What is Psychographic Information?

Psychographics look at groups of people based on their attitudes or beliefs. Sometimes referred to as "lifestyles," this category is of particular interest to marketers and advertisers. 

Psychographics usually build on demographics, which look at groups based on quantifiable things like race, age, marital status, income, etc. For example, if you wanted to open an upscale restaurant in a particular neighborhood in a city, you'd probably do a two-part marketing study: demographics will tell you what percentage of the residents are married, have a college education, and have an income over $100,000 (among other things); psychographics, on the other hand, will take that same neighborhood and tell you how many are willing to pay for good food or are busy with no time to cook.

Print Sources

American Generations: Who they are, how they live, what they think. Ithaca: New Strategist Publications, 2000. Data on U.S. consumers from different generations extracted from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and repackaged in an easy to use format. Compares the attitudes & behavior, education, health, households & housing, income, labor force, population, spending, and wealth of the different generational groups.  Location: Mann, Management and Olin Reference HC 110 C6 A432x.

American Marketplace: Demographics and Spending Patterns. Ithaca: New Strategist Publications, 2001. Data on U.S. consumers extracted from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and repackaged in an easy to use format. Includes data on the spending patterns, health, labor force, living arrangement, income & wealth, demographics, and psychographics of U.S. citizens. Location: Mann Reference  HA203.A635

Americans 55 and Older. Ithaca: New Strategist Publications, 2001. Data on senior citizens extracted from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and repackaged in an easy to use format. Includes data on the spending patterns, income, demographics, and psychographics of senior citizens. Location: Mann Reference HF 5415.13.A5 2001.

Baby Boom: Americans Aged 35 to 54. Ithaca: New Strategist Publications, 2001. Data on baby boomers extracted from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and repackaged in an easy to use format. Includes data on the spending patterns, income, demographics, and psychographics of baby boomers. Location: Mann Reference HN60.R868x 2004.

Consumer dimensions. New York: Media Dynamics, 2001. Discusses and provides data reflecting and projecting demographic and consumer behavior trends. Includes data on internet usage and e-commerce. Some data from ACNielsen, Total Research Corp, and other market research firms. Location: Management Ready Reference.

Generation X: The young adult market. Ithaca: New Strategist Publications, 2001. Data on young adults extracted from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and repackaged in an easy to use format. Includes data on the spending patterns, income, demographics, and psychographics of young adults. Location: Mann Reference HC 110 C6 M544x 

Finding Psychographic Information--Video

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Good Databases for Psychographics

Creating a Mintel Profile: Four Steps

1. Access Mintel via link in 'Good Databases for Psychographics' box 

2. Click 'I Agree' on bottom of first page (conditions of use)

3.  On main Mintel page, click 'create profile' (see red arrow below):

On main Mintel page, click 'create profile'

4. On next page, create your profile.  When you are done, click 'create profile' and you will log into Mintel.

On next page, create your profile. When you are done, click 'create profile' and you will log into Mintel.