A test of the ability of advertising psychographic research to predict self concept

Psychographic research relies on "homemade" instruments to tap into relevant aspects of a respondent's activities, interests and opinions (AIO variables) which it is commonly assumed can be interpreted as a manifestation of the individual's self concept. Copywriters use this information to select appropriate appeals for an advertising campaign. Psychographic research also assumes that self is a multi-dimensional construct consisting of subselves.

If the AIO responses are a manifestation of the self concept, a psychographic profile should predict the self and subselves measured by a standardized psychological scale.

A psychographic inventory (PI) and the widely-used Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS) were administered to a sample of 194 university students. The PI was analyzed by factor and cluster analyses to obtain segments. Nineteen predictions were made based on analysis of the PI responses as to how the respective clusters would load on the TSCS subscales.

The clusters differed significantly from the sample population in only four of the predicted linkages, suggesting that the PI failed to adequately identify the self concept or the subselves.