The Effect of Desire and Emotions on Consumer Behavior: An Explanatory Study

Abstract

In contemporary world, with the affects and the spread of the globalization, consumerism became the central point of our lives. Being consumer means not only using-buying the goods and services but also means to be labeled as “consumers” in sociological level. Consumption can be conceived as an essential part of identity building-maintaining processes. In post-modern societies, desires, emotions, images counted as sociological needs and these need to be fulfilled by individuals.In this study, objectives; which are the injection of emotion to the sociology of consumption, how heuristic is the notion of emotion for sociological consumption is going to be put forward. Emotions are also infused with cultural meaning as well as they plays an imaginary role on psychological level. Since it is researched that the consumption of good are not only about utilitarian value of an object also carries symbolic meanings and semiotic codes. For an emotion to be activated- attractive for the individuals, elements such as; cognition, evaluation, reaction, affect and motivation need to be put forward. Consumption always carries out and creates the social relationship, which is between self itself and with the others in society. Psychoanalytical analysis on a commercial is also going to be made in order to conclude this study.