MKTG6007 · Consumer Behaviour
Social and Cultural Influences
No consumer decides in a vacuum. Beyond individual psychology sit socio-cultural forces — subcultures, social class, reference groups, family and the immediate situation. This chapter works outward from the smallest cultural unit to the largest pressures: subcultures (the course focuses on age and gender, with the ascribed-vs-achieved distinction and the critique of gendered marketing and the pink tax), social class (its indicators, mobility and the compensatory consumption that felt status-loss triggers), reference groups and the two flavours of social influence — normative (fit in) vs informational (be right; Deutsch & Gerard) — with the compliance tactics (foot-in-the-door) and the psychological reactance that over-pressure provokes, and finally the household as a decision-making unit with split roles, plus the situational factors that can override a formed intention at the last moment.
What this chapter covers
- 015.1-5.2 Subculture; ascribed (sex) vs achieved (gender) status
- 025.3 Gendered marketing & the pink tax
- 035.4-5.6 Social class — indicators, mobility, compensatory consumption, marketing by class
- 04Reference groups — normative vs informational influence (Deutsch & Gerard)
- 055.7-5.8 Conformity/compliance/obedience; foot-in-the-door; reactance; word-of-mouth
- 065.9-5.10 Household decision roles; situational factors override intention
Worked example: separate normative from informational influence
- +1Name (a) as normative influence. Buying to fit in and gain approval / avoid disapproval is normative — conformity driven by social pressure, not by belief about quality.
- +1Name (b) as informational influence. Treating others' choices (reviews, “best-seller”) as evidence that the brand is right is informational — conforming because you believe the group knows more.
- +1State when normative is strongest. When the reference group is cohesive, similar, high-status and has reward/sanction power, and the consumer is status-conscious.
- +1State when informational is strongest. When the situation is ambiguous, the group is expert, and the consumer lacks knowledge — exactly the review-reading case.
Key terms
- Subculture
- A distinct, identifiable cultural segment within a larger society whose members share values, beliefs, norms and traditions, producing similar consumption patterns. The course focuses on age and gender; a consumer belongs to many subcultures at once, and which dominates shifts by context.
- Ascribed vs achieved status
- Ascribed status is assigned at birth and biological (sex); achieved status is socially constructed and learned (gender, via socialisation). Because gender is learned, marketers both reflect and reinforce it — which carries an ethical edge (gendered appeals can perpetuate stereotypes).
- Compensatory consumption
- Buying to restore a threatened sense of self or status, triggered by downward mobility or felt status-loss — a status symbol bought to feel powerful again, or “keeping up appearances” by leasing what can't be afforded outright.
- Normative vs informational influence
- The two flavours of reference-group influence (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955): normative = conform because of social pressure, to fit in; informational = conform because you believe the group knows more, to be correct. Normative is stronger with cohesive high-status groups; informational with ambiguity and expert groups.
- Psychological reactance
- Pushing back against persuasion or pressure that threatens felt freedom. Heavy-handed selling or banning a behaviour can produce the opposite of the intended effect — the consumer reasserts autonomy by refusing. The skill is calibrating social pressure so it nudges without threatening free choice.
Social and Cultural Influences FAQ
What is the difference between sex and gender in this unit?
The course frames it as ascribed versus achieved status. Sex is ascribed — assigned at birth, biological (hormones, anatomy). Gender is achieved — socially constructed and learned through socialisation (Lindsey). The marketing consequence is that because gender is learned, gendered marketing both reflects and reinforces it, which is why it can entrench stereotypes (and the pink tax) or, used differently, break them as a strategy.
When does normative pressure backfire?
When it is pushed too hard and trips psychological reactance — the consumer pushes back against pressure that threatens their felt freedom and does the opposite of what was intended. Normative influence works up to a point; “you must buy now” or banning a behaviour can provoke refusal. The skill is calibrating pressure so it nudges without threatening the consumer's sense of free choice.
Why does word-of-mouth outrank advertising?
Because WOM carries both kinds of social influence at once: it tells you what the in-group does (normative) and what actually works (informational), from a source the consumer trusts more than a brand. It threads the whole journey — an information source during search (reviews), a satisfaction signal after purchase (promoters fuel growth, irates spread negative WOM). Opinion leaders and influencers are high-reach WOM sources a firm can influence but not control.
How do household roles change who a marketer targets?
A single purchase can split across different people — influencer, decider, purchaser, user and gatekeeper. When buyer and user differ, the marketer must decide whom to persuade: cereal ads target the child influencer (cartoon mascots) and reassure the parent decider (“part of a balanced breakfast”). Knowing who holds each role tells you where the persuasion budget should go. And remember situational factors at the shelf can still override a formed intention.
Exam move
Work outward from the smallest unit (a subculture you belong to) to the largest pressures, keeping the key distinctions sharp: ascribed (sex) vs achieved (gender), normative (fit in) vs informational (be right). For any social appeal, name which influence is operating and when it is strongest — that is the rewarded move. Watch the ethical lines the course flags: gendered marketing and the pink tax, predatory value-framing at lower-income consumers, and the point where normative pressure tips into reactance. Map household decision roles to decide whom to persuade when buyer and user differ, and remember that situational factors are a cross-cutting moderator that can override a strong intention at the moment of purchase — the same intention–behaviour gap, seen from outside.
