Concept of Motivation:

Motivation asks the question ‘why’? about human behaviour.

For example, why do they prefer pepsi than slice?, Why are you reading this
book?, Why he buys only from Big Bazar? etc.
Following formula shows that a given instance of buying behaviour is the result
of three factors multiplied by each other, the ability to buy something, the
opportunity to buy it and the motivation i.e. the wish, the need or the desire to
do so.
Buying Behaviour = Ability X Opportunity X Motivation
Definition of Motivation

Motivation is the driving force that impels people to act. It represents the
reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.

“Motivation is the complex set of forces starting and keeping a person at

work in an organization. Motivation is something that moves the
person to action, and continues him in the course of action already
initiated.”
The Motivation Process
Personality
Perception
Learning
Attitude

Unfulfilled
Goal or
Needs,
Tension Drive Behaviour Need
Wants &
fulfullment
Desires

Tension
reduction
Needs:
• Needs are innate and acquired.

• Innate needs are also called physiological needs or primary needs which include food, water, air,
shelter, etc.

• Acquired needs are those needs that we learn from our surroundings / environment or culture.
These may include need for power, for affection, for prestige, etc. These are psychological in
nature; therefore they are also called as secondary needs.

Goals:
Goals are the end result of motivated behaviour. From marketer point of view, there are four types of goals:
(a) Generic goals: General classes of goals that consumers select to fulfill their needs. For example, need for washing hands.

(b) Product specific goals: For washing hands what kind of product is used. For example, use soap, liquids etc.

(c) Brand specific goals: For example, which soap – Lux, Pears etc., to be purchased.

(d) Store specific goals : From where that product must be purchased.
• Needs and goals are interdependent, existence of one is impossible without the other.

• individuals are more aware of their physiological needs than they are of their psychological needs.

Motives:
• Consumer researchers have given two types of motives- Rational Motives and Irrational (emotional) Motives.

• consumers behave rationally when they consider all alternatives and choose those that give them the greatest utility. This is
also known as economic man theory.

• Marketers meaning of rationality is when consumers select goals based on totally objective criteria such as size, weight or
price, etc.

• Emotional motives imply the selection of goals according to personal or subjective criteria. For example, desire for status,
individuality, fear of owning the product (from society), pride, affection, etc.

• It is seen that what may appear irrational to others may be perfectly rational in consumer’s opinion. Therefore, it is very
difficult to distinguish between rational and emotional consumption motives.
Positive motivation: The person is driven towards an object/condition/situation.
Example: A person goes to the gym three times a week to build up his body and muscles so that he can look good. The
object in question (gym, work out, good body) is referred to as an approach object. His behavior is directed towards
achievement of a positive goal, which is fitness, body building and great looks.

Negative motivation: Here, the person is driven away from an object/condition/situation, and the
corresponding effects of non usage.
For example, a person decides to buy Pepsodent toothpaste for his child as it helps fight germs and tooth decay whole
day long. His behavior is directed towards the object (Pepsodent) to avoid a negative goal, which is tooth decay.
Personality
Personality consists of the inner
psychological characteristics that both
determine and reflect how we think and
act, which together form an individual’s
distinctive character.
Inner characteristics –
❖Qualities
❖Attributes
❖Traits
❖factors and mannerisms
In consumer studies, personality is defined as “consistent responses to environmental
stimuli that are consistent and enduring”.

An individual’s personality helps marketers to describe consumer segments as it

provides for orderly and coherently related experiences and behaviour.

Three main characteristics of personality;

1.Personality reflects individual differences
2. Personality is consistent and enduring
3. Personality may change
Theories of Personality
1. The Psychoanalytic Theory of Freud
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychology, based his theory on certain assumptions
which is as follows −

• Unconscious needs or drives lie at the heart of human motivation and personality.

• The socialization process that takes place within people in a social set up has a
huge impact on individual behavior.

• He proposed that, human psyche is composed of parts within our awareness and
beyond our awareness. And all behavior within an individual cannot be explained,
much lies in the subconscious.
•Id − According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
of personality, the id operates based on the
pleasure principle, which stresses on immediate
fulfillment of needs. The id is the personality
component made up of unconscious psychic
energy which satisfies basic urges, needs, and
desires.

•Ego − Ego is that state of awareness which

thinks of you as separate from the other. It
always thinks of the glories of the past and hopes
of the future and focuses on guiltiness. It always
thinks of what was and what could be.

•Super Ego − The superego provides guidelines

for making judgments. It is the aspect of
personality that holds all our moral standards and
ideals that we acquire from both parents and
society.
Id: It is the strong urge or desire which is at the heart of a consumer’s motivation and
personality. The function of the Id is to discharge tension which it does by demanding instant
gratification, even at the cost of violating the norms of society. Id operates on the pleasure
principle.
Psychologically, id is the source of all desires and wishes that exist in the form of unconscious
images and fantasies. Since all wishes are not satisfied, there is frustration and this may lead an
individual to break norms and rules for his satisfaction.

Ego: This comes into existence because of the limitation of id. Ego operates on the Reality
Principle. It tries to achieve the demands of id in a realistic and possible way. The ego develops
ways to postpone the wishes of id. If id wants a product the ego restrains it because of financial
constraints. It controls impulsive behavior. Id engages in dreams and fantasies which exist as
pleasurable imaginations.

Ego can distinguish between dreams and reality. Ego is an individual’s social control. It acts as an
internal monitor and attempts to balance the demand of id.

Super ego: It strives for perfection. It is the individual’s moral code and helps in striving for
perfection. It restrains the aggressive impulse of the id rather than postponing them, as does the
ego.
2. Social-Psychological/Neo-Freudian Theory
It is of the view that social relationships are fundamental to the formation and development of
personality. So, consumers have been classified into three personality groups:

Compliant Individuals: Move towards others for the need of love, affection and approval; are
conformists who prefer known brands.

