Chapter 14: Psychographics: Values, Personality, and Lifestyles
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CHAPTER 14
Psychographics: Values, Personality, and
Lifestyles
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Values are enduring beliefs that inform us what is important. They are learned through the
processes of socialization and acculturation. Our values exist in an organized value system,
with some values being viewed as more important than others. Some are regarded as
terminal values and reflect desired end states that guide behavior across many different
situations. Instrumental values are those needed to achieve these desired end states.
Domain-specific values are those that are relevant within a given sphere of activity. Western
cultures tend to place a relatively high value on material goods, youth, the home, family and
children, work and play, health, hedonism, the environment, and technology.
Marketers use tools like value segmentation to identify consumer groups with common values.
Three methods for identifying value-based segments are discussed: inferring values based on
the cultural milieu of the group, the means-end chain analysis, and questionnaires like the
Rokeach Value Survey and List of Values.
Personality consists of the distinctive patterns of behaviors, tendencies, qualities, and
personal dispositions that make people different from one another. Approaches to the study of
personality include (1) the psychoanalytic approach, which sees personality arising from
unconscious internal struggles within the mind at key stages of development; (2) trait theories,
which attempt to identify a set of personality characteristics that describe and differentiate
individuals, such as introversion, extroversion, and stability; (3) phenomenological
approaches, which propose that personality is shaped by an individual’s interpretation of life
events; (4) social-psychological theories, which focus on how individuals act in social
situations (e.g., compliant, detached, or aggressive); and (5) behavioral approaches, which
view an individual’s personality in terms of past rewards and punishments.
Marketers also measure lifestyles, which are patterns of behavior (or activities, interests, and
opinions). These lifestyles can provide some additional insight into consumers’ consumption
patterns. Finally, some marketing researchers use psychographic techniques that involve all
of these factors to predict consumer behavior.
CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:
1. Define and describe values and the value system, identify some of the values that
characterize Western cultures, and list the main factors that influence values.
2. Discuss the personality characteristics most closely related to consumer behavior, and show
why these are important from a marketing perspective.
3. Explain how lifestyles are represented by activities, interests, and opinions.
4. Describe how psychographic applications in marketing combine values, personality, and
lifestyle variables.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Values
A. Values are enduring beliefs that a given behavior or outcome is desirable or good; A
value system is our total set of values and their relative importance.
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B. Acculturation is the process by which individuals learn the values and
behaviors of a new culture.
C. How Values Can Be Described
1. Global values are values at the broadest level that represent the core of an
individual’s value system. They are different from domain-specific values,
which are relevant only to particular areas of activities such as religion, family
or consumption.
2. Terminal values are highly desired end states.
3. Instrumental values are those needed to achieve desired end states.
4. Domain-specific values are relevant only to particular areas of activity, such as
religion, family, or consumption.
D. The Values That Characterize Western Cultures
1. Materialism
a) Materialistic individuals place considerable importance on the acquisition
of money and material goods.
2. Home
a) Many consumers place a high value on the home and believe in making it
as attractive and as comfortable as possible.
b) Cocooning is a trend in which more Americans own their own homes and
spend more time there than in previous eras.
3. Work and Play
a) Americans are working harder and longer than ever before.
b) Work is increasingly valued for its instrumental function in achieving other
values such as comfortable lifestyle, family security, and self-
accomplishment.
c) Possibly, because Americans are working more, they value leisure time
as much as money.
4. Individualism
a) The traditional “rugged individualist” consumer values independence and
self-reliance, tending to see individual needs and rights as a higher
priority than the group’s needs and rights.
b) Allocentric consumers who prefer interdependence and social
relationships.
c) Idiocentric consumers tend to put more emphasis on individual freedom
and assertiveness.
5. Family and Children
a) Americans place a high value on children and are often receptive to child-
related products.
b) More companies are providing paid parental leave for new babies.
