How Reference Groups Exert Influence on Consumer Behavior

Reference groups are actual or imaginary individual or group that significantly influences an individual’s evaluations, aspirations, or behavior. Reference group influences us in three ways: informational, utilitarian, and value-expressive. The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is an American non-profit organization, which backs for gun rights. NRA has been acknowledging its members about gun-related bills. NRA has also been directly promoted against legislation.

In our society we have a number of society norms that we abide by. For example, there is an unwritten rule of how one should behave in an elevator. For example, it is proper to face front, stand away from strangers, and not to look at others. When a social norm is broken people may respond with alarm, humor, fear, irritation, or an array of other emotions. When you think of a norm, you are probably thinking about being normal. But in psychology terms, norm means, a standard or representative value for a group. The norm that is more common to people is a social norm. Meaning expectations about what behavior, thoughts, or feelings are appropriate within a given group within a given context.

Norms are behaviors or rules that set forth what is expected of us as people and as a society.

our social identity. It is these groups that can have a negative or a positive effect on ourselves. We can be part of the “in group” or the “out group” depending on somebody's experience of the membership of that group, sometimes groups maintain an us and them mentality when it comes to being part of it. The norms of the group are expected to be adhered to by members, and this can lead to members being expected to conform, non conformity can often lead to role conflict

In a group, several individuals may interact to influence the purchase decision. The typical roles in such a group decision can be summarised as follows:

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.

One of the group norms that had already been established through cohesiveness was the group’s respect for each other. When a member is speaking, they let the member finish without being interrupted. This showed respect for each other’s opinions. Each time a member spoke, they were brief and to the point. In return, members of the group would agree, agree to disagree, and in some cases built on each other’s ideas. Weatherhead

Which social institution meets the need to regulate sexual behavior and produce new members of society?

As stated in "You May Ask Yourself" by Dalton Conley a reference group is defined as "a group that helps us understand or make sense of our position in society relative to other groups"(Conley 161). There are many reference groups that we all encounter and compare ourselves to everyday without even noticing that we are doing so. This groups can include classmates, clubs, teammates(if you play or played a sport), and many other groups that we could encounter on a daily basis. I found that I would often use the goalies on the opposing teams as a reference group to judge my performance as a lacrosse goalie. In doing this I either left a game feeling great, or

Group forces influence buying because there may be a complex set of smaller decisions made or influenced by several individuals. The degree of involvement of each member varies. Three questions are taken into consideration when a decision is being considered, which organizational members take part in the buying process, what is each member’s relative influence in the decision, and what criteria are important to each. All of the deciders from Gentech worked as a group on the purchasing decision each had an involvement and came to a decision as a group.

Buying a car is a high-involvement purchase as you can be faced was a large selection of choices. When figuring out which car to buy, consumers consult the advice of family and friends. However, according to a vehicle customer survey from Maritz Research, the most important information that is also the most influential in the buying decision tends to come from an individual that has a lot of knowledge on the product, such as a cars salesperson at the dealership. Considering the complex nature of this decision, reference groups play a large role. A reference group is ‘an actual or imaginary individual or group conceived of having significant relevance upon an individual or group’s aspirations

Reference groups sometimes have the same meaning as in-groups. This is mostly when the reference group accepts the individual. An example of this is when a black wants to be part of the white majority, and isnt able to because of his color and affiliation with the black in-group. This is brought on by the demand for people color to adapt to white culture. In doing so, people of color are forced to rid themselves of taking pride in their ethnicity and culture. By doing this, a person of color may develop self-hate for themselves as individual or for their group. The minority group member is forced to make the dominant majority his reference group in respect to language, manners, morals, and law. He may be entirely loyal to his minority in-group, but he is at the same time always under the necessity of relating himself to the standards and expectations of the majority (Allport 95). The dominant majority is for him a reference group. It exerts a strong pull upon him, forcing attitudinal conformity. Thus, both in-groups and reference groups are important in the formation of attitudes (Allport 97).

Social class is the position or ranking of people in society based on social stratification variables like income, occupation, type of residence, education and qualification that affect purchase pattern and buying behaviour. Social classes show distinct product and brand preferences, especially for goods considered as luxuries such as cars, furnishings and leisure activities like golf. For instance, wealth, power and prestige are popular factors frequently used in the estimation of social class. Social class influence can be used as a basis for segmenting markets, and may reflect the aspirations of consumers. (Schiffman, L., Bednall, D, O’Cass, A., Paladino, A., Ward, S. & Kanuk, L., 2008) Members within a social class share similar

Taking a closer look at our social class, we can see all of the social factors that are involved in the purchasing of consumer goods. Factors such as relationships, personal roles, and economic stability. Relational influences often tend to be one of the largest factors in looking at a product. Normally, a family member, friend, or coworker might convey their approval for a product, in

The purpose of this report is to use a variety of research techniques aimed at understanding the role that knowledge and group influences have on a consumer’s decision-making process. Additionally, the report will advise a range of recommendations that an inert brand can adopt to guarantee its inclusion in the consumer’s consideration set of brands.