Beyond the Purchase: The Rundown

Hello! My name is Adam Brubacher and I am a third year Business Marketing Major at the Rochester Institute of Technology. For my Consumer Behavior Class I was tasked with the assignment of creating a weekly blog about what we are learning in class at that specific time, as it pertains to consumer behavior.

I wanted to create an interesting blog, one that intertwines consumer behavior topics along with my insight as a conscious consumer. So enjoy and follow along! This is Beyond the Purchase: Inside the Mind of the Consumer.

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Schemas: Consumer Perceptions of a Brand

This week in Consumer Behavior we covered the topic of learning and memory. Diving deeper into this topic we explored our memory’s role in learning, including short-term and long-term memory, as well as the two paths to learning, conditioning or cognitive processing. The largest take away from our lectures that I grasped and took a liking to was human memory, and how brands can use schematic memory to influence consumers behaviors and perceptions around a brand. Why are Schemas Important? Schemas or schematic memory, sometimes called knowledge structures, are a pattern of associations around a particular concept. These associations are formed from within the long-term memory of a person. Marketers are specifically interested in semantic memory, and episodic memory, which make up LTM. Semantic memory is the basic knowledge and feelings an individual has about a concept, at a simple level, such as BMW being a “luxury car.” On the other hand, episodic memory is memory of a sequence o...

Self-Concept: Capitalizing on Brand Identity

This week in consumer behavior we covered the topics of self-concept and lifestyle. What I took a liking to was the concept of how self-concept combines with a certain product’s brand image, to create a relationship between the two, and ultimately influence consumer purchasing habits. How Self-Concept Works Self-concept, the totality of one’s thoughts, feelings, and perceptions towards their own self can be a useful tool for marketers, if acted on appropriately. The attitudes towards yourself make up how you truly think of your identity, and how you wish to be perceived by others. Since there are four basic parts that make up the self-concept, your actual self, ideal self, private self, and social self, it is important to know the relationships between each sub-section. The actual-ideal separation refers to the individuals perception of who I am now, vs who I would like to be perceived as. Lastly, the private-social separation refers to the individuals perception of how I am ...

Digital Divide: An Increasing US Caste System

This week in Consumer behavior we discussed the changing American demographic, which pertains to our society’s population, distribution, and structure. To break this down even further, we talked about social stratification within the American demographic, and the socio-economic factors that affect our fairly malleable class system. Although recalling a time without computers and technology might be hard, it is still relatively new. The world is now constantly seeing rapid transitions and increases in the computing power of technology. Not only are we right in the middle of this this digital age, our largest generation in the US, the millennials, are at the forefront of technological development. We are relied upon to create and develop new technologies, as well as refine and master old ones for generations to come. But with this obligation comes a price. The 21st century is experiencing a growing divide between the digital “haves” that have access to technology, and the digi...

Beyond the Purchase: Inside the Mind of the Consumer

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