Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Perspectives on Consumer Behaviour

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Consumer Demographics and Behaviour

Part of the book series: The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis ((PSDE,volume 30))

  • 9126 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter starts with the notion that consumer behaviour has been the object of varying perspectives, assumptions and interpretations. It introduces perspectives concerned with the maximisation of consumer self-interest according to tastes and income constraints in the traditional economic model. It discusses the organising frameworks in psychology concerned with the hierarchy of human needs and the hierarchy of effects and other models concerned with cognitive, affective and conation elements in consumer behaviour, including the concepts of sex and gender characteristics that are not necessarily synonymous. It considers some sociological propositions concerned with social differentiation, social attachment and regulation that affect consumer behaviour. It examines concepts related to fashion and conspicuous consumption, as manifestations of status symbolism and exclusiveness that ranges from stages of adoption to decline and obsolescence. It examines gender issues and their manifestations. It also reviews some anthropological perspectives that deal with concepts of reciprocity and social relationships that influence human behaviour as producers and consumers. It looks at some psychographic perspectