Consumer Behavior Essay Example for Free

Consumer Behavior Essay This section describes the roles of product appearance in the process of consumer evaluation and choice. For this aim, literature in the fields of product development, product design, consumer behavior, marketing, and human factors has been searched. The literature shows that the visual appearance of a product can influence consumer product evaluations and choice in several ways. Several authors considered the role of product or package appearance in consumer product evaluation or choice (Bloch, 1995; Garber, 1995; Garber et al. , 2000; Veryzer, 1993; Veryzer, 1995). However, they did not discuss explicitly the different ways in which appearance influences consumer choice and their respective implications for product design. In addition to these more recent contributions to the literature, the functions of a product in consumer–product interaction are described in earlier industrial design literature (Lo? bach, 1976; Pilditch, 1976; Schu? rer, 1971). Several of these functions concern product appearance. There are differences between authors in the number of roles (i. e. , functions) of product appearance they distinguish and the terms they use. For example, communication of ease of use was mentioned by Bloch (1995) and was described as part of the aesthetic function by Lo? bach (1976), while Veryzer (1995) called it the communicative function of a product appearance. If all the roles mentioned in the literature are considered as a whole, the following six roles of product appearance for consumers can be distinguished: (1) communication of aesthetic, (2) symbolic, (3) functional, and (4) ergonomic product information; (5) attention drawing; and (6) categorization. A description of these six roles and their implications for product design follows. Product Appearance and Aesthetic Product Value The aesthetic value of a product pertains to the pleasure derived from seeing the product, without consideration of utility (Holbrook, 1980). A consumer can value the ‘‘look’’ of a product purely for its own sake, as looking at something beautiful is rewarding in itself. When product alternatives are similar in functioning and price, consumers will prefer the one that appeals the most to them aesthetically (see, for example, Figure 1). Aesthetic responses are primarily emotional or feeling responses, and as such they are very personal (Bamossy et al. , 1983). Several researchers have tried to determine properties of products that are related to aesthetic appreciation. Innate preferences are proposed for visual organization principles, such as unity (i. e. , congruence in elements), proportion (e. g. , ‘‘the Golden Section’’), and symmetry (Hekkert, 1995; Muller, 2001; Veryzer, 1993; Veryzer and Hutchinson, 1998), and an inverted U-shaped relation is proposed between aestheticpreference and complexity (Berlyne, 1971). Another property influencing aesthetic judgments is color. The desirability of a color will change according to the object to which it is applied (e. g. , a car or a table) and with the style of the object (e. g. , modern or Georgian) (Whitfield and Wiltshire, 1983). In addition to (innate) preferences for certain properties of stimuli, prototypicality is found to influence the aesthetic response. Proto typicality is the degree to which something is representative of a category (see also the section about categorization). In several studies, evidence is found for a positive influence of visual prototypicality on aesthetic preference (Hekkert, 1995; Veryzer and Hutchinson, 1998; Whitfield and Slatter, 1979). According to Hekkert et al. (2003), products with an optimal combination of prototypicality and novelty are preferred aesthetically. As well as the product-related characteristics previously mentioned, there are cultural, social, and personal influences on design taste. For example, color preferences differ between cultures and in time (Whitfield and Wiltshire, 1983). In addition, personal factors, such as design acumen, prior experience, and personality influence the design taste of consumers (Bloch, 1995). The influence of an aesthetic judgment on product preference can be moderated by the perceived aesthetic fit of the product with other products the consumer owns, or his or her home interior (Bloch, 1995). Product Appearance and Symbolic Product Value Consumer goods carry and communicate symbolic meaning (McCracken, 1986). Symbolic value even can be the key determinant for product selection (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982) and can account for the selection of products that clearly are inferior in their tangible characteristics (Levy, 1959). An example of the latter is Philippe Starck’s Juicy Salif lemon squeezer (Lloyd and Snelders, 2003). The choice for a specific product or brand may