Consumer+Psychology

Consumer psychology

1. What is the major emphasis or what is the subject matter in this specialty area? Consumer psychology is the research of people’s opinions about products and services used frequently in their personal lives. Consumer psychology focuses on the reason or logic used in the decision process of whether or not to purchase a product and why a person would pick one product over another (Hinders). Consumer psychologists study factors customers consider to assess the value or appeal of products or services. Consumer psychology, also known as consumer behavior, is mainly used by companies and organizations to better market their goods and services by assessing what their target consumer is looking for in a product (Perner).

2. What topics does it usually include? For example, privacy issues and work space design. Consumer psychology is used mainly by businesses to create marketing strategies or campaigns for their variety of products in order to attract more consumers. These campaigns are sometimes affected by public policy and required to inform their customers of possible health risks associated with the use of their products, such as warning labels. Consumer psychologists find this information through experiments or studies run by the company or questionnaires they distribute, as well as research that has already been done in the specific area of interest (Perner).

3. Give examples of the typical types of questions studied. For example, What brain centers are responsible for memory? Consumer psychologists are generally interested in how their customers make decisions between similar products. General questions considered include gender, where the customer was born, how often they use the product in question, and their opinion about the quality of the brand they normally choose as opposed to other competing brands (Perner). These questions are used to modify the way a company advertises or packages their product (Hinders).

4. Write a brief history of the specialty. Include where it was founded, why did it seem necessary to have this specialty, and who or what group initiated the specialty. Consumer psychology began with psychologists Kurt Lewin and George Katona during World War II. Lewin was interested in finding strategies to reverse protein food shortages by convincing people to eat other foods such as livers, hearts and kidneys. Katona conducted surveys to predict changing trends in customer’s purchases. Later, in 1961, Stuart Kamen and Howard Schultz made a proposal, which is known as the official start of Consumer Psychology (Friestad).

5. List some psychologists and examples of their publications that support this specialty. John B. Watson is a very important psychologist to the history of consumer psychology, with his contributions to Johnson & Johnson baby powder ads. Watson focused on emotional appeal, suggesting that these ads highlight the nervous feelings of new mothers, which has become a very important aspect of consumer psychology (Hinders). The majority of consumer psychologists publish their work in the //Journal of Consumer Psychology,// such as Seung Hwan Lee’s research on the influence of social networks on consumers in his article, “The role of network centrality in the flow of consumer influence” (Lee).

Works Cited Friestad, Marien. "What is Consumer Psychology?" Web. Lee, Seung Hwan. "The role of network centrality in the flow of consumer influence." //Journal of Consumer Psychology// 21.1 (2010): 1-102. //Science Direct//. Elsevier Inc., 7 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Feb. 2010. .< http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10577408>. Perner, Ph D., Lars. "Consumer Behavior: The Psychology of Marketing." Web. "What is Consumer Psychology?" Ed. Dana Hinders. Web.