Wells, William D. (1974), "Life Style and Psychographics: Definitions, Uses and Problems," in Life Style and Psycho- graphics, ed. Dorny, Lester R. (1971), "Observations on Psychographics," in Attitude Research Reaches New Heights, eds. 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. 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). J. S. Wright and J. L. Goldstucker. Clarification and differentiation of conceptual and operational definitions is appropriate to revive lifestyle and refine its usefulness as a segmentation tool. Download Brochure. 5, pp. Three consumers, two lifestyle segments: Are these three consumers meaningfully different from a marketing or consumer behavior point of view? Engel, James F., Martin R. Warshaw, and Thomas C. Kinnear (1979), Promotional Strategy, Homewood, IL: Irwin. Hawkins, Del J., Kenneth A. Coney, and Roger J. beliefs and interests. Defining and operationalizing lifestyle to encompass both overt behavior and cognitive style needlessly confounds the task of lifestyle segmentation. The resolution and reconciliation of these two problems built into conventional definitions and operationalization of lifestyle lies in sequential segmentation: Segmenting first on the basis of consistencies in overt behavior, the on the basis of congruence in cognitive style. ed. The result of sequential segmentation should be more accurate assessment of market potential and more efficient targeting of marketing strategy. J. S. Wright and J. L. Goldstucker. Segmenting first on the basis of parallel patterns of search, shopping and consumption behavior would result in lifestyle segments encompassing all potential prospects for the firm's products. Wells, William D. (1975,), "Comment on the Meaning of LifeStyle," in Advances in Consumer Research, ed. Austin has an estimated population of 961,855 according to the 2020 U.S. Census. The almost total absence of any theoretical anchorage for lifestyle research is evidence in Exhibit 1 and also in the superficial and flimsy development of theoretical linkages to lifestyle where a theoretical frame of reference is invoked. OPERATIONALIZATIONS OF LIFESTYLE IN MARKETING The diversity of attempts to operationalize lifestyle mirrors the conceptual confusion confounding and impeding lifestyle research (see Exhibit 1). Both cognitive style and lifestyle are influenced by enabling conditions, which lie in the context of environmental constraints and opportunities. The suggested relationships are depicted in Figure l. Lifestyle is positioned as behavioral, and cognitive style is positioned as psychological and a subset of psychographic research. W. Thomas Anderson, Jr., University of Texas at Austin. Berkman and Gilson's (1978) definition is only one of several contemporary interpretations of lifestyle but is representative. Linda L. Golden, University of 46-50. At the same time the term lifestyle became part of our popular and professional idiom, its conceptual and operational imprecision was compounded by a semantic maze confusing lifestyle with psychographics, confounding and impeding lifestyle research, and compromising the usefulness of lifestyle as a segmentation variable. The diversity of attempts to operationalize lifestyle mirrors the conceptual confusion confounding and impeding lifestyle research (see Exhibit 1). Psychographic and lifestyle research should proceed hand-in-glove, but progress in both will be facilitated by conceptual and operational precision and distinction. In his historical review of the lifestyle concept in the social science literature Ansbacher (1967) noted that the lifestyle concept has been applied in three different uses at three levels of aggregation. 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. Veblen, Thorstein (1899), The Theory of the Leisure Class, New York: MacMillan. Engel, James F., Martin R. Warshaw, and Thomas C. Kinnear (1979), Promotional Strategy, Homewood, IL: Irwin. Levy's definition prompted Kelley (1963) to postulate an important marketing implication of the lifestyle concept. Use of the lifestyle concept as an analytical construct dates from Thorstein Veblen's turn-of-the-century classic The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) and from Max Weber's landmark studies of status (1946, 1947). Application Closes Today. Psychographics: Analysis of consumer lifestyles to create a detailed customer profile. J. S. Wright and J. L. Goldstucker, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 332-347. Equally importantly, the proposed distinctions should lead to greater definitional consensus, operational clarity, and more defensible linkages to existing research and theory in the social sciences. 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. However, such an assumption flies in the face of the growing body of research examining their interaction. Still, the terms psychographics and lifestyle remain largely undefined and indistinguishable in the marketing literature. 