Engel, James F., Martin R. Warshaw, and Thomas C. Kinnear (1979), Promotional Strategy, Homewood, IL: Irwin. While Adler stressed the uniqueness of each individual, he nonetheless recognized similarities among individuals and their lifestyles (Ansbacher 1976. p. 192), suggesting the existence of lifestyle typologies (Ansbacher 1967, p. 203). Best (1980), Consumer Behavior-Implications for Marketing Strategy, Dallas, TX: Business Publications. The primary purpose of this paper is to revive and refine lifestyle as a theoretical and research tool and segmentation variable. While the term lifestyle has gained popular currency, it continues to defy definitional and operational consensus. T. Parsons. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Cognitive style is customarily defined as "one's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and perceiving" (Markin 1974, pp. For example, according to contemporary definitions, two consumers would be classed as exhibiting a similar lifestyle if, and only if, they are characterized by both parallel patterns of overt behavior and congruent cognitive styles. Life-style is a systems concept. In the restricted range, in respect to individuals, characteristic perceptual styles, also known as cognitive styles, and response styles, as well as complex response styles have been discerned (Emphasis added, 1967, p. 203). Hawkins, Del J., Kenneth A. Coney, and Roger J. ", Journal of Marketing, vol. Beverlee B. Anderson, Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research. Defining Lifestyle in terms of characteristic patterns of overt behavior also suggests an intuitive symmetry between the domains of lifestyle and of psychographic research paralleling Dorny's dichotomy (Dorny 1971, pp. Yet, while the term lifestyle gained popular currency, it continued to defy conceptual and operational consensus (Ferber and Lee 1974). Koponen, Arthur (1960), "Personality Characteristics of Purchasers," Journal of Advertising Research, vol. Lifestyle is all things to all people, but this very fact that has made the concept appealing also impedes the development of further precision. 33-38. The result of sequential segmentation should be more accurate assessment of market potential and more efficient targeting of marketing strategy. The diversity of attempts to operationalize lifestyle mirrors the conceptual confusion confounding and impeding lifestyle research (see Exhibit 1). Becoming an Association for Consumer Research member is simple. Providing more than simple data reports of psychographic and demographic trends, The Retail Coach INFO@THERETAILCOACH.NET | THERETAILCOACH.NET | AUSTIN, TEXAS TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI 4 DESCRIPTION DATA % Population 2025 Projection 54,679 2020 Estimate 50,086 2010 Census 39,627 2000 Census 26,792 Growth 2020 - 2025 9.17% The practical problem of pitching patronage appeals to consumers varying in attitudes and opinions, albeit behaviorally congruent, poses a needless obstacle. Compounding the conceptual confusion confounding lifestyle research is a semantic maze eclipsing the terms lifestyle and psychographics that remains unraveled. The paper (1) documents the internal inconsistency of contemporary definitions and operationalizations of lifestyle, (2) suggests an alternative definition, (3) provides a logical distinction between lifestyle and cognitive style, and (4) stresses the logical distinction between lifestyle and psychographic research. Hence, today, although ill-defined in the minds of most market analysts, lifestyle has come to be operationalized almost exclusively in terms of AIO by default. Axelrod, Joel N. (1968), "Attitude Measurements that Predict Purchases," Journal of Advertising Research, vol. FIGURE 1 Clearly, this is but another perspective on the potential definition and operationalization of the lifestyle concept. Indeed, the search for such systematic links has been much of the motivation behind the intensifying interest in lifestyle and psychographic research in the past two decades. Hawkins, Del J., Kenneth A. Coney, and Roger J. Although the patient is critical, its condition is not terminal. They came together because "life style" seemed to be such an appropriate shorthand expression for what the activity, interest and opinion research was attempting to portray. T. Parsons. Over the past half-century the intuitively appealing notion that individuals and groups exhibit idiosyncracies of "style" in living fueled intensifying interest in the lifestyle concept among social satirists and social scientists alike. 345-355). Zimbardo, Phillip and Ebbe B. Ebbesen (1970), Influencing Attitudes and Changing Behavior, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Stephen A. Greyser, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 151-164. 