Individual psychological traits in consumer behavior

Introduction

Organizations face multiple survival and growth challenges in today’s fast-paced and highly competitive global business environment. Growing and succeeding in this globalized market depends mostly on a firm’s ability to satisfy and delight customers. The satisfaction of the customer is heavily hinged on the strength of the firms to identify, understand, and implement effective marketing strategies with information on the behavior consumers encounter. At the same time, they search, process, use, and dispose of products and services to satisfy their needs and wants. However, the behaviors of consumers are influenced by cultural, personal, environmental, and psychological factors. Marketing literature has documented personality traits as one of the critical behavioral variables influencing the purchase behavior of consumers (Solomon 2010; Schiffman and Kanuk 2010). Generally, personality is what differentiates a person from the other and also shapes how he or she interacts with the environment.  The traits such as attitudes, values, tastes, and preferences are an indication of personality, and so is the cognition, environmental influence, and unconscious drives (Blythe, 2008). As noted by Schiffman and Kanuk (2010), as a person grows, his or her personality is altered by education and events or people surrounding an individual.

Different types of psychological theories are extensively used by scholars and marketers to help them understand and infuse the concept of personality traits into consumer purchase behaviors. However, trait theory is the most relevant primary basis in marketing personality literature due to its stability, consistency, and quantitative to support quantitative analysis (Dejong, 2008). The five critical dimensions of trait theory are described in the five-factor model. These include agreeableness, openness to experience, extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism (Mikolajczak-Degrauwe et al. 2012). Given the global market competitiveness and desire to satisfy consumers, recent studies have focused on understanding the relationship between the five personality traits and purchase behavior. Previous empirical studies on consumer behavior are focused on cultural and demographic variables influencing the buying behavior of consumers. The limitations of these factors are already acknowledged by existing literature on consumer behavior (Pandey and Pandey 2012; Solomon 2010; Schiffman and Kanuk 2010).

Problem Statement

Studies on personality traits are scanty, and their scope is limited, as they only emphasize the nature and development of personality theories rather than providing the predictive power of these traits to the buying behavior of consumers. The moderating effect of socio-demographic variables is also fundamental in assessing the influence of personality on the purchase behavior of consumers but has never been captured in existing studies. Besides, one segment of consumers, the students, are conspicuously missing in these studies, yet they have become major consumers in the country. However, very little is known about the buying behaviors of consumers, hence the motivation to exploit the high potential market segment of students. In considering student consumers and moderating effects of socio-demographic factors, the proposed study can solve the problem c by filling the empirical gap in the literature.

Research purpose and Objectives

The study will contribute to the literature in the field of consumer behavior by assessing the predictive power of personality traits on consumer purchase behavior.   In achieving this purpose, the researcher will be seeking to address these specific objectives:

1. To evaluate the influence personality traits defined as extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and neuroticism on the purchase behaviors of student consumers
2. To examine the moderating effect of demographic and social variable such as income, marital status, gender, age, and level of education on the buying behavior of student consumers

Literature Review

Introduction

The literature review describes vital concepts such as personality and personality traits and applicable theories. It will also review recent empirical literature in consumer behavior, mainly studies on personality traits.

Concept of Personality Trait

The concept of personality is vast and dynamic in nature to have a generally accepted single definition. Gangajail (2009, p. 97) stated that the definition of this concept depends largely on the context of the discussion.  It was, however, described by Arnold, Price, and Zinkhan (2012) as distinctive patterns of behaviors, thoughts, and emotions characterizing individual adaptions to life situations. It is also defined as the collection of personal psychological attributes that make a person unique and also controls his or her relationship and responses to the environment (Blythe 2008, p. 73). Schiffman and Kanuk (2010) defined personality as the inner psychological makeup reflecting an individual response to the environment. It was evident that the words environment and psychological attributes are consistent across most definitions of this concept.

Personality Theories

The personality study has many approaches from different schools of psychological thought. The conventional theories for explaining the process and structure and development of human behaviors include Psychoanalytic, behavioral theory, and Neo-Freudian theory. Trait theory, humanistic and social-cognitive theories can also explain the concept of personality in this context.

Psychoanalytic Theory

            The psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud describe human personality based on three constructs. These are the id, ego, and superego. The id is the core drive of all psychic energy and operates on the principle of pleasure. It also contains libido demanding immediate gratification of biological and instinctual desires like aggression and sex (Schiffman and Kanuk 2010). Fred classified the moral and ethical dimensions of the human psychic under the superego. The superego defines moral rights or wrong, and these drives a person towards perfection rather than pleasures by constraining the behaviors. The conscious of the ego is what moderates the primitivism of the id and the superego. Here, the cost and benefits of an action are considered before making any decision.

