psychographics: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Formal, Technical
Quick answer
What does “psychographics” mean?
The study and classification of people according to their attitudes, aspirations, lifestyles, and psychological characteristics, especially for market research.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
The study and classification of people according to their attitudes, aspirations, lifestyles, and psychological characteristics, especially for market research.
Any system of categorizing individuals based on psychological factors, values, opinions, and interests, often used as a segmentation tool in marketing, politics, and social science.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or usage. Spelling is consistent.
Connotations
Neutral technical term in both varieties. More widely used in American marketing literature historically.
Frequency
More frequent in American English business and marketing contexts, but equally understood and used in British English in professional settings.
Grammar
How to Use “psychographics” in a Sentence
analyse [NOUN] using psychographicssegment [AUDIENCE] by psychographicscombine demographics and psychographicspsychographics suggests that [CLAUSE]Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “psychographics” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The firm plans to psychographic the potential voter base.
- We need to psychographic these segments more finely.
American English
- The agency will psychographic the consumer population.
- They psychographed the audience to tailor the message.
adverb
British English
- [No standard adverbial form]
American English
- [No standard adverbial form]
adjective
British English
- The psychographic data was revelatory.
- They conducted a psychographic survey.
American English
- The psychographic profile was detailed.
- We need psychographic insights.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Essential in marketing for creating buyer personas and targeted advertising campaigns.
Academic
Used in sociology, psychology, and media studies to analyse group behaviours and social trends.
Everyday
Virtually never used in casual conversation.
Technical
Core term in market research, data science, and strategic planning.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “psychographics”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “psychographics”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “psychographics”
- Treating it as a plural countable noun (e.g., 'three psychographics') – it's usually singular/uncountable.
- Confusing it with 'psychography' (spiritualist writing).
- Misspelling: 'physcographics', 'psycographics'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is typically treated as a singular, uncountable noun (like 'information' or 'research'). Example: 'Psychographics is useful.'
Demographics are objective, statistical data (age, income, gender). Psychographics are subjective, qualitative data about psychological characteristics (values, interests, lifestyles).
It is a specialised business/academic term. In everyday conversation, you would use simpler phrases like 'what people are like' or 'what they're interested in'.
Surveys and questionnaires that ask about activities, interests, opinions, values, and attitudes (often called AIO surveys).
The study and classification of people according to their attitudes, aspirations, lifestyles, and psychological characteristics, especially for market research.
Psychographics is usually formal, technical in register.
Psychographics: in British English it is pronounced /ˌsaɪ.kəʊˈɡræf.ɪks/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌsaɪ.koʊˈɡræf.ɪks/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[No common idioms for this technical term]”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: PSYCHO (mind) + GRAPHICS (charts/drawings) = drawing a chart of someone's mind.
Conceptual Metaphor
A MAP OF THE MIND; A LENS FOR VIEWING MOTIVATION.
Practice
Quiz
Psychographics is primarily used to: