Abstract:

The marketing research community has hitherto examined consumer behavior using mathematical models derived from non-human systems. We have adopted classifications demanding unequivocal decisions in allocating judgements to clear-cut categories such as “light”, “moderate” and “heavy”. Consumers, on the other hand, often exhibit vagueness or fuzziness in their TRUE attitudes to the question asked. Fuzzy Logic enables us to acknowledge human nature in such respects. We can ask: “How true?” “How black?” “How beautiful?”. Information theory also helps us in grading values and in providing better analysis of subjective inputs. This paper discusses the concept of fuzziness and its application in social trend analysis. Its authors have enjoyed examining the issues in shades of gray, instead of in black and white.