product. This calls for an ideal situation.”

2. According to the pie chart below, we learn that the sample size agrees to the norms of a

believer’s behaviour. The blue part shows NO, which is the major between the three

options. It indicates that the majority population of the sample size go with the hypothesis

for believers that “The consumer should be open to socialise as well as create self opinion

while buying any product. This calls for an ideal situation.”

ACHIEVEMENTS

The next two graphs establish the ratio between achievers and strivers to deduce the category of

achievement.

1. According to the pie chart, we learn that the majority of the sample size agrees to the

norms of an achiever’s behaviour. The blue part in the chart shows YES, which is the

major of all. It indicates that the majority population of the sample size go with the

hypothesis for achievers that “ The consumer strives and achieves to buy a product and in

turn motivate others to buy them by making them understand the pros and cons of any

product.”

2. According to the pie chart, we learn that the majority of the sample does not agree to the

norms of a striver’s behaviour. The red part in the chart shows NO, which is the major of

all options. It indicates that the majority population of the sample size does not go with

the hypothesis for strivers that “ The consumer strives and achieves to buy a product and

in turn motivate others to buy them by making them understand the pros and cons of any

product.”

SELF-EXPRESSION

The last two graphs establish the ratio between experiencers and makers to deduce the category

of self-expression.

1. According to the pie chart below, we learn that the majority of the sample size does not

agree to the norms of an experiencer’s behaviour. The red part shows NO, which is major

between the three options. It indicates that the majority population of the sample size go

with the hypothesis for thinkers that “The consumer balances between the duties and

responsibilities of one’s own self and the family as well as experiencing new brands.”

2. According to the pie chart below (below the thinkers, believers), we learn that the sample

size agrees to the norms of a believer’s behaviour. The blue part shows NO, which is the

major between the three options. It indicates that the majority population of the sample

size go with the hypothesis that “The consumer balances between the duties and

responsibilities of one’s own self and the family as well as experiencing new brands.”

CONCLUSION

From the study we conclude that majority of the population of the sample size agrees with the

hypothesis which states that,

Hypothesis 1: The consumer is open to socialise as well as create a self-opinion while buying

any product. This calls for an ideal situation.

Hypothesis 2: The consumer strives and achieves to buy a product and in turn motivate others to

buy them by making them understand the pros and cons of any product.

Hypothesis 3: The consumer balances between the duties and responsibilities of one’s own self

and the family as well as experiencing new brands.

Although the subcategory strivers of achievement, under horizontal dimension showed an

exceptional number which might have resulted from the subject’s variation in thoughts.

This research paper is a tool in the field of consumer psychology which will help in focusing

more on the psychological aspect of marketing. It will also lead for further research to

understand the nature of customers or consumers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/46/3/407/5372346?searchresult=1

2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mar.4220020305

3. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JCM-07-2013-0650/full/html

4. https://www.britannica.com/science/social-psychology

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VALS

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VALS

7. https://www.marketing91.com/vals-values-attitude-lifestyle/

8. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZxlXw8DI5qG2-

aETmzhW_7oA0C5uQSOB8hEUw03vSQg/edit#gid=979418234

9. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZxlXw8DI5qG2-

aETmzhW_7oA0C5uQSOB8hEUw03vSQg/edit#gid=1140828353

10. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZxlXw8DI5qG2-

aETmzhW_7oA0C5uQSOB8hEUw03vSQg/edit#gid=1561202145