Lifestyle is all things to all people, but this very fact that has made the concept appealing also impedes the development of further precision. WebProviding more than simple data reports of psychographic and Psychographic trends, The Retail Coach goes well beyond other retail consulting and market research firms Conversely, the logical focus of lifestyle research may be described as the identification of characteristic patterns of overt behavior that may or may not be systematically linked to cognitive style. Rather, Adler's interpretation is relegated to the realm of psychographics or cognitive style. Dorny, Lester R. (1971), "Observations on Psychographics," in Attitude Research Reaches New Heights, eds. 45, #3 (March), 347-355. Ferber, Robert and L. C. Lee (1974), "The Role of Life Style in Studying Family Behavior," Faculty Working Paper no. Amid the diverse interpretations and applications of the term, Ansbacher (1967, pp. by Carrie Marie Schneider February 6, 2013. 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. Deutscher, I. 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. OPERATIONALIZATIONS OF LIFESTYLE IN MARKETING. Sometime during the 1960's a blend of these two traditions began to take shape. 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). Beverlee B. Anderson, Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research, 498. This years study continues to show that within the general 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). Fencrich, J. M. (1967), "A Study of the Association Among Verbal Attitudes, Commitment, and Overt Behavior in Different Experimental Conditions," Social Forces, vol. Loudon, David L. and Albert J. Della Bitta (1979), Consume Behavior: Concepts and Applications, New York: McGraw-Hill. 205-206). J. S. Wright and J. L. Goldstucker. The aggregate of consumer purchases, and the manner in which they are consumed, reflect a society's [or consumer's lifestyle (1963. Deutscher (1966, p. 135) succinctly summarized the implication: "Disparities between thought and action are the central methodological problem of the social sciences." H. H. Gerth and C. W. Mills, New York:: Oxford University Press. 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. The primary purpose of this paper is to revive and refine lifestyle as a theoretical and research tool and segmentation variable. Hence, the lifestyle segment should be expanded to include all three consumers on the basis of behavioral parallelism. FIGURE 1 Clearly, this is but another perspective on the potential definition and operationalization of the lifestyle concept. Levy, Sidney J. 8, #1 (March), 3-17. Complete List of All Publishers See Link to Nation newspaper story - Sealy: This lets us find the most appropriate writer for Our global writing staff includes experienced ENL & ESL academic writers in a variety of disciplines. Wells, William D. (19751 ), "Psychographics: A Critical Review," Journal of Marketing Research, 12(May), 196-213. 9 (November), 465-467. Lifestyle formed the centerpiece of Adlerian psychology; indeed, Adler wrestled with the concept for forty years. 29, #4(October). 5, pp. 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. 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). Psychographics are data that collect and categorize the population by using IAO (interests, activities and opinions) characteristics. Marketers are not selling isolated products which can be viewed as symbols; they are selling, or consumers are buying, a style of life or pieces of a larger symbol (p. 168). Intervening situational variables may cause lifestyle and cognitive style to be symmetrically or asymmetrically related. Andreasen, Alan R. (1967), "Leisure, Mobility, and LifeStyle Patterns," in Changing 'Marketing Systems, ed. 305-347. 46-50. (1963), "Symbolism and Life Style," in Toward Scientific Marketing, ed. Membership in ACR is relatively inexpensive, but brings significant benefits to its members. ed. 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 result of sequential segmentation should be more accurate assessment of market potential and more efficient targeting of marketing strategy. Stephen A. Greyser, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 164-171. 5, pp. In Austin 75.86% of the population is White. Talarzyk, W. Wayne (1972), "A Reply to the Response to Bass, Talarzyk, Sheth," Journal of Marketing Research, vol. Accordingly either psychographic or lifestyle research may focus upon individuals, groups, or society as the unit of analysis depending upon the researcher's purposes. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Austin city, Texas QuickFacts Austin city, Texas QuickFacts provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns Wilson, Clark C. (1966), "Homemaker Living Patterns and Marketplace Behavior - A Psychometric Approach," in New Ideas for Successful Marketing, eds. Udel, Jon G. (1965), "Can Attitude Measurement Predict Consumer Behavior? Weber, Max (1947), The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. Udel, Jon G. (1965), "Can Attitude Measurement Predict Consumer Behavior? WebThe demographic profiles below summarize the most recently available demographic, social, and economic data about the residents of the Austin area, creating a snapshot of Markin, Rom J. Jr. (1974), Consumer Behavior: A Cognitive Orientation, New York: MacMillan. consumer analysis, Lazer's definition is tautological! beliefs and interests. 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. 226, University of Illinois at Urbana. 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). 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. Fencrich, J. M. (1967), "A Study of the Association Among Verbal Attitudes, Commitment, and Overt Behavior in Different Experimental Conditions," Social Forces, vol. Havighurst, Robert J. and K. Feigenbaum (1959), "Leisure and Life Style," American Sociologist, 64, 396-404. Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association. Little has changed in the ebb tide of interest in lifestyle research over the last five years. 900-901). 226, University of Illinois at Urbana. 