46-50. It is rare in the social sciences to cop a plea for simplicity. Thus, conceptually lifestyle is today generally defined to encompass both characteristic patterns of overt behavior and cognitive processes and properties, including such dimensions of personality as values, attitudes, opinions, and interests. William D. Wells, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 317-363. Lair, J. K. (1965), "Splitsville: A Split-Half Study of Television Commercial Pretesting," Dissertation Abstracts, 27, 9894-2895. EVOLUTION OF THE LIFESTYLE CONCEPT IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR Bell (1958), Rainwater, Coleman and Handel (1959), and Havinhurst and Feigenbaum (1959) inaugurated the lifestyle concept in the consumer behavior literature at the close of the 1950s, pointing to its potential significance in understanding, explaining and predicting consumer behavior and, hence, its importance as a focus for marketing strategy. Talarzyk, W. Wayne (1972), "A Reply to the Response to Bass, Talarzyk, Sheth," Journal of Marketing Research, vol. Stephen A. Greyser, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 164-171. 317-363) attempted to delimit and distinguish the domains of lifestyle from psychographic research. Because this area of research focuses on interests, attitudes, and opinions, psychographic factors are also called IAO variables. Weber, Max (1947), The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. The most telling observation from Exhibit 1, however, is the paucity of published lifestyle literature addressing the three criteria qualifying the usefulness of any social science construct: (1) definitional consensus, (2) operational clarity, and (3) theoretical context. Beverlee B. Anderson, Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research, 498. There is a serious internal inconsistency in this definition, and others like it, which in turn implies major operational inconsistencies. Amid the diverse interpretations and applications of the term, Ansbacher (1967, pp. Much lifestyle research could better be termed "idiosyncracy research", since it uses the computer to group people with similar idiosyncracies (p. 37). Psychographic and lifestyle research should proceed hand-in-glove, but progress in both will be facilitated by conceptual and operational precision and distinction. The paper (1) documents the internal inconsistency of contemporary definitions and operationalizations of lifestyle, (2) suggests an alternative definition, (3) provides a logical distinction between lifestyle and cognitive style, and (4) stresses the logical distinction between lifestyle and psychographic research. Writing at the same time, Levy (1963) proposed a contrasting concept of lifestyle, one reminiscent of Adler's conviction that a fictionalized goal or theme pervades one's life providing structure to both self-concept and behavior. Dorny, Lester R. (1971), "Observations on Psychographics," in Attitude Research Reaches New Heights, eds. 9 (November), 465-467. Wells, William D. (1975,), "Comment on the Meaning of LifeStyle," in Advances in Consumer Research, ed. The practical problem of pitching patronage appeals to consumers varying in attitudes and opinions, albeit behaviorally congruent, poses a needless obstacle. 13, 82(December), 230-237. In an unfashionable depiction of the ostentatious style of life (or "scheme of life," in Veblen's words) of the American noveau riche of the latter half of the nineteenth century, Veblen established a fashion of thinking about social, economic, and consumer behavior that has persisted (Mills 1953). LaPiere, R. T. (1934), "Attitudes vs. Felson (1975) perhaps best captured the critical, if not terminal, conceptual and operational condition of lifestyle. The term psychographic (psycho = mental; graphic = profile) connotes the profiling of psychological processes or properties. On the contrary, while simplicity may facilitate clarity and possibly lead to greater consensus concerning the proper domain of lifestyle research, psychographic research remains a viable focus for market analysis insofar as examinations of cognitive processes or dimensions of personality further the cause of understanding, explaining, and predicting overt behavior, and refining market segmentation and marketing strategy formulation. 33-38. Reed Moyer, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 55-62. Effective use of sequential segmentation requires clarification and differentiation of terms, consistent with contemporary consumer research findings on the relationship between cognitive processes and properties and overt behavior. Instead, to paraphrase from Talarzyk (1972, p. 465), "If you laid all of the people doing [lifestyle] research end-to-end, they would: (a) never reach a conclusion and (b) all point different directions.". Psychographics, Demographics, & Public Opinion - Public Relations - Subject and Course Guides at University of Texas at Arlington Public Relations The distinction has apparently been lost on most consumer analysts, as the terms continue to be used interchangeably, indeed by Wells himself (Wells, 1975b). Yet, as Wells (1975c) concedes: The activity, interest and opinion research, and the term "life style", developed separately. Hence, the lifestyle segment should be expanded to include all three consumers on the basis of behavioral parallelism. Contemporary interpretations in the marketing literature generally define lifestyle to encompass both characteristic patterns of overt behavior and cognitive processes and properties (cognitive style), including such dimensions of personality as values, attitudes, opinions. More serious, however, is the fact that contemporary definitions of lifestyle may lead to mistaken market segmentation and, hence, mistargeting of marketing strategy. Reed Moyer, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 55-62. LaPiere, R. T. (1934), "Attitudes vs. Berkman, Harold W. and Christopher C. Gilson (1978), Consumer Behavior: Concepts and Strategies, Encino, CA:Dickenson Publishing Co. Bernay, Elayn K. (1971), "Life Style Analysis as a Basis for Media Selection," in Attitude Research Reaches New Heights, eds. The aggregate of consumer purchases, and the manner in which they are consumed, reflect a society's [or consumer's lifestyle (1963. 