convey the kind of person someone is or wants to be; consumers use products to express their (ideal) self-image to themselves and to others (Belk, 1988; Landon, 1974; Sirgy, 1982; Solomon, 1983). Symbolic meaning can be attached to a product or brand on the basis of, among other things, advertising (McCracken, 1986), country of origin, or the kind of people using it (Sirgy, 1982). But the productitself also can communicate symbolic value in a more direct way, namely by its appearance. A product’s appearance communicates messages (Murdoch and Flurscheim, 1983), as it may look cheerful, boring, friendly, expensive, rude, or childish (see, for example, Figure 2). In addition, a certain style of appearance may evoke associations with a certain time or place (e. g. , the Fifties). Furthermore, the product or package appearance can reinforce the image of a brand, as the identity of a brand is expressed visually in the appearance of products (Schmitt and Simonson, 1997). Consumers may attach the meaning of a brand to elements of the physical appearance of products. In this way, a brand image may transfer to different kinds of products (see the section about categorization). Many companies therefore make consistent use of certain design elements, such as a color combination, a distinctive form element, or style. For example, car manufacturers often try to keep different car models recognizable as belonging to the same brand. The distinctive radiator grill of BMW automobiles is an example of a recognizable design element. The linking of brand meaning to elements of the product appearance will be easier when the associations these elements engender by themselves (e. g. , because they are innate or are determined by culture) correspond to the desired brand image. For example, use of bright colors and a large size, which is associated with aggression (Murdoch and Flurscheim, 1983), will make it easier to position a car brand as aggressive. Although there are large individual and time-specific differences in the experience of color and form, there are certain associations that seem to be relatively constant. Overviews of the influence of form and color on consumer perception of symbolic value (but also ergonomic and aesthetic value) can be found in Muller (2001), Murdoch and Flurscheim (1983), Schmitt and Simonson (1997), and Whitfield and Wiltshire (1983). For example, angular forms are associated with dynamism and masculinity, while roundness evokes softness and femininity (Schmitt and Simonson, 1997). Culture is an important determinant of the interpretations that consumers give and the associations they have with certain factors of a product’s appearance. For example, color associations vary from culture to culture (Whitfield and Wiltshire, 1983). In America and Europe, the color white stands for purity, and brides traditionally dress in white; in Japan itis a color of mourning. Furthermore, meaning is context dependent. The impression that colors give may change completely by combining certain colors (Muller, 2001). Also, the meaning of forms and colors may change in time, as meanings are continuously transformed by movements in art, fashion, etcetera (Muller, 2001). There is some debate about whether symbolic interpretation is part of the aesthetic experience. In most literature, aesthetic value is mentioned as botha hedonic impression and a result of interpretation and representation (Schmitt and Simonson, 1997; Vihma, 1995). It is acknowledged in this article that whether a product is conceived of as beautiful is affected by what it represents (Vihma, 1995). The same style can be considered ‘‘good taste’’ at one point in time, while being considered ‘‘bad taste’’ 10 years later, because the connotations associated with it or the interpretations given to it have changed. For example, orange was a modern color for clothes, furniture, and plastic products in the Seventies, generally was perceived as old-fashioned and ugly in the Eighties, and became used in products and clothing again in the Nineties. However, the view in this article is that aesthetic and symbolic value should be distinguished, as they may have opposite influences on preference. For example, someone who likes a colorful design may not buy it because it looks ‘‘too childish. ’’ Product Appearance and Functional Product Value

Ozone Depletion and Industrial Output Essay -- Ozone Layer Environment

