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A range of
concepts are typically included in psychographic data. When we
think about this data, it is important to note that it may be useful for
segmentation, but also useful in understanding the psychological
characteristics of individual decision makers. |
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Specifically
you might want to consider the corporate culture, the organization's values with regard to social issues,
the organization's status, and/or the status associated with the position offered. |
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Perception |
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Consumer perceptions drive the decision process! |
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The manner in which a person develops a perception of
something is influenced and distorted in several ways. |
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Selective Attention |
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Selective
Attention is a person’s tendency to screen out information to which (s)he
is exposed. We do not pay attention to all the input we receive
and tend to pay the most attention to the things that matter to us most
at that given time. (e.g. A person never notices a particular brand of
car until they buy one. When the person has heightened awareness, (s)he
pays more attention and notices that brand of car everywhere.) |
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From a career
perspective, a decision maker will ignore or screen out information that
does not seem particularly important. In an interview, you can draw
attention to elements of your background that may appear to have been
overlooked. |
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Selective Distortion |
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Selective
Distortion is a person’s tendency to alter or interpret the information
to which (s)he is exposed into information that is personally
meaningful. We impose our own meaning on events that we see take place.
(e.g. A person notices a car drive up to a gas pump, stop, the driver
gets out, walks to the pump, develops a look of horror, gets in the car
and drives away. The observer concludes that the driver thought the
price of gas was too high, in keeping with his/her own opinion of the
prices at that station. In fact, the driver realized that (s)he had left
the iron plugged in and turned on and rushed home to turn it off.) |
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From a career
perspective, a decision maker will interpret elements of your
experiences, background and skills, in light of their own personal
experiences. You can take time to explain key elements of your
background that might be misinterpreted. (e.g. You have a year long gap
in your employment record. You can explain in an interview how that time
was meaningfully spent.) |
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Selective Exposure |
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Selective
Exposure is a person’s tendency to expose him/herself only to the
information that supports his/her point of view. We tend to engage
in activities that are supportive of our current perspective - rarely
introducing ourselves to other points of view. (e.g. Few Republicans
attend a rally for a Democratic candidate.) |
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From a career
perspective, a decision maker will seek out candidates that are
consistent with current belief structures and avoid those that appear to
be inconsistent. (e.g. A company many recruit only from the alma maters
of key senior executives.) You can seek ways to gain exposure to
organizations that will not seek you out because of selective exposure
(e.g. You can contact the HR department of an appealing company
directly, even if they do not recruit on your campus.) |
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Selective Retention |
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Selective
Retention is a person’s tendency to retain only part of the information
to which (s)he is exposed, usually the information that supports his/her
beliefs or attitudes.
We tend to remember only the parts of an encounter that are consistent
with our current view points. (e.g. If you have a dislike or fear of
bats and you are exposed to the results of a study on bats, you are more
likely to remember that bats may carry rabies than to remember that bats
eat hundreds of mosquitoes each night.) |
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From a career
perspective, decision makers are likely to remember only the parts of
your information that fits their preconceived opinions. (e.g. A decision
maker has a preconceived idea that all Texans are cowboys. (S)he is
likely to remember a Texan coming to an interview in cowboy boots, but
fail to retain that the person was otherwise very professionally
attired). You can minimize this tendency by avoiding mental land
mines that might stereotype you in the mind of the decision maker. |
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Beliefs, Attitudes,
Values, and Cultures |
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Beliefs |
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Beliefs
are a
descriptive thought that a person holds about something (Kotler and Armstrong). A belief is not directional; it is neutral. In other words
we do not have a positive or negative opinion about it. (e.g. I believe that it will rain
today.) Beliefs can have intensity (e.g. I strongly believe that it
will rain today.) Beliefs impact behavior (e.g. If I think it is going to
rain, I might take an umbrella with me.) |
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From a career
perspective, beliefs impact selection
decisions. (e.g. If a decision maker believes that productivity is best in teams, (s)he
will hire people believed to be team players.) |
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Attitudes |
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Attitudes
are a person's consistently favorable or unfavorable evaluations, feelings and
tendencies toward an object or idea (Kotler and Armstrong).