Aggressive Individuals: Tend to move against others and are manipulative; feel a high need for
achievement, power, success; prefer specific brands, so that they can be noticed.

Detached Individuals: Move away from others: feel a need for self reliance, independence and
freedom; are least aware of brands.
3. Trait Theory
Traits are the features of an individual or tendency of an individual in a particular manner. Traits
help in defining the behavior of consumers. According to the Trait theorists, an individual’s
personality make-up stems out of the traits that he possesses, and the identification of traits is
important. Following are the few of the most common traits −
❑ Reserved vs. Outgoing
❑ Dull vs. Bright
❑ Docile vs. Aggressive
❑ Serious vs. Happy go lucky
❑ Unstable vs. Stable
❑ Expedient vs. Conservative
❑ Shy vs. Uninhibited
❑ Tough-minded vs. Tender-minded
❑ Trusting vs. Suspicious
❑ Practical vs. Imaginative
❑ Unpretentious vs. Polished
❑ Self-assured vs. Self-respective
❑ Conservative vs. Experimenting
❑ Group-dependent vs. Self-sufficient
❑ In disciplined vs. Controlled
❑ Relaxed vs. Tense
4. Self Theory:
Self-concept can be described simply as how one perceives himself and his behavior in the market place. It is
the attitude one holds towards himself. What one thinks of himself. The self concept is not very realistic
because an unconscious component is always present. It can be divided into six types, as given below:

1. Actual self: How a person actually perceives himself.

2. Ideal self: How a person would like to perceive himself.

3. Social self: How a person thinks others perceive him.

4. Ideal social self: How a person would like others to perceive him.

5. Expected self: An image of self somewhere in between the actual and ideal self.

6. Situational self: A person’s self image in a specific situation.

Attitude
“attitude is the response of an individual to a social object or phenomenon, and the response will
have affective or evaluations connotations”.

Consumer attitude may be defined as a feeling of favorableness or un favorableness that an

individual has towards an object. As we, all know that an individual with a positive attitude is
more likely to buy a product and this results in the possibility of liking or disliking a product.

Consumer attitude basically comprises of beliefs towards, feelings towards and behavioral
intentions towards some objects.
Belief plays a vital role for consumers because, it can be either positive or negative towards
an object. For example, some may say tea is good and relieves tension, others may say too
much of tea is not good for health. Human beliefs are not accurate and can change according
to situations.

Consumers have certain specific feelings towards some products or brands. Sometimes
these feelings are based on certain beliefs and sometimes they are not. For example, an
individual feels uneasy when he thinks about cheese burst pizza, because of the tremendous
amount of cheese or fat it has.

Behavioral intentions show the plans of consumers with respect to the products. This is
sometimes a logical result of beliefs or feelings, but not always. For example, an individual
personally might not like a restaurant, but may visit it because it is the hangout place for his
friends.
Attitudes have several important characteristics. They

have an object

have direction, intensity and degree

have structure

are learned predispositions

are influenced by a situation

Functions of Attitudes

The following are the functions of attitudes

•Adjustment Function − Attitudes helps people to adjust to different situations and

circumstances.

•Ego Defensive Function − Attitudes are formed to protect the ego. We all are bothered
about our self-esteem and image so the product boosting our ego is the target of such a
kind of attitude.

•Value Expression Function − Attitudes usually represent the values the individual
posses. Our value system encourages or discourages us to buy certain products. For
example, our value system allows or disallows us to purchase products such as cigarettes,
alcohol, drugs, etc.

•Knowledge Function − Individuals’ continuously seeks knowledge and information. When

an individual gets information about a particular product, he creates and modifies his
attitude towards that product.
Attitude formation is of prime importance to a marketer. Attitudes comprises three components,
knowledge, feeling and behavior; while we can just observe behavior, the knowledge and feeling
component remain hidden. Once attitudes are formed (as a result of learning), it is very difficult
to change them.

Attitude Formation: Attitudes are formed as a result of the learning process.

Attitudes are also formed on the basis of information that a person collects about a product or
service offering and/or a brand, from his environment. Such information could be specific to the
product or service, or may be incidental, that gets stored in his memory. The consumer forms
positive or negative attitudes based on information gathering, storage and retention, and on the
basis of knowledge and beliefs.
Attitude Change: Once formed, attitudes are enduring and consistent. However, this does
not imply that they cannot be changed. Attitudes can be changed in the same manner as they
are formed, i.e. through learning. They can be changed by bringing about a change or
alteration in any one or all of the components that make up the attitude, i.e. knowledge,
feeling and behavior. Bringing about, changes in any or all of the tricomponents, requires
immense effort on the part of the marketer, who need to provide information via media as
well as use reference group appeals and opinion leaders so as to influence modification of
attitudes.

- Attitude change via cognition: Attitudes can be changed by providing information about
the brand, and changing consumer beliefs about the attributes about a brand. It can also
be brought about by changing the importance that consumers’ attach to the attributes of a
product. - Attitude change via affect: Attitudes can also be changed by generating positive
feelings and emotions towards a brand. Ambience of the store, reward schemes, well
designed ads with celebrities etc., also create positive mood states that impact attitudes.
Attitude change via behavior: Consumer attitude can also be changed by eliciting trail on the
part of the consumer and encouraging him to use the product.

Attitudes can be changed/ modified through various means.

1. Bringing about a change in the product itself, and/ or the package

2. Identifying evaluative criteria for the consumer

3. Modifying or changing the criteria for evaluation

4. Associating the product/ brand with an existing favorable attitude

5. Changing the basic motivational function

6. Changing consumer opinion and beliefs about competitor brands