Motivational research is a “term of art” that refers to qualitative studies conducted by Dr.
Ernest Dichter
in the 1950s and 1960s designed to uncover consumers’ subconscious or hidden motivations. Following
Freud’s premise that unconscious needs or drives—especially biological and sexual drives—propel
human behavior, motivational research attempted to discover underlying feelings, attitudes, and
emotions concerning product, service, or brand use.
When Dr. Dichter, who was trained as a clinical psychoanalyst in Vienna, arrived in the United States in
the late 1930s, he joined a major New York advertising agency rather than establish a clinical practice.
Dichter applied Freud’s psychoanalytical techniques to the study of consumer buying habits and used
qualitative research to figure out why consumers did what they did. Marketers became fascinated by
the glib, entertaining, and sometimes surprising explanations offered for consumer behavior, especially
since many of these explanations were grounded in sex. For example, Dichter told marketers that
consumers bought cigarettes and Life Saver candies because of their sexual symbolism, that men
regarded convertible cars as surrogate mistresses, and that women baked cakes to fulfill their
reproductive yearnings. Before long, almost every major advertising agency in the country had a
psychologist on staff to conduct motivational research studies. Following are the results of several
motivational research studies.
A car allows consumers to convert their subconscious fear of death and their urges to destroy—two key
forces in the human psyche—into reality. For example, the expression, “step on it” stems from the
desire to feel power, and the phrase, “I just missed that car by inches” reflects the desire to play with
danger. Based on this view, Dichter advised Esso (now Exxon) to tap into consumers’ aggressive motives
for driving cars in promoting the superiority of its gasoline product. The slogan, “Put a tiger in your tank”
was developed as a result of his advice. Dichter also maintained that cars have personalities, and that
people become attached to their cars and view them as companions rather than objects. This notion
stands behind his views that a man views a convertible as a mistress and a sedan as his wife.
Dolls When Mattel introduced Barbie in 1959, the company hired Dichter as a consultant. His research
indicated that young girls liked the doll, but their mothers detested the doll’s perfect bodily proportions
and Teutonic appearance. Dichter advised Mattel to market the doll as a teenage fashion model,
reflecting the mother’s desire for a daughter’s proper and fashionable appearance.
Ice cream is an effortless food that does not have to be chewed and that melts in your mouth—a sign of
abundance, an almost orgiastic kind of food that people eat as if they want it to run down their chins.
Accordingly, he recommended that ice cream packaging should be round, with illustrations that run
around the box panel, suggesting unlimited quantity.
Motivational researchers have used qualitative research (see Chapter 16)—focus group sessions and in-
depth interviews—to gain deeper insights into the whys of consumer behavior. Motivational research
often reveals unsuspected consumer motivations concerning product or brand usage and is often used
to develop ideas for promotional campaigns. Qualitative research also enables marketers to explore
consumer reactions to product ideas and advertising copy at an early stage, and avoid the costly errors
resulting from using ineffective and untested ads.
Motivational research findings provide consumer researchers with insights that can be examined further
by using quantitative research (see Chapter 16), which employs larger and more representative
consumer samples than qualitative studies.
A primary qualitative research tool is the use of projective techniques, which require respondents to
interpret stimuli that do not have clear meanings, with the assumption that the subjects will “reveal” or
“project” their subconscious, hidden motives into (or onto) the ambiguous stimuli. The results of studies
that employed projective techniques are described next.
Storytelling consists of having customers tell real-life stories regarding their use of the product under
study. By using this method to study parents’ perceptions of diapers, KimberlyClark discovered that
parents viewed diapers as clothing related to a particular stage in the child’s development. Thus, if their
children wore diapers too long, parents became distressed and embarrassed because it was an overt
sign of their failure to toilet train their children. The company introduced its highly successful Huggies
Pull-Ups training pants—a product that established a new category in the U.S. diaper industry.
Role-playing is a form of story-telling. Respondents are placed within a purchase situation and are asked
to act out assigned roles.
In the word association method, respondents are presented with words, one at a time, and asked to say
the first word that comes to mind. This method is highly useful in determining consumers’ associations
with existing brand names and those under development. In sentence completion, respondents are
asked to complete a sentence upon hearing an opening phrase (e.g., “People who drive convertibles
are . . . ”).
Developed by Henry A. Murray, the Thematic Apperception Test consists of showing pictures to
individual respondents and asking them to tell a story about each picture. For example, Clearasil
employed an image of a female looking into a mirror under the caption, “Here is a teenager looking into
the mirror and seeing pimples.” The researchers discovered that teenagers view their lives as fast-paced
and socially active and that the discovery of a pimple abruptly disturbs the swiftness of their lives. The
resulting advertising depicted a teenage male walking briskly down the street and spotting a pimple on
his face in a store window. All motion around him stops. He applies Clearasil, the pimple disappears, and
life resumes its pace.
In picture drawing, respondents are asked to draw pictures of the typical Pillsbury cakemix user. Their
drawings depicted old-fashioned, chubby females wearing frilly aprons. When asked to draw pictures of
the Duncan Hines cake-mix user, their drawings showed slim, “with-it” women wearing heels and
miniskirts. These findings provided important input to Pillsbury concerning the need to reposition its
product. In a study using photo sorts conducted by the advertising agency for Playtex (a manufacturer of
bras), respondents received stacks of photos depicting different types of women and were asked to
select pictures portraying their own self-images. Although many of the respondents were overweight,
full-breasted, and old-fashioned in appearance, they selected photos showing physically fit, well-
dressed, and independent women. The advertising agency advised Playtex to stop stressing the comfort
of its bras in its ads and designed a new campaign showing sexy, thin, and big-bosomed women under
the slogan, “The fit that makes the fashion.”
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As consumption became technology-driven, marketers have become keenly interested in the
motivations of bloggers and individuals who post comments online. Such individuals influence other
consumers, because people perceive both positive and negative reviews from other consumers as more
credible information than advertisements. In fact, many bloggers shape the views of thousands of
consumers, and many have documented their influence by following the number of responses that they
get to their postings and tweets (see Chapter 9). Marketers would be delighted to have any—even the
smallest—degree of influence over online writers whose essays, product reviews, and comments focus
on products and consumption, because these online writers have a tremendous influence on
consumers’ choices. Furthermore, understanding the motivations of the writers often enables marketers
to influence what is being written. It has been suggested that consumers write product reviews in order
to be helpful to other consumers (e.g., Henry Murray’s Sharing Information Need); gain prestige, such as
being awarded as a top reviewer on [Link] (e.g., Murray’s Achievement Need); create content for
their own blog, YouTube channel, or other social media (e.g., Murray’s Creation Need); and/or obtain
swag and other incentives (Murray’s Acquiring Need). Recently, Amazon changed its policy and no
longer allows companies to give incentives in exchange for product reviews. This change was enacted to
keep the reviewers honest.
Researchers have found many reasons why consumers interact with brands online. One reason is to
obtain information, buy, or personalize the brand. For example, Coca Cola provided consumers a way to
personalize their coke bottles with their own names. Knowing why consumers interact with brands
online allows marketers to increase engagement that ultimately leads to sales. Several studies
investigated the motivations of consumers to interact with brands on the internet:
1. Interested in buying and comparing products’ features online
2. Find personalizing products fun
3. Receiving good customer service
4. Winning prizes and receiving free product samples
Additionally, technology (e.g., wearable technology) can be a motivating factor for consumers. For
example, consumers buy the Samsung Gear Fit as an external exercise motivator. This fitness band
reminds the wearer to keep moving throughout the day. Furthermore, wearable technology connects
consumers to their social networks who push them to exercise even more.