Abstract of thesis entitled
Consumer decision and product evaluation: Interaction between the self and the context
submitted by
Shui-fun Fiona CHAN
for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong
in March 2004
Two types of consumer behavior are proposed, one self-regulated (personal) and the other socially-regulated (social). Self-regulated consumer behavior includes
consumption or spending guided by self-regulation and frequently influenced by the person’s affective states. Socially-regulated consumer behavior is hypothesized to be socially motivated and geared toward meeting interpersonal goals.
Two studies were conducted, where diary method was used in Study 1 to record university students’ purchases, mood and consumption context (shopped alone or with others) on three actual spending occasions. In Study 2, students were invited to an experiment, either alone or with a friend, to evaluate products on both functional and consummatory attributes, under different mood influences.
It was hypothesized that, first, self-regulated spending should entail when students shop alone; buying decision and information processing should be related to self-control and affect. Second, mood interacts with culture and context to influence information processing; hence, presence of peers should activate the person’s normative concerns, and subsequently mitigate the effects of self-control and mood on buying decision and
information processing.
As expected, data from Study 1 confirmed that positive mood facilitated heuristic processing in self-regulated consumption setting, resulting in more spending. Higher self-control was positively correlated with less spending. When social prime was salient, as in the shopped-with-others condition, socially-regulated spending occurred. Self-control effects tapered off, but positive mood was still positively correlated with buying.
Data from Study 2 also suggested the two types of consumer behavior to be different. When attended the experiment alone, sad participants rated consummatory attributes as less important, suggesting elaboration in processing. Also, solo participants of high need for closure enlisted heuristic cues for product evaluation.
By comparison, other participants (attended with friend) of high need for closure did not show the same trend. More importantly, participants in the attend-with-friend and happy group showed more normative concerns, by endorsing self-image related attributes, and rating price as less important. These image-management attributes correspond with attributes deemed important to most university students, and may define the core of university student identity. Hence, presence of peer primed participant’s conception of student culture and student identity; thus students in positive mood regulated their behavior to appear norm-appropriate. Product evaluation and consumer decision were then
symbolic acts to affirm their student identity.
(Number of words = 370)
