austin texas psychographics

The term psychographic (psycho = mental; graphic = profile) connotes the profiling of psychological processes or properties. ----------------------------------------, Advances in Consumer Research Volume 11, 1984 Pages 405-411, LIFESTYLE AND PSYCHOGRAPHICS: A CRITICAL REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION, W. Thomas Anderson, Jr., University of Texas at Austin, Linda L. Golden, University of Texas at Austin, [W. Thomas Anderson, Jr. and Linda L. Golden are Associate Professors in the Department of Marketing at The University of Texas at Austin. WebProviding more than simple data reports of psychographic and Psychographic trends, The Retail Coach goes well beyond other retail consulting and market research firms CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Cognitive style is customarily defined as "one's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and perceiving" (Markin 1974, pp. Perhaps the most noteworthy observation is the preponderance of references purporting to be lifestyle research which provide no explicit definition of lifestyle at all. Sometime during the 1960's a blend of these two traditions began to take shape. The term "psychographics" [refers to] studies that place comparatively heavy emphasis on generalized personality traits. Yes and no. 33-38. Koponen, Arthur (1960), "Personality Characteristics of Purchasers," Journal of Advertising Research, vol. Segmenting first on the basis of parallel patterns of search, shopping and consumption behavior would result in lifestyle segments encompassing all potential prospects for the firm's products. Wells, William D. (1974), "Life Style and Psychographics: Definitions, Uses and Problems," in Life Style and Psycho- graphics, ed. Psychographic and lifestyle research should proceed hand-in-glove, but progress in both will be facilitated by conceptual and operational precision and distinction. Axelrod, Joel N. (1968), "Attitude Measurements that Predict Purchases," Journal of Advertising Research, vol. Kotler, Philip (1980), Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. $230. For example, according to contemporary definitions, two consumers would be classed as exhibiting a similar lifestyle if, and only if, they are characterized by both parallel patterns of overt behavior and congruent cognitive styles. Beverlee B. Anderson, Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research. Berkman and Gilson's (1978) definition is only one of several contemporary interpretations of lifestyle but is representative. Consequently, in interpreting lifestyle to include both characteristic patterns of overt behavior and cognitive processes and properties, contemporary definitions of lifestyle frequently lead to operationalizations that are internally inconsistent. Bell (1958), Rainwater, Coleman and Handel (1959), and Havinhurst and Feigenbaum (1959) inaugurated the lifestyle concept in the consumer behavior literature at the close of the 1950s, pointing to its potential significance in understanding, explaining and predicting consumer behavior and, hence, its importance as a focus for marketing strategy. Best (1980), Consumer Behavior-Implications for Marketing Strategy, Dallas, TX: Business Publications. Reed Moyer, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 55-62. The analysis and classification of activity or behavioral reports from the consumer which are frequently classified as "psychographics", should be given their own distinct term, such as "lifestyle" (pp. Becoming an Association for Consumer Research member is simple. Yet, it would appear to be symptomatic of scientific pubescence, if not maturity, that the social sciences, and marketing in particular, periodically seek not only synthesis of findings, but also simplicity for the sake of conceptual and operational claritY. Implicit in the foregoing definitional distinctions is the realization that while cognitive style and lifestyle perhaps operate in imperfect symmetry, the domains of psychographic and lifestyle research are logically symmetrical and complementary (Dorny 1971; Loudon and Della Bitta 1979, p. 98). Much lifestyle research could better be termed "idiosyncracy research", since it uses the computer to group people with similar idiosyncracies (p. 37). Online. 125-337. Deutscher, I. By narrowing the definition of lifestyle to consistencies in overt behavior, marketing management will avoid the trap of too narrowly defining market segments and underestimating market potentials implicit in the conventional definition of lifestyle. Because lifestyle continues to defy definitional consensus, it can be conveniently customized to any analyst's purpose. Use of the lifestyle concept as an analytical construct dates from Thorstein Veblen's turn-of-the-century classic The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) and from Max Weber's landmark studies of status (1946, 1947). Amid the diverse interpretations and applications of the term, Ansbacher (1967, pp. While (perhaps inadvertently restricting the term lifestyle to "the totality of behavior," Ansbacher concludes that "the broad range of life style includes cognitive style and response style" (Emphasis added, 1967, p. 203). ", Journal of Marketing, vol. 125-337. Felson (1975) perhaps best captured the critical, if not terminal, conceptual and operational