Chapter Three

Motivation Theory in Consumer Behavior

After successfully completing this chapter, the student will be able
to:
1) Define motivation
2) Explain the motivation process
3) Spell out the essentials of motivation
4) Understand the dynamic nature of motivation
5) Identify different types of arousals
6) Explain types and systems of needs
7) Evaluate the need hierarchy
8) Identify & explain a trio of needs

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3.1. Motivation Defined
 Motivation can be described as the driving force within
individuals that impels them to action.
 This driving force is produced by state of tension, which exists
as a result of unfulfilled needs.
 Individuals strive-both consciously and subconsciously to
reduce this tension through behavior that they anticipate will
fulfill their needs and thus relieve them of the stress they feel.
 The model portrays motivation as a state of need induced
tension that exerts a “push” on the individual to engage in
behavior that he/she expects will gratify a need and that
reduce the tension.
 Whether gratification is actually achieved depends on the
course of action being pursued.
 The specific courses of action that consumers pursue and their
special goals thinking processes-cognition and previous
learning.

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The Model of Motivation Process

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a. Unfulfilled Need: a consumer recognizes a gap between their
current state and a desired state. Example: Feeling hungry,
wanting new clothes, or needing a phone upgrade.
b. Tension: the unfulfilled need creates discomfort or internal tension.
Example: Hunger pains, dissatisfaction with an old phone, or
social pressure to stay trendy.
c. Desire (Drive): the consumer feels motivated to take action to
reduce the tension. Example: Craving a specific food, researching
the latest phone models, or looking at fashion trends.
d. Behavior (Action/Purchase): the consumer takes steps to fulfill
their need. Example: Ordering food, purchasing a new phone, or
shopping for clothes.
e. Goal (Need Fulfillment & Satisfaction): the consumer's need is met,
and satisfaction is achieved. Example: Feeling full after eating,
enjoying the features of a new phone, or gaining confidence from
stylish clothes.

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a. Needs
 Needs can be innate (physiological or biogenic or primary
needs) and acquired needs (psychological or psychogenic or
secondary needs).
 Innate needs
 They are needed to sustain biological life.
 These needs for food, for water, for air, for clothing, for shelter
and for sex.
 Acquired Needs
 Needs that we learn in response to our culture or environment.
 These may include the needs for self-esteem, for prestige, for
affection, for power, and for learning.
 They result from the individuals subjective psychological state
and from relationships with others.
Example, to find a place to live fulfills an important primary need
for a newly transferred executive.
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b. Goals
 Goals are sought-after results of motivated behavior.
 All behaviors are goal -oriented.
 Here, we are focusing on generic goals-general classes or
categories of goals that consumers select to fulfill their needs.
(Getting a graduate degree )
 Marketers are even more concerned with consumers product-
specific goals, specifically branded or labeled products they
select to fulfill their needs. (an executive may want to buy a
luxury car to signify to his friends that he is a success.)

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Determinants of Goal Selection
 The goal selected by individuals depends on:
 Personal experience
 Physical capacity
 Prevailing cultural norms and values, and
 The goals accessibility in a physical and social environment.
 Self–image (an individuals own perception of himself or
herself)

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Positive and Negative Motivation
a. Positive Motivation: a driving force towards some object or
condition (needs, wants, desires).
b. Negative Motivation: a driving force away from some object
or condition. (Fears, Aversions)
 However, although positive and negative motivational forces
seem to differ dramatically in terms of physical or emotional
activity, they are basically similar in that both serve to
initiate and sustain human behavior.
 Goals, too, can be positive or negative.

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Positive Goal/Approach Object
 A positive goal is one toward which behavior is directed.
Example: middle-aged woman may have a positive goal of
fitness, so they join a health club to work out regularly.
Negative Goal/Avoidance Object
 This is one from which behavior is directed away.
Example: Asmamaw may view getting fat as a negative goal,
and so he joins a roadrunners club.

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Rational Vs. Nonrational Motives
 The term rationality in the traditional economic sense
assumes that consumers behave relationally when they
carefully consider all alternatives and choose those that give
them the greatest utility.
a. Rational motive: consumers elect goals based on totally
objective criteria such as weight, price, or miles per gallon.
b. Non-rational or emotional: the selection of goals according to
personal or subjective criteria (the desire for individuality,
pride, fear, affection, status).
 The assumption underlying this distinction is that subjective
or emotional criteria do not maximize utility or satisfaction.

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What Affects Motivation?
 Personal Relevance: a marketing stimuli will be personally
relevant when:
 It solves the consumers problem (Propecia Hair loss
treatment)
 It bears on the consumers self-concept (Clothing professional,
student, sport team)
 Marketing implication: Make an ad personally relevant to the
consumer. (Volvo: This Car Saved My Life)
Values, Goals, and Needs
a. Values: beliefs about what is good or appropriate. E.g.
education, cigar etc.
b. Goals: objectives that we would like to achieve. (ACCA
certification to become a licensed auditor).
c. Needs: internal state of tension caused by disequilibrium
from an ideal/desired physical or psychological state.
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Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchical Needs
 Abraham Maslow postulated that a person will be motivated
when all his needs are fulfilled. People do not work for security
or money, but they work to contribute and to use their skills.
 He demonstrated this by creating a pyramid to show how
people are motivated and mentioned that one cannot ascend
to the next level unless lower-level needs are fulfilled.
 The lowest level needs in the pyramid are basic needs and
unless these needs are satisfied, people do not look at working
toward satisfying the upper-level needs.