Attitudes are directly influenced by beliefs, but
attitudes are directional and are not neutral. An attitude is a
positive or negative evaluation of an object or idea (e.g. I dislike rain.). Attitudes can have intensity (e.g. I REALLY hate it when it
rains.) Attitudes impact behavior (e.g. If I dislike rain, I may
avoid going to Seattle.) |
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From a career
perspective, attitudes impact selection decisions (e.g. If a decision
maker has a strong dislike for cigarettes, they are unlikely to hire a
smoker.) |
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Values |
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Values
are
broad tendencies to prefer certain states of affairs over others. Values are an attribute
of both individuals and collectives. Values have both intensity and direction (Hofstede).
Values are directly influenced by attitudes and beliefs. Values have salience; they are more or less important. (e.g.
I think education is important. Education is a salient value to me. - compared to - I
think that division of tasks based on sex is unimportant. Sex role divisions are not a
salient value to me.) Values are directional; they are not neutral. (e.g.
Education is a good use of time. - compare to - Education is a waste of time.) Values have intensity (e.g. Education is an extremely
important thing. - compared to - Education is a marginally important thing.) Values impact behavior. (e.g. If parents strongly value
education, they may seek out the very best schools for their children.) |
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From a career
perspective, values impact selection decisions (e.g. If a decision maker
strongly values education, (s)he may select someone
with more education or better grades. |
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Cultures |
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Culture
is 1.
something that is shared by all or almost all members of some social group;
2. something that the older members of the group try to pass on the younger members; and
3. something (as in the case of morals, laws and customs) that shapes
behavior, or...strictures one's perception of the world. (Alder).
Subcultures are smaller, subgroups within a given culture. Culture is a group phenomenon and is a shared systems of
values. Culture happens on the subconsciously level. Culture is directly influenced by shared personal value
systems, and indirectly influenced by attitudes and beliefs. Cultural values are directional; they are not neutral. (e.g.
In our society, we place high value on education.) Cultural values have intensity (e.g. In our society, we
strongly support education.) Cultural values impact behavior. (e.g. In a society that
strongly values education, education is a top priority in the allocation of available
resources.) |
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From a career
perspective, cultural values impact selection decisions (e.g. If a
society has a strong cultural value for achievement, selection decisions
will be influenced by strong, early indicates of dedication, hard work
and reliability.) |
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Social Class,
Roles and Status |
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Social Class |
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Social Class
is the relatively permanent and ordered divisions in a society whose members
share similar values, interests, and behaviors (Kotler and Armstrong).
Social class occurs on a societal level, social class is a
group phenomenon. (Your self concept of your social class is at the individual
level). Social Class impacts behavior (e.g. People will reject
products when they think the product is affiliated with a lower social class.) |
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From a career
perspective, social class impacts selection decisions. (e.g. It may not
be fair and it may not be right, but you, as a product, may be rejected
if you are perceived to be from a different social class. In fact,
many group affiliations, such as clubs, rely heavily on perceptions of
social class.) |
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Roles |
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Roles
are the
activities a person is expected to perform according to the people around him or her (Kotler and Armstrong). Roles occurs at the group level, as they are based on the
expectations of others. (Your self concept of your role is at the individual level).
Expectations on a individual change with different roles.
Specifically, the role an individual fulfills will impact the expected
behavior which will be considered to be appropriate in a given
situation. (e.g. People have specific expectations on the behaviors exhibited by
doctors.) |
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From a career
perspective, roles are an important part of other people's expectations
and hence impact selection decisions. (e.g. A person who is hired as a
police officer is subjected to specific expectations.) The roles you select to take, and those thrust upon you,
will impact expectations on your behavior and will directly and indirectly affect you
ability to be personally successful. |
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Status |
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Status
is the
general esteem given to a role by society (Kotler and Armstrong).
