Conformity And Consumer Behaviour Essay

Conformity is a concept that has been heavily researched in the field of social psychology. Conformity is defined as a change in behavior, beliefs, and attitudes due to group pressure perceived as real (encompassing the presence of others) or imagined (encompassing the pressure of social standards) (Myers, 2010, p. 192). The concept of conformity is a powerful influence on the tendency for people to arrange their thoughts, perspectives, and ideas with others, especially when in a group. This takes away from a person’s individuality because they want to feel accepted by others and therefore, a person will accomplish this basic need of approval through conforming.

A customer’s buying behaviour is also influenced by social factors, such as the groups to which the customer belongs and social status.

2.Social Factors: A consumer's behaviour is influenced by such social factors as reference groups, family and social roles and statuses. A person's reference group consists of all the groups that have a direct or indirect influence on the person's attitudes or behaviour (Kotler, 2000, pp.163). Reference Groups create pressures for conformity that affect actual product and brand choices. The MiZone and Aqua Blue range of bottled water is aimed and is consumed by people who do considerable exercise and are concerned about their fitness and well being. Consumers in this group would notice that their peers consumed MiZone or Aqua Blue and would then purchase it themselves.

Conformity is a form of social influence, when we conform we act and think like members of our group. Often people even alter or change their personal beliefs to match those around them. When we conform we feel pressured to fit in with others, to be a part of the majority. While we may still have contradicting beliefs towards things, we change our behaviors and actions to match what everybody else is

It is possible to further classify reference groups into four types, depending on the function they perform and the kind of influence they exert reference groups operate by establishing certain norms, roles and status within the group for members to follow. As explained earlier, norms are unwritten codes or, standards of conduct that are assigned to individuals within the group. In addition, specific roles have been identified in group purchasing behavior in the attempt to select the best among alternative brands or makes of a product. These are described as those of the influencer, the gatekeeper (i.e. the individual who has the maximum control over the flow of information), the decision maker, the purchaser and, the final user. Status positions have also been designated within a group. High status of members within a group implies greater power and influence. Products are sometimes purchased to demonstrate status, for example an elegant dress or, an expensive car. The influence exerted by the group depends on the type of reference group it is. There are four general types of groups namely, normative, comparative, status and dissociative groups.

We are all University Students that currently live in Halifax Nova Scotia, but have all grown up in various places. Two of our members are from Ontario and the remaining members from various parts of China. Given this geographical separation, our group has some obvious diversity in our individual consumer profiles. This is partly due to our different cultures and values. Our families also greatly influence our contrasting consumer profile - with our differing ethnical backgrounds, different social classes and varying religions. Conversely, we all fit into the age bracket of 18-25 so share some similar purchasing behaviour as millennial consumers (Kardes et la., 2011, pg 38). We have all been apart of many of the same world changes, such as 911 and global warming. This greatly sways our prespective on which products we can identify with and our preferences. Likewise, we all are at the same life stage (Kardes et la., 2011, pg 8). We are all young adults, finishing up university and starting our independent lives with limited disposible incomes. We tend to make most of our purchases online, allowing us to find the best deals in the least amount of time. Most of us find that food is our number one expense and value the bonds people make while sharing a meal. Many of us find it difficult balancing our busy lifestyles and school, but work to covercome these challenges. All of these inflencers guide our purchasing habits.

This concept can be supported by conformity and social identity theories. Conformity is defined as the adherence to group norms and standards, while social identity is considered to be a person’s sense of self based off of the groups they are a member of. We can expect patterns to be found within groups because of the

There are also two types of social influences, normative and informative, that can affect a consumer’s purchase decision. A normative influence is the desire to conform to the expectations of another. An informative influence is to accept and trust information obtained as reality. (Bishop & Myers 1974). According to Lam & Meyers 1978, normative and informative influences are both relevant when purchasing a car as an individuals opinions can be influenced by group discussion. It is evident that normative social influences have a greater influence on groups as this is when an individual believes that conforming may have positive consequences and not conforming may have negative consequences. Whereas, informational social influences is often when we care about getting the right answer and trying to be rational. Both normative and informative influences affect the consumer purchase decision of purchasing a car.

Interestingly, although consumers with conformity motivation are likely to purchase products to maintain a sense of belonging, studies have shown that the more product information those consumers are given, the less loyal they are to the brand (Labrecque et al., 2011). Consumers who tend toward

Understanding consumer buying behavior entails marketing, relationships, and consumer behavior. Consumer behavior comprises all the consumer decisions and activities connected with the choosing, buying, using and disposing of goods and services. Marketers must pay very close attention to consumer behavior that occurs before the purchase and after the particular product has been used. Studying consumer habits is one of the steps in marketing search and analysis. In addition to other basic principles of consumer buying habits, marketers also need to study the decision and actions of real people. Until recent history the study of consumer behavior was focused on generalized consumer decisions. With

Figure 3: Lush label states "Fresh Handmade Cosmetics" and "Bring back 5 Pots and Get a Fresh Face Mask Free"

They also open the eyes of their consumers to new behavior and ways of living. A consumer’s family is the closest and the most important consumer group in society. Marketers are curious about the roles and the influence of each family member. For instance they are interested in the male and female purchasing roles, as well children influence on purchasing. Within groups a person’s position is characterized by both role and status. A role is the activities and duties that are expected to be performed from a person and a status is the ranking of a person in that. Products are usually chosen based off of roles and status.

In order to understand what reference group influences are, it is necessary to firstly understand what a reference group is. The depth of information surrounding reference groups and the influences they poses on individuals, particularly on consumer purchasing behaviour is vast and one could get lost in the mist of it all. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that only research relevant to this study is included in this section, thus an overview of what a reference group is will be provided, then the different types of reference groups will be explored based on previous research, then the data will start to look at the influences reference groups have on individuals, and their purchasing behaviour, in order to fully understand the power that reference groups have.

In attitude-behaviour relationships, the Theory of Reasoned Action states that consumer behaviours are constructed by their attitudes, and the attitude itself is the result of the consumers’ perception (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). With regards to greenwashing, research has found that this attitude-behaviour relationship could manipulate the perception of consumer (see table 2 for perceptions and explanations), for instance, perceived deception (Newell et al., 1998), perceived scepticism (Albayrak et al., 2011), perceived inconsistency (Gallicano, 2011), perceived distrust, and/or perceived risk (Chen & Chang, 2013). Consumers motivations for purchasing green products differ and may even be contradictory (Cleveland, Kalamas, & Laroche, 2005). However, to some degree, the motivations are thought to influence consumer purchasing behaviour and perception (Albayrak et al., 2011).

Consumption is a process of acquiring, using and disposing of goods and services. Emotions play a very large role in consumer behavior. This behavior and emotions are affected and created by the society and the culture in which the consumer lives. For example, an American may approach the purchase of a costly car with relatively less pressure than a person in a developing country where a car could be a high unaffordable luxury. The customer will comprehend brands, offers and the meaning of the product based on the understanding that he or she has of similar brands and their experience by analogy or by hearsay from peers and form an opinion. For example a new soft drink from Pepsi may not be very informative in its advertisement but that it is from the stable of PepsiCo makes the users of Pepsi brands take it in without much research. Such an opinion is not based mostly on the complete set of facts. Where there are many alternatives or the information is scarce the customer has to make a lot of effort or 'high effort' to reach a decision and such a situation could be a turnoff. On the other hand the customer may not be inclined to devolve deep into facts in case where the brand value is established and may make a decision on little or even sometimes no information. (Hoyer;