Motivation Research Techniques ch.2

• Motivation is a powerful life force that enables accomplishment.
• Consumers require motivation to acquire things, which costs money and effort.
• Products can drive or diminish consumer motivation.

Consumer Motivation

• The term "motivation" often implies a reason for an action.
• Motivation is the driving force behind all human behavior and can be defined as goal-oriented.

Inner Force

• Drive serves as energy, thrusting someone into action when they want something badly.
• The energy/drive is the most important factor in someone's motivation.
• A goal object is something that helps someone achieve a goal or deliver a valuable benefit.

Model of Motivation

• Discomfort arises when a desired goal object is absent
• This discomfort prompts a search for a goal object that will alleviate the issue.
• Hunger creates discomfort, making food the goal object.
• Discomfort stems from the difference between the desired and actual states, creating tension.
• This tension generates the energy or drive needed to reach the goal object
• A person with goal objects who lacks drive is simply a daydreamer.
• Purposeful behavior results from using energy to achieve a goal object, which is goal-directed energy.

Origins of Needs

• Some needs are innate and some are learned.
• Innate needs are those someone is born with, common to all humans, and rooted in survival instincts.
• An example is stomach hunger and shivering in the cold.
• Learned needs develop through life and are specific to culture and society
• An example is "out of fashion" clothes.
• These needs are not critical for survival.
• Biogenic needs are discomfort conditions stemming from human biology, encompassing body discomforts.
• This includes tiredness, working, illness and the loss of motor skills.
• These needs can include certain negative conditions in the body based on genetics, for example oily hair, food intolerances or material allergies.
• These needs can also include cravings.
• Psychogenic needs stem from someone's mental makeup rather than physical needs.
• This involves how someone views themselves and the world, what defines success/happiness, and their personal values.
• A lack of things considered essential for happiness leads to mental discomfort and creates such needs.
• Some psychogenic needs are innate, like the need for peer approval.
• Consumers fulfill both types of needs simultaneously with most products.

Needs vs Motivation

• A need is something essential for human survival or bodily/mental well-being.
• Motivation is the tension that creates the drive/energy needed to obtain a goal object.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

• Physiological Needs include bodily needs (also called biogenic needs).
• These drive the need to seek food, clothing, and shelter.
• The needs must be met before being able to worry about anything else.
• Physiological differences lead to consumer differences.
• These differences are attributable to genetics, race, gender, or age.
• Examples are soy milk, vision correcting glasses, and custom-made shoes.
• Safety and Security Needs refers to the need to be protected from danger.
• Personal safety has been a motive since the beginning of mankind
• Belonging and Love are social needs that activate once physiological and safety concerns are solved.
• These consists of wanting friends, family, love, and affection.
• To satisfy this need, consumer seek products that are well regarded.
• Ego and Esteem refers to needing to feel good about ourselves and have self-esteem.
• Someone will work hard to gain success and acquire qualities considered desirable.
• This involves buying products and services perceived to enhance one's self image.
• Examples are driving certain cars and visiting certain establishments.
• Self-Actualization is the need to realize one's true potential and drives adults to acquire new skills.
• An example of this is seeing a person's need for self-actualization from the US Army's slogan "be all you can be" and "army of one".
• Marketers often appeal to people's ambitions.

Murray’s List of Psychological Needs

• Flashmobs are an example of psychological needs
• This aids in identifying consumer needs at a more detailed level than Maslow's hierarchy.
• The table identifies:
• Autonomy needs, independence, and freedom from constraint.
• Dominance, directing and controlling others.
• Nurturance consists of sympathy, feeding, helping and protecting others.
• Exhibition entails making impressions and exciting others using shock.
• Cognizance is the exploration and asking of questions to seek knowledge
• Exposition is giving information and interpreting facts.

