What Is Freudian Motivation Theory?
Let me explain Freudian motivation theory to you directly: it posits that unconscious psychological forces, such as hidden desires and motives, shape your behavior, including your purchasing patterns. This theory comes from Sigmund Freud, who was a medical doctor and is basically synonymous with psychoanalysis.
Key Takeaways
- Freudian motivation theory posits that unconscious psychological forces, such as hidden desires and motives, shape an individual's behavior, like their purchasing patterns.
- Freudian motivation theory is frequently applied to a number of disciplines, including sales and marketing, to help understand the consumer's motivations when it comes to making a purchasing decision.
- The Freudian motivation theory explains the sales process in terms of a consumer fulfilling conscious, functional needs as well as unconscious needs.
Understanding Freudian Motivation Theory
You should know that Freudian motivation theory gets applied in various fields, including sales and marketing, to figure out what motivates consumers when they're deciding to buy something. More specifically, Freud's ideas have been used to connect a product's qualities—like its touch, taste, or smell—to the memories it might stir up in you. If you recognize how these elements trigger an emotional response, as a marketer or salesperson, you can guide a consumer toward making that purchase.
The theory breaks down the sales process by showing how consumers meet their conscious, functional needs—think blinds to cover a window—along with unconscious ones, like fearing being seen naked from outside. If you're a salesperson pushing furniture, you might ask if this is the consumer's first home alone. If they say yes, you could point out how the furniture feels warm or comfortable, tapping into a sense of safety.
Freudian Motivation Theory Tenets
Freud believed the human psyche splits into the conscious and unconscious mind, and I want you to grasp this: the ego represents the conscious mind, consisting of thoughts, memories, perceptions, and feelings that form your identity and personality. The id is the unconscious part, holding biologically determined instincts you've had since birth. Then there's the superego, which moderates with society's morals and taboos, explaining why not everyone acts on every impulse. These concepts help market researchers determine why you made a specific purchase, by examining your conscious and unconscious motivations plus societal pressures.
Freudian Motivation Theory Put to Use
When companies assess a new product's success potential, they hire market researchers to dig into the hidden motivations of selected consumers, figuring out what triggers their buying habits. Researchers might use techniques like role-playing, picture interpretation, sentence completion, or word association to uncover these deeper meanings. Through these, they learn how you react to products and how to market them effectively. For instance, buying a certain computer brand might make you feel smart, successful, productive, and prestigious, and marketers can build on that to shape brand identity.
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