Introduction

Do you ever wonder what drives others to make the purchases and shopping decisions they do? There are many underlying answers to these questions and in this paper I would like to explain what I have learned in the process of interviewing and interacting with these five individuals from different families. I will go into detail about the summary of these results, the generalizations I have made, conclusions about the interviewees, and how they are incorporated with the consumer socialization process. This will help to give you a better understanding of what is all included in consumers behaviors. Also, some specific terms will help you as the reader to fully grasp the meaning behind this process and why the family plays such a big role in influencing other members to act in a certain manner.

Interviewees

While partaking in my first interview, I noticed that I would need to develop a unique style of interviewing for each interviewee based on their social style. First, I went about interviewing my girlfriend who is currently 22 and very outgoing, talkative, and quick to make decisions in some cases. This style could be categorized as having a expressive personality. I not only asked her questions about how she had learned from past experiences with family, but also, if she had developed any certain habits or consumption behaviors that may separate her from her family members. I found myself asking her to clarify further what she meant when giving responses to probe for more in-depth information and then making sure to actively listen encouraging two-way communication. Kayla, in most cases, talked about food products and electronics when asked about her family’s brand loyalty to products. Specific examples included JIF peanut butter and Hidden Valley ranch, which she stated were her family’s preferences, as well as hers because they