Ozone Depletion and Industrial Output For years, we have heard about the ozone crisis: that because of industrialization and the lack of pollution-consciousness by our industries, governments, and academia, we have put so many environmentally harmful products into the atmosphere that our ozone – the good kind, the kind that protects us from harmful UV radiation – is becoming dangerously damaged. It is becoming thinner and developing holes, like the large hole over Antarctica. Predictions made expected the ozone hole to continue to increase and for the general thickness to get continuously thinner, so that the harmful UV rays of the sun would pass right through our atmosphere and fry our skin if we went outside for ten minutes fifty years from now. (I was actually told this in elementary school, except that we were told that this was an inevitable scenario, and there was really nothing that we could do about it other than buy SPF 250 sun-block. As a tech fix, this would probably be entirely p ossible!) However, recent evidence has shown that the rate of expansion of the ozone hole is actually decreasing; that the ozone is not being destroyed as quickly as experts thought it would. In fact, the ozone held its own and showed very little damage for a few years at the end of the 1990s. Why? Perhaps it is because emissions that damage the ozone are being reduced internationally, therefore resulting in an overall reduction of damage done annually to the ozone, allowing it to begin to repair itself. Before it was known that they would cause great damage to the ozone, many factories not only released uncontrolled amounts of polluting emissions, but they also developed products that were very damaging t... ...t, there is the realistic path of dangerously continuing to destruct our atmosphere. Basically, cleaning up technology and industry in order to reduce emissions and other problems is an uphill battle, but a very feasible one if enough people recognize it as worthy. If industry continues to reduce emissions, and is given incentives to institute greener technologies rather than just cleaning up old ones, I think that we will well be on our way to ceasing ozone damage and perhaps also to help eradicate other environmental problems. Works Cited Fahey, D.W. and A.R. Ravishankara. Summer in the Stratosphere. Science, v.285, n.5425, p.208-210, July 1999. Kerr, Richard. A Brighter Outlook for Good Ozone. Science, v.297, p.1623-1625, September 2002. Poliakoff, Martyn et al. Green Chemistry: Science and Politics of Change. Science, v.297, p.807-810, August 2002.

Historical Problems

Woodrow Wilson has been described as â€Å"cold, aloof and often arrogant, but he was not all intellect. † By the time Wilson was elected governor of New Jersey he had never held a political office, and had never taken more than a theorist’s interest in politics. Wilson’s personal view on how the Presidential office should be run is to lead a country rather than to be lead. He believed that a president should act like a prime minister and not be isolated from Congress.Wilson himself dreamed of a utopian society and amongst his intellectual supporters believed that this â€Å"most terrible and disastrous wars† could be countenanced only by perceiving of it as the harbinger of eternal peace. The utopian spirit of the war took concrete form in Wilson’s proposal of a postwar federation of nations, in itself not a utopian scheme but one which, from the first, was freighted with utopian aspirations. Though Wilson may have been an effective war president b y delegating responsibilities to those qualified his aspirations for a perfect world and his sentiments of â€Å"peace without victory† obscured his reality.President Wilson presented his ideas for peace in his famous Fourteen Points address on January 8, 1918. Wilson’s chief goal was to have the treaty provide for the formation of a League of Nations. He hoped that the threat of economic or military punishment from League members, including Germany, would prevent future wars. Though Wilson held a prominent role in drafting the Treaty of Versailles, and would later receive the Nobel Peace Prize for, the other major Allies, however, had little interest in honoring either Wilson’s Fourteen Points or all his goals for the League of Nations.The allies had suffered far greater losses and wanted to punish Germany severely. Strong opposition to the treaty developed in the United States. Many Americans disagreed with Wilson’s generous approach to worn-torn Europe . Republicans objected to U. S. commitments to the League of Nations. The U. S. Senate refused to approve the treaty. Also blocking the passage of the League of Nations was the personal and political conflicts between Wilson and Henry Cabot Lodge. Lodge, who was then the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, insisted the specific and limiting changes be ade to protect U. S. interests. Wilson would not compromise. Unable and perhaps unwilling to reach an agreement with Wilson, Lodge used his power and position to ensure the defeat of the treaty—and prevent American participation in the League of Nations. As to whether or not the postwar would have been different if the United States had accepted and entered the League of Nations, it is