“Stereotypes in consumer behaviour”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Consumer stereotyping is a process of creation of generalizations about consumption objects of members from a particular social category.^[1]

Definition

This definition is based on the well-established idea that people connect ownership of certain products with membership in a certain social group.^[2] The key determinant to know more about a consumption is a self-identity, the symbolic meaning of goods and the role played by brands.

Consumers often engage in shared consumption in order to become acquainted with and learn more about each other. Consumers very often are using stereotypes to help in forming their choices. The types of impressions consumers wish to create and the products they choose will be shaped by interpersonal goals, characteristics of the consumption partner, and the ability to effectively convey desired impressions.^[6]

Examples

Stereotypes allow people to infer the preferences of others in a wide variety of consumption domains. Consumer research in the social identity domain has shown that it is often the case that specific products are closely tied to certain social groups.

For example, Star Wars is considered masculine while Bridget Jones is considered feminine.^[7]

Because stereotypes are such rich knowledge structures, simply knowing someone’s group membership provides a guide for inferring his or her consumption preferences across a wide range of domains. For example, by knowing that one’s consumption partner is male, an individual may assume that he enjoys Star Wars, beer, car magazines, and sporting events. Armed with this knowledge, a consumer can convey a considerate and friendly image by tailoring his or her product choices to serve the preferences of the consumption partner.^[8]

The main goal of cross-national comparisons of purchase and consumer behaviour is to show similarities and differences between countries because results of researches in many cases just confirm already existing stereotypes. This is very useful for marketing departments in many companies, which are usually more interested in findings similar features to define marketing strategy for each country.^[9]

Also, consumers use stereotypes as a resource to help inform their choices, because stereotypes are socially shared and provide information about social groups based on easily identified qualities (e.g. race, gender), they may prove useful in inferring the preferences and anticipating the behavior of one's consumption partner.

Classification of images of the consumer behaviour

The development of this category applies to both research and business areas (e.g. consumer protection), but also the importance of performing specific roles of consumer society (identification of individuals with the people that play similar roles) for the transformation of the social structure (e.g. New forms social life, such as IKEA-family).^[10]

In the literature, consumers are depicted in a number of ways. Aldridge made a classification of images of consumers, which refers to the social construction of consumers in Western discourse about their consumption behaviours. The classification includes four different images of consumers: the rational actor, communicator, victim and dupe:^[11]

Another proposal for the classification of consumer identity presented by R. Sassatelli:^[12]

The impact of media in creating stereotypes

Impression management, stereotypes, and joint consumption

Consumers often engage in shared consumption in order to become acquainted with and learn more about each other. For example, new friends may go see a movie together to socialize or a salesperson may take a new client to dinner to learn about the client's needs. Whether the purpose is to make new friends or bring in new business, consumers often engage in joint consumption to forge new relationships with others. In these types of situations, the impressions people convey early in the relationship are important. Though new information is gained as interactions continue, additional information that contradicts the initial impression tends to be overlooked.^[14] Given the importance of creating a pleasant consumption experience in the early stages of a relationship, the products consumers choose for joint consumption are quite important and have the potential to make or break a budding relationship.

When consumers are just beginning to get to know each other, they have very little information regarding their consumption partner’s preferences and expectations for the interaction. Consumers use stereotypes as a resource to help inform their choices because stereotypes are socially shared and provide information about social groups based on easily identified qualities (e.g., race, gender), they may prove useful in inferring the preferences and anticipating the behavior of one's consumption partner.

When consumers wish to create a relationship with their consumption partners but have little information about them, they will rely on stereotypes to anticipate their consumption partner's responses. Furthermore, the types of impressions consumers wish to create and the products they choose will be shaped by interpersonal goals, characteristics of the consumption partner, and the ability to effectively convey desired impressions.^[11]

See also

References

1. ^Eva M. Hyatt (1992), Consumer Stereotyping: the Cognitive Bases of the Social Symbolism of Products, pp. 299–303.
2. ^{{Cite web|url=http://public.wsu.edu/~taflinge/psych2.html|title=Psychology of Consumer Behavior|website=public.wsu.edu|access-date=2016-06-10}}
3. ^{{Cite web|url=https://getintomarketing.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/aldridge-identifies-different-types-of-images-of-the-consumer/|title=Aldridge Identifies Different Types of Images of the Consumer|date=8 September 2014|website=GET INTO MARKETING|access-date=2016-06-10}}
4. ^White, Katherine and Jennifer J. Argo (2009), "Social Identity Threat and Consumer Preferences", Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19 (3), 313–25
5. ^Chattalas, M., (2015), National stereotype effects on consumer expectations and purchase likelihood: competent versus warm countries of origin, Journal of Business and Retail Management Research, Vol. 10 Issue 1, pp. 1–15
6. ^Barton C., Fromm J., Egan C., (2012) The Milleniall Consumer. Debunking stereotypes, Boston Consulting Group
7. ^Solomon M., Russell-Bennett R., PreviteJ., Consumer Behaviour
8. ^Richard Elliott and Kritsadarat Wattanasuwan (1998), Consumption and the Symbolic Project of the Self, pp. 17–20.
9. ^{{Cite journal|last=Douglas|first=Susan P.|date=1 June 1976|title=Cross-National Comparisons and Consumer Stereotypes: A Case Study of Working and Non-Working Wives in the U. S. and France|url=http://jcr.oxfordjournals.org/content/3/1/12|journal=Journal of Consumer Research|language=en|volume=3|issue=1|pages=12–20|doi=10.1086/208646|issn=0093-5301}}
10. ^Kyoungmi Lee, Hakkyun Kim, Kathleen D. Vohs, (2011) Stereotype Threat in the Marketplace: Consumer Anxiety and Purchase Intentions, Journal of consumer research,
11. ^¹Yang, Linyun Wu (2010), “The Role of Stereotypes in Consumer Behavior”, Dissertation, Department of Business Administration in the Graduate School of Duke University
12. ^Sassatelli R., Consumer Culture. History, theory and politics.
13. ^{{Cite web|url=http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=21979|title=Stereotypes in the Media :: Media Stereotypes Stereotyping|website=www.123helpme.com|access-date=2016-06-11}}
14. ^Olson, James M., Neal Roese and Mark P. Zanna. 1996. "Expectancies." In Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles, edited by E.T. Higgins & A.W. Kruglanski, 211–238. New York, NY: Guilford.