ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on two elements which partly define the consumer psyche: personality and self-concept. The multiple studies that have investigated the relationship between personality and consumer behaviour, or focused on self-concept, did not always yield the expected results, but they have nevertheless helped us identify the limits of the psyche as a predictive variable of consumer behaviour. Most marketing researchers believe that consumers’ possessions and the activities they engage in are an integral part of their self-concept insofar as these elements reflect their identity—sometimes to an intense degree. According to self-image congruence theory, cultural consumers look for products which cohere with their self-concept. In the case of performance halls, consumers tend to patronize venues which are consistent with their own perceived level of prestige or trendiness. Thus, the organization can serve and convince consumers better because they understand them better.
