Consumers make choices when shopping for products or services, and when doing so they use thought processes and outside sources to help them come to a decision. The processes that are used are both psychological and social processes that help them come to a choice. Three psychological processes that consumers use are motivation, perception, and attitude.
Psychological factors * Attitude is a belief that has been formed from previous experience or knowledge of a product that they have used or was a potential to use. * Perception is a consumer taking in knowledge of a product or service by a advertisement and forming their own perception of the product. * Motivations are a trigger from a need or want for a specific product. Three social processes that affect a consumer’s choice could be family, social status, and reviews or blogs on the internet.
Social Factors * Family plays a deep role in consumer choices, because consumers trust their family and believe what they say about products or services. * Social status is also important to remember due to the income base that some families may have in certain locations. * Reviews or blogs on the Internet are a increasing used option for many consumers, due to the number of reviews they have the option of looking at and reading.
Example
“The research aimed to explore the extent to which the low and declining use of bus services reflected overly negative public perceptions of buses and whether, if key misperceptions could be “corrected” by persuasive messages, people might change their attitudes towards bus travel and increase their use of bus services.” (J.R. Beale, 2006) This study was used to research information on perceptions and attitudes for a bus company that was losing service. In turn they found out a solution by using these processes toward the consumers.

J.R. Beale, P.W.