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Nonconscious Goals Underlying Consumer Psychology
PSYC 550A (SP15)
Tatiana Basanez
May 3, 2015

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Abstract
Recent literature on consumer behavior has highlighted the importance of nonconscious
motivational factors that influence decision-making actions. Although there have been
considerable advancements in the literature using priming effect studies to capture individuals’
behaviors outside of their cognitive awareness, future research needs to explore how brands act
as environmental or contextual cues that activate nonconscious goals and drive behavior. This
paper will begin to explore the psychological processes underlying consumer behavior in light of
these nonconscious goals. Specifically, it will seek to utilize a relatively novel framework of
consumer psychology to conceptualize the process by which nonconscious goals moderate the
levels of consumer engagement with a brand. This research will offer compelling insight into
consumer-brand relations for marketing strategists.

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Introduction
“Products always combine utility values with symbolic values. The utility values are
often used for rationalization of purchase and use, while the symbolic values express deeper,
psychological motives. Successful products and brands manage to address both sides and offer
ways of mediating between them (Ziems, 2004, p. 212).’”
Traditionally, the literature on consumer psychology has largely focused on consumer
behavior as a product of deliberate, conscious actions; the degree to which consumer behavior is
influenced by factors outside of conscious awareness, however, is relatively new and has been
receiving increased attention in the field (Bargh, 2002). Over the last three decades, a growing
body of literature on consumer behavior has suggested that consumers’ purchasing decisions are
largely influenced by motivational drives that are goal-directed but occur outside of conscious
awareness (Chartrand, Huber, Shiv, & Tanner, 2008). In other words, nonconscious goals are
deemed as being the key motivational drives that guide consumers’ decision-making actions.
Bargh (2002) contends that much of nonconscious motivations, rather than serving
hedonistic, impulsive or physiological needs, function to satisfy a number of performance-
related, self-protective, achievement-oriented, or interpersonal goals. Despite advancements in
the literature on nonconscious goal pursuits, little research has been done to examine the
underlying factors associated with nonconscious consumer goals, particularly as they relate to
the process by which consumers implicitly and automatically respond to contextual, cue-induced
brand identities or logos (Brasel, 2012).
The
purpose
of
this
research
project
is
to
understand
the
potentially
moderating
influence
of
nonconscious
goals
on
consumers’
psychological
processes
that
underlie
their
level
of
engagement
with
a
brand.
Specifically,
the
proposed
project
will
seek
to
answer
the

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following
questions:
1) To what extent are consumers influenced by incidental brand exposure?
2) What are the key underlying psychological processes that activate nonconscious goal
pursuits?
3) Which, if any, nonconscious goals have a stronger predictive quality of brand
engagement and loyalty?
Answering these questions is important not only to solidify the goal-based theories of
priming effects but also to achieve a more complete understanding of the way in which
consumers interact with brands and maintain brand attachment in a multi-faceted and rapidly
changing advertising environment (Brasel, 2012). To this end, the organizing frameworks for
unconscious information processing and priming effects are first reviewed. Then the effects of
brand priming on nonconscious goal pursuits are discussed, with specific examples from recent
consumer research findings. Finally, the psychological processes underlying consumer-brand
relations will be introduced, and related questions for future research will be offered.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model
The range motivations, both conscious and unconscious, underlying consumer behavior can
be understood through the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). In the 1970’s, Social
Psychologists Richard Petty and John Cacioppo developed the Elaboration Likelihood Model
(ELM) to explain the process by which attitudes form, develop, and change. The model proposes
that an individual’s (1) level of motivation and (2) ability to engage with a message or stimuli
may lead to two distinct ways in which they process information and form their attitudes. When
an individual is motivated and able to exert a great amount of cognition and thought about the
message/stimuli, they engage in a high level of elaboration and process information through a

