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PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY:Consumer Psychology

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History and Systems of Psychology ­ PSY502
VU
Lesson 44
PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Now let us look at two of the recently developed areas of psychology, namely:
·
Consumer psychology
·
Health psychology
Consumer Psychology
Consumer Psychology emerged as a separate field of psychology only in the 20th century. It studies the
psychology of a person as a consumer, which all of us are. Every individual among us is a consumer in one
way or another. A consumer in marketing terms is the one who purchases a certain good and uses it. We all
purchase and use some goods which are available in the market therefore we all fall under this category.
Consumer psychology looks at the behavior of a person as a consumer and focuses on person's consumer
choice behavior. In other words, this branch of psychology deals with studying the purchase behavior and
habits of individuals as consumers. For example, an old aged consumer is more likely to purchase medicine,
while a young consumer may be spending more on food items etc. Therefore, the aim of consumer
psychology is to determine these patterns of behaviors of individuals, looking at them as consumers. It has
become an important field.
For further explanation, consumer psychology looks at how a consumer's behavior is effected by:
Cultural factors
o
Cultural factors are those factors which impact the consumer behavior of individuals and are
derived from the culture of the individual. For example, in a Muslim country like Pakistan, food
chains such as McDonald's have to use only halal items in their products. Therefore, the culture,
influenced by the religion, has had an impact on the consumer's behavior, who would not eat any
thing which is not halal. Cultural factors are important in many ways for the organizations to
survive and are studied under the umbrella of consumer psychology.
Sub-cultural factors
o
Sub-cultural factors are factors which are derived from smaller cultures within the large cultures.
For example, the purchase behavior of Sindhi's would be different from Punjabi's as these two
provinces have their own cultures. These cultures in turn also influence the purchase behavior of
individuals and need to be studied under consumer psychology.
Consumer psychology also looks at the influence of social groups and familial factors effecting consumer
behavior. Social groups refer to the societal factors in which the individual lives; the society often dictates
the behavior of the individuals and therefore plays a vital role in determining his consumer behavior as well.
Familial factors on the other hand refer to the factors which are derived from individual's family.
Consumer psychology then studies the individual determinants of consumer choice behavior, such as:
Personal factors
o
These are personal traits of the individual such as personality etc.
Involvement factors
o
Involvement factors refer to the involvement of the individual in the purchase decision of a good.
For example in the purchase of a television, the involvement would be greater than in that of a low
cost good.
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History and Systems of Psychology ­ PSY502
VU
Memory factors
o
Memory factors refer to how much the individual retains of a particular advertisement. Therefore,
these also play a vital role in determining consumer behavior.
Evaluation factors
o
Evaluation factors refer to the individual's perception of the product. In other words, how the
individual evaluates the product and appraises it.
Post purchase behavior
o
It also looks at Post purchase behavior. Post purchase behavior refers to the
individual's
o
behavior after he or she has made the purchase.
All these areas are studied under consumer psychology. It has become an important branch of psychology
since all marketing techniques which aim at identifying the consumer's wants and needs are based upon
consumer behavior understanding.
Health Psychology
Health Psychology is another recently developed area of psychology. It is devoted to psychological
influences on what is health, how people stay healthy, why they become sick and how they respond in
illness. It looks at various systems of the body such as:
·
Cardiovascular system
It is the system of circulation of blood.
·
Nervous system
It is the system of the nerves and the brain responsible for all the functions of the body.
·
Endocrine system
It is the system of glands in the body.
·
Digestive system
It is the system of digestion of food.
·
Renal system
It is the excretory system of the body.
·
Reproductive system
It is the system of procreation in human beings.
Health psychology identifies health behavior and prevention of diseases. It looks at stress, its causes and
management. Stress results in fatigue and many such diseases. Therefore, health psychology focuses on
discovering ways and means to reduce and manage stress.
Health psychology also studies pain and its management. In other words, it helps the patients manage their
pain and become healthy more quickly.
Health psychology looks at chronic illness and its management. It deals with cases of terminally ill and their
management. Terminally ill people could be made to survive for a longer period of time using techniques of
health psychology.
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION:Methodology, Grading, Course Overview up to Midterm
  2. ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHY/PSYCHOLOGY:Socrates, Plato
  3. GREEK THINKERS:Aristotle, Contiguity, Contrast
  4. PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 5TH TO 12TH CENTURY:Saint Augustine, Avicenna
  5. PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 5TH TO 12TH CENTURY:Al-Ghazali, Ibn-Rushd, Averroes
  6. RENAISSANCE:Rene Descartes
  7. ASSOCIATIONISTS:Thomas Hobbes, John Locke
  8. ASSOCIATIONISTS:David Hume, FRENCH REVOLUTION, Denis Diderot
  9. GERMAN CONTRIBUTION:Wilhelm Liebniz, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Hegel
  10. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:RUSSIAN CONTRIBUTIONS
  11. RUSSIAN CONTRIBUTIONS:Ivan Pavlov, Reflex, Acquisition
  12. RUSSIAN CONTRIBUTIONS:Vladimir Bekhterev
  13. IMPACT OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES ON PSYCHOLOGY:Charles Darwin, Gustav Fechner
  14. STRUCTURALIST SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY:Wilhelm Wundt
  15. FUNCTIONALISM:William James, John Dewey
  16. EUROPEAN FUNCTIONALISTS:David Katz, Edgar Rubin, Jean Piaget
  17. BEHAVIORISM:Edward Lee Thorndike, Law of belongingness
  18. BEHAVIORISM:Albert Weiss, Edwin Holt, Learning, Canalization, Walter Hunter
  19. BEHAVIORISM:J.B.Watson
  20. NEO-BEHAVIOURISTS:Clark Hull, Edward Tolman, Edwin Gutherie
  21. NEO-BEHAVIORISTS:B.F. Skinner, Karl Lashley, Donald Hebb, Hobart Mowrer
  22. GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY:Max Wertheimer, Similarity, Proximity, Closure
  23. GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY:Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Koffka, Edward De Bono
  24. GESTALT SCHOOL AND DYNAMIC PSYCHOLOGY:Kurt Lewin, DYNAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
  25. HISTORICO-EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY:Leon Vygotsky, Sergei Rubenstein
  26. HISTORICO-EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY:Alexei Leontiev, K.M Bykov
  27. SCIENTIFIC LOOK AT MENTAL DISORDERS
  28. SCIENTIFIC LOOK AT MENTAL ILLNESS:Philippe Pinel, Sameul Tuke
  29. SIGMUND FREUD AND THE PSYCHOANALYTIC MOVEMENT:The Superego
  30. SIGMUND FREUD AND PSYCHOANALYTICAL MOVEMENT:Anna Freud
  31. CARL JUNG AND ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY:Carl Gustav Jung
  32. JUNG’S ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY:Carl Gustav Jung
  33. ALFRED ADLER AND INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY:Alfred Adler
  34. NEO-FREUDIANS:Harry Stack Sullivan, Karen Horney
  35. NEO-FREUDIANS:Karen Horney, Erich Fromm
  36. ERIKSON and MORENO:J.L. Moreno, Protagonist, Audience, Role playing
  37. HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY:Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Positive Psychology
  38. MODERN TRENDS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT
  39. MODERN TRENDS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT:Biological Approaches
  40. ANTI-PSYCHIATRY MOVEMENT:D.L. Rosenhan, R.D. Laing, Aaron Esterson
  41. PSYCHOLOGY IN THE THIRD WORLD:Frantz Fanon
  42. PSYCHOLOGY IN THE THIRD WORLD CHINA AND PAKISTAN
  43. PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21st CENTURY
  44. PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY:Consumer Psychology
  45. PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY:Sports Psychology, Positive Psychology