6. Health
a) The value placed on health has been increasing in the United States.
b) Health values are reflected in the increasing number of products that are
low in fat, calories, salt, sugar, and cholesterol.
c) Americans are getting heavier and products cater towards weight loss or
diet often
d) Marketing criticized for excessively large portions, ingredients put in or
taken out of food.
e) Products such as diet food and plus-sized clothing outlets and dating
services for overweight people are marketed.
7. Hedonism
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a) Consumers are increasingly operating on the principle of hedonism, or
pleasure seeking, and desire products and services that simply make
them feel good.
8. Youth
a) Compared with other cultures, Americans have long placed a high value
on youth.
9. Authenticity
a) People value things that are authentic, either the original article or faithful
reproductions.
b) Brands, products and services may be valued because of their
authenticity.
10. The Environment
a) U.S. consumers are very interested in recycling and helping preserve the
environment.
b) Fuel efficient cars
11. Technology
a) Consumers in Western cultures are fascinated by technological
advances.
b) Renewed emphasis on simplicity or at least to manage complexity.
E. Why Values Change
1. Societies and their institutions are constantly evolving, so value systems also
change; U.S. values are moving toward casualness in living, greater
sophistication in behavior, a change in sex roles, and the desire to be
modern.
F. Influences on Values
1. Culture and Values
a) People in different cultures are exposed to different cultural experiences,
so there are cross-cultural differences in values.
b) Dimensions along which cultures can vary include:
(1). Individualism versus collectivism
(2). Uncertainty avoidance – structured vs. unstructured situations
(3). Masculinity (assertiveness, competition, success) versus femininity
(quality of life, warm personal relationships, caring)
(4). Power distance – are members of society equal in terms of status
2. Ethnic Identification and Values
a) Ethnic groups within a larger culture can have some values that are
different from other ethnic subcultures.
3. Social Class and Values
a) A main characteristic of the different social classes is that each one tends
to hold values that differ from the other classes.
4. Age and Values
a) Because different cohorts grew up during different times in history,
members of a generation can share similar values that differ from those of
others.
5. Marketing Implications
a) Consumption Patterns
(1). Consumers tend to buy, use, and dispose of products in a manner
consistent with their values.
(2). Marketers will know more about what consumers will do and what
they will like if they understand their values.
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b) Market Segmentation
(1). Marketers can identify groups of consumers who have a common set
of values that are different from those in other groups, a process
called value segmentation.
(2). Values can be useful in understanding just what attributes
consumers within a market segment are likely to find important in a
product and therefore what may motivate them to buy one brand
over another.
c) New Product Ideas
(1). Values are likely to influence consumers’ reactions to products that
are new and different.
d) Ad Development Strategy
(1). Examining the value profile of a target segment can aid in designing
appealing ads.
e) Ethical Considerations
(1). Values guide consumers’ evaluations of the appropriateness of
others’ behavior, including marketers.
(2). Practices perceived as inconsistent with these values are likely to
generate responses like boycotting, protesting, and complaining.
G. How Values Can Be Measured
1. Inferring Values from the Cultural Milieu – or environment
a) The least obtrusive way to measure values is simply to make inferences
based on a culture’s milieu. Advertising has often been an indicator of
values. example – advertisements highlighting time saving and ease, may
indicate more 2-income households, etc.
2. Means-End Chain Analysis
a) Marketers first find what attributes consumers find important in products.
b) They then work backward to uncover the values that drive consumer
decisions. This process is called value laddering.
3. Value Questionnaires
a) Questionnaires can be employed to directly assess values.
(1). Rokeach Value Survey (RVS)
(2). List of Values (LOV)
II. Personality
A. Personality consists of the distinctive patterns of behaviors, tendencies, qualities or
personal dispositions that make one individual different from another and lead to a
consistent response to environmental stimuli.
