Consumer Behavior - Chapter 14

ideology

refers to the mental characteristics of a people and the way they relate to their environment and social groups. This relates to the idea of a common worldview. Members of a culture tend to share ideas about principles of order and fairness.

social structure

refers to the way people maintain an orderly social life. This includes the domestic and political groups that dominate the culture.

long-term orientation

refers to values associated with Long-Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short-Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's "face"

The meanings we give products reflect what?

reflect the underlying cultural categories that correspond to the basic ways we characterize the world Our culture distinguishes between different times of day, between leisure and work, and between genders.

Culture is the shared meaning of our what?

rituals, norms, and traditions among members of a society or organization.

Domains of sacred consumption?

sacred places sacred people sacred events

Culture is not

static it continually evolves

Economists approach fashion in terms of what?

supply and demand

Cultural production process

symbol pool --> creative subsystem managerial subsystem --> Culture production system --> communications subsystem --> cultural gatekeepers (formal = casting directions/restaurant reviewers/textbook authors) (informal = opinion leaders/friends/spouse) -> Consumer --> (loop back to symbol pool)

A meme is an idea or product that

that enters the consciousness of people over time.

presentation

the actual stage of gift exchange. when recipient responds to gift and donor evaluates response

Individualism

the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups.

Masculinity

the distribution of roles between the genders.

Power Distance

the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally

reformulation

the giver and receiver redefine the bond of the relationship based on the impact of the gift exchange. Reciprocity norm (and violations)

gestation

the giver procures an item to mark some event. The event might be structural, meaning that is culturally dictated such as Christmas, or it may be emergent. Structural event: prescribed by culture (i.e. Christmas) Emergent event: more personal

Contamination means what

the objects we associate with sacred events become sacred in their own right. For instance, we use ornaments and lights to celebrate the sacred event of Christmas and these ornaments may become sacred

culture production system

the set of individuals and organizations that create and market a cultural product and cultural meaning. No single person or company can create popular culture

Myths are stories with symbolic elements that represent what?

the shared emotions/ideals of a culture.

Global consumer culture unites consumers around the world by their common devotion to what?

to brand-name consumer goods, movie stars, celebrities, and leisure activities

Culture includes abstract ideas such as

values and ethics and material objects like cars and clothing

Objectification occurs when

we attribute sacred qualities to mundane items, through processes like contamination

desacralization

when a sacred item/symbol is removed from its special place or is duplicated in mass quantities (becomes profane).

Chapter Objectives

1) A culture is a society's personality. 2) We distinguish between high culture and low culture. 3) Myths are stories that express a culture's values, and in modern times marketing messages convey these values to members of the culture. 4) Many of our consumption activities - including holiday observances, grooming, and gift giving - relate to rituals. 5) We describe products as either sacred or profane and it's not unusual for some products to move back and forth between the two categories. 6) New products, services, and ideas spread through a population over time. Different types of people are more or less likely to adopt them during this diffusion process. 7) Many people and organizations play a role in the fashion system that creates and communicates symbolic meanings to consumers. 8) Fashions follow cycles and reflect cultural dynamics. 9) Western (and particularly U.S.) culture has a huge impact around the world, although people in other countries don't necessarily ascribe the same meanings to products as we do. 10) Products that succeed in one culture may fail in another if marketers fail to understand the differences among consumers in each place.

Trickle down theory theory states that there are two conflicting forces that drive fashion change what are they?

1) subordinate groups adopt the status symbols of the groups above them as they attempt to climb up the ladder of social mobility 2) Dominant styles originate with the upper classes and trickle down to those below.

communications

A communications subsystem gives meaning to the new product and provide it with a symbolic set of attributes.

Learning Objective 1

A culture is a society's personality. The first learning objective sets the stage for our understanding of culture. We simply can't understand consumption unless we understand its cultural context. Culture is like a lens through which people view products.

Review:

A culture is a society's personality; it shapes our identities as individuals. We distinguish between high culture and low culture. Myths are stories that express a culture's values, and in modern times marketing messages convey these values. Many of our consumption activities including holiday observances, grooming, and gift giving are rituals. We describe products as either sacred or profane. Products that succeed in one culture may fail in another if marketers fail to understand the differences among consumers in each place. Western culture has a huge impact around the world, although people in other countries don't necessarily ascribe the same meanings to products as we do.

Monomyths

A monomyth is a myth that is common to many cultures. For instance, Superman is a monomyth.

An innovation is ?

An innovation is any product or service that consumers perceive to be new.

A successful innovation, no matter how much we have to change in order to adopt it, should possess certain attributes. To the extent that the product innovation meets these five criteria, it will be adopted.

Compatibility >Innovation should be compatible with consumers' lifestyles Triability > People are more likely to adopt an innovation if they can experiment with it prior to purchase Complexity > A product that is easy to understand will be chosen over competitors Observability > Innovations that are easily observable are more likely to spread Relative advantage > Product should offer relative advantage over other alternatives

Characteristics of stories?

Conflict between opposing forces Outcome is moral guide for people Myth reduces anxiety by providing guidelines

What is culture?

Culture is the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms, and traditions Culture is a society's personality

ecology

Ecology refers to the way a system adapts to its habitat. The technology a culture uses to obtain and distribute resources shapes its ecology.

Gift giving is a form of?

Economic exchange Symbolic exchange Social expression

Learning Objective 8

Fashions follow cycles and reflect cultural dynamics.