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.

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 Physiological Needs: basic needs for survival such as air, sleep,
food, water, clothing, sex, and shelter.
Example: Food brands advertising affordability and nutrition.
 Safety Needs: protection from threats, deprivation, and other
dangers (e.g., health, secure employment, and property).
Example: Insurance companies promoting financial security
"Protect your family’s future with life insurance”.
 Social (Belongingness & Love) Needs: the need for association,
affiliation, friendship, and so on.
Example: Facebook says “Bringing people together".

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 Self-esteem Needs: the need for respect, status, superiority,
prestige and recognition.
Example: Luxury brand of Rolex watches symbolizing success.
 Self-actualization Needs: the opportunity for personal
development, learning, and fun/creative/challenging work.
Self-actualization is the highest-level need to which a human
being can aspire.
Example: Adventure brands promoting experiences over
material goods (e.g., Red Bull’s extreme sports campaigns).

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3.2. Consumers Need
 A specific states based on some deficit and that may
elicit/stimulate behavior.
 Naturally endowed and can’t be created by society or by
marketers.
 A state of self-deprivation or lack of basic consumer
satisfaction.
 They are basic physical and social needs: food, clothing,
shelter, safety, belonging, and esteem.
i. Stated needs
ii. Real needs
iii. Unstated needs
iv. Delight needs
v. Secret needs
i. Stated/Innate need
 What the customer explicitly says they want or customers
specified need or market.
 They are expected needs for a particular product or service.
 The most basic level and cannot be qualified.
 Individual basic requirement must be fulfilled to survive.
 Limited and necessary we must have to sustain.
 Physiological or biogenic or primary needs: food, water, air,
clothing, shelter and sex.
Example
I need food to eat and I feel like having a sandwich.
A customer wants to buy a car and if he says he needs a car.
I want to have car with lower price.
ii. Real needs
 What customers actually require behind what they state.
 At one level above the stated needs and put a boundary on
the above.
 The parameter which are immediate to defining and fulfilling
the need.
 The customer actual need with low operating costs, not low
initial price.
Example:
1. I need a cheese sandwich at affordable price.
2. You want a car for going to work with low operating costs.
3. I need car with low operating cost.
iii. Unstated needs: expectations the customer does not
articulate but assumes will be met. Expected by the customer
but not mentioned.
Example:
1. The customer expects good after-sales service and warranty
support when buying the car.
2. I expect good services from a hotel while renting bedroom.
iv. Delight needs: extra or additional needs by a customer but
not clearly expressed which provide the 'wow' factor.
 Needs create a memorable and enjoyable experience for the
customer and make some products more popular than the
other.
Example: the car comes with a free maintenance package for
two years and a premium sound system.
5. Secret needs
Needs which a customer might not state or realize.
The customer feels reluctant to admit or express.
Wants to be seen by friends/status symbol as savvy customers.
Example
1. The customer wants a car for the status symbol so that he
can show his friends that he is a savvy consumer (person who
can spend his money wisely.
2. I need sandwich to quickly; eat my food and look cool.
Categorization of Needs

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1. Social Needs
 Social Needs are externally directed and relate to other
individuals.
 Fulfilling these needs thus requires the presence or actions of
other people.
Example:
a) The need for status drives our desire to have others hold us in
high regard;
b) The need for support drives us to have others relieve us of
our burdens;
c) The need for modeling reflects a wish to have others show us
how to behave.
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2. Nonsocial Needs
 Nonsocial needs are those for which achievement is not based
on other people.
 Our needs for sleep, novelty, control, uniqueness, and
understanding, which involve only ourselves, can affect the
usage of certain goods and services.
 We might purchase the same brand repeatedly to maintain
consistency in our world we might buy something different to
fulfill a need for variety.

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3. Functional Needs
 Functional Needs motivate the search for products that solve
consumption-related problems.
Example:
a) You might consider buying a product like a car with side
airbags because it appeals to your safety needs (a functional,
nonsocial need).
b) For mothers with young children, hiring a nanny would solve
the need for support (a functional, social need).

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4. Symbolic Needs
 Symbolic needs affect how we perceive ourselves and how we
are perceived by.
 Achievement, independence, and self-control are symbolic
needs because they are connected with our sense of self.
 Similarly, our need for uniqueness is symbolic because it drives
consumption decisions about how we express our identity.
 The need to avoid rejection and the need for achievement,
status, affiliation, and belonging are symbolic because they
reflect our social position or role.

