GENDER DIFFERENCES IN BUYERS BEHAVIOUR

 Gender has been used primarily to refer to the grammatical categories of "masculine," "feminine," and "neuter," but in recent years the word has become well established in its use to refer to sex-based categories, as in phrases such as gender gap and the politics of gender. This usage is supported by the practice of many anthropologists, who reserve sex for reference to biological categories, while using gender to refer to social or cultural categories. According to this rule, one would say The effectiveness of the medication appears to depend on the sex (not gender) of the patient, but In peasant societies, gender (not sex) roles are likely to be more clearly defined. This distinction is useful in principle, but it is by no means widely observed, and considerable variation in usage occurs at all levels.

OR

Gender is a set ofcharacteristics distinguishing between male and female, particularly in the cases of men and women. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity. In 1955, sexologist John Money introduced the terminological distinction between biological sex and gender as a role.

Gender is now commonly used even to refer to the physiology of nonhuman animals, without any implication of social gender roles

Men are different from women. That would seem to be self-evident. They are different in aptitude, skill and behaviour, but then, so is every individual person. So why do we make such a fuss about it? It seems not unreasonable to suggest that the sexes are different because their brains are different, but then no two human brains are the same. It is suggested that our culture is in trouble because many women have been brought up to believe they should be as good as a man.

Why are girls more successful at school? Perhaps emphasis on communication in projects and exams submerges differences. Success at school nowadays depends on being able to writes essays and examination papers. If girls are better at verbal communication than boys, then they are likely to succeed. But, if there are more boys in remedial reading classes, does it not imply a serious defect in our educational system?

In general, men are taller and heavier than women. In sports, men tend to outperform women in strength and speed. Women seem to have greater endurance. In spite of many attempts, sports have never become completely unisex.

All males are different from females in terms of there buying product from themselves

Yet, for example, Ward and Whipp suggested that running speeds for male and female athletes have improved steadily through the twentieth century, but women have improved much more than men. Dyer found the same for athletics, swimming and cycling. Both predicted that sex differences might disappear by the middle of the next century. However Seiler and Sailer point out that, since the date of their studies, the rate of improvement has much reduced. They suggest a temporal correlation with the use of performance enhancing drugs, and their more recent proscription. These have a greater effect on women, than they do with men, since the latter are already well supplied with testosterone.

Men, it is said, are generally more aggressive, physically and verbally, and enjoy taking risks. They play fighting games and enjoy 'dares.' More men than women are convicted for crimes, especially crimes of violence.

A recent news story discussed the shopping habits of women, revealing that the recession hasn't changed them much. In addition surveys have found that women lie about what they purchase and how much they spend.A survey of 1500 British women done by a British women's magazine called Marie Claire found women are savvy in terms of lying to their partners about their spending habits. In fact what the magazine found was that women haven't changed the way they spend during the recession but tend to lie more about it. The magazine reports, "Forty per cent said they had bought clothes or beauty products which they had kept secret from their other halvls. And 80 per cent of the new clothes, shoes and handbags bought were kept secret."

So looking at this it can be understood easily that recession can hit everyone exept womens.

When it comes to technology, men shop and women buy. That is, men browse, looking for something cool even if they may not need anything at the moment. How many megapixels are digital cameras up to? How much does a high-end laptop computer cost? Familiarizing themselves with the answers to such questions lets men advise friends on purchases or quickly narrow down the options for a purchase of their own in the future. Men get these specs by reading written displays, either in-store or online. While women may discuss the cute skirt they just bought, men talk to friends about the cool features of their new videocamera or iPhone apps

Women are on a mission in high-tech stores, and they are looking for an item to meet their own immediate needs and those of their families. They care less about a computer's specs and more about what it can do for them. When selling to women, retailers would be wise to market high-tech products "like refrigerators instead of like scientific instruments." This is because women are generally less interested in what kind of wireless technology a digital camera uses; they care more about whether they can easily share photos with friends on facebook or not.

The video below explains more in detail of the basic differences between males and females

GROUP CONFORMITY,OPINION LEADERS & PEER PRESSURE

1.GROUP CONFORMITY

Conformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by what is conceived to be what other people might perceive. This influence occurs in both small groups and society as a whole, and it may be the result of subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt social pressure Conformity also occurs by the "implied presence" of others, or when other people are not actually present. For example, people tend to follow the norms of society when eating or watching television, even when they are at home by themselves.

OR

According to Leon Mann,conformity means  ‘yielding to group pressures’.

Everyone is a member of one group or another and everyone expects members of
these groups to behave in certain ways. If you are a member of an identifiable
group you are expected to behave appropriately to it. If you don’t confirm and
behave appropriately you are likely to be rejected by the group. Likestereotypes, conforming and expecting others to conform maintains cognitivebalance. There are several kinds of conformity. Many studies of conformity tookplace in the 1950’s which led Kelman to distinguish between compliance, internalisation and identification. Compliance is the type of conformity where the subject goes along with the group view, but privately disagrees with it.Conformity within a group entails members changing their attitude and beliefs in order to match those of others within a group.Those that conform tend to be obedient and compliant.In order to conform ,the group members must attribute someone as having the legitimacy and creditibility to lead or influence the groups behaviour.Without this "leader",conformity towards the group's goals will be less prevalent.If a member of the group fails to conform to the groups needs then he/she would lose credibility with the rest of the group.

