ABSTRACT
The second stage of the Intentional Behaviorist research strategy, intentional interpretation, involves the construction of an intentional consumer-situation based on the desires, beliefs, emotions, and perceptions which an idealized, utility-maximizing consumer would evince. For the first time, this mentation is examined in psychoanalytical terms so that the akratic component of consumer choice can be explored in terms of a-rationality as well as rationality and irrationality. The possibility is explored that much consumer action occurs in response to neurotic beliefs rather than beliefs-proper and that it is therefore a pre-rational or a-rational means of responding to perceptions of environmental stimuli. The full gamut of contingency-representation is explored, including desires and beliefs as well as perceptions and emotions.
