Lecture 1: Introduction to Consumer Psychology
What is Consumer Psychology?
Consumer psychology = The study of how people make buying decisions and what
motivates them to purchase products or services
This includes:
How people feel about brands or products
Why they choose one thing over another
How the environment or social setting affects what they buy
Example from lecture:
Think of going skydiving, watching a certain TV show, or seeking financial help. These are
all consumption decisions, not just buying products.
Why Consumer Psychology Matters for Marketers
Marketing decisions = based on assumptions about what consumers want, feel, and need
Example from lecture:
You’ve created a revolutionary new product. Now you need to market it. But first:
Is it meant to be exclusive or widely available?
Are people ashamed to buy it or proud?
This affects how you frame your message.
“Products don’t build brands, consumers do.” → It’s how consumers see you that defines
your brand.
Brown Paper Bag & Vasari Example
People judge product value not just by what it is, but by how it's presented and priced
Example from lecture:
Brown paper bag was priced at €2.22 and seen as useful.
Same bag with a brand name and sold on exclusive sites was priced at $290.
→ Same product, different consumer perception.
What Drives Consumption?
Drivers of consumption = the five psychological and situational factors that influence why
we buy something BEFPE
BEFPE stands for:
Beliefs → What you believe about yourself and the product
Emotions → What emotional state you’re in when buying
Financial situation → Are you able to afford it? Buying to show status?
Purpose → Why are you buying it? What is your goal?
Environment → Where are you? Who will see you with the product?
Example from lecture:
Someone might buy expensive shoes because they believe it matches their identity (Belief),
feel excited or insecure (Emotion), want to show off their wealth (Financial), are preparing for
an event (Purpose), and are in a store surrounded by luxury items (Environment).
1
,Experimental Research in Consumer Psychology
Experiment = a research method where a variable is changed (manipulated) to see if it causes
an effect on another variable
This allows researchers to test cause-and-effect. In other words, investigators can isolate
different effects by manipulating an independent variable, and keeping other variables
constant, to see how it influences a specific outcome variable.
Choice Overload
Choice overload = when having too many options makes it harder to choose and leads to
negative feelings or no choice at all
Example from lecture:
Do more product choices make people happier? There are 82 million phone products on
Amazon. Too many choices = stress, confusion, regret, or no decision.
The Paradox of Choice
Paradox of choice = while some choice is good, too much choice leads to dissatisfaction or
inaction. “More is less”: more choice can mean less happiness.
Why Choice Overload Happens
1. It’s hard to know which is best
2. You feel regret over what you didn’t choose
3. You’re unsure what you really want
4. The decision feels overwhelming
2
, Paper: Iyengar & Lepper (2000) – When Choice is Demotivating
Field Study: The Jam Study
Field experiment = a study done in a real-life environment where the researcher still changes
the independent variable (IV), but in a natural setting.
Strength = higher ecological validity
People behave more naturally because they are in a familiar setting (like a store or
street).
Participants often don’t know they are in a study, so they act more honestly. This
means less chance of “demand characteristics” (changing behavior because they
know they’re being watched).
Limitation = less control over other variables
In real life, many things can influence the result (like weather, noise, mood).
This makes it hard to repeat the experiment exactly and get the same results.
Study design:
Location: Supermarket
Setup: Jam tasting booth
Two conditions: (IV is manipulated)
o 6 jam flavors
o 24 jam flavors
Measured (DV)
o Who stopped at the booth
o Who tasted
o Who bought jam
Interested shoppers reveived a redeemable coupon (DV)
Findings:
More people stopped at the large assortment
Slightly more tasted samples
Way more people bought jam with the smaller assortment
Too many options = less buying. Fewer options = easier choice.
Lab Study: Essay Topic Experiment
Lab experiment = controlled experiment done in a lab or classroom-like setting
Study design:
Students could write an essay to get extra points
Two conditions:
o 6 topics to choose from
o 30 topics to choose from
Measured:
o Who started writing
o Essay quality
Findings:
More people started the essay with 6 options
Essays were slightly better with fewer options
3
What is Consumer Psychology?
