PERSON-SITUATION INTERACTION WITHIN A CONSUMER-BEHAVIOR CONTEXT

The impact of person and situation on the influence of informal reference groups on consumer behavior is discussed. The social psychological construct of self-monitoring was utilized to examine the person factor, while the social-nonsocial nature of products represented the situation factor. The study employed 141 male and female undergraduates who responded to two measures of co-orientation with informal reference groups and three measures of consumer behavior: information seeking, information source credibility, and group influence on product choice. Results indicate that informal group influence on consumer behavior was significantly greater for high self-monitors as compared with low self-monitors. Situational variations were minimal. © 1979 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.