CHAPTER 10
MOTIVATION, PERSONALITY, AND EMOTION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
LO1: Define motivation and summarize the motivation sets put forth by Maslow and McGuire
LO2: Articulate motivation’s role in consumer behavior and marketing strategy
LO3: Define personality and the various theories of personality
SUMMARY
LO1: Define motivation and summarize the motivation sets put forth by Maslow and McGuire
Consumer motivations are energizing forces that activate behavior and provide purpose and direction
to that behavior. There are numerous motivation theories. Maslow’s need hierarchy states that basic
motives must be minimally satisfied before more advanced motives are activated. It proposes five
LO2: Articulate motivation’s role in consumer behavior and marketing strategy
Consumers are often aware of and will admit to the motives causing their behavior. These are manifest
motives. They can be discovered by standard marketing research techniques such as direct questioning.
Direct advertising appeals can be made to these motives. At other times, consumers are unable or
Involvement is a motivational state caused by consumer perceptions that a product, brand, or
advertisement is relevant or interesting. Consumer needs play a strong role in shaping involvement
and marketers must adapt their strategies depending on the level (high versus low) and type (enduring
versus situational) of involvement exhibited by their target audience.
Regulatory focus theory suggests that consumers react differently depending on whether promotion-
focused or prevention-focused motives are most salient. When promotion-focused motives are more
LO3: Define personality and the various theories of personality
The personality of a consumer guides and directs the behavior chosen to accomplish goals in different
situations. Trait theories of personality assume that (1) all individuals have internal characteristics or
traits related to action tendencies, and (2) there are consistent and measurable differences between
LO4: Discuss how brand personality can be used in developing marketing strategies
Brands, like individuals, have personalities, and consumers tend to prefer products with brand
LO5: Define emotions and list the major emotional dimensions
Emotions are strong, relatively uncontrollable feelings that affect our behavior. Emotions occur when
LO6: Discuss how emotions can be used in developing marketing strategies
Marketers design and position products to both arouse and reduce emotions. In addition, consumers
LECTURE TIPS AND AIDS
1) Prior to beginning the lecture on motivation, ask students to think of the various motives that
different consumers might have for purchasing the same product (e.g., the purchase of a golden
retriever puppy). Ask the students to role-play one of these three consumer types: (1) a father or
mother of a family of two children, both under six years old, (2) a 20-year-old single man or
woman who is very independent and outdoor-oriented, or (3) an older couple, retired, with no
children or grandchildren living near them.
2) At the start of your lecture on personality, and before you define the concept, you might ask the
3) Have the students describe the “personality” of a particular brand of car, beverage, store, or other
object which most will be familiar with. Most students will have little trouble doing this. Now ask
them the marketing implications of the fact that they can do this easily and the specific personality
they attributed to the item.
4) A scale for measuring the Big Five Personality Dimensions is reported in Saucier, Journal of
Personality Assessment, Vol. 63 (3), 506-516. You can use this in various ways, including having
students access the article and create a survey to measure personality dimensions and
5) Student Handout 1: PERSONALITY AND BEER PREFERENCES — is a great Classic example
of the role that personality can play in driving responses to ads. It shows that in many instances
6) Student Handout 2: BRAND PERSONALITY SCALE – can be used in a number of ways. You
might have students prepare a questionnaire and collect data on the personality of a brand. You
might assign groups of students a given brand/product so that a number of brands and products are
7) Student Handout 3: GSR MEASURE OF EMOTIONAL AROUSAL – is a nice handout to use in
discussing physiological measures of emotion. In this case, GSR was better than verbal
evaluations in predicting market responses.
Student Handout 1: MARKETING CLASSIC – PERSONALITY AND BEER
PREFERENCES
Anheuser-Busch created four commercial advertisements for four new brands
of beer. Each commercial represented one of the new brands and was created
to portray the beer as appropriate for a specific “drinker personality.” For
example, one brand was featured in a commercial that portrayed the
“reparative drinker,” a self–sacrificing, middle-aged person who could have
achieved more if he had not sacrificed personal objectives in the interest of
others. For this consumer, drinking a beer serves as a reward for sacrifices.
Other personality types—such as the “social drinker” who resembles the
campus guzzler, and the “indulgent drinker” who sees himself as a total
failure—were used to develop product personalities for the other new brands
of beer in the study.