8, #1 (March), 3-17. Analysts who have preferred the term "lifestyle", on the other hand, have tended to focus either on broad cultural trends or on needs and values thought to be closely associated with consumer behavior (p. 319). Consumer analysts and market practitioners are interested in values, attitudes, beliefs, opinions and interests to the extent that they augment predictions of overt behavior, particularly search, shopping and consumption behavior, or permit pin-point targeting of marketing strategy. Thus, in defining lifestyle, Ansbacher draws no distinction between cognitive processes--thinking, feeling, perceiving -Cand overt behavior. Lifestyle may be defined as unified patterns of behavior that both determine and are determined by consumption. $230. THE LIFESTYLE CONCEPT IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES The origins of the lifestyle concept are obscure, but its roots are traceable to the works of poets, naturalists, and philosophers writing as early as the sixteenth century (Ansbacher 1976, p. 196). Analysts who have preferred the term "lifestyle", on the other hand, have tended to focus either on broad cultural trends or on needs and values thought to be closely associated with consumer behavior (p. 319). 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. 226, University of Illinois at Urbana. 63-94). 317-363) attempted to delimit and distinguish the domains of lifestyle from psychographic research. Consequently, in interpreting lifestyle to include both characteristic patterns of overt behavior and cognitive processes and properties, contemporary definitions of lifestyle frequently lead to operationalizations that are internally inconsistent. New York: Oxford University Press. 33-38. 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. By narrowing the definition of lifestyle to consistencies in overt behavior, marketing management will avoid the trap of too narrowly defining market segments and underestimating market potentials implicit in the conventional definition of lifestyle. 205-206). Kelley, Eugene J. WebThe average age for New Way Churchs initial target area (a four mile radius centered on the Gateway mall), for instance, is 36. The confusion of the terms lifestyle with psychographics has further compounded these problems. Implicit in the foregoing definitional distinctions is the realization that while cognitive style and lifestyle perhaps operate in imperfect symmetry, the domains of psychographic and lifestyle research are logically symmetrical and complementary (Dorny 1971; Loudon and Della Bitta 1979, p. 98). LIFESTYLE AND MARKET SEGMENTATION The persistent conceptual and operational imprecision of the lifestyle construct has not only handicapped lifestyle research, but has undermined its usefulness as a segmentation variable. Apply Now. It first documents the diversity and internal inconsistency of definitions and operationalizations of lifestyle in consumer behavior literature. FIGURE 2 SEQUENTIAL SEGMENTATION: LIFESTYLE AND COGNITIVE STYLE It is rare in the social sciences to cop a plea for simplicity. The term "unified patterns of behavior" refers to behavior in its broadest sense. (1963), "Discussion," in Toward Scientific Marketing, ed. Of particular relevance to the present analysis is Ansbacher's observation that: The concept of style may vary in range from a relatively limited segment to the totality of behavior when it becomes lifestyle. 1, 21 (September), 6-12. LaPiere's (1934) classic study of racial prejudice in 1934 inaugurated a series of investigations and reviews reporting negative relationships between attitudes and behavior (Festinger 1966). Substantial evidence points to a consistent positive relationship between cognitive processes and properties (cognitive style) and overt behavior (Lair 1965; Fencrich 1967; Udel 1965; Katona 1960, part II; Axelrod 1968). 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). Implicit in the foregoing definitional distinctions is the realization that while cognitive style and lifestyle perhaps operate in imperfect symmetry, the domains of psychographic and lifestyle research are logically symmetrical and complementary (Dorny 1971; Loudon and Della Bitta 1979, p. 98). Myers, James H. and Johnathan Gutman (1974), "Life Style: The Essence of Social Class," in Life Style and Psychographics, ed. LaPiere's (1934) classic study of racial prejudice in 1934 inaugurated a series of investigations and reviews reporting negative relationships between attitudes and behavior (Festinger 1966). While cognitive style may be reflected in overt behavior, the connection is imperfect and often asymmetrical because of the intervening of moderating influence of situational environmental variables or enabling conditions. Still, the terms psychographics and lifestyle remain largely undefined and indistinguishable in the marketing literature. consumer analysis, Lazer's definition is tautological! Lazer in 1963 echoed earlier convictions concerning the potential richness and synergistic value of the lifestyle concept for consumer analysis and coined the initial explicit definition of lifestyle appearing in the marketing literature. 