Cooptation

Mainstream culture can modify symbols associated with subcultures so they are appealing to larger audiences It means that outsiders transform the original meanings of the objects. Cultural meanings can be created from everyday products and these meanings then move through society.

Learning objective 4

Many of our consumption activities- including holiday observances, grooming, and gift-giving- relate to rituals.

Learning Objective 7

Many people and organizations play a role in the fashion system that creates and communicates symbolic meanings to consumers.

Functions of myths

Metaphysical > Help explain origins of existence Cosmological >Emphasize that all components of the universe are part of a single picture Sociological >Maintain social order by authorizing a social code to be followed by members of a culture Psychological >Provide models for personal conduct

Where are myths found?

Myths are often found in comic books, movies, holidays, and commercials

Learning Objective 3

Myths are stories that express a culture's values, and in modern times marketing messages convey these values to members of the culture.

Learning Objective 6

New products, services, and ideas spread through a population over time. Different types of people are more or less likely to adopt them during this diffusion process.

Learning Objective 10

Products that succeed in one culture may fail in another if marketers fail to understand the differences among consumers in each place.

Models of fashion

Psychological economic sociological medical

Three phases of rites of passage

Separation Liminality Aggregation

Rites of passage (kind of a ritual) are what?

Special times marked by a change in social status (puberty, death, dating, college, bar/bat mitzvah)

creative

The creative subsystem generates new symbols and products.

managerial

The managerial subsystem selects, makes, produces, and manages the distribution of new symbols and products.

When you hear the word, ritual, you may think of something formal and serious like the ritual of taking communion at church. In reality, consumers have many ritualistic activities. such as?

Trips to Starbucks Sunday brunch Birthdays "Presenting" drinks in Europe

When our cultural consumption patterns,

We can also differentiate between the sacred and profane

3 elements of fashion

We can think of fashion as a code or a language that helps us to decipher meaning. Unlike language, though, fashion is context-dependent. Different consumers can interpret the same style differently. Fashion products are undercoded too. That means that there is no one precise meaning but rather potentially different meanings for each person perceiving the fashion.

Learning Objective 5

We describe products as either sacred or profane, and it's not unusual for some products to move back and forth between the two categories.

Learning objective 9

Western (and particularly U.S.) culture has a huge impact around the world, although people in other countries don't necessarily ascribe the same meanings to products as we do.

Consumers are more likely to want products that resonate with what?

a culture's priorities at any given time.

The diffusion of innovation refers to the process whereby what?

a new product, service, or idea spreads through a population.

Dynamically continuous innovation is

a significant change to an existing product

Uncertainty avoidance

a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.

Instruments of movement

advertising and fashion systems consumption rituals

Hofstede dimensions of national culture

are among the most widely used measures for understanding cross-cultural values.

We categorize innovations by what?

by the degree to which they demand adopters to change their behavior.

some people __________ things that are sacred to them

collect Anything can be collected, it seems. Collecting involves a rational and an emotional component. Some researchers feel that collectors acquire their collections to gratify materialism in a socially acceptable way.

discontinuous innovation

creates really big changes in the way we live. Major inventions such as the airplane, the car, the computer, and the television all changed modern lifestyles

The fashion system includes all those people and organizations involved in what?

creating symbolic meanings and transferring these meanings to cultural goods.

The system has three major subsystems.

creative managerial communications

Destinations of movement

cultural values and symbols --> consumer goods --> individual consumer

religion has somewhat become what?

desacralized ex) Christmas and Ramadan celebrated more as secular, materialistic occasions.

. A cultural system consists of three functional areas

ecology social structure ideology

Meme theory

explains how something becomes popular seemingly all of a sudden

indulgence vs. restraint

extent to which a society allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun. A culture high on restraint suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms.

Memes spread among consumers in a what?

geometric progression just as a virus starts off small and steadily infects increasing numbers of people until it becomes an epidemic.

Stages in gift giving

gestation presentation reformulation

Typically myths came about to serve as a what?

guide for the listeners. From hearing the story, we can learn right from wrong and how to deal with wrong when we face it.

We typically notice cultural effects the most when we are what?

immersed in a different one and feel the effects of culture shock.

Separation

individual is detached from his original group Example - college freshman leaves home

Profane consumption

involves consumer objects and events that are ordinary and not special

Sacred consumption

involves objects and events that are set apart from normal activities that are treated with respect or awe Anything can become sacred.

continuous innovation

is a modification of an existing product such as when Levi's promotes a new cut of jeans. T he company makes a small change to an existing product. Most product innovations are of this type. When a consumer adopts this kind of new product, she only has to make minor changes in her habits

The effects of culture on consumer behavior can be so powerful that what?

it's sometimes difficult to grasp the importance and relevance of culture

Psychological factors can help us to explain what in regards to fashion?

motivates us to be fashionable

Rituals are sets of

multiple, symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence and that tend to be repeated periodically.

Many famous movies and television shows build on what?

mythical themes

Sacralization

occurs when ordinary objects, events, and even people take on sacred meaning

The sociological perspective focuses on what in regards to fashion?

on a subculture's adoption of a fashion

Our attitudes, practices, and rituals surrounding food are a window into what?

our most basic beliefs about our world and ourselves.

Liminality

person is literally between statuses Example - New freshman tries to figure out status during orientation week

Aggregation

person re-enters society after rite of passage is complete Student returns home for winter break as college veteran