B. Research Approaches to Personality
1. Psychoanalytic Approaches
a) Propose that personality arises from a set of dynamic, unconscious
internal struggles within the mind – Freudian stages of development
2. Trait Theories
a) Propose that personality is composed of characteristics that describe and
differentiate individuals
(1). For example, levels of introversion and extroversion
3. Phenomenological Approaches
a) Propose that personality is largely shaped by an individual’s
interpretations of life events
b) Locus of control relates to how people interpret why specific things
happen. – does one believe most things that happen to them are under
their control or the result of outside circumstances
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domain-specific values.
2. What is consumer materialism and what are some of the ways it influences consumer
behavior in Western cultures?
3. What four main value dimensions according to Hofstede’s theory explain how cultures
can vary?
4. How can marketers use means-end chain analysis, the Rokeach Value Survey, and
the List of Values?
5. What is the definition of personality?
6. Which personality traits interest marketers because these may affect consumer
behavior?
7. How does a person’s locus of control influence his or her beliefs and evaluations?
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8. What are the three components of a consumer’s lifestyle?
9. Define what psychographic are, and discuss their use and potential limitations in a
marketing context.
Psychographics is a description of consumers based on their psychological and
SUGGESTED EXERCISES AND TEACHER GUIDELINES
1. Conduct a content analysis of the advertisements that appear over four issues of a
selected magazine. For each ad, record the type of product or service and whether and
how each of the following values is reflected in the message: (a) materialism, (b)
youthfulness, (c) the home, (d) work and play, (e) the family, (f) health, (g), hedonism,
and (h) technology. Summarize this information and answer the following questions: (a)
Which values are most often reflected in the advertisements? (b) Do certain types of
values appear more often types of products? (c) Which themes appear in relationship to
each value?
2. Develop a questionnaire to measure some of the key activities, interests, and opinions of
college students. Also, develop a series of items to measure the consumption of five
product or service categories that may be related to college lifestyles. Administer this
questionnaire to 20 fellow students (across different majors if possible). Summarize the
results, and answer the following questions: (a) What are the key lifestyle segments of
the college students you surveyed? (b) For each segment, are there recognizable
consumption patterns in terms of products or services? (c) What general types of
marketing strategies would you use to appeal to each group?
3. Visit either the VALS Web site (www.sric-bi.com) or the Yankelovich Web site
(http://www.yankelovich.com/) and answer one of these online surveys to see how
psychographics might describe you as a consumer. (a) How do the questions in this
survey compare with the questions you developed for exercise 2? (b) Do you agree that
the segment in which the survey placed you, based on your answers, in an accurate
description of your lifestyle, personality, and/or values? Explain. In terns of
psychographics, what additional details about your values, personality, or lifestyle would
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help a car manufacturer target you more effectively for a new car purchase? What
questions would you add to the survey in order to elicit these details?
Students’ answers will vary.
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS WITH SAMPLE ANSWERS
These discussion questions can be used as in-class activities or as thought questions that the
students consider while reading the chapter or to test their understanding of the material after
the reading and lecture are complete.
1. Provide an example of a means-end chain analysis and use this example to explain how
such an analysis can benefit consumer behaviorists.
Interviewer: Why do you like this product?
Consumer: Because it provides good coverage. (Attribute)
Interviewer: Why is good coverage important?
2.What types of advertising appeals would be effective for consumers who display each of the
personality traits discussed in the text, and why?
The first trait is optimum stimulation level (OSL), which refers to the level of arousal with
which an individual is most comfortable. For customers with high OSL, ads that
emphasize the newness or adventuresome nature of a product would be appropriate.
Need for cognition, the fourth personality trait, refers to how much pleasure a consumer
derives from thinking. Individuals with low need for cognition would prefer ads with
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show men enjoying each other’s company and bonding around their favorite brew
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
1. In your group, develop a definition of values. Explain the distinction between a global
value, a domain-specific value, an instrumental value, and a terminal value. Clarify the
two ways in which the term terminal value is used.
