Post Purchase Dissonance:Dissonance Reduction, Marketing Implications

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Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Lecture 42

Post Purchase Dissonance

Understanding:

Post Purchase Dissonance

o Conditions Leading to Dissonance

o Dissonance Reduction

o Marketing Implications

Product Disposition - Alternatives

o Factors Influencing Product Disposition

1. Post Purchase Dissonance

Consumer is uncertain of the wisdom of his decision; he rethinks this decision in the post purchase stage.

Consumers may become dissonant (inharmonious) over a purchase decision as a result of discrepancy between a

consumer's decision and the consumer's prior evaluation

Dissonance theory was derived from two basic principles:

Dissonance is uncomfortable and drive the person to reduce it

Individuals experiencing dissonance will avoid situations that produce more dissonance

Conditions Leading to Dissonance

Dissonance is likely to occur under following conditions:

Minimum threshold of dissonance is passed. Consumers may tolerate a certain level of inconsistency in their

lives until the point is reached

The action is irrevocable. Consumers may not reverse a decision when they have purchased a car

Unselected alternatives have desirable features

There are several desirable alternatives

Available alternatives are quite dissimilar in their qualities

The buyer is committed to his decision because it has psychological significance

There is no pressure applied to the consumer to make the decision

Dissonance Reduction

There several ways in which consumer strives to reduce dissonance. These include:

1. Change the evaluation of alternatives

2. Seek new information to support his choice

3. Change his attitudes

1. Changing Product Evaluations

Consumer may reevaluate the product alternatives. This may be accomplished by consumer's enhancing the

attributes of the product selected and decreasing the importance of unselected products' attributes, that is

consumers seek to polarize alternatives to reduce dissonance. Consumers' reevaluating of the product alternatives

make them view them as more similar than was thought at the purchase stage. Selective retention may allow

consumer to forget positive features of the unselected alternatives and negative features of the selected product

2. Seek new information to support his choice

Consumers may reduce dissonance by seeking additional information in order to confirm the wisdom of their

product choice. Dissonant individuals actively avoid information that would tend to increase their dissonance.

3. Change his attitudes

Consumers may change their attitude to make them consonant with his behavior. Consumers sometimes purchase

a product they initially attributed to negatively through a promotional scheme. This may produce dissonance and

to avoid it they may change their attitude. Motivation to achieve consonance will likely take the form of attitude

change because that is easier than renouncing the product.

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Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Marketing Implications

1. Confirming Expectations

When the purchase confirms the consumers' expectations, reinforcement takes place. When expectations are not

confirmed cognitive dissonance takes place and the consumer will be likely to reduce the dissonance by somewhat

negative evaluation off the brand. Where a product fails to measure up to the expectations the result may be no

initial sale, no repeat sale or unfavorable word of mouth communication.

The most important is that products meet the expectations of the consumers. Marketers should not build up

expectations unrealistically. Today`s advertisements may seem harmless exaggeration but it may build unrealistic

expectations in the mind of the consumer as a result unfavorable word of mouth may spread about the product.

Advertisers should develop promotions that are consistent with what can the products reasonably deliver

2. Inducing Attitude Change

When attitudes are inconsistent with purchase behavior they are likely to change. Marketers may seek to induce

behavior changes in consumer through various means. Promotional tools including free samples and saving

coupons are frequently used.

There is some evidence that smaller the incentive greater the dissonance and greater the attitude change. The small

inducements force the consumer to confront his purchase behavior with a ready explanation for that. Large

inducements may force the consumer to simply rationalize. A coupon of Rs 5 will produce more of the desired

attitude change than a coupon of Rs. 10.

In case of free samples the acceptance of brand may never take place because the consumer could fail to expose

herself fully to the attitude change from use of the sample. There may be an optimum value range over which

promotional techniques produce desired attitude and behavior change. Beyond that point either too low or too

high they may be relatively ineffective.

3. Reinforcing the Buyers

Consumers post purchase information seeking is usually the result of dissonance. It is prudent to develop special

ads that will reinforce the buyers. Such an approach pays handsome dividends when targeting new buyers. This

approach is especially good when company is launching an innovation.

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Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

3. Product Disposition - Alternatives

Factors Influencing Product Disposition

Factors that influence product disposition may include:

Psychological Characteristics of the Decision Maker

Factors intrinsic to the Product

Factors intrinsic to the product (color, style, etc)

Situational factors extrinsic to the product (finances, fashion change, etc..)

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