Fundamental Theories on Consumer Behaviour: An Overview of the Influences Impacting Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour is a component of the economic behaviour, which in its turn is a manifestation of human behaviour. As a consequence of the social and economic development of modern societies, the study of consumer behaviour has undergone a strong development process, during the past years consumer behaviour acquiring its own status among sciences. However scientists concern with the study of consumer behaviour covers a time span of many decades. Due to the multiple interdependences and parameters emerged from the coalescence among consumer behaviour, economic and human behaviour in general, there have been several approaches related to consumer behaviour concretized in fundamental theories and models, such as the Marshallian economic model, the Pavlovian learning model, the Veblenian social-psychological model or the Freudian psychoanalytical model. These theories and models of consumer behaviour have been developed at different moments in time and bear the peculiarities of the era; they are rather episodic than systemic approaches. This paper aims at discussing the most important influences impacting consumer behaviour as presented in the four fundamental theories mentioned above.