Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
During the consumer buying process, the consumer is attempting to reduce uncer-
tainty as related to one or more of these variables.
Bounded rationality.
In any decision-making process, there are boundary condi-
tions, known as bounded rationality. The concept of bounded rationality assumes
that people do not follow a rational decision-making process in which people clearly
define a problem, generate alternatives, evaluate all alternative solutions, and then
select the best approach before implementing it.
Potpourri
: Many consumer buying models are based on the assumption that the
consumer is a rational actor, resulting in decisions based on the perceived mar-
ginal utility of the purchase of a product.
Rational actor does not mean rational person.
To maximize outcomes, a rational actor attempts to maximize value with
respect to a set of preferences.
However, there is plenty of empirical evidence to show that people often act
irrationally, emotionally, with a lack of information, or even destructively.
For the purposes of consumer buying theory, a rational actor chooses from a set
of available alternatives relative to some preferences, context, emotion, situation,
and so forth at a given time.
So, take the consumer buying theory as a general guideline of a cognitive process.
Bounded rationality [
41
] holds that people in general, and consumers in our case,
decide rationally only in a limited number of situations. Consumers make choices
according to what is often a simplified interpretation of the situation. In these situa-
tions, rationality is “bounded.” Consumers seldom have access to all relevant infor-
mation and must rely on a “strategy of satisfying” to make the best decision on
limited information. In these situations, consumers choose a reasonable choice that
seems satisfactory rather than seek the best solution.
So, again, we see the concept of the principle of least effort. Bounded rationality
sees people as information-processing entities wherein uncertainty comes from a
lack of information. There are a number of factors at work that limit the bounds of
rational decision making, including:
1.
Incomplete
, imperfect, or even misleading
information
2.
Complex problems
3.
Limited cognitive
human information processing
4. Practical
limits on time
available for decision making
5.
Conflicting preferences
or goals
We see this aspect of the interplay between rationality and irrationality in the writing
of practitioners in the field of advertising, based on their experience and studies of
advertising campaigns. For example, Schwab [
42
, p. 66] writes that you must pro-
vide empirical evidence and facts in your advertisement copy in order to provide the
customer with a reason and excuse to purchase the product that, emotionally, they
already want to purchase.