Status occurs at the group level; status of a role is
conferred by society (Your self concept of the status of your role is at the
individual level). Society grants variously levels of status to specific roles
- regardless of the person who fills it. Some roles are granted relatively high status -
others are not. The salary associated with a job may have little to do with the
status awarded to the role. (e.g. Doctors and nurses are generally held in high
esteem ) |
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From a career
perspective, the status awarded to a role will affect behavior. (e.g. A
person may be unwilling to take a job perceived to hold low status
unless the pay is very high, but may be willing to take a job perceived
as high status even is the pay is relatively low.) |
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Group Influences
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Groups that have a direct (face-to-face) or indirect
influence on the person's attitudes or behavior (Kotler and Armstrong). |
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References
Groups |
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A reference group may be a group to which we belong
(membership group), a group to which we aspire (aspirational group), or to which we do not
belong nor to which we aspire to belong, and yet we are influenced by the members. (e.g.
We may not be police officers, and we may not ever aspire to be a police officer, but we
are influenced by the expectations of police officers.) Reference Groups affect behavior (e.g. People alter behavior
to conform to the expectations of members of their reference groups.) |
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From a career perspective,
reference groups impact selection decisions. (e.g. A decision maker
will, in part, make decision based on the perceived expectations of
their reference groups.) |
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Membership
Groups |
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Membership
Groups are groups that have a direct influence on a person's behavior
and to which a person belongs (Kotler and Armstrong). As the name implies, we hold membership in our
"membership groups." We will be members of many groups. For example,
we are a member of the group of employees where we work, we are members of the population
at the university that we attend, etc. Membership Groups affect behavior (e.g. People alter
behavior to conform to the groups in which they are members. A person may behave
differently when (s)he is with members of her/his religious organization, than when with
members of he/her sports team.) |
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From a career perspective,
membership impacts selection decisions. (e.g. A decision maker may
review a candidates current memberships in various organizations and
teams to project an image of the type of person who has applied.) |
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Aspirational
Groups |
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Aspirational
Groups are groupd to which an individual wishes to belong (Kotler and
Armstrong). As the name implies, we wish to hold membership in our
"aspirational groups." We may aspire to belong to one
or more groups in which we are not currently members. Aspirational Groups affect behavior (e.g. People alter
behavior to conform to the expectations of members of their aspirational groups.) |
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From a career perspective,
we may wish to join a country club, to join a book club, to be hired by
a particular company. A decision maker will, in part, consider how
well you will "fit in" with the other members of the group we aspire to
join. |
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Opinion Leaders |
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Opinion Leaders are people within a reference group who, because of special skills,
knowledge, personality, or other characteristics, exert influence on
others (Kotler and Armstrong). Opinion Leaders are individuals who hold power within our
reference groups. Opinion leaders may hold obvious positions
of authority (e.g. the CEO of a company, a religious leader, the
mayor). Other important opinion leaders may not be so obvious
(e.g. the only person on the staff who can perform a key function
(the only one who can unjam the copy machine) or who hold
specialized knowledge (the only Perl script programmer) may be an
opinion leader). An individual who is experienced or wise, who
for whatever reason, has not taken a formal position of
leadership, may still be an extremely important person who shapes
policy, practice and decisions. Opinion leaders affect behavior (e.g. People alter behavior to
conform to the expectations of opinion leaders.) |
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From a career
perspective, opinion leaders impact selection decisions. (e.g. A
decision maker will, in part, make decision based on the perceived
expectations of the organization's opinion leaders.) |
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Learning and
Motivation |
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Learning |
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Learning
refers to changes in an individual's behavior based on their personal experiences.
