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Unfortunately, not every product, service or activity follows this postulate.
What is needed to differentiate among and between various factors which do and don’t become life- long consumer habits? That requires a conceptual understanding of why these generational differences occur. That is discussed in the next section.
Some Theoretical Underpinnings of Generational Differences
While it is interesting to speculate on the differences in generations and their impact on marketing and marketing communications activities and results,
to truly understand the impact of age generations and cohorts, a theoretical structure is helpful. Two approaches are identi ed below.
A. Erikson’s Stage Theory
Erikson’s Stage Theory is used here to illustrate how richness and understanding of generational or age cohorts can be developed. (Erikson, 1980) Erikson’s concepts, as shown in Exhibit 6, correlate very closely with the age-based generations which have been used by many marketing and communication scholars although references to Erikson’s work is not always
development. Those changes each create a Resolution or Virtue at a speci c time in the person’s or group’s life. Erickson suggests these drive the person’s behaviors and are what enable the transition to the next stage of development. Erikson’s nal stage is how all these changes culminate in old age.
It is interesting to note that many of the traits of today’s so-called “Millennial” generation can be observed
in those persons currently found in the ages 12-19 (Adolescence) group who exhibit Erickson’s Identity
vs. Confusion Con ict and those in Early Adulthood (ages 20-25 years) where con icts between Intimacy and Isolation commonly occur. Thus, while general observation of the morés and activities of certain
age groups may appear to be obtuse and confusing to marketing executives, commonly there are some theoretical underpinnings which can often be applied.
Generally, for marketing managers, identifying the factors that in uence the generational groups they
want to in uence or persuade is dif cult. We’ve often found in our consulting work that occurs because the managers, faced with a marketing decision, come
from or are living in a different Con ict situation and experiencing different “Resolution” or “Virtues” in
their own lives. That is what often makes it dif cult
for them to understand current consumer behaviors
in different age groups. In sum, there are often psychological or physiological underpinnings which can be used to explain the behaviors of various aggregated “generations” or “age cohort” groups. Unfortunately, these types of analyses are not commonly used since they are based on longitudinal evolutions, not on current social science snapshots. (Note: Some additional details on Erikson’s psychosocial theory are provided in the appendix.)
B. Heggestad and Kanfer’s Motivational Traits
Another useful base for understanding how humans behave during various periods of their calendar lives are their Motivational Traits. (Kanfer and Heggestad, 1997) Developed and formalized by Heggestad and Kanfer, when applied, their MTQ questionnaire can identify various motivational traits which can be used to explain and illustrate observable behavior of people over time, i.e., generations. Heggestad and Kanfer developed a typology of motivations which is explained brie y below.
1. Desiretolearn–examples:Iamintellectually curious; I thirst for knowledge, etc.
2. Mastery of goals – examples: I compete with myself; I work hard at everything I undertake, etc.
mind I99 your
Exhibit 6
Erikson’s Stage Theory in its Final Version
Age
Conflict
Resolution or “Virtue”
Culmination in old age
Infancy (0-1 year)
Basic trust vs. mistrust
Hope
Appreciation of interdependence and relatedness
Early childhood (1-3 years)
Autonomy vs. shame
Will
Acceptance of the cycle of life, from integration to disintegration
Play age (3-6 years)
Initiative vs. guilt
Purpose
Humor; empathy; resilience
School age (6-12 years)
Industry vs. Inferiority
Competence
Humility; acceptance of the course of one’s life and unfulfilled hopes
Adolescence (12-19 years)
Identity vs. Confusion
Fidelity
Sense of complexity of life; merging of sensory, logical and aesthetic perception
Early adulthood (20-25 years)
Intimacy vs. lsolation
Love
Sense of the complexity of relationships; value of tenderness and loving freely
Adulthood (26-64 years)
Generativity vs. stagnation
Care
Caritas, caring for others, and agape, empathy and concern
Old age (65-death)
Integrity vs. Despair
Wisdom
Existential identity; a sense of integrity strong enough to withstand physical disintegration
recognized or cited. That too, is another factor in generational research. Many analysts and researcher
do not acknowledge the basic underpinnings of their ndings and therefore present them as “new”, “novel” or “innovative” when in truth, they have often already been studied and codi ed by academic researchers. Thus, we argue that a thorough search of the academic literature should precede any professional research study.
Erikson’s approach is based on his psycho-social theory which creates broad, general classi cations based on human development. As shown in the chart, Erikson compares and contrasts the Con ict which humans experience at various stages of their maturation and
marketing