It was evident that the purchase decisions of consumers reflect individual personality. Since consumers tend to associate brand and products to their personality traits, they can easily match products/brands with personality styles. Marketers can thus segment and position the products and products based on the personality of their target audience. However, the psychoanalytic theory was heavily criticized by Neo-Freudians following including Carl Jung, Karen Horney and Alfred Adler. As noted by Schiffman and Kanuk (2010), these opponents contended that individual personality is primarily influenced by the social environment but not biological drives and proposed by Freud.

Behavioral and humanistic theory

            Behavioral theorists believe that the environment shapes personality and that behavioral attributes are conditioned through experimental procedures (McLeod 2007).  Humanistic theory, on the other hand, emphasizes the positive side of human behaviors such as creativity and striving to attain full potential (Bonn 2012). Abraham Maslow and Carl Rodgers are the main contributors to humanistic theory. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory posited that the need to achieve self-actualization is the motivation behind the individual personality.

The behavioral and target marketing is based on the behavioral profiles current and potential users of the product or brand. A behavioral theory provides marketers with insights into the desires and habits of consumers for more in-depth customization of advertisement. By considering the individual preferences, target ads display relevant and interesting content to users, thus allowing marketers to reach out to a more receptive audience. Humanistic theories like the hierarchy of needs by Maslow underscore the importance of marketing to the level of the target audience and what the target market needs. Therefore, humanistic and behavioral theories are relevant to marketers in the contemporary global market.

Trait Theory

Trait theory describes the measurable psychological components of personality for explaining the general dispositions. Thus, the theory is based on a quantitative approach called traits as underlying dimensions distinguishing a person from the other (Schiffman and Kanuk 2010). As such, the multiplicity of traits describing human behavior was reduced to just gig five dimensions of personality trait to ensure coherence in research in this discipline. Note that each person has a different level of each of these traits. These traits are agreeableness describing the level of compassion, cooperative, caring, and sympathetic towards others. Openness to new experiences and changes refers to the sensitivity, creativity, and intelligently curious to try new things and accept change. Individuals with a low score on this trait are opposed to change. The extraversion trait is based on one’s sociality, talkative, energetic, and assertiveness. The trait of conscientiousness rates individuals based on their level of organization, achievement-oriented, following a structured plan and schedule, and self-discipline. Finally, neuroticism trait regards anxiety, nervousness, and depression (Mikolajczak-Degrauwe et al. 2012). Scholars generally accept the big five model in behavioral sciences as a good representation of personality structure and processes (Larsen and Buss 2010; Gharibpoor and Amiri 2012; Opuku 2008, and Shahjehan, Zeb and Saifullah 2011). Consequently, the traits are widely applied in behavioral studies and have demonstrated a high level of validity and reliability.

The big five personality model helps to understand the personality of customers, which is used in determining consumer habits, preferences, and motivations. The knowledge is used to perform psychological targeting based on personality to persuade consumers. Note that people tend to be moved by things exhibiting similar characters to their personality. Therefore, branding and ads should portray personality traits of the target audience. Marketers should apply different targeted ads between the audience who are low in one trait and those with a high trait.

Personality and Consumer Behavior

Recent empirical studies on individual personality and consumer purchase behavior have found no definitive agreement on the correlation between these factors. As noted by Agboniforh et al. (2007, p. 154), while some studies literature indicate relationships, other studies have not found a significant correlation between personality and consumer behavior. For instance, Evans’s (2007) study on the predictive power of personality on consumer buying behavior for Chevrolet and Ford found no significant relationship between these variables. Bearden, Ingram, and Lafurge (2005) also termed the use of personality traits to predict the buying behavior of consumers as ‘disappointingly inappropriate’ (98). A low correlation between these variables is reported in several studies. Arnold, Price, and Zinkhan (2012) suggested that the predictive power of personality traits on consumer purchase decisions can be improving by combining it with other variables.

However, other scholars have found different views from those discussed above. For example, a study by Kwak, Jaju, and Zinkhan (2010) found that personality tool is a significant antecedent for predicting the purchase behavior of consumers and their perception of a firm’s marketing activities. A strong linkage between these variables is affirmed in many other studies (Agbonifoh et al. 2007; Hawkins, Best, and Coney 2005; Mulyanegara et al. 2007; Tsao and Chang 2010; Rajagopal 2008; Mowen 2010). In particular, a study by Mulyanegara et al. (2007) examined the association between the big five and brand perception found a significant correlation. Accordingly, the authors found that consumers exhibiting high scores on conscientious traits have preferences for trusted brands (234). However, the extroverts were motivated by sociable brands rather than trusted ones. Further male consumers exhibiting neuroticism trait also demonstrated a preference for trusted brands, and so was the female respondents dominant on conscientiousness trait. These studies underscore the role of socio-demographic factors in moderating the relationship between these variables.