305-347. 125-337. Ansbacher, Heinz L. (1967), "Life Style: A Historical and Systematic Review," Journal of Individual Psychology, 23, 191-212. Still, the terms psychographics and lifestyle remain largely undefined and indistinguishable in the marketing literature. Certificate of Completion from The University of Texas at Austin. Effective use of sequential segmentation requires clarification and differentiation of terms, consistent with contemporary consumer research findings on the relationship between cognitive processes and properties and overt behavior. Wells, William D. (1974), "Life Style and Psychographics: Definitions, Uses and Problems," in Life Style and Psycho- graphics, ed. 305-347. Rainwater, Coleman and Handel (1959) underscored the importance of interpreting shopping and consumption behavior in their broader lifestyle context. The conceptual and operational confusion continues. On the contrary, while simplicity may facilitate clarity and possibly lead to greater consensus concerning the proper domain of lifestyle research, psychographic research remains a viable focus for market analysis insofar as examinations of cognitive processes or dimensions of personality further the cause of understanding, explaining, and predicting overt behavior, and refining market segmentation and marketing strategy formulation. And, starting with Dichter's innovative studies of consumers' motivations (1963), students of the consumer's mind have tried to apply the concepts and methods of clinical psychology to virtually every aspect of marketing. Live mentorship with experts. EXHIBIT 1 LIFESTYLE AND PSYCHOGRAPHICS Compounding the conceptual confusion confounding lifestyle research is a semantic maze eclipsing the terms lifestyle and psychographics that remains unraveled. Variously called "lifestyle", "psychographic", or "activity and attitude" research, this blend combines the objectivity of the personality inventory with the rich, consumer-oriented, descriptive detail of the qualitative motivation research investigation (p. 196). about 10 percent higher than the amount in the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX Metro Area: $47,161. J. S. Wright and J. L. Goldstucker, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 332-347. It details the logical symmetry and complimentarity between lifestyle and psychographic research, concluding that lifestyle and cognitive style can be usefully employed through sequential segmentation. Wells, William D. (19751 ), "Psychographics: A Critical Review," Journal of Marketing Research, 12(May), 196-213. 8, #1 (March), 3-17. The term "life style"suggests a patterned way of life into which [people] fit various products, events or resources. Psychographics focuses on opinions, behaviors, and attitudes. Berkman, Harold W. and Christopher C. Gilson (1978), Consumer Behavior: Concepts and Strategies, Encino, CA:Dickenson Publishing Co. Bernay, Elayn K. (1971), "Life Style Analysis as a Basis for Media Selection," in Attitude Research Reaches New Heights, eds. The term "life style"suggests a patterned way of life into which [people] fit various products, events or resources. Rainwater, Lee, Richard P. Coleman, and Gerald Handel (1959), Workingman's Wife, New York: Oceana Publications. 29, #4(October). Kelley, Eugene J. Beverlee B. Anderson, Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research, 498. Ultimately Adler came to see stole of life as: the organismic ideas of the individual as an actor rather than a re-actor; the purposiveness, goal-directedness, unity, self-consistency and uniqueness of the individual; andthe ultimately subjective determination of his actions (Ansbacher 1976, p. 191). Best (1980), Consumer Behavior-Implications for Marketing Strategy, Dallas, TX: Business Publications. Implicit in such definitions is the assumption of a systematic symmetry between internallY held attitudes, beliefs, opinions, or interests and overt behavior (Engel, Warshaw and Kinnear 1979, p. 129). Hence, any given lifestyle segment would likely consist of subsegments consisting of consumers with common cognitive processes and properties or cognitive style (see Figure 2). Psychographics allow you to uncover the content topics that are likely to resonate with your customers. Highlight the brand's values. Psychographics also give brands the opportunity to highlight their values and align them with the customer's. This can help companies accomplish their branding goals. Moore (1963) suggested still another definition of lifestyle to bridge conceptual and operational interpretations of the term closely approximating those which have come into contemporary use. 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