by Donna L. Roberts, PhD

Research using personality as a factor of market segmentation and a predictor of aspects of consumer behavior may be traced back as far as five decades (Endler & Rosenstein, 1977; Gotlieb, 1958; Koponen, 1960; Westfall, 1962).  However, despite early interest, mixed results yielded waxes and wanes in the topic as a focus of research (Baumgartner, 2002; Bosnjak, Bratko, Galesic & Tuten, 2007).  Nonetheless, the intuitive appeal of assuming a fundamental link between the construct of personality and facets of consumer behavior is evidenced by the more than 300 studies reviewed by Kassarjian and Sheffet (1991).

Those on both sides of the marketing equation – advertisers and consumers – each fundamentally and intuitively operate under the assumption that advertising exerts influence.  It is why advertisers continue to spend billions on sending the message, and why consumers at least claim to either embrace or reject the messages with which they are constantly assaulted.  The underlying assumption is that there is, in some measure, an ability to affect behavior.  The intricacies of how this is accomplished, however, remain somewhat of an enigma, as is exemplified by the famous quote, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half,” by the iconic US merchandiser and department store mogul, John Wanamaker (thequotationspage.com).

This uncertainty has also been reflected in the research that has attempted to deduce the relationship between personality characteristics and advertising effectiveness.  The measurement of advertising recognition has often been used as a factor when examining the effects of advertising (Solomon, 2010).  Furthermore, previous studies incorporating the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) in examination of advertising concepts have produced some significant results (Johnson, 1981; Moore 1985).  However, when taken as a whole, the findings over decades of sporadic research have been primarily inconclusive.  Despite various attempts since his meta-analyses, Kassarijian’s (Kassarjian,1971; Kassarjian & Sheffet, 1991) conclusions still ring true, “A few studies indicate a strong relationship between personality and aspects of consumer behavior, a few indicate no relationship, and the great majority indicate that if correlations do exist they are so weak as to be questionable or perhaps meaningless” (1971, p. 415).

References

Baumgartner, H. (2002).  Toward a personology of the consumer. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(2), 286-293. doi:10.1086/341578

Bosnjak, M., Bratko, D., Galesic, M., & Tuten, T. (2007). Consumer personality and individual differences: Revitalizing a temporarily abandoned field. Journal of Business Research, 60(6), 587-589. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.12.002

Endler, N. S., & Rosenstein, A. J. (1997). Evolution of the personality construct in marketing and its applicability to contemporary personality research. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 6, 65.

Gottlieb, M. J.(1958).  Segmentation by personality types. In L. H. Stockman (Ed.) Advancing marketing efficiency (pp. 148-158). Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association.

Johnson, R. D. (1981). The relationship of Jungian psychological traits and the effects of comparative advertising. Ed. D. dissertation. Texas Tech University.

Kassarjian, H. H. (1971). Personality and consumer behavior: A review. Journal of Marketing Research, 8(4), 409-419. doi:10.2307/3150229

Kassarjian, H. H., & Sheffet, M. J. (1991). Personality and consumer behavior: An update. In H. H, Kassarjian & T. S. Robertson (Eds.). Perspectives in Consumer Behavior (4^th ed.). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.

Koponen, A. (1960). Personality characteristics of purchasers. Journal of Advertising Research,1, 6-12.

Moore, D. L. (1985). The effects of cognitive style and advertising type on response to advertising under conditions of low and high involvement: An experimental investigation. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Massachusetts.

Solomon, M. R. (2010). Consumer behavior: Buying, having and being. (9^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Westfall, R. (1962). Psychological factors in predicting product choice. Journal of Marketing, 26(2), 34-40. doi:10.2307/1248434