condition of lifestyle. $79,542 Median household income. LaPiere, R. T. (1934), "Attitudes vs. Ultimately Adler came to see stole of life as: the organismic ideas of the individual as an actor rather than a re-actor; the purposiveness, goal-directedness, unity, self-consistency and uniqueness of the individual; andthe ultimately subjective determination of his actions (Ansbacher 1976, p. 191). Intervening situational variables may cause lifestyle and cognitive style to be symmetrically or asymmetrically related. Exhibit 1 provides a comprehensive review of definitions, operationalizations, and theoretical anchorages of lifestyle appearing in the marketing literature, along with the major proponents of each. Wells provides this historical perspective in his exhaustive "Psychographics: A Critical Review" (1975b): Starting with the classic study of Koponen (1960), investigators have repeatedly tried to correlate consumer behavior with scores obtained from standardized personality inventories. Beverlee B. Anderson, Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research. The term "unified patterns of behavior" refers to behavior in its broadest sense. In the restricted range, in respect to individuals, characteristic perceptual styles, also known as cognitive styles, and response styles, as well as complex response styles have been discerned (Emphasis added, 1967, p. 203). It is rare in the social sciences to cop a plea for simplicity. Conversely, another consumer who behaves in the same fashion, yet holds quite different values, attitudes, beliefs, opinions of interests, would be designated as characterized by a contrasting lifestyle. The suggested relationships are depicted in Figure l. Lifestyle is positioned as behavioral, and cognitive style is positioned as psychological and a subset of psychographic research. Yet, while the term lifestyle gained popular currency, it continued to defy conceptual and operational consensus (Ferber and Lee 1974). On the contrary, while simplicity may facilitate clarity and possibly lead to greater consensus concerning the proper domain of lifestyle research, psychographic research remains a viable focus for market analysis insofar as examinations of cognitive processes or dimensions of personality further the cause of understanding, explaining, and predicting overt behavior, and refining market segmentation and marketing strategy formulation. Hence, any given lifestyle segment would likely consist of subsegments consisting of consumers with common cognitive processes and properties or cognitive style (see Figure 2). It is composed of sub-symbols; it utilizes a characteristic pattern of life space [or the proximity of perceived constraints in the surrounding environment]; and it acts systematically to process objects and events [including products, services, and consumption itself] in accordance with these values (p. 141) Levy's definition prompted Kelley (1963) to postulate an important marketing implication of the lifestyle concept. (1963), "Discussion," in Toward Scientific Marketing, ed. In his historical review of the lifestyle concept in the social science literature Ansbacher (1967) noted that the lifestyle concept has been applied in three different uses at three levels of aggregation. Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association. Katona, George (1960), The Powerful Consumer, New York: McGraw-Hill. Festinger, Leon (1964), "Behavioral Support for Opinion Change," Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. Equally importantly, the proposed distinctions should lead to greater definitional consensus, operational clarity, and more defensible linkages to existing research and theory in the social sciences. Both cognitive style and lifestyle are influenced by enabling conditions, which lie in the context of environmental constraints and opportunities. Levy, Sidney J. 200-201). Application Closes Today. Stephen A. Greyser, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 130-139. Defining and operationalizing lifestyle to encompass both overt behavior and cognitive style needlessly confounds the task of lifestyle segmentation. Lifestyle formed the centerpiece of Adlerian psychology; indeed, Adler wrestled with the concept for forty years. 5, pp. Rainwater, Lee, Richard P. Coleman, and Gerald Handel (1959), Workingman's Wife, New York: Oceana Publications. (1963), "Symbolism and Life Style," in Toward Scientific Marketing, ed. Deutscher (1966, p. 135) succinctly summarized the implication: "Disparities between thought and action are the central methodological problem of the social sciences." Conspicuous by omission in each instance, however, was a definition of lifestyle. They came together because "life style" seemed to be such an appropriate shorthand expression for what the activity, interest and opinion research was attempting to portray. LIFESTYLE AND MARKET SEGMENTATION The persistent conceptual and operational imprecision of the lifestyle construct has not only handicapped lifestyle research, but has undermined its usefulness as a segmentation variable. It suggests that consumer purchasing is an interrelated, patterned phenomenonproducts are bought as part of a "life style package" (p. 153). Mi: Association for Consumer Research member is simple, IL: American Marketing Association,.. 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