Consumer psychology = The study of how people make buying decisions and what
motivates them to purchase products or services
This includes:
How people feel about brands or products
Why they choose one thing over another
How the environment or social setting affects what they buy
Example from lecture:
Think of going skydiving, watching a certain TV show, or seeking financial help. These are
all consumption decisions, not just buying products.
Why Consumer Psychology Matters for Marketers
Marketing decisions = based on assumptions about what consumers want, feel, and need
Example from lecture:
You’ve created a revolutionary new product. Now you need to market it. But first:
Is it meant to be exclusive or widely available?
Are people ashamed to buy it or proud?
This affects how you frame your message.
“Products don’t build brands, consumers do.” → It’s how consumers see you that defines
your brand.
Brown Paper Bag & Vasari Example
People judge product value not just by what it is, but by how it's presented and priced
Example from lecture:
Brown paper bag was priced at €2.22 and seen as useful.
Same bag with a brand name and sold on exclusive sites was priced at $290.
→ Same product, different consumer perception.
What Drives Consumption?
Drivers of consumption = the five psychological and situational factors that influence why
we buy something BEFPE
BEFPE stands for:
Beliefs → What you believe about yourself and the product
Emotions → What emotional state you’re in when buying
Financial situation → Are you able to afford it? Buying to show status?
Purpose → Why are you buying it? What is your goal?
Environment → Where are you? Who will see you with the product?
Example from lecture:
Someone might buy expensive shoes because they believe it matches their identity (Belief),
feel excited or insecure (Emotion), want to show off their wealth (Financial), are preparing for
an event (Purpose), and are in a store surrounded by luxury items (Environment).
1
,Experimental Research in Consumer Psychology
Experiment = a research method where a variable is changed (manipulated) to see if it causes
an effect on another variable
This allows researchers to test cause-and-effect. In other words, investigators can isolate
different effects by manipulating an independent variable, and keeping other variables
constant, to see how it influences a specific outcome variable.
Choice Overload
Choice overload = when having too many options makes it harder to choose and leads to
negative feelings or no choice at all
Example from lecture:
Do more product choices make people happier? There are 82 million phone products on
Amazon. Too many choices = stress, confusion, regret, or no decision.
The Paradox of Choice
Paradox of choice = while some choice is good, too much choice leads to dissatisfaction or
inaction. “More is less”: more choice can mean less happiness.
Why Choice Overload Happens
1. It’s hard to know which is best
2. You feel regret over what you didn’t choose
3. You’re unsure what you really want
4. The decision feels overwhelming
2
, Paper: Iyengar & Lepper (2000) – When Choice is Demotivating
Field Study: The Jam Study
Field experiment = a study done in a real-life environment where the researcher still changes
the independent variable (IV), but in a natural setting.
Strength = higher ecological validity
People behave more naturally because they are in a familiar setting (like a store or
street).
Participants often don’t know they are in a study, so they act more honestly. This
means less chance of “demand characteristics” (changing behavior because they
know they’re being watched).
Limitation = less control over other variables
In real life, many things can influence the result (like weather, noise, mood).
This makes it hard to repeat the experiment exactly and get the same results.
Study design:
Location: Supermarket
Setup: Jam tasting booth
Two conditions: (IV is manipulated)
o 6 jam flavors
o 24 jam flavors
Measured (DV)
o Who stopped at the booth
o Who tasted
o Who bought jam
Interested shoppers reveived a redeemable coupon (DV)
Findings:
More people stopped at the large assortment
Slightly more tasted samples
Way more people bought jam with the smaller assortment
Too many options = less buying. Fewer options = easier choice.
Lab Study: Essay Topic Experiment
Lab experiment = controlled experiment done in a lab or classroom-like setting
Study design:
Students could write an essay to get extra points
Two conditions:
o 6 topics to choose from
o 30 topics to choose from
Measured:
o Who started writing
o Essay quality
Findings:
More people started the essay with 6 options
Essays were slightly better with fewer options
3