Student Handout 2: BRAND PERSONALITY SCALE
Not at all Extremely
Descriptive Descriptive
1 2 3 4 5
Charming _____
Corporate _____
Daring _____
Down-to-earth _____
Exciting _____
Good Looking _____
Hard Working _____
Honest _____
Imaginative _____
Original _____
Secure _____
Sentimental _____
Sincere _____
Small-town _____
Tough _____
Trendy _____
Unique _____
Upper Class _____
Student Handout 3: GSR MEASURE OF EMOTIONAL AROUSAL
The galvanic skin response (GSR) has been used to measure emotional arousal. GSR
involves fitting the respondent with small electrodes that monitor the electrical resistance of
the skin. This resistance changes with the slight changes in perspiration that accompany
emotional arousal. The most well-known application of GSR is the lie detector test.
Table: Emotional Arousal and Mail Response Rates*
Promotional GSR GSR Verbal Market
Claim/Offer Score* Ranking† Ranking† Results
1 Cent sale .300 1 4 1
Special saving .284 2 3 2
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What is a motive?
A motive is a construct representing an unobservable inner force that stimulates and compels a
behavioral response and provides specific direction to that response.
2) What is meant by a motive hierarchy? How does Maslow’s hierarchy of needs function?
A motive hierarchy simply means that some motives are more important or basic than others.
3) Describe each level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Physiological: The basic requirements for existence such as food, water, and shelter.
Safety: Physical security and protection from bodily harm.
4) Describe each of McGuire’s motives.
Need for Consistency: A basic desire is to have all facets or parts of oneself consistent with each
other. These facets include attitudes, behaviors, opinions, self-images, views of others, and so
forth.
Need for Objectification: These motives reflect needs for observable cues or symbols which
enable us to infer what we feel and know. Impressions, feelings, and attitudes are subtly
established by viewing our own behavior and that of others and drawing inferences as to what we
feel and think.
Utilitarian Need: These theories view the consumer as a problem solver who approaches situations
as opportunities to acquire useful information or new skills.
Need for Stimulation: We often seek variety and difference simply out of a need for novelty.
Marketers refer to the outcome of this motive as variety-seeking behavior.
Need for Ego-Defense: When our identity is threatened, we are motivated to protect our self–
concept and utilize defensive behaviors and attitudes.
Need for Reinforcement: We quite often are motivated to act in certain ways because we are
rewarded for doing so. This is the basis for operant learning as described in the previous chapter.
Need for Identification: These theories view the consumer as a role player. Thus, you may play the
role of college student, sorority member, bookstore employee, fiancée, and many others. One
gains pleasure from adding new, satisfying roles and by increasing the significance of roles
already adopted.
Need for Modeling: The need for modeling reflects a tendency to base behavior on that of others.
Modeling is a major means by which children learn to become consumers.
5) Describe attribution theory.
Attribution theory relates to consumers having a need to attribute an underlying cause to a given
outcome. This approach to understanding the reasons consumers assign particular meanings to the
6) What is meant by motivational conflict, and what relevance does it have for marketing managers?
Most behaviors, including purchase and use, are subject to multiple motives, and there are many
situations where these motives come in conflict with each other. The resolution of conflict can
7) What is a manifest motive? A latent motive? How is each measured?
Manifest motives are known to the individual and are freely admitted. Latent motives are
unknown to the individual or are such that he or she is reluctant to admit them.
8) How do you appeal to manifest motives? Latent motives?
Manifest motives can be appealed to directly – when appropriate, for example through detailed
product performance and benefits.
9) Describe the following motivation research techniques (see Appendix A and Appendix Table A-1
for details): a) Association, b) Completion, c) Construction.
a. Association Techniques:
Word Association: Consumers respond to a list of words with the first word that comes to
mind.
b. Completion Techniques:
Sentence Completion: Consumers complete a sentence such as “People who buy Cadillacs
_________________.”
Story Completion: Consumers complete a partial story.
c. Construction Techniques:
Cartoon Techniques: Consumers fill in the words and/or thoughts of one of the characters in a
cartoon drawing.
10) What is the relationship between involvement and motivation?
Involvement is a motivational state caused by consumer perceptions that a product, brand, or ad is
relevant or interesting.
11) Describe regulatory focus theory.
Regulatory focus theory suggests that consumers will react differently depending on which broad
set of motives (promotion-focus or prevention-focus) is most salient. The following briefly
characterizes the differences:
b. Prevention-focused motives—which revolve around a desire for safety and security and are
related to consumers’ sense of duties and obligations. When prevention-focused motives are
more salient, consumers seek to avoid negative outcomes, think in more concrete terms, make
decisions based more on factual substantive information, and prefer accuracy over speed in
their decision making.
12) What is personality?
Personality is the characteristic and relatively enduring ways that people have of responding to the
situations they face, which include responses to marketing strategies.
13) What is consumer ethnocentrism and why is it important to global marketers?