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. Wells, William D. (19751 ), "Psychographics: A Critical Review," Journal of Marketing Research, 12(May), 196-213. Although the patient is critical, its condition is not terminal. The emphasis in market segmentation is on consistencies in overt behavior, irrespective of contrasts in cognitive style, because the marketing practitioner is primarily interested in parallel patterns of search, shopping or consumption behavior. 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. The aggregate of consumer purchases, and the manner in which they are consumed, reflect a society's [or consumer's lifestyle (1963. Thomas C. Kinnear, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 405-411. The second is harder but more important and those are the psychographics. J. S. Wright and J. L. Goldstucker, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 332-347. Yet, as Wells (1975c) concedes: The activity, interest and opinion research, and the term "life style", developed separately. Yet, while the term lifestyle gained popular currency, it continued to defy conceptual and operational consensus (Ferber and Lee 1974). P. 130). 200-201). 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. Yes and no. 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). Professor Joe psychographic segmentation purpose of psychographics is to add attitude and behavior to demographics syndicated service vals offers marketers view 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. 63-94). 29, #4(October). ABSTRACT - While the term lifestyle has gained popular currency, it continues to defy definitional and operational consensus. 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. Berkman and Gilson's (1978) definition is only one of several contemporary interpretations of lifestyle but is representative. Thus almost accidentally, the lifestyle concept has become operationalized among a certain group of researchers as activity, interest and opinion research conducted for a rather limited set of purposes and employing a rather limited set of techniques (p. 498). 78712 (512) 471-1128.] A persistent thread through the marketing literature is the notion that lifestyle involves characteristic patterns of behavior (Andreasen 1967; Bernay 1971; Lazer 1963; Moore 1963; Myers and Gutman 1974). 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. Because lifestyle continues to defy definitional consensus, it can be conveniently customized to any analyst's purpose. Bell, Wendell (1958), "Social Choice, Life Style, and Suburban Residence," in the The Suburban CommunitY, ed. The City is named for Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas. Demographics Austin is in Travis, Hays and Williamson counties. J. Arndt, New York: Allyn and Bacon, 85-100. Much lifestyle research could better be termed "idiosyncracy research", since it uses the computer to group people with similar idiosyncracies (p. 37). (1963), "Discussion," in Toward Scientific Marketing, ed. 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). 205-206). Kotler, Philip (1980), Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. THE LIFESTYLE CONCEPT IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES. SEQUENTIAL SEGMENTATION: LIFESTYLE AND COGNITIVE STYLE. Kotler, Philip (1980), Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 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. Deutscher (1966, p. 135) succinctly summarized the implication: "Disparities between thought and action are the central methodological problem of the social sciences." A persistent thread through the marketing literature is the notion that lifestyle involves characteristic patterns of behavior (Andreasen 1967; Bernay 1971; Lazer 1963; Moore 1963; Myers and Gutman 1974). Reed Moyer, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 55-62. Thus, in defining lifestyle, Ansbacher draws no distinction between cognitive processes--thinking, feeling, perceiving -Cand overt behavior. 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% Compounding the conceptual confusion confounding lifestyle research is a semantic maze eclipsing the terms lifestyle and psychographics that remains unraveled. Perhaps the most noteworthy observation is the preponderance of references purporting to be lifestyle research which provide no explicit definition of lifestyle at all. 28, #3(Fall), 404-417. The confusion of the terms lifestyle with psychographics has further compounded these problems. Although quickly adopted as the most widely cited interpretation of the lifestyle concept in. J. S. Wright and J. L. Goldstucker, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 332-347. Bell (1958) stressed the symbolic contextual significance of consumption. On the other hand, were all three consumer prospects included in the same lifestyle segment, targeting of marketing strategy would prove problematical because of contrast in cognitive style. Market segments are definable in terms of individuals whose expected reactions are similar to similar marketing strategy (Kotler 1980, pp. 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). The primary purpose of this paper is to revive and refine lifestyle as a theoretical and research tool and segmentation variable. Lifestyle research is reminiscent of the parable of the elephant and the blind men of Hindustan. This is admittedly narrow as defining lifestyle as overt behavior does not allow for the broad, psychological Adlerian perspective of lifestyle. Reed Moyer, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 55-62. Lifestyle has been used in reference to: "an individual," "a group, where the members bear a psychological relationship to each other, and which has stability over time," and "a [generic] class or category, where the members have only the property in common on the basis of which they are classified" (Ansbacher 1976, p. 200). Life-style is a systems concept. Lifestyle may or may not mirror cognitive style, contingent upon the effect of situational environmental influences operating. Yet there is mounting evidence to the contrary; indeed, evidence that changes in behavior may trigger changes in cognitive processes and properties, rather than the reverse (Zimbardo and Effesen 1970, Ch. The population density in Austin is 2404% higher than Texas. A logical and consistent implication of the above definition of lifestyle is that the domain of psychographic research by delimited in terms of cognitive style (cognitive processes or properties, including values, attitudes, beliefs, opinions, interests), that may be systematically linked to characteristic patterns of overt behavior. Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association. Stephen A. Greyser, Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 140-149. We identified the top two psychographic groups in Austin to be Boomburbs and Up and Coming Families, followed by Metro Renters and Young and Restless (in Esri New York: Oxford University Press. Operational, functional and constancy aspects: Lifestyle connotes consistent operations and actions or behavior over time (1967, pp. OPERATIONALIZATIONS OF LIFESTYLE IN MARKETING The diversity of attempts to operationalize lifestyle mirrors the conceptual confusion confounding and impeding lifestyle research (see Exhibit 1). 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. Yet, while the term lifestyle gained popular currency, it continued to defy conceptual and operational consensus (Ferber and Lee 1974). 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). While (perhaps inadvertently restricting the term lifestyle to "the totality of behavior," Ansbacher concludes that "the broad range of life style includes cognitive style and response style" (Emphasis added, 1967, p. 203). Sequential segmentation on the basis of consistencies in cognitive style will permit the precise targeting of marketing strategy. Felson (1975) perhaps best captured the critical, if not terminal, conceptual and operational condition of lifestyle. When used in marketing campaigns, psychographics attempts to understand the values and emotions that persuade a potential customer to purchase a certain good or service. It accomplishes this by using data to analyze a consumer's spending habits, passions, ethics and other personal elements that may explain why they make the decisions they do. REFERENCES Andreasen, Alan R. (1967), "Leisure, Mobility, and LifeStyle Patterns," in Changing 'Marketing Systems, ed. The median age in Austin is 5% lower than Texas. Wells, William D. (1968), "Backward Segmentation," in Insights into Consumer Behavior, ed. Ferber, Robert and L. C. Lee (1974), "The Role of Life Style in Studying Family Behavior," Faculty Working Paper no. (1963), "Discussion," in Toward Scientific Marketing, ed. No approach is sacrosanct, yet some distinction in terms would allow for more productive advancement in lifestyle research and, equally importantly, in lifestyle segmentation. 9 (November), 465-467. ed. 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. 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. Still, the terms psychographics and lifestyle remain largely undefined and indistinguishable in the marketing literature. WebProviding more than simple data reports of psychographic and Psychographic trends, The Retail Coach goes well beyond other retail consulting and market research firms #3(Winter), 235-256. No approach is sacrosanct, yet some distinction in terms would allow for more productive advancement in lifestyle research and, equally importantly, in lifestyle segmentation. 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. 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. $230. 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. 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. It is noteworthy that nowhere in Wells' article did he define or attempt to distinguish "lifestyle" from "psychographic" from "activity and attitude" research. Linda L. Golden, University of Texas at Austin, NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 11 | 1984, Linda Hagen, University of Southern California, USA, Marta Pizzetti, Universit della Svizzera Italiana Hawkins, Del J., Kenneth A. Coney, and Roger J. On the other hand, were all three consumer prospects included in the same lifestyle segment, targeting of marketing strategy would prove problematical because of contrast in cognitive style. Weber's focus, like Veblen's, was upon collective lifestyles originated and perpetuated by status groups (Weber 1946, p. 187, 191, 300; Weber 1947, p. 429); however, lifestyle played only a minor role in Weber's writings. This psychographic segmentation variable provides marketers with information about a target audience's beliefs, motivations, morals and overall outlook on 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). More serious, however, is the fact that contemporary definitions of lifestyle may lead to mistaken market segmentation and, hence, mistargeting of marketing strategy. Because lifestyle continues to defy definitional consensus, it can be conveniently customized to any analyst's purpose. Veblen, Thorstein (1899), The Theory of the Leisure Class, New York: MacMillan. While Dorny's conceptual distinction, too, has apparently fallen on deaf ears, it at least recognizes a potential, if imperfect, symmetry between what he refers to as "mental" processes or properties (the province of psychographic research) and overt activities or behavior (the domain of lifestyle research). The term "psychographics" [refers to] studies that place comparatively heavy emphasis on generalized personality traits. Lifestyle may or may not mirror cognitive style, contingent upon the effect of situational environmental influences operating. Although quickly adopted as the most widely cited interpretation of the lifestyle concept in. 13, 82(December), 230-237. 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. Koponen, Arthur (1960), "Personality Characteristics of Purchasers," Journal of Advertising Research, vol. THE PATIENT IS CRITICAL, IF NOT TERMINAL Little has changed in the ebb tide of interest in lifestyle research over the last five years. Mills, C. Wright (1953), "Introduction," The Theory of the Leisure Class, New York: New American Library, vi-xix.
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