Consumer psychology, also studied under the name consumer behaviour, is the branch of psychology that studies individuals, groups and organizations in their purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. It examines how consumer emotions, attitudes and preferences affect buying behavior, and how external cues such as visual prompts, auditory signals and tactile feedback shape those responses. The field emerged in the 1940s and 1950s as a distinct sub-discipline of marketing and has since become an interdisciplinary social science drawing on psychology, sociology, social anthropology, ethnography, ethnology, marketing and economics, particularly behavioral economics, investigating both individual qualities such as demographics, personality and lifestyle and social influences ranging from family and friends to broader society, including brand-influencers and opinion leaders.
Facts
Disputed
Key DebateEarly consumer research was criticized for relying on descriptive case studies with little methodological rigor, which pushed the field toward the mathematically oriented behavioral-science methods of psychology, sociology and anthropology, a shift still visible in debate over how best to model an inherently unpredictable consumer. 1 Central QuestionConsumer psychology studies individuals, groups and organizations and all activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services, including how emotions, attitudes and external cues shape buying behavior. 1 Connections
Includes
Source Blissful ignorance effect (Wikipedia)
Source Overchoice, Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia: Decoy Effect
Source Wikipedia: Denomination effect
Source Diderot effect (Wikipedia)
Source Overchoice, Wikipedia
Source Psychological pricing - Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia: SnackWell effect
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Consumer behaviour
Wikimedia FoundationLead section (Wikipedia article title Consumer behaviour)
Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services.
Origins of consumer behaviour section
At the end of the 1950s, two important reports criticised marketing for its lack of methodological rigor, especially the failure to adopt mathematically-oriented behavioural science research methods.
View the Source Wikipedia: Decoy Effect
WikipediaIncludes: Decoy Effect, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Decoy Effect, Lead section
In marketing, the decoy effect (or attraction effect or asymmetric dominance effect) is a phenomenon in consumer decision-making in which the inclusion of unattractive third option can change the perceived preference between the other two.
Wikipedia: Denomination effect
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Denomination Effect, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Denomination Effect, Lead section
The denomination effect is a form of cognitive bias relating to currency, suggesting people may be less likely to spend larger currency denominations than their equivalent value in smaller denominations.
Overchoice, Wikipedia
Includes: Overchoice, Lead section
Overchoice or choice overload is the paradoxical phenomenon in which choosing between a large variety of options can be detrimental to decision making processes.
Includes: Choice Overload, Lead section
Overchoice or choice overload is the paradoxical phenomenon in which choosing between a large variety of options can be detrimental to decision making processes.
View the SourcePsychological pricing - Wikipedia
Includes: Psychological Pricing, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Psychological Pricing, Lead section
Psychological pricing (also price ending or charm pricing) is a pricing and marketing strategy based on the theory that certain prices have a psychological impact.
Blissful ignorance effect (Wikipedia)
Includes: Blissful Ignorance Effect, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Blissful Ignorance Effect, Lead section
In consumer behaviour studies, the Blissful Ignorance Effect is when people who have good information about a product are not expected to be as happy with the product as people who have less information about it.
Diderot effect (Wikipedia)
Includes: Diderot Effect, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: Diderot Effect, Lead section
The Diderot effect is a phenomenon that occurs when acquiring a new possession leads to a spiral of consumption that results in the acquisition of even more possessions.
Wikipedia: SnackWell effect
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: SnackWell Effect, Lead sectionQuote, Includes: SnackWell Effect, Lead section
The SnackWell effect is a phenomenon whereby dieters will eat more low-calorie cookies, such as SnackWell's, than they otherwise would for normal cookies.
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