Dichter's List of Unconscious Motives

• Mastery over environment, for example purchasing power tools.
• Status demonstrated with drinking scotch.
• Rewards that come from purchasing gifts.
• Individuality like foreign cards and tattoos.
• Security like newly ironed shirts.
• Masculinity by toy guns and heavy shoes.
• Femininity through decorating.
• Eroticism in sweets.
• Disalienation that is done with talk shows.
• Moral purity that comes from cotton fabrics.
• Magic-mystery involving crystals.
• Grandparents buy toys for their grandchildren to satisfy their need to receive love/affection.
• Reasons people give are sometimes only half true and reside in their unconscious motives.
• Marketers must uncover both conscious and unconscious motives, since the later influences consumption decisions unconsciously.

Techniques to Research and Uncover Motives

• Motivation research discovers the motives for a person's behavior and reasons that someone may be unaware of or unwilling to admit.
• It utilizes disguised and non-structured techniques.
• The answers are not pre-structured.
• Third Person Question Phrasing avoids directly asking ""why dont you buy, quick baking cake mix?"".
• This can be phrased, "in your opinion, why do people not buy the cake mix?"
• These indirect answers project their motives.
• Word Association elicits quick responses to words such as "blue", "angel", "surfer", and "europe".
• This reveals consumers' feelings.
• Sentence Completion is similar to word association, but with incomplete sentences.
• This can stimulate responses such as ""I drink instant coffe only when I am ______"".
• Story Completion involves showing someone a series of ambiguous pictures.
• An example is someone preparing coffee.
• Mason Haire Technique involves showing someone a list of items.
• This elicits projected opinions about the characteristics of the list's owner.

Moods vs. Emotions

• Emotions: this is shown when cuddling or swearing.
• Emotion is sudden feelings and a strong drive that are attaining to the source.
• Gift giving is shown as nonverbal with facial communication.
• Human emotions can be categorized into 8 types according to psychologist Robert Plutchick.
• Fear ranges from timidity to terror and might take place when driving on a non functional car.
• Anger ranges from annoyance to rage and can take place when rental agents say that the reserved cat is unavailable.
• Joy ranges from serenity to ecstasy such as in auto dealership when a rare model shows up.
• Sadness ranges from pensiveness to grief, such as being informed that seat is sold out.
• Acceptance ranges from tolerance to adoration, such as being friendly.
• Disgust ranges from boredom so loathing, such as finding insects in food.
• Anticipation ranges from mindfulness to vigilance.
• Surprise ranges from uncertainty to amazement, such as dessert being free.
• The list are human sensations and sources.

Managing Emotions & Mood

• Measure emotions with verbal rating and picture matching.
• Verbal rating includes presenting the names of the eight emotions to consumers and then have those circled who feel like they were watching the ad or using the product.
• Picture matching includes showing a test ad with different images and selecting the one that is closest.
• Consumer Moods are described as, "But what do we feel when are in a state of no emotion", they are called moods
• "Almost emotions" are short lived, easy to induce that are happy, sad, irritated, pleased, amused or bored.
• Moods affect responses and work in the background.
• To Market Stimuli, if we like the positive environment and music is playing then bad must make respond negatively.
• Consumption Choices are what are moods affect.
• If there are negative consumers in the mood, then the company gifts can be rewarded but the consumers can also engage in these activities when positive.
• Moods produce self orientation.
• If the consumer is in a good mood the experience is positive and more negative in a bad mood.
• Internal autistic marketing happens, by recalling past incident or something fantasized.
• Exposure to external stimuli by example a consumer seeing candy and wanting to feel in the mood.
• All of these stimulus helps influence the customers.

Hedonic Motives & Consumption

• Hedonic Motives, an example is playing solitaire.
• Consumption by the consumer is something that should be obtained.
• The service is for intrinsic enjoyment regardless of the outcome.
• Sensory experiences by touch, sounds, and smell.
• Aesthetic is reading and seeing all the arts on visiting.
• This affects movies and sending gifts for visit.
• Fun can be playing video games, sports, dancing and vacationing.

Types of Involvement

• Involvement can include interest in an activity.
• Involvement stems from services to customer.
• Paul is not into golf, thus equipment is not relevant.
• Situational, positive saver and taste.
• Enduring involvement means for a longer timeline or basis.

Explore motivation research: goals, word association, and projective techniques. Understand disguised methods and consumer behavior. Learn about uncovering hidden feelings associated with brands.