Consumer Behaviour Dissonance - Essay Example

"First know yourself, then adorn yourself accordingly" Critically appraise this ment in light of modern consumer behaviour theory Though humankind has undergone outstanding technological progress over the centuries, the progress in human social psychology remains barely perceptible. Empirical social principles and advice, as the quote from Epictetus considered here, seem to reflect current socio-psychological reality with the same credence that it enjoyed 2000 years ago. In his statement, Epictetus clearly indicates that what one wears to project his external image should match his/her self-cognition. Thus, the happening of self-cognition precedes self-adornment, and product purchase: since under ordinary circumstances in today's world, to wear something, one needs to purchase it. In modern theories of consumer behaviour, much stress is given on this particular sequence of events of first knowing one's self and then proceeding to make a purchase. Experts believe "that people purchase a product or brand only if these things are consistent with, enhance, or in some way fit well with the conception they have of themselves" (Ross, 1971, p. 38). Thus, self-image, or self-concept has found a central place in the works of many modern consumer behaviour theorists. "Any bit of knowledge that a person has about himself or the environment is a "cognition," or "cognitive element."" (Wicklund, and Brehm 1976, 2). Self-cognition is not objective, but the sum total of subjective thoughts one has about one's self. It is taken as "the totality of the individual's thoughts and feelings having reference to him/her self as an object" (Rosenberg, 1979). Modern consumer behaviour theories postulate that a consumer who is not aware of his/her self, and fails to achieve "self-congruity" is bound to suffer in the act of purchasing a product from pre-choice anxiety, and/or post-choice regret arising from cognitive dissonance. In theories that attribute a "brand" with personality (Sirgy, 1985), the same principles can well apply to the development of the brand image of a product, as they apply to the consumer's path to proper purchase. Similar theorists hold that consumers select brands by the same process they select companions; "just as people take care in choosing friends who have a similar personality to themselves, so brands, which are symbolic of particular images, are chosen with the same concern" (De Chernatony and McDonald, 1997, p. 145). In today's marketing theories, products are assumed to have a personality that is not only determined by the product's physical characteristics (actual self), but also by the marketing mix promoting a brand image (ideal self) beyond the functionality of the product. In fact, according to many, self-image/brand-image congruity plays a key factor in driving consumer behaviour, and a brand image or product image, like the human self, can possess " a set of attributes such as friendly, modern, youthful and traditional" (Sirgy, 1985, p.195). The concept of the self that a person holds has many dimensions, and includes both physical and psychological attributes. Self-concept bases itself upon human self-prototypes and moderates the psychological functioning of an individual to exhibit consistent behavioural patterns in the various social roles that a person has to play. Such self-prototypes or self-schemata control, organize, and influence the information processing function of a person that includes the processing of both self-related and other information (Markus, 1977). The selection, interpretation, filtration, and assimilation of incoming information depend upon the self-schemas possessed by each individual (Kihilstrom, 1981). Absorption, rejection, or alteration of new information is based upon its consistency with the existing self-structure (Snygg and Combs, 1949). Earlier research on measuring and analysing self-images was confined to the domain of psychologists who studied the differences that could be seen between the individual's perceptions of his/her real self against the ideal self. Ross, 1971 distinguished between the real self and the ideal self by defining the real self as "an individual's perception of how (s)he actually is" (p. 80) as against the ideal self that defined "that perception of how (s)he would like to be" (p.80). Later studies (Sirgy, 1985) found self-concept to be truly multi-dimensional including in addition to the real and ideal self-images, - social, familial, coping, psychological and sexual selves. However, marketing research currently revolves around the concepts of real and ideal selves more than any other type of self-concept. Following this trend, Sirgy (1982) held that the self-concept process should be mediated by self-esteem motivation. It is natural for individuals to seek methods and opportunities to boost their self-esteem, and thus, in the role of a consumer, an individual would be more prone to approach and purchase products that he/she perceives to serve that purpose, and reject such products that do not conform to that end. One of the major theories that link consumer behaviour with self-concept is self-congruity, or self-concept/product-image congruity. Grubb and Grathwohl (1967) are of the opinion that it "links the psychological construct of an individual's self-concept with the symbolic value of goods purchased in the marketplace" (p.22). Consumer psychologists concur that products and associated brands form