Personality Traits and Their Impact on Consumer Decision-Making Styles among College Students

Abstract

Personality traits have been shown to influence consumer behaviour, though limited research exists on how specific traits relate to consumer decision-making styles (CDMS). This study aimed to examine the impact of introversion and extroversion on CDMS among college students. A sample of 210 college students from Bangalore completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Brief Version (Sato, 2005) and the Consumer Decision Inventory (CDI) (Tanksale et al., 2014). Independent samples t-tests showed introverts and extroverts significantly differed in confused by over choice. There is a weak to moderate positive correlation between the personality traits and recreational, novelty fashion, and confused by over choice. The other factors show very little to no correlation with introversion and extroversion. These findings provide limited evidence that personality differences exist in how college students approach and make consumer decisions. Further investigation using larger, more representative samples is warranted into potential trait influences on consumer behaviour. The lack of strong correlations suggests consumer style may be more heavily shaped by factors other than personality traits.