200-201). Although quickly adopted as the most widely cited interpretation of the lifestyle concept in. The term "life style"suggests a patterned way of life into which [people] fit various products, events or resources. LaPiere, R. T. (1934), "Attitudes vs. 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). Far and away the most popular of operationalizations of lifestyle is the activities, interests and opinions (AIO) method pioneered by Wilson (1966), Pessemier and Tigert (1966), and Wells (1968). H. H. Gerth and C. W. Mills, New York:: Oxford University Press. There is a serious internal inconsistency in this definition, and others like it, which in turn implies major operational inconsistencies. Loudon, David L. and Albert J. Della Bitta (1979), Consume Behavior: Concepts and Applications, New York: McGraw-Hill. 345-355). Hence, the lifestyle segment should be expanded to include all three consumers on the basis of behavioral parallelism. Rik Pieters, Tilburg University, The Netherlands. William D. Wells, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 317-363. Lifestyle may or may not mirror cognitive style, contingent upon the effect of situational environmental influences operating. Katona, George (1960), The Powerful Consumer, New York: McGraw-Hill. Reed Moyer, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 55-62. Pessemier, Edgar A. and Douglas J. Tigert (1966), "Personality, Activity, and Attitude Predictors of Consumer Behavior," in New Ideas for Successful Marketing, eds. Charles W. King and Douglas J. Tigert, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 189-195. Markin, Rom J. Jr. (1974), Consumer Behavior: A Cognitive Orientation, New York: MacMillan. William M. Dobriner, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 225-242. Lifestyle cannot help one to understand consumer behavior if lifestyle variables are a disorderly, nongeneral, nonhierarchical, or atheoretical set of vaguely related traits whose casual relationships to each other and to anything else are unspecified. The term psychographic (psycho = mental; graphic = profile) connotes the profiling of psychological processes or properties. austin texas psychographics. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Cognitive style is customarily defined as "one's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and perceiving" (Markin 1974, pp. (1963), "Symbolism and Life Style," in Toward Scientific Marketing, ed. Dorny, Lester R. (1971), "Observations on Psychographics," in Attitude Research Reaches New Heights, eds. 204-206) discerns three "important common properties" of lifestyle: Unifying aspect: Lifestyle connotes internal consistency and unity, irrespective of specific percepts or responses (1967, p. 204). More serious, however, is the fact that contemporary definitions of lifestyle may lead to mistaken market segmentation and, hence, mistargeting of marketing strategy. WebProviding more than simple data reports of psychographic and Psychographic trends, The Retail Coach goes well beyond other retail consulting and market research firms Sequential segmentation on the basis of consistencies in cognitive style will permit the precise targeting of marketing strategy. consumer analysis, Lazer's definition is tautological! ABSTRACT - While the term lifestyle has gained popular currency, it continues to defy definitional and operational consensus. Festinger, Leon (1964), "Behavioral Support for Opinion Change," Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. Online. Becoming an Association for Consumer Research member is simple. (1966), "Words and Needs: Social Science and Social Policy," Social Problems, vol. FIGURE 1 Clearly, this is but another perspective on the potential definition and operationalization of the lifestyle concept. Veblen, Thorstein (1899), The Theory of the Leisure Class, New York: MacMillan. Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association. 125-337. 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. In Austin 6.82% of the population is Asian. Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association. What few definitions are provided, range from the ridiculous to the sublime, from the tautological (Lazer 1963) to the logically inconsistent (Berkman and Gilson 1978), from the simple (Hawkins, Coney, and rest 1980) to the complex (Levy 1963). Get the most of the growing demand in cybersecurity with UT Austin's program. As lifestyle analysis entered its adolescent phase of development in the marketing literature at the dawn of the 1970s, Dorny (1971) sought to distinguish psychographics from lifestyle research by: reserving the term "psychographics" for measures that are truly "mental" -- attitudes, beliefs, opinions, personality traits, etc. When used in 194-196). 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. In the above case, although exhibiting parallel search, shopping, or consumption behavior, one consumer would be excluded from the lifestyle characterizing the other two on the basis of contrasting cognitive style. Create a strategy. This has proven both a convenience and a "Catch-29" for market analysts. 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