Lifestyle & Self-Concept – A Brief Introduction

Lifestyle refers to the way consumers live and spend their time and money.  It is determined by one`s past experiences, innate characteristics and life situations. Lifestyle of a person is typically influenced by his/her needs, wants and motivations and also by external factors such as culture, family, reference group and social class.

Lifestyle of a person involves his consumption pattern, his behavior in the market place, practices, habits, conventional ways of doing things, allocation of income and reasoned actions. It reflects an individual`s attitudes, values, interests and his view towards the society.  

Characteristics of lifestyle

♦ It is a group phenomenon i.e. It influences others in a social group.

♦ It influences all areas of one’s activities and determines the buying behavior of a person.

♦ It implies a central life interest – A person`s main interest or profession is influenced    by his core interests e.g. Food, Fashion, Music etc.

♦ It is affected by the social changes in the society – A person`s standard of living  and quality of lifestyle increases with the increase in the standards and quality of the  society he/she lives in.

Lifestyle of a consumer depends upon various factors and any change in one of these factors leads to a change in the behavior of the consumer. These factors are as following:-

♦ Age

♦ Income

♦ Occupation

♦ Culture

♦ Education

♦ Social Group

♦ Buying Power

Activities, Interests and Opinions [AIO] Model

The products we consume are a part of our lifestyle. Therefore, our lifestyle can be determined on the basis of our consumption pattern. Lifestyle segmentation is based on activities, interests and opinions of a group. Marketeers use the AIO Model to find out about the lifestyle of the consumers.

  • Activities – How one spends his/her time
  • Interests – A person’s priorities and preferences make up their interest
  • Opinions – One`s Feeling towards different events in life

Lifestyle and Self-Concept

Self concept

Self concept can be described simply as how one perceives himself and his behaviour in the market place.  It is the attitude one holds towards himself. It is not a realistic concept as an unconscious component is always present. It is a social phenomenon.

Self-image

It refers to a person’s perception of his/her self. The six types of self image are:-

♦ Actual self – How a person actually perceives himself.

♦ Ideal self – How you would like to see yourself.

♦ Social self – How you think others see you.

♦ Ideal social self – How you would like others to see you.

♦ Expected self – How you expect to be in the future.

♦ Situational self – A person’s self image in a specific situation.

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