2. Explain how values are learned. Discuss what the terms assimilation and acculturation
mean. Describe the characteristics of a society that stimulates assimilation.
3. Explain the concept of value segmentation. Illustrate the concept by indicating how it
applies to several different product markets.
4. Provide several examples of products or appeals that you think are particularly
compatible with the values of (a) Hispanic consumers, (b) Asian consumers, and (c)
middle-class versus working-class consumers.
5. Discuss what is meant by means-end chain analysis. Explain how the process works and
what it is intended to show about consumers’ values.
6. Explain the difference between a value and a personality trait. Explain how
understanding this difference can help marketers.
7. Discuss what extroversion, introversion, and locus of control mean. Explain how these
concepts can relate to marketing and consumer behavior.
8. Each person in the group should take a couple of minutes to write down a brief
description of his or her own lifestyle. Include at least five examples of how your lifestyle
relates to the consumption of products and services. Discuss as a group and identify
similarities and differences in lifestyles.
9. Develop a list of guidelines regarding the kinds of marketing tactics that are likely to be
effective for people with high versus low needs for stimulation.
10. Develop a brief description of VALS and explain why it lost favor with market
researchers. Describe the segments in the VALS2 scheme. Indicate what products,
marketing communications, and consumption behaviors might be particularly relevant to
the Believers, Strivers, and Makers.
EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES AND CLASSROOM EXAMPLES
Students who learn more readily through visual and tactile stimuli will benefit from the
introduction of physical examples into the classroom.
1. “Who Am I?” Exercise
Tell students to write a personal ad for themselves (or, if this makes them uncomfortable,
for someone they know very well). They should prepare it in eight-point type, column
style, with a headline—just as it would appear in an actual newspaper. Have the students
turn in the ads anonymously so that you can compile them on 8 x 10 sheets of paper.
* These experiential exercises were contributed by Professor Sheri Bridges of Wake Forest University.
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Copy the compiled ads, distribute them, and discuss them in class. What are the values
expressed in the ads. Do common themes emerge? Some students write ads describing
2. “Know Thyself . . . and Others, Too” Exercise
Tell students to visit the VALS2 site at http://www.sric–bi.com/ and determine their
profile. Ask them to print out the description of their profile (accessible after the test
results are computed) and bring it to class. Use the board to record the types
represented in the class. (Because students have relatively limited financial and other
resources, Strivers often are over-represented, while Actualizers often are under-
CLASSROOM GROUP ACTIVITY: MEANS-END CHAIN ANALYSIS: 10
MINUTES
I. Start Up
A. Purpose of the activity
1. This activity will give students an opportunity to consider how to conduct a
means-end chain analysis to understand terminal values held by consumers.
B. What the instructor will do
1. Select products that the students will discuss in their small groups. Depending
on the instructor’s objectives, these can be either at the product category level
(e.g., meat, milk, eggs) or at the brand level (e.g., Marriott, HoJos, Hilton).
Each will generate different results. Giving some of each to groups throughout
a classroom will allow for a discussion of the differences between product and
brand-level marketing.
2. The instructor will divide people into small groups, assign them a product for
analysis, and be available to coach and help the groups as needed.
3. Optionally, groups may be provided with clear overhead acetates and markers
so they can summarize their discussions and make presentations after their
analysis and discussion.
C. What the participants will do
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a) Write down their ideas as they are presented.
b) Concentrate on the principles being discussed rather than the examples
being used.
c) Help them to see the interrelationships among their responses.
IV. Execute
A. Apply what has been learned.
1. Lead a discussion on how the concepts can be applied in organizations.
a) What barriers may be faced in applying the concepts from the exercise?
b) What can be done to help others understand the concepts when you use
them at work?
B. Transfer and use the knowledge.
1. Encourage students to make a record in their notes about how they will use the
ideas in the workplace.
2. Even if they do not have a specific job, how will they remember to use what
they have learned?