14) How can knowledge of personality be used to develop marketing strategy?
Brands, like individuals, have personalities, and consumers tend to prefer products with brand
personalities that are pleasing to them. Consumers also prefer advertising messages that portray
their own or a desired personality.
15) What is an emotion? What are the basic dimensions of emotion?
Emotions are strong, relatively uncontrollable feelings that affect our behavior.
16) What physiological changes accompany emotional arousal?
Physiological changes that accompany emotions include increased perspiration, eye pupil dilation,
increased heart and breathing rate, and elevated blood sugar level.
17) What factors characterize emotions?
18) What is consumer gratitude, and what outcomes are associated with this emotion?
Gratitude in a consumer context is the emotional appreciation for benefits received. Firms can
create it by making relationship marketing investments. The outcomes include higher levels of
19) How do marketers use emotions in product design and advertising?
Marketers design and position products and services to activate emotions (a thrilling movie) or to
reduce emotions (relaxing vacation sites). Emotional content in advertisements enhances their
20) What is coping and what are the general types of coping mechanisms used by consumers?
Coping involves consumer thoughts and behaviors in reaction to a stress-inducing situation,
Discussion Questions
21) How could Maslow’s motive hierarchy be used to develop marketing strategy for the following?
a) American Bird Conservancy, b) Redken shampoo, c) Purell hand sanitizer, d) Chipotle Mexican
Grill, e) BlackBerry, f) Crest Whitestrips.
Assign several students each “product” and have them give a three or four minute summary of
their results. It should become clear that more than one level of need could be satisfied by each of
22) Which of McGuire’s motives would be useful in developing a promotional campaign for the
following? Why? a) Cadillac CTS, b) Supercuts (hair salon chain), c) Nokia Android smartphones,
d) Just for Men hair coloring, e) Twitter, f) Habitat for Humanity.
The approach for Question 21 should be used here also.
23) Describe how motivational conflict might arise in purchasing, patronizing, or giving to, the
following: a) Greenpeace, b) Chevy Volt, c) Walmart, d) Red Bull energy drink, e) Taco Bell
restaurant, f) ADT home security system.
Push the students to move beyond approach-avoidance (I want the benefits but don’t want to give
24) Describe the manifest and latent motives that might arise in purchasing, shopping at, or giving to
the following: a) Yukon hybrid, b) Saks Fifth Avenue, c) Bose sound system, d) A kitten, e)
Mercedes Benz convertible, f) iPhone.
market.
25) Do marketers create needs? Do they create demand? What ethical issues are relevant?
The answer depends in part on what is meant by the term need. If need is used to refer to a basic
motive such as those described earlier in this chapter, it is clear that marketers seldom if ever
26) Respond to the questions in Consumer Insight 10-1
The basic idea behind regulatory focus theory is that what is effective when someone is in a
promotion-focused mindset is different than what is effective when someone is in a prevention-
focused mindset due to the different motives that are salient. So fear appeals which focus on
minimizing losses are most effective when consumer motives related to minimizing losses are
most salient – that is, when they are in a prevention-focused mindset.
Online retailers can utilize a host of interactive features to “trigger” the placement of specific
types of online ads depending on purchase timing. So, for example, if a consumer is searching on
27) How might knowledge of personality be used to develop an advertising campaign for the
following? a) Rainforest Action Network (an environmental group), b) Smartphones, c) American
Express travel services, d) Ready-to-drink iced tea, e) J. Crew women’s shoes, f) Clinique
cosmetics.
The key is to carefully specify each target market, and then develop ads that portray product
28) Using Table 10-3, discuss how you would use one of the core personality source traits in
developing a package design for an organic, shade-grown coffee.
The same approach used of Question 27 is appropriate here.
29) How would the media preferences of those on each end of the consumer need for uniqueness
continuum differ?
The practice of deliberate scarcity is a good example of those who strive for uniqueness. In terms
of media preferences, more specialized approaches would be more effective in accessing this
30) How would the shopping behaviors of those on each end of the ethnocentrism continuum differ?
Consumers high in ethnocentrism tend to be less open to other cultures, more conservative, and
more likely to reject foreign–made products in favor of domestics. Consumers low in
ethnocentrism tend to be more open to other cultures, less conservative, and more likely to accept
foreign-made products.
31) How would you use emotion to develop marketing strategy for each of the following? a) Visa card
use, b) Sky diving, c) Orthodontist, d) Silk (soy milk), e) Honda Civic Hybrid, f) Iceland.
32) List all the emotions you can think of. Which ones are not explicitly mentioned in Table 10-4?
Where would you place them in this table?
Students may use different terms or concepts to describe their emotions. Those emotions not listed