Behavior

Behavior (

Taking a behavior informatics perspective, a behavior consists of actor, operation, interactions, and their properties. This can be represented as a behavior vector.^[2]

Models

Biology

Although disagreement exists as to how to precisely define behavior in a biological context, one common interpretation based on a meta-analysis of scientific literature states that "behavior is the internally coordinated responses (actions or inactions) of whole living organisms (individuals or groups) to internal or external stimuli".^[3]

A broader definition of behavior, applicable to plants and other organisms, is similar to the concept of phenotypic plasticity. It describes behavior as a response to an event or environment change during the course of the lifetime of an individual, differing from other physiological or biochemical changes that occur more rapidly, and excluding changes that are a result of development (ontogeny).^[4][5]

Behaviors can be either innate or learned from the environment.

Behaviour can be regarded as any action of an organism that changes its relationship to its environment. Behavior provides outputs from the organism to the environment.^[6]

Human behavior

The

Ethology is the

Circumstances that influence consumer behaviour are varied, with contributions from both internal and external factors.[11] Internal factors include attitudes, needs, motives, preferences and perceptual processes, whilst external factors include marketing activities, social and economic factors, and cultural aspects.^[11] Doctor Lars Perner of the University of Southern California claims that there are also physical factors that influence consumer behavior, for example, if a consumer is hungry, then this physical feeling of hunger will influence them so that they go and purchase a sandwich to satisfy the hunger.^[12]

Consumer decision making

Lars Perner presents a model that outlines the decision-making process involved in consumer behaviour. The process initiates with the identification of a problem, wherein the consumer acknowledges an unsatisfied need or desire. Subsequently, the consumer proceeds to seek information, whereas for low-involvement products, the search tends to rely on internal resources, retrieving alternatives from memory. Conversely, for high-involvement products, the search is typically more extensive, involving activities like reviewing reports, reading reviews, or seeking recommendations from friends.

The consumer will then evaluate his or her alternatives, comparing price, and quality, doing trade-offs between products, and narrowing down the choice by eliminating the less appealing products until there is one left. After this has been identified, the consumer will purchase the product.

Finally, the consumer will evaluate the purchase decision, and the purchased product, bringing in factors such as value for money, quality of goods, and purchase experience.^[12] However, this logical process does not always happen this way, people are emotional and irrational creatures. People make decisions with emotion and then justify them with logic according to Robert Cialdini Ph.D. Psychology.^[13]

How the 4P's influence consumer behavior

The Marketing mix (4 P's) are a marketing tool and stand for Price, Promotion, Product, and Placement.

Due to the significant impact of business-to-consumer marketing on consumer behavior, the four elements of the marketing mix, known as the 4 P's (product, price, place, and promotion), exert a notable influence on consumer behavior. The price of a good or service is largely determined by the market, as businesses will set their prices to be similar to that of other businesses so as to remain competitive whilst making a profit. When market prices for a product are high, it will cause consumers to purchase less and use purchased goods for longer periods of time, meaning they are purchasing the product less often. Alternatively, when market prices for a product are low, consumers are more likely to purchase more of the product, and more often.

The way that promotion influences consumer behavior has changed over time. In the past, large promotional campaigns and heavy advertising would convert into sales for a business, but nowadays businesses can have success on products with little or no advertising. This is due to the Internet and in particular social media. They rely on word of mouth from consumers using social media, and as products trend online, so sales increase as products effectively promote themselves. Thus, promotion by businesses does not necessarily result in consumer behavior trending towards purchasing products.

The way that product influences consumer behavior is through consumer willingness to pay, and consumer preferences. This means that even if a company were to have a long history of products in the market, consumers will still pick a cheaper product over the company in question's product if it means they will pay less for something that is very similar. This is due to consumer willingness to pay, or their willingness to part with the money they have earned. The product also influences consumer behavior through customer preferences. For example, take Pepsi vs Coca-Cola, a Pepsi-drinker is less likely to purchase Coca-Cola, even if it is cheaper and more convenient. This is due to the preference of the consumer, and no matter how hard the opposing company tries they will not be able to force the customer to change their mind.

Product placement in the modern era has little influence on consumer behavior, due to the availability of goods online. If a customer can purchase a good from the comfort of their home instead of purchasing in-store, then the placement of products is not going to influence their purchase decision.^[14]

In management

Behavior outside of psychology includes

Organizational

In management, behaviors are associated with desired or undesired focuses. Managers generally note what the desired outcome is, but behavioral patterns can take over. These patterns are the reference to how often the desired behavior actually occurs. Before a behavior actually occurs, antecedents focus on the stimuli that influence the behavior that is about to happen. After the behavior occurs, consequences fall into place. Consequences consist of rewards or punishments.

Social behavior

References

General

• Cao, L. (2014). Behavior Informatics: A New Perspective. IEEE Intelligent Systems (Trends and Controversies), 29(4): 62–80.
• Clemons, E. K. (2008). "How Information Changes Consumer Behavior and How Consumer Behavior Determines Corporate Strategy". Journal of Management Information Systems. 25 (2): 13–40.
  S2CID 16370526
  .
• Dowhan, D (2013). "Hitting Your Target". Marketing Insights. 35 (2): 32–38.
• Perner, L. (2008), Consumer behavior. University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. Retrieved from http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/intro_Consumer_Behavior.html
• Szwacka-Mokrzycka, J (2015). "TRENDS IN CONSUMER behavior CHANGES. OVERVIEW OF CONCEPTS". Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia. 14 (3): 149–156.

Further reading

• Bateson, P. (2017)
  ISBN 978-1-78374-250-9
  .
• Plomin, Robert; DeFries, John C.; Knopik, Valerie S.; Neiderhiser, Jenae M. (24 September 2012). Behavioral Genetics. Shaun Purcell (Appendix: Statistical Methods in Behavioral Genetics). Worth Publishers.
  ISBN 978-1-4292-4215-8
  . Retrieved 4 September 2013.
• Flint, Jonathan; Greenspan, Ralph J.; Kendler, Kenneth S. (28 January 2010). How Genes Influence Behavior. Oxford University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-19-955990-9
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Behavior.

Look up behavior in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• What is behavior? Baby don't ask me, don't ask me, no more at Earthling Nature.
• behaviorinformatics.org
• Links to review articles by Eric Turkheimer and co-authors on behavior research
• Links to IJCAI2013 tutorial on behavior informatics and computing