Some consumer researchers distingui

Some consumer researchers distinguish between so-called rational motives and emotional1 Some consumer researchers distinguish between so-called rational motives and emotional (or non-rational) motives. In a marketing context, the term rationality implies that the consumer selects goals based on totally objective criteria, such as size, weight, price, or miles per gallon. Emotional motives imply the selection of goals according to personal or subjective criteria (the desire for individuality, pride, fear, affection and status).2 The assumption underlying this distinction is that subjective or emotional criteria do not maximize utility or satisfaction. However, it is reasonable to assume that consumers always attempt to select alternatives that, in their view, are to maximize satisfaction. Obviously, the assessment of satisfaction is a very personal process, based upon the individual's own need structure as well as on past behavioral, social, and learning experiences. What may appear as irrational to an outside observer may be perfectly rational within the context of the consumer's own psychological field. For example, a product purchased to enhance one's self-image (such as a fragrance) is a perfectly rational form. of consumer behavior. If the behavior. did not appear rational to the person who undertakes it at the time that it is undertaken, obviously he or she would not do it. Therefore the distinction between rational and emotional motives does not appear to be warranted.3 Indeed, some researchers go so far as to suggest that emphasis on "needs" obscures the rational, or conscious, nature of most consumer motivation. They claim that consumers act consciously to maximize their gains and minimize their losses; that they act not from subconscious drives but from rational preferences, or what they perceive to be in their own best interests.4 Marketers who agree with this view are reluctant to spend either time or money to uncover subconscious buyer motives. Instead, they try to identify problems that consumers experience with products then on the market. For example, instead of trying to identify any special needs that consumers may have for dog food, the marketer will try to discover any problems that consumers are experiencing with existing brands of dog food. If the marketer discovers that many dog foods leave an unpleasant odor in the refrigerator, he or she can develop a new product that solves this consumer problem and then run advertisements that announce to dog owners that the new product does not impart unpleasant odors. Thus, rather than address consumers' expressed needs, such marketers attempt to discover and solve consumers' problems and thereby achieve market success.