an integral part of the vision of self that an individual consciously projects to the external world, and therefore consumers can be defined in terms of either the products they acquire or use, or in terms of the meanings products have for them, or by their attitudes towards products (Tucrer, 1957). The purchase, display, and use of certain products have symbolic meaning for both the consumer as well as those who interact with the consumer (Grubb and Grathwohl, 1967). Thus, self/product congruity involves a self-evaluation of the person as a consumer (Eriksen, 1996). One of the primary proponents of the self-image/ product-image congruity theory were Grubb and Grathwohl, who in 1967, proposed that the consuming behaviour of an individual will be directed toward furthering and enhancing of his self concept through the consumption of goods as symbols. Following them, Landon (1974) researched on the image projected by different products. Consumers were seen to prefer products, brands, or suppliers that projected images congruent with the consumer's self-image (Landon, 1974; Sirgy, 1980). The three basic premises of the self-congruity theory appear as: 1. Some forms of consumer behaviour depend upon the consumer's desire to project his/her self-image to the society. 2. brands, products, and certain suppliers project images to the consumers that the consumer processes psychologically against his/her self-image. 3. Consumer's product preference depends upon the degree of congruity achieved by the product's image with that of the consumer's self-image in his/her mind. Sirgy's (1985) and Erikssen's (1996) studies, taken together, show that it is self/product congruity rather than self-concept, that has a direct say upon consumer purchase behaviour. Positive self-congruity is seen to exist when the discrepancy or dissonance between product image and self-image is low. In such a situation, the consumer will not only make a positive decision in respect of a product, but also the chances of post-purchase satisfaction remain high, if the product's projected image is supported by actualities. This then will open the road to brand loyalty. On the other hand, if the discrepancy between product-image and self-image is high, then the consumer would be prone to decide against a purchase. Belk (1988) has supported such consumer behaviour based upon self-congruity, upon the premise that self-congruous products provide a means of self-expression to the consumer. Thus, it is evident that the concept of self is a prime factor in defining consumer purchase decisions, and regardless of the image projected by a product, such product-image is assessed against a self-image, and the resultant congruity assessed, before a purchase decision is made. In such perspective, erroneous self-cognition, leading to erroneous self-concept, will definitely result in a defective process of achieving product/self-congruity and consequent post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Thus, Epitectus's advice of knowing one's self, preaching the primary importance of self-cognition before self-adornment seems entirely logical, and echoed in modern theories of consumer behaviour. One finds the idea and concept of cognitive dissonance to be quite related to the self-congruity theory. In self-congruity, the lowering of discrepancy between the ideal self/actual self, or self-image/product-image creates positive congruity, and leads to positive decisions. Self-congruity also suggests that where the discrepancy is high between the self-concept, and the element to be appreciated against the self, rejection might follow. In a remarkably similar manner, the theories of cognitive dissonance say that a person is in a dissonant state if two elements in that person's cognition are inconsistent (Festinger, 1957). Cognitive dissonance takes place when cognition and opinions upon the same thing are divergent and inconsistent with each other. Festinger (1957) extends the premise to an emotional conceptualisation where "for some people, dissonance is an extremely painful and intolerable thing." (p.266). This emotional aspect in cognitive dissonance was supported by Sweeney, Hausknecht and Soutar (2000) who marked that "dissonance includes both cognitive aspects, as the title 'cognitive dissonance' implies, as well as an emotional dimension, as many definitions, including Festinger's original definition, imply" (p. 383). Sweeney, Hausknecht & Soutar (2000) measured cognitive dissonance on a scale, which included: 1. An emotional dimension, reflecting purchase-anxiety, and defined as "a person's psychological discomfort subsequent to the purchase decision" (p. 380). 2. One cognitive dimension termed "wisdom of purchase" reflecting a consumer's post-purchase recognition that "they may not have needed the product of may not have selected the appropriate one" (p. 380). 