YPIE Scientist: Jeremiah Joseph

Research: Ideology and Consumer Behavior

Abstract:

Throughout the years, the issue of politics has divided people in practically every aspect

of life. Problems like the economy, social life, and family life have split up people’s

friendships and families. According to research, political ideology also influences

consumer choices (what a person buys), reflecting personal beliefs and values. Data

suggests that conservatives favor national brands while they are hesitant towards newer

products, but they do exhibit higher satisfaction rates. In figuring out if an individual’s

political stance affected their buying behavior, I conducted a two-part survey. The first

section involved questions pertaining to politics. It included questions concerning the

economy, social life, and legal issues. The second section included questions about the

individual’s buying behavior. I gave the respondents five questions in which they were to

pick a name-brand clothing product, or a generic clothing product based on their

preference. I related the two sections together in figuring out if there was a correlation

between conservatives and name-brand products. In all, there were fifty-four respondents

who completed the survey. The data from my findings suggest that there was no correlation between the two topics. Both, conservatives and liberals chose both name-brand and generic products. Out of the twenty-three conservative respondents, only eleven (48%) of them favored name brand products over generic products while sixty percent of liberals favored name brand products. Income levels are also proven to not be a factor in these respondent’s choices as 51% of individuals in the middle class or lower favored name brand products. With this analysis, it has been proven that people’s buying behavior does not usually stem from their political alliance with a party. Trustworthiness of generic brands and name brands do not tend to be on any political side.

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