unlikely. America’s refusal to join the League, fitted in with her desire to have an isolationist policy throughout the world.Therefore, the League had a final ideal – to end war for good. However, if an aggressor nat ion was determined enough to ignore the League’s verbal warnings, all the League could do was enforce economic sanctions and hope these worked as it had no chance of enforcing its decisions using military might. Postwar 1920 brought many radical changes to Americans by the advancement in technology, discoveries, and inventions. Pop culture during the 1920’s was characterized by the flapper, automobiles, nightclubs, movies, and jazz.Life moved fast as a new sense of prosperity and freedom emerged at the end of World War 1. The 1920’s gave American’s radio, films, advertisements, and new literature to ponder. 1915 gave us a movie milestone in The Birth of a Nation, produced by D. W. Griffith. American’s were also given notable authors as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Booth Tarkington, Ernest Hemingway, and Sinclair Lewis. Authors of this period struggled to understand the changes occurring in society. While some writers praised the changes others expressed di sappointment in the passing of old ways.But not before the printing press had American’s been brought together by shrinking the distances between people and homes. â€Å"Of all the new products put on the market during the decade, none met with more spectacular success than the radio. † The radio brought into American homes commercials, stories, news, music, sports, and advertisement. Improvements in radio broadcasting and radio manufacturing itself quickly became a big business. Along with the increasing availability of free-home entertainment it created a soaring demand for radios.The 1920’s were wrought with many issues of cultural conflict, prejudices, nativism, and moral policing. Widespread abuse of alcohol had been recognized as a serious social problem since the colonial days, in rural America as well as in cities, and â€Å"demon rum† had been long condemned from many Protestant pulpits during the 1920’s. Prohibition was the governmentâ₠¬â„¢s solution to protect women, children, and families from the effects of abuse of alcohol, in other words, moral policing.Another example of moral policing today can be found in the controversial topic of legalizing marijuana. â€Å"Conversely, their omission in the present debate reflects the unfortunate reality that marijuana prohibition is perpetuated not by science, but rather by emotion and rhetoric. † The topic of nativism can be shown in three primary issues: immigration restriction, the KKK, and the cases of Sacco and Vanzetti. The old culture was generally anti-immigrant and tended to blame many of the problems of urban industrial American on immigrants.During the 1920’s the old culture, which was extremely nativist in attitude, was able to pass several immigration restriction laws which both lowered the number of immigrants to the U. S. and limited the numbers immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, which the old culture was particularly against. They did this through the quota system, set up in the Emergency Immigration Act of 1921 (and the revised with the 1924 National Origins Act) which established a certain number of immigrants from each country to be allowed into the U.S. per year. Each country’s quota was based on a percentage (3%) of people of that nation in the U. S. in the base year of (1910). The â€Å"rebirth† of the KKK was another sign of the nativism of the 1920’s as this â€Å"new† KKK was not only black, but also anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant. So have American’s learned their lesson from the 1920’s and have they changed their attitudes concerning nativism, moral policing, and are we still considered a prejudice country?In the year 2011, do American’s still consider them as being progressive and that they refuse to repeat history? Nativisim and prejudices can still be felt and seen throughout the United States. Our country is still debating nativism in the current situation with illegal immigrants. Newspapers, television shows, the radio, and internet are covered in stories of immigration policies. Our country is still swarmed with prejudices between races, religions, and lifestyles. It is our history to repeat and forget our past mistakes.As stated before, the 1920’s brought many radical changes to America with the advancement in technology, discoveries, and inventions. Pop culture in the 1920’s was characterized by the flapper, automobiles, nightclubs, movies, and music. Life moved fast as a new sense of prosperity and freedom emerged at the end of World War I. In many ways our current era is like that of the 1920’s. Our society is now connected to each other via the internet, and Facebook. On the spot news is even better now with television and radio and better yet the cell phone.Society is overrun with the most current, up-to-date news, even if no one cares what reading or hearing about. We are still a drug crazed and alcohol abusing society with fast cars, outrageous clothes and hairstyles. It just may be that we are going at a faster pace than those in the 1920’s. What can be seen differently is that maybe our morals have diminished in some aspects of society. Not that all society can be defined as a whole, as there are still those in our current society and those of the 1920’s that still and did value self respect, morals, God, and country.Works Cited 1920-1930. 