A person's personal history affects choices, even in the
selection of individuals and services. |
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From a career
perspective, you can use the decision maker's learned experiences to your
advantage by asking questions about the decisions maker's experiences and relating them to
your skills and assets. |
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Motivation |
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Motivation
involves the positive or negative needs, goals, desire, and forces that
impel an individual toward or away from certain actions, activities,
objects, or conditions (Evans and Berman). |
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From a career
perspective, the underlying personal motivations of key decision makers
influence career marketing decisions. (e.g. A decision maker who resents a court order
forcing the acceptance of women, may seek out women expected to fail.) You can gain insight into a decision maker's motivations by
asking specific questions about their expectations. Keeping in mind, if the decision
maker want you to fail, (s)he will not be forthright in an answer. |
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Lifestyles
and Personality |
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Lifestyles |
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Lifestyles
are a person's pattern of living as expressed in his or her activities,
interests, and opinions (Kotler and Armstrong). A person's personal activities, interests and opinions
affect choices, even in the selection of individuals and services |
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From a career
perspective, You can use the decision maker's lifestyle to your advantage
by asking questions or paying close attention to details and relating them to your skills
and assets. (For example, if you notice the decision maker has a family picture of
a ski vacation in his/her office, you can comment on your mutual interest in skiing and
relate how your participation on the ski team helped you built team working skills, taught
you the value of hard work and dedication, etc.) |
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Personality |
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Personality
is a person's distinguishing psychological characteristics that lead to
relatively consistent and lasting responses to his or her own environment (Kotler and Armstrong).
Personality occurs on an individual level; personality is
not a group phenomenon. Personality impacts behavior (e.g. If a person is
"other" directed or oriented, (s)he might be more inclined to be influenced by
other people's opinions in a purchase decision.) |
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From a career
perspective, personality impacts selection decisions. (e.g. A decision
maker may be more included to select individuals with similar
personality characteristics.) |
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Self Concept |
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Self Concept is a person's self-image.
Self concept is a person's perception of themselves.
Much like with other perception related concepts, reality is not the driving force
behind decisions. Self Concept can be an important tool in personal growth. Self image occurs on an individual level. |
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A person's self-concept is tri-dimensional. |
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Actual Self Concept |
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Actual Self Concept
is how a person views him or herself. The personal view of oneself
affects behavior. (e.g. If someone sees his/herself as clumsy, they will rarely, if ever,
participate in athletic competitions, regardless of their potential, skills or abilities. |
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From a career
perspective, a person may limit their opportunities by self selecting
out of employment application, opportunities for promotion, chances at
elected office or memberships into groups. A person can reduce these losses by relying on input from
friends, peers, co-workers, employers, opinion leaders and mentors to help revise and
reshape an inaccurate self concept. |
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Ideal Self Concept |
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Ideal Self Concept
is how a person would like to view him or herself. Ideal self concept and actual self concept may be in
agreement or in conflict, but they do interrelate. A person's perception of how they would
"like to be" will affect
behavior. (e.g. If a person perceives him/herself as looking fat, but wants to think
of him/herself as being thin, (s)he may go through extraordinary lengths to loss weight,
even if (s)he is dangerously underweight. |
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From a career
perspective, a person's ideal self concept will shape behavior. (e.g. If
I want to see myself as successful, I may join a country club or other
activities that might confirm my personal success.) |
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Others Self Concept |
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Others Self Concept
is how a person thinks other people see him or herself. Others self concept, ideal self concept and actual
self concept may be in agreement or in conflict, but they do interrelate.
A person's perception of how other's perceive them has an influence on
behavior. (e.g. If a person believes that other's think that (s)he is
younger than (s)he actually is, the person may go to great lengths to project an image of
youth in manner and attire.) |
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From a career
perspective, a person may limit their opportunities by self selecting
out of employment application opportunities, chances for promotion,
elected office or memberships into groups, etc. based on how they think
they will be evaluated by others (in other words - on what they think
the decision maker will think). (e.g. A person never applies to a
country club in which (s)he has an
interest, because they think they will be rejected as not good enough.) On the other hand, a clear understanding of the likely
reaction by others can improve a person's chances in a
career context. A person can reduce these losses by taking chances.
A person can maximize gain by adjusting behavior to conform to the anticipated
reaction of a decision maker (e.g. If you think that the decision maker will perceive you
as too young or too immature for a job you really want, based on your hair style, you can
change you hair style and change the anticipated response.) |
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