3. Another cognitive dimension termed 'concern over the deal' that reflected a consumers post-purchase recognition that they may have been influenced against their own beliefs and priorities by pushy salespeople. Here, the first and second dimensions find support in consumer literature, but the importance of the third dimension lies in the fact that it rests upon a premise of forced compliance, admitting the consumer's malleability to external, on-spot influences that can direct his purchase behaviour to digress from the objectives and goals he had before entering the arena of purchase. Bell (1967) noted that the extent of dissonance experienced by a consumer was related to the extent they believed themselves to have been influenced by a salesperson. Comparing the two theories of self/product congruity, and cognitive dissonance, one is tempted to say that both share the same space and rely on the cognition of self-concept, and that the behavioural aspects of the state of self/product incongruity can be explained upon the premises of cognitive dissonance. A REAL LIFE EXAMPLE: One day in February, it was the 21st, to be precise, the author walked into the Store to buy a couple of pens. It was evening and drizzling outside, and rather than take the chance to catch the odd cold, the author chose to remain within the comforts of the Store, till the weather cleared. Looking over the racks and shelves for any article that might be of use or fancy, the author ambled into the grocery section. A middle-aged couple with their teenage son was intensely discussing something with the clerk at the counter who seemed to be their long time acquaintance. It was apparent that the teenager was disturbed by the way things were turning, and he kept on interrupting his parents voicing loud displeasure. The subject of the discussion was the purchase of a bicycle for him and the advice of their family acquaintance did not seem to sit well. While the boy wanted a bicycle, for that was what almost all his neighbourhood friends rode, his father wanted to buy him a , and to the chagrin of the boy, the clerk held the same opinion. It was clear that the boy saw his new bicycle as a symbol that will enhance his self-esteem and help to communicate with his peers, but his father found a relatively much older brand and model of bicycle to be the proper choice. The difference in opinion rose because to the son the brand and model of the bicycle counted more as a device of self-expression, while to the father the utilitarian aspects of a purchase appealed more. Ultimately, the son's wish held with the mother's intervention and the man handed over the money resignedly. In this case, the boy's behaviour can be explained upon the social-cognitive approach (Greenwald, 1988) where the ego task for the public-self is to fulfil social recognition and find social status. Here, the basis for self worth is peer approval, as in case of the boy in the store. "The private self seeks individual achievement up to some personal standard, and the collective self seeks to attain the goals of a reference group, which have been internalized by the individual as his or her own goals." (Ball, and Tasaki 1992, 157). The boy's collective self seeks to buy the same brand and model of bicycle, as used by his neighbourhood friends. This is because his neighbourhood friends act as the reference group whose goals, the boy has internalized, and has accepted as to be his own. On an individual level, the purchase of any bicycle would have sufficed his private self, but the desire for a particular brand and model was a function of his collective self, that is approved by his public self. The public-self uses this opportunity to satisfy its ego task of increasing self worth through peer approval of the bicycle, and such peer approval is bound to follow, since a goal of the reference group has been attained, - and by the fact of being a socially approved possession the bicycle increases the worth of the owner. Thus in case of the teenager, acquisition of the bicycle is tied to, and supportive of his self-worth. Acquisition of a particular brand and model of the bicycle can enhance his self-worth, social status, and recognition, while failing to attain that particular brand and model, and settling for something less than an approved peer goal, raises possibilities of peer rejection or derision. The stress is so much that the boy though seemingly well behaved, and with a conservative background, does not hesitate to contradict the opinion of his father in public to attain his goal. The attitude of the father can be seen from the angle of cognitive dissonance, where the father feels a cognitive dissonance arising from "concern over the deal" because he believes himself to be influenced into a purchase against his wisdom by his son. However, in this case the emotional aspect of dissonance does not rise to a painful scale, since the exclusive end consumer of the product purchased is the boy, and not the father who makes the purchase by paying the money. Recognition of this fact swerves the decision in favour of the boy. However, if the purchase was of something different, say a family car, or anything where the exclusivity of end use of the product is not confined to the boy alone, then needless to say, the situation would have taken a different turn, and the wishes of the boy would have been overridden by that of the father, or the mother as the case may have been. Therefore, cognitive dissonance, though present in this case, is mild enough not to overshadow the situation. The situation also spells out an important premise in family purchases: the consumer who has exclusive end use of the purchased product has a great say in the actual purchase decision, though the money may be not paid out of his/her exclusive pocket. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ball, A. Dwayne and Tasaki, Lori H. "The Self as Cognitive Structure," Journal of Consumer Psychology 1, no. 2 (1992): 157. Belk, Russell W. "Possessions and the Extended Self." 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