Consumer Psychology

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.