1920’s Literature. 2005. http://www.1920-1930.com/literature. (accessed March 6, 2011. Content, new. Woodrow Wilson. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wilson/peopleevents/p_lodge.html. (accessed March 6, 2011). Durant, John; Durant Alice. Pictorial History of American Presidents: An informal record of the President’s and their times from George Washington to Lyndon B. Johnson. New York: A.S. Barnes and Company Inc. 1965: 77-78 Learning History. League of Nations. 2011. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/leagueofnations.htm (accessed March 6, 2011). Leuchgenburg, William E. The Perils of Prosperity 1914-1932. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1993: 349 NORML. Government & Private Commissions Supporting Marijuana Law Reform. 2010. http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3382 (accessed March 6, 2011). Raford. Nativism (as part of the 1920’s culture conflict. 1997. http://www.radford.edu/-shepburn/nativism.htm (accessed March 6, 2011). Time Life Edito rs. The Jazz Era, Prohibition.Alexandria. Time Life Inc., 1998: Time Life Editors. Events That Shaped Our Century, Our American Century. Alexandria, 1998:

In Todays Modern World, Stereotype Threats Are Seen Widely,

In todays modern world, stereotype threats are seen widely, yet are not spoken about very often. Darnell Rock Reporting is a book published in 1994 by Dean Myers, which focuses on a seventh grader by the name of Darnell Rock who attends Oakdale High School. Darnell Rock is a student who is known for being a troublemaker and spends most of the time at the principal’s office. Since he is known for being a bad kid, people stereotype him as if that is all he is good for. Darnell meets a man by the name of Sweeby who is homeless and along with Darnell Sweeby is also stereotyped. Although both Darnell and Sweeby are stereotyped in a negative way, both of them end the story with a positive outcome. Stereotype threat means individuals that are†¦show more content†¦When Darnell and Mr. Baker are discussing, Mr. Baker states, â€Å"Can’t you spend one day without getting into trouble?† â€Å"If you can’t do anything positive, why are you coming to school?à ¢â‚¬  Darnell then tells Mr. Baker he wants to join the newspaper; Mr. Baker was shooked (7). This is a great example on how Mr. Baker stereotyped and looked down on Darnell because he knows that Darnell is no good for doing anything else but getting in trouble which is why he questions Darnell. In chapter five, Darnell was having a bad day and everything that could go wrong literally went wrong. He forgot his math book for Mr. Ohrbach’s class. Mr. Ohrbach got angry and stated, â€Å"It’s a good thing your head is screwed on† adding â€Å"or you would leave that home too† (44). However, Darnell did not think that was funny at all since he had heard it a hundred times and the same people always laughed. Mr. Ohrback stereotyped him to be an irresponsible person and could never get anything right. Morever, Sweeby is also a main character in the story that is negatively stereotyped. Darnell decides to interview Sweeby for his newspaper article, which is wher e we get most of the insight on how Sweeby is stereotyped. Darnell meets Sweeby when he is walking home from school one day, they both spoke for quite a few, within that talk Darnell finds out that Sweeby knows his dad because they were in the Army together. Mr. Rock is one of the main characters that stereotypesShow MoreRelatedI m A Mac Campaign1700 Words   |  7 Pagesthe non-technical audience (both PC and MAC users). The campaign is aimed to induce feelings of thrill and pleasure in the users of a MAC and sort of envy feelings in PC users. The campaign is further educating the audience regarding the basic stereotypes which exist for the MAC and enforcing them in some cases and counter enforcing them in some cases. The target audience is the young generation (18-35) and home users of any age. Further analysis shows the campaign, is aimed at the general audienceRead MoreConcept of Imperialism1392 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Imperialism was always seen as positive for Westerners, but