A study by Rajagopal (2008) revealed a strong influence of the big five traits on brand choice. A similar finding by Tsao and Chang (2010) also reported a reflection of personality traits in consumer preference and values, which combines with the psychological trait to influence the buying behavior of consumers. These authors contended that since personality can be applied to predict individual behavior, it thus shapes their consumption behavior and hence the buying decision. The authors were able to affirm their argument based on the analysis of personality traits as predicting variables on the online shopping behavior of consumers. The analysis confirmed that three traits, extroversion, neuroticism, and openness to new experience, had a positive influence on the purchase behavior of consumers. Therefore, persons with high scores on these traits are likely to seek out excitement, fun, and enjoyment in online shopping. This implies that utilitarian purpose in online shopping is not solely to purchase, but to gain other benefits such as fun, enjoyment, and excitement associated with online shopping.

Personality also influences certain aspects of consumer behaviors, such as compulsive purchase behaviors.  For example, Mowen (2010) study found a significant positive influence was found between agreeableness and neuroticism traits and compulsive purchase behavior of consumers. The inconsistent results on the correlation between personality traits and consumers purchase behavior is a concern to scholars and marketers. It appears that a difference in variable relationships is attributable to methodology and variations in the type and nature of consumers investigated. Further to that, no specific study has examined the relationship between personality traits and the behavior of student consumers. The proposed study seeks to fill this empirical gap by investigating the relationship between these constructs using student as consumers.

Methodology

Study Design and Sampling

Research design is the roadmap followed in collection and analysis of research data. The proposed design is cross sectional survey because it is relevant in collecting a qualitative and quantitative data on the variables of interest to the study from a relatively large sample. Students studying in the city colleges and universities will be targeted as participants. Probability multi-stage and sampling techniques will be used to select the required sample from the larger population. The chosen sampling methods are credited for reducing bias and selecting representative sample for the study. The colleges and universities will be stratified based on various schools. Further stratification will be based on level of study such as diploma, undergraduate, and master’s level, and PhD level. A simple random sampling approach will be applied to select proportionate samples from each stratum to participate in the survey.

Sample size will be determined using Charan and Biswas (2013) formula to justify the sample size for the study.  In the formula n is the required sample size, and N is the total population from all institutions in the city (132,000), while e represents a 5% margin of error (Peng, Long, & Abaci, 2012). The formula is stated as:

Substituting these values in the above formula gives 398 as the minimum sample size for the study, hence a sample size of 400 is proposed for the study.

Data Collection Instruments

A structured questionnaire with closed ended questions is proposed for the study because it is relevant in collecting a quantitative data from a large sample size. The questionnaire was based on the literature on personality traits and consumer behavior. The standard items are used in the questionnaire because their validity and reliability has been confirmed in prior studies. The questionnaire will have three sections to capture three constructs of interest.

The first section items are designed to measure personality traits of the participants based on the big five model. The instruments will only have five statements for each personality trait. Items for capturing the purchase behavior of consumers will be captured in the section B while section C has 10 items of socio-demographic factors moderating study constructs. These items include the gender, age, marital status, family size, family income, ethnicity, monthly expenses, school, and level of study.

The items in the questionnaire will be measured on a five point scale ranging from strongly disagree for 1 point and strongly agree for 5 points. The questionnaire will be physically administered by class representatives in each year of study. A pilot study with a small group of student from the colleges and universities in the city will be used for pre-testing. The experts will be also used to vet the instruments to ensure content validity. The personality statements and lifestyle used will be drawn from previous studies. The reliability of construct items was determined using chronbach alpha coefficient.  A coefficient of above 0.7 will indicate that items in the questionnaire are reliable for the study. However, any value below 0.7 will require adjustments to gain the required level of reliability.

Data Analysis

The collected data was coded and analyzed using IBM SPSS program version 23 to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. The test conducted includes normality tests, correlation and simple regression tests. The SPSS output correlation and regression coefficients summarizing the relationship between personality traits and consumer purchase behavior.  Besides, the reliability test will be conducted to generate Chronbach alpha coefficient. The research will uphold high level of ethical standards for research such as participants, consent, confidentiality of information, and approval from institutional ethical committee. Further to that, the researcher ensured that participants are free from any harm resulting from their participation in the study.

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