Hey guys! Welcome back to my Consumer Behavior Blog. We're actually on our last week of posts, which is amazing! I hope you've enjoyed the posts so far. For our final week, we're talking about the information search that goes along with looking for products we want to purchase. Let's get started!

Many of us go through an external search when we want to buy items. We check online the different options and pricing, as well as which store may have the best deal. However, we don't go through the same amount of search for every item. You wouldn't take notes and extensively research about what toothpaste you're going to buy, but you would definitely do your research when you're buying a new car. Or maybe when you're getting a new pet.

I recently went through a very extensive search. It involved hours and hours of researching what I needed, who I was going to buy from, and the advantages and disadvantages of what I was buying. What was I getting? Actually, it's more of a who am I getting:

I conducted my massive search on owning a bunny! On May 8th, I'll be bringing home an 8-week old baby girl (Cream-colored like the picture). As you know, owning a new pet comes with a lot of responsibility, and with that came my extensive search. I looked for the right breeder, speaking with several people. I spent hours researching what I would need for my girl, going to different stores (A LOT of different stores) to compare products and what she might like as far as toys and beds go. The point of my example is that there are some purchases that consumers will spend a lot of time researching and thinking about. That's why it's important for products to have resources for their consumers to consult and view--they need to have these resources so that they control that information and it doesn't mislead the potential customer.

However, when it comes to purchasing my daily grocery list, I don't really engage in much of a search. Maybe I'll look for what's on sale, but other than that, I really don't engage in much of a search for information for those types of products. It's quite different to a bunny.

As you can see, there are very different types of search that we conduct depending on what we're buying, usually dependent on how much it affects your life. A bunny is going to change your day-to-day life a lot more than which brand of toothpaste you decide to switch to.

Welcome back to the blog, everyone! We only have about two full weeks of classes left before the start of finals week, which means this is the second-last blog post that we'll be having. This week we're on the subject of situational influences, the external influences on our consumer decision process. In particular, we're going to be talking about the antecedent state of a consumer and how it may affect what we buy.

Whether or not we acknowledge it, our mood has a lot to do with the purchases that we make. Right after a breakup, you may be depressed and more likely to give in to the chocolates in the grocery line. If you're feeling really motivated, maybe you're more likely to skip over those microwaved meals and try to get some ingredients to actually cook for once. No matter the situation, we've all had antecedent states that have influenced what we buy. Sometimes those purchases may end up a little strange, though. Take for example a peculiar purchase I made when I was in elementary school.

I will be the first to admit that I was a stubborn child. Whenever I was told I shouldn't do something, I usually did that thing immediately after being told that. But let me set the scene of the day for you. It was summertime, I was out of school for the season, so I often found myself dragged around by my mom to do errands with her. One of her favorite activities was going to garage sales. With two young kids, she needed a way to get out and find some cheap things to buy. Usually she used it as a social activity with my grandmother, but with her being busy, she only had her stubborn little daughter to bring along.

The day had already started with me being extremely difficult. For breakfast, I had wanted pancakes, but we didn't have any eggs. I was obviously devastated over this notion and had been being a brat about it for hours. Additionally, I wanted to stay home and play with my toys, not be dragged to some weird person's house to look at clothes and old furniture. My antecedent state was not great. And so when my mom was finally sick of me pouting, she decided there was some way to cheer me up. She told me I could get any one thing I wanted, within reason (I couldn't get a couch or drawer, for example). That's when my little elementary brain started to turn. I'm sure my mom meant for me to pick a Barbie doll in the nearby toys chest, or maybe a board game I thought looked cool. But oh no, she had said anything, and she meant it. I wanted to get her back for the breakfast catastrophe earlier. So I did what any little stubborn brat would do.

I chose the ugliest knick knack I could find in the whole house.

After a long search, I settled on a porcelain cookie jar. However, it wasn't just any cookie jar. This one had the Christmas theme of an elf in red and white colors. Think of Elf on the Shelf staring at you with cold black eyes. That's right, I wanted an elf-themed cookie jar in the middle of July, and nothing was stopping me from having that porcelain nightmare.

Think of something like this and make it 1000x more terrifying and ugly on a cookie jar

Bless my mother, she tried her best to talk me out of it. She showed me different Polly Pocket dolls and horse figures, but my stubbornness could not be broken. I was going to get that damn elf cookie jar. It was fine retribution for what she had done to me for breakfast. After a bit of arguing and me reminding her that she had promised me anything, she finally pulled a crisp dollar out of her wallet and handed it to the bemused owner.

I walked out of that sale with the cookie jar snuggly tucked in my arms, hugging it with a triumphant smile on my smug face.

I honestly doubt I would have even given that jar a second look if I hadn't been in the annoyed state that I was in. It was quite honestly something that wouldn't interest me (to be honest, it would have scared me a little). However, my antecedent state had affected what I was interested in buying, as well as the reason I wanted to buy something. It really shows you how powerful a mood or temperament can be to the consumer decision process.

I guess, in the end, the joke's on me. I eventually threw that monstrosity out after having nightmares about the elf coming off of the cookie jar and following me. Still worth it, though.

The Extended Self

Hey guys! Welcome back to my consumer behavior blog. This week we're getting a bit personal as we talk about our own images of ourselves and our self-concepts. In particular, we're talking about the objects that help contribute to our self-concept. I hope you like it!


Everyone has their own opinions and feelings about themselves; we often think about who we are, who we want to become, how others see us, and how we want others to see us. But have you ever thought about the objects that contribute to this? The unique objects that you own that contribute to your self concept? Objects like those contribute to something called the 'extended self.'

The extended self is defined by the book as the self plus possessions. People like to define themselves partly by the possessions that they own, whether this item is an engagement ring, a special book given by a dear friend, or even a pet that offers feelings of comfort and engagement.

Take for example the silver ring I have on my right ring finger. It's kind of like a fidget toy, as you can spin the center part of the ring, something I often do with my thumb. Someone may see this ring and think of it as a fashion statement or something that I just decided to wear for no real reason. In actuality, this was one of the first presents that my boyfriend gave me when we started dating. He had been on vacation with a friend for a while and came back with this ring. He didn't have a single clue what my finger size was and guessed based on the fact that it fit around the tip of his pinky finger. 

When I realized that he had been thinking of me even when he was out of the country with his best friend, I was so happy and knew that he really cared for me. Whenever I wear that ring, I feel connected to him and comforted by the ring. It really means a lot to me and makes up what I think about myself in terms of my relationship to him. 

Try it yourself! Examine the items in your life that make up who you are, paying special mind to where you've gotten them, who might have given them to you, and the reasons behind why you still have them. It really makes you appreciate the little things in life a lot more.