as destructive by the peoples of Africa and Asia. To what extent does this statement appear to be true? Rudyard Kiplings The White mans burden seems to be an ironic condemnation of imperialism. Whilst most Westerners of the viewed imperialism as a necessary fact and as a boon to the savages, Kipling was a pre-contemporary in more ways than one and saw the Whites as simply one more other race populating the world. The White man in hisRead MoreThe Hip Hop Genre Essay1530 Words   |  7 Pages ‘It can be reasonably argued that the vast majority of musical production at any one time involves musicians working in relatively stable ‘genre worlds’ within which ongoing creative practice is not so much about sudden bursts but he continual production of familiarity†¦.. such rules may guide the notes a guitarist may select to play†¦ the way a star may conduct themselves in public†¦ theRead MoreThe Extent to which You Think the Gothic Novel Represents Recognisably Modern Anxieties2868 Words   |  12 PagesTo what extent do you think that the Gothic novel represents recognisably modern anxieties? Since the 1800s, vampires have often found their way into literature, legends, and popular culture. The vampires first appearance in Gothic fiction came from John Polidoris publication, The Vampyre in 1819, and from then the fascination of the vampire and gothic literature as a whole grew and can be viewed as a commentary on the period of time in which it was written. The strong image of the vampire isRead MoreEssay about Against the War On Drugs in America3550 Words   |  15 Pageslegalization. A Brief History of Prohibition Government has not always seen fit to outlaw psychoactive drugs in the Western world. In fact, there was no prohibition in this country until 1914. Cocaine and Marijuana were both used in the late 19th century both for medicinal and recreational purposes. During this time there was considerable pressure for a ban on alcohol, but narcotics were simply not viewed as a threat to society. Nonetheless, the Harrison act, banning most narcotics, was passedRead More Modern Witches Essay5121 Words   |  21 PagesModern Witches While doing research for this paper I decided to talk to some modern witches. When I informed some of my friends of this the most common remark was â€Å"Be careful!.† From these conversations it quickly became evident that most people have no idea what witches believe or even if they exist. However, almost everyone has an image of an ugly witch on a broom, who kidnaps and eats little children. Kids dress up like her during Halloween, and books like Hansel and Gretel introduceRead MorePolice Brutality2853 Words   |  12 PagesProtality: Introduction Police brutality has been and continues to be of major concern in society. First of all, police brutality is a term used to describe the excessive use of physical force, assault, verbal attacks or slurs, and threats by any law enforcement officer. Efforts to police communities, throughout history, have been tainted by brutality ans abuse of power to some degree. The term police brutality is commonly used very loosely to any and all forms of police misconductRead MoreMedia Studies; Policy Management and Media Representation6544 Words   |  27 Pagesrace 24 4.10.21 Issues on racial discourse 24 4.10.22 Operation of a racial discourse 25 CONCLUSION 26 SOURCES CONSULTED 26 SELF REFLECTION AND SELF ASSESSMENT 27 INTRODUCTION In today’s world the media has gained so much prominence in our everyday lives. The media is now an integral part of society and has the responsibility of being a watchdog, agenda-setting and gate keeping strengthening democratic governance. The media is very influentialRead More The Formation of Muslim Identity in Europe Essay4285 Words   |  18 PagesIn defining Muslim identity the widely held belief is that religion is the defining element. This is only partly true. Religion is only part of the picture, the normally secondary elements of class, gender and national belonging need to be examined. The issues of religion and identity formation can be explored thusly: differing concepts of religion and Islam should be considered to see how they have present particular frameworks. It is important to note that immigrants have identities otherRead MoreAnalysis Of Video Gaming, Film, Television, By Film Or Videogame4094 Words   |  17 Pagesof the receiver.† A vide o game takes human-to-character interaction a step further by having the player live through the character being shown on screen. As I proceed, I will endeavor to explore more on the social problems occurring in the gaming world, gender stereotyping and how video games affect the way we see and treat the female generally and the female gamer. As the gaming industry developed, there have been studies that looked into how the female characters were portrayed in gaming, what