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“central” route. On the contrary, an individual who is not motivated or able to engage in a high
level of elaboration relies on cues or inferences, rather than logic, to process information through
the “peripheral” route (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986).
When a consumer is motivated to processes information through the central route, it can be
reasoned that they are analyzing, scrutinizing, and judging the product or the contents of its
message on a conscious level. They are able to filter out distracting stimuli and form attitudes
and behaviors that are related to the product or the message itself. Studies on consumer
behavior, however, have found that most judgments, choices, and behaviors are relatively
detached from conscious thought and are a product of unconscious mental processes (Dijkerhuis,
Smith, van Baaren, & Wigboldus, 2005)—that is to say, consumers are likely to process
information through the peripheral route and are influenced by factors other than the product or
its message. It has been of interest for consumer researchers to examine the unconscious factors
that can persuade consumers to process information about a product or the contents of its
message through a peripheral route. One way to understand this process is by delineating the
mediating role of unconscious goals that influence a consumer’s motivation to engage with a
product.
The degree to which consumers attend to, evaluate, and remember a particular object or
event can change depending on the extent that these stimuli satisfy, or interfere with, their goals
(Lazarus, 1991). Goals can be defined as mental representations of desired end states that lead to
a directed behavior (Chartrand et al., 2008). Whether the goal is to achieve intimacy, health,
performance, or hedonistic gratification, a product can become more or less attractive to the
consumer depending on their evaluation of its congruent or dissociated values against their own.
Under the premise that stimuli can activate goals or motivational forces outside of consumers’

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immediate awareness (Chartrand, 2005), it is important to understand how they account for the
unconscious or nonconscious processes that influence consumers’ level of engagement with and
choice between brands.
To the extent that contextual exposure can have pervasive effects on behavior outside our
immediate awareness, nonconscious goals are activated by the same underlying mechanisms that
attract consumers to a particular brand (Chartrand et al. 2008). Once the goal is activated, the
subsequent behavior to achieve the goal can be automatic and outside of the person’s awareness
(Aarts & Dijksterhuis, 2000). With this framework in mind, a number of studies on consumer
behavior can be understood in terms of decision-making and choice as a product of nonconscious
brand priming effects on goal-oriented actions (Brasel & Gips, 2011; Fitzsimons, Hutchinson,
Williams et al., 2002). These nonconscious processes have important implications for
understanding consumer behavior, particularly because incidental exposure to a brand can
function as an environmental cue that evokes a nonconscious behavioral response (Brasel &
Gips, 2011).
Nonconscious Goal Pursuits
Since the 1960’s, priming manipulation studies have demonstrated the role of unconscious
or implicit responses in shaping and influencing the way individuals interact with their
environment (Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996). Using a variety of priming techniques, Chartrand
and Bargh (1996) have eloquently demonstrated that nonconcious goals activated by
environmental cues operate in the fashion similar to those consciously initiated and pursued.
More recently, compelling research has turned their attention to assess whether real-life stimuli
can elicit unconscious priming in a similar manner. For example, in a compelling study by Brasel
and Gips (2011), participants racing a car with a Red Bull paint job in a simulated video game

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performed either considerably faster or slower than those who had functionally identical cars that
were covered in branded paint jobs of other beverages. Their explanation for this finding
maintained that Red Bull’s personality associations with speed, power, aggressiveness, and
recklessness either pushed participants to the edge of their ability and increased their overall race
times, or pushed them beyond their ability and lead to higher off-track, reckless behaviors and
slower overall race times.
By the same token, Chartrand (2005) suggested that brand logos can serve as environmental
triggers of nonsconscious goals. To test this hypothesis, Chartrand (2005) found that consumers’
decision to pay more for a higher-priced, prestigious brand (i.e. Nike) over a lower-priced, value
brand (i.e. Hanes) depended on a task that had previously primed them towards value versus
image goals. Interestingly, none of the participants were aware that the priming task had
influenced their purchasing decision. The priming effects even lasted across time when the goal
was satiated. In a similar study, Fitzsimons, Chartrand, and Fitzsimons (2008) explored whether
brands have automatic associations with specific goals by testing how people behave after being
subliminally exposed to a brand logo. As such, they were exposed to images of either Apple or
IBM subliminally and completed a standard creativity measure. Participants primed with the
Apple logo performed more creatively than did the control or IBM-primed group because of the
implicit association between Apple and creativity. Priming effects were significantly stronger
after the delay and were strong for both IBM and Apple users.
These findings demonstrate that consumers’ behavior can be motivated by an unconscious
goal associated with a brand logo. The conclusive evidence suggests that the goals with which a
consumer approaches a product can change the focus of attention and evaluation of its message
significantly. It can therefore be ascertained that consumers’ level of motivation to engage with a

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particular brand, as proposed by the ELM, is at least partially affected by their unconscious
goals. This notion points to the marketing weight that a brand’s identity can carry in capturing
the consumer’s attention by mere exposure of its logo and automatically activating relevant
nonconscious behavioral responses (Brasel, 2012).
The Consumer-Psychology Model
Aaker (1997) defines brand identity as the unique set of associations that a brand strategist
aspires to create or maintain in the consumer’s mind. In his comprehensive consumer-
psychology model of brands, Schmitt (2011) proposes a parsimonious framework for identifying
and understanding the psychological processes that underlie how consumers relate to brands.
Unlike information processing models, the consumer-psychology model of brands focuses on
salient characteristics of brands and how consumers interact with these characteristics and
respond to them. The model also acknowledges that consumers’ individual needs, motives, and
goals will influence the degree to which they psychologically engage with the brand. The levels
of engagement are represented in three layers, where the outermost layer serves as the most
meaningful for the consumer. The innermost, object-centered, layer is functionally driven
engagement in which the consumer interacts with the brand in order to receive benefits from it.
The middle layer represents self-centered engagement in which the brand reflects a personal
relevance to the consumer. The outer layer is the most meaningful and represents social
engagement with the brand, in which the brand is viewed from an interpersonal and socio-
cultural perspective and provides a sense of community for the consumer.
The model also distinguishes five higher-order brand-related processes: identifying,
experiencing, integrating, signaling, and connecting with the brand. Identifying refers to the
consumer searching for, collecting, and categorizing information about the brand and comparing

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the relations between brands. Experiencing refers to the multi-sensory stimulations, affective
responses, and participatory behaviors that occur when a consumer engages with a brand.
Integrating means combining brand information into an overall brand concept, personality, and
relationship with the brand. Signifying refers to consumers’ use of brands as an informational cue
(e.g. price and quality), an identity signal, or cultural/societal symbol. Connecting denotes the
various ways of connecting with a brand, including forming an attitude towards it, becoming
personally attached to it, and engaging with a brand community.
Future Directions
The importance of a brand’s inherent identity within the multi-faceted and rapidly changing
media landscape of today cannot be underestimated. While there are few other models that
propose organizing frameworks to capture brand processes, Schmitt’s (2011) consumer-
psychology model presents a unique lens through which the psychological processes related to
brand outcomes can be illuminated and thoroughly examined. Because the model is relatively
new, it demands a closer investigation of its components, particularly as they relate to the
relationship between nonconscious branding effects on consumer behavior. Using this model, the
current research project will take a novel approach to delineating the moderating influence of
unconscious goals that produce differential effects on one engagement layer over another.
Specifically, it will seek to explore the mechanisms by which nonconscious goals can activate
the process of moving from one layer to another, drawing attention to the key psychological
factors underlying this transition.
With the overarching premise that the stronger the brand identity, the quicker it get
processed automatically and nonconsciously in the consumer’s mind, this project will have
important implications for marketing specialists to utilize in their branding techniques. In order

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to continue, however, more research needs to be done on consumer psychology perspective of
brands with special attention to the factors that influence and predict true brand engagement,
attachment, and loyalty. For example, if the process of connecting leads to attachment towards
the brand, how do unconscious goals moderate the levels of engagement that drive consumers
from simply categorizing the brand, to internalizing its identity as a part of themselves and a
reflection of their culture? Furthermore, under what conditions do unconscious goals become
activated in order to sustain or maintain a consumer’s relationship with the brand? The present
study will take an exploratory approach to answering these questions with specific objectives and
research questions in mind. These goals and questions will become more clear and focused as
further research is conducted.

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