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5. Hedonic Needs
 Hedonic needs include needs for sensory stimulation, cognitive
stimulation, and novelty (nonsocial hedonic needs) and needs
for reinforcement, sex, and play (social hedonic needs).
 These hedonic needs reflect our inherent desires for sensory
pleasure.
 If the desire is intense enough, it can inspire fantasizing about
specific goods, simultaneously pleasurable and discomforting.
 Consumers may buy perfume for the sensory pleasure it can
bring or go to luxury shopping areas like the Shoppes at
Palazzo in Las Vegas for the eye-catching ambiance

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Characteristics of Consumer Needs
1. Needs are dynamic
2. Needs exist in a hierarchy
3. Needs can be internally or externally aroused
4. Needs can conflict(Approach-avoidance conflict; Approach-
approach conflict and Avoidance-avoidance conflict
a. Approach Object: a positive goals toward which behavior is
directed.
b. Avoidance Object: a negative goal from which behavior is
directed away.

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3.3. Arousal of Consumer Motives
 The stimulation of any particular set of needs at a specific
point in time may be caused by internal stimuli found in the
individual’s.
a. Physiological arousal
 Bodily needs at any one specific moment in time are rooted in
an individual’s physiological condition at that moment.
 Basic needs as a result of hunger, thirst, chill, performance,
comfort, and durability,
 The body's physical response to stimuli, which can influence
purchasing decisions.
 Needs are triggered by various factors such as excitement,
stress, or physical activity.
Example: a shivering man may turn up the heat in his home to
relieve his discomfort and may make a mental note to buy
flannel pajamas.

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b. Emotional arousal
 Daydreaming may result in the arousal or stimulation of
latent needs.
 The ads often feature scenic drives, elegant settings, and
successful individuals, creating a sense of desire and
aspiration.
 Motives as a result of bored, happiness, urgency, frustrated in
attempts to achieve their goals often engage in autistic
thinking.
Example: Airlines and hotel booking sites use "Only 2 seats left
at this price!" to create urgency and push consumers to buy
quickly.

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c. Cognitive arousal
 Random thoughts or personal achievements lead to a
cognitive awareness of needs.
 Marketers often aim to create campaigns that challenge
consumers' intellect, curiosity, and problem-solving abilities to
drive/stimulus interest and sales exposed through ad,
promotion, poster, flyer, post which made them think.
Example: A toothpaste brand like Colgate uses "Dentist
Recommended" claims and scientific proof to convince buyers
logically.

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d. Environmental arousal
 How external factors (physical surroundings, weather,
climate, color, smell, design, social environment, and cultural
context) in a consumer's environment can initiate a need or
desire, prompting them to take action.
 Marketers can create environments that stimulate positive
emotions and encourage purchasing decisions.
 Cold weather - need for warm clothing
Example: the sight or smell of bakery goods, fast-food
commercials on TV, and in a high-end fashion boutique, the use
of dim lighting, soft background music, elegant decor, and clean,
spacious layouts may create a calm, exclusive, and sophisticated
atmosphere.

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3.4. Consumers Need Motivational Conflict

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1. Approach -Avoidance Conflict
 A conflict that occurs when a given behavior or outcome is
seen as both desirable and undesirable.
 The desire to eat foods that are high calories and fat.
 A consumer who likes the quality of the product but not the
price.
 A consumer wishes to move both toward and away from the
object.
 When two attractive stimuli are presented to the creature for
selection.
Example:
 Loose weight, stop taking Ice cream
 Booking a luxury vacation package, high cost.
 Become sales professional, joining business school, long time
and high cost.

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2. Approach - Approach Conflict
 A consumer who has to choose between two more equally attractive
(desirable) brands.
 When a consumer has to invest his money to start up a new business
or to cover his tuition fee to pursue his academic career, this conflict
may occur.
 A consumer attempts to decide between two attractive or desirable
alternatives.
 A customer must pick one good or service from various choices.
 A customer must decide between two equally appealing options.
Example:
 To celebrate a successful semester, Kedja decides a trip to the
seashore and a trip to the mountains.
 Getting information, decides to buy Television and Mobile.
 Going to Megenagna, choose bus and Taxi.

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3. Avoidance - Avoidance Conflict
 A Conflict that occurs when the consumer must choose
between two equally undesirable products (negative valence).
 When a consumer has to either incur substantial cost to
maintain his old car or whether he has to buy a new car, this
conflict may occur.
Example:
 Repairing an old car or buying new brand.
 Become slim, decides to stop eating Ice cream or eating meat.

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Perceived Risk
 It is the extent to which the consumer is uncertain about the
consequences of an action of buying, using, or disposing of an
offering.
 Perceived risk will be higher when:
 Little information is available about the offering.
 The offering is new
 The offering is technologically complex.
 Substantial quality differences exist between brands.
 The consumer has little experience or confidence about the
offering

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 Types of Perceived Risk
1. Performance risk: uncertainty about whether the offering
will perform as expected.
2. Financial risk: risk associated with monetary investment in
an offering.
3. Physical risk: the potential harm that an offering might pose
to ones‟ safety.
4. Social risk: the potential harm to ones social standing that
may arise from buying, using, or disposing of an offering.
5. Psychological risk: risk associated with the extent to which
the offering fits with the way consumers perceive themselves.
6. Time risk: uncertainties over the length of time consumers
must invest in buying, using, or disposing of the offering.

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