The Relation of Personality Factors to Urban Consumer Cognition

Abstract

A self-complete inventory was used to collect data concerning consumer cognition and activity among a sample of 211 young adults. Eysenck's (1958) short personality questionnaire was incorporated into the inventory, so that the respondents could be classified by both degree of extraversion-introversion (E) and stability-neuroticism (N). The results show that, although levels of E and N were not directly related to measures of spatial cognition among the sample consumers, a statistically significant relationship was found between N and actual spatial behavior, with stable consumers tending to use relatively fewer centers. Further analysis, however, revealed that the E dimension of personality was of significance when levels of actual center usage were considered as a proportion of the total universe of known opportunities. Moreover, when the sample was disaggregated by gender, it was found that extraverted-unstable men indulged in more extensive spatial behavior in relation to known opportunities than did other personality groups.