Personal Values Approach for a Better Understanding of Consumer Behaviour

Studies on consumer behaviour aims to gain a deeper understanding of individual consumer and their behaviour patterns to develop an understanding of what motivates and influences their buying behaviour. There is a significant shift in the focus of studies on consumer behaviour - from demographics to psychographics. The common psychographic variables used in studies relate to personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. Studies indicate that personal values may be more useful than the other psychographic variables in understanding human behaviour as they are more central to an individual's cognitive system. Past studies have attempted to establish an association of values with individual buying decision behaviour. This paper substantiates that 'personal values of individuals have significant influence on their behaviour as a consumer' by drawing references to few studies that had used personal values as the independent variable in understanding consumer behaviour. A brief introduction to various values scales used in consumer behaviour studies is also presented here.