The video below tells that how actually a group conformity works

2.OPINION LEADERS

It is a concept that arises out of the theory of two-step flow of communication propounded by Paul Lazarsfeld and Elihu Katz. This theory is one of several models that try to explain the diffusion of innovations, ideas, or commercial products.The opinion leader is the agent who is an active media user and who interprets the meaning of media messages or content for lower-end media users. Typically the opinion leader is held in high esteem by those who accept his or her opinions. Opinion leadership tends to be subject specific, that is, a person that is an opinion leader in one field may be a follower in another field. An example of an opinion leader in the field of computer technology, might be a neighborhood computer service technician. The technician has access to far more information on this topic than the average consumer and has the requisite background to understand the information, though the same person might be a follower at another field (for example sports) and ask others for advice.

The 2 basic definations of Opinion Leaders can be as follows in terms of

1. General: Influential members of a community, group, or society to whom others turn for advice,   opinions,and views.

2. Marketing: Minority group (called early adopters) that passes information on new products (received from the media) to less adventuresome or not as well informed segments of the population. However, only products such as automobiles, books, and clothing are susceptible to such influencers whereas appliances, food, toiletries, etc. are not.

The video below highlights that how politics and media misrepresent the public which makes changes in their opinion.

3.PEER PRESSURE

It refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member (for example, political party, trade union), or a social clique. A person affected by peer pressure may or may not want to belong to these groups.



Who Are Your Peers?

When you were a little kid, your parents used to chose your friends, and then they used to put you in playgroups with certain children that they knew. Now that you're older, you decide who your friends are and what groups you spend time with.You only at a certain level decide what you are doing and who are the people in and around you.

Friends — your peers — are people your age or close to it who have experiences and interests similar to yours. You and your friends make dozens of decisions every day, and you influence each other's choices and behaviors. This is often positive — it's human nature to listen to and learn from other people in your age group.

As you become more independent, your peers naturally play a greater role in your life. As school and other activities take you away from home, you may spend more time with peers than you do with your parents and siblings. You'll probably develop close friendships with some of your peers, and you may feel so connected to them that they are like an extended family.

Besides close friends, your peers include other kids you know who are the same age — like people in your grade, church, sports team, or community. These peers also influence you by the way they dress and act, things they're involved in, and the attitudes they show.
looking at the above example it can be seen that how people are having peers since their childhood

The video below that how people get under pressure by seeing some good thing and then try to do it in the same way

Syed Jafri

Business and marketing management student

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PERSONALITY AND SELF-CONCEPT

PERSONALITY refers to the unique psychological characteristics that lead torelatively consistent and lasting responses to one’s own environment. Personality can be useful in analyzing consumer behavior for certain product or brand choices. A brand personality is the specific mix of human traits that may be attributed to a particular brand. For example, Mountain Dew is attributed with thrill and ruggedness. Then there is a person’s self-concept or self-image. Its basic premise is that people’s possessions contribute to and reflect their identities, that is, “ We are what we have”.

Some of the Components of personality are as follows:

1.Consistency - There is generally a recognizable order and regularity to behaviors. Essentially, people act in the same ways or similar ways in a variety of situations.

2.Psychological and physiological - Personality is a psychological construct, but research suggests that it is also influenced by biological processes and needs.

3.Impact behaviors and actions - Personality does not just influence how we move and respond in our environment; it also causes us to act in certain ways.

4.Multiple expressions - Personality is displayed in more than just behavior. It can also be seen in out thoughts, feelings, close relationships and other social interactions.

                                                       
Many videos can be found on personality of many different types of people
in terms of how they are presenting themselves in the videos and how they
are explaining the purpose of making the video.

SELF CONCEPT  is a multi-dimensional construct that refers to an individual's perception of "self" in relation to any number of characteristics, such as academics (and nonacademics) gender roles and sexuality, racial identity,and

 many others.Self-concept does not appear to be instinctive, but is a

social product developed through experience, it possesses relatively

boundless potential for development and actualization. Because of previous experiences and present perceptions, individuals may perceive themselves in ways different from the ways others see them.Any experience which is inconsistent with one's self-concept may be perceived as a threat, and the more of these experiences there are, the more rigidly self-concept is organized to maintain and protect itself. When a person is unable to get rid of perceived inconsistencies, emotional problems arise.

Self-concept requires consistency, stability, and tends to resist change. If self-concept changed readily, the individual would lack a consistent and dependable personality. The more central a particular belief is to one's self-concept, the more resistant one is to changing that belief. At the heart of self-concept is the self-as-doer, the "I," which is distinct from the self-as-object, the various "me's." This allows the person to reflect on past events, analyze present perceptions, and shape future experiences.

The video below tell about the self-concept

 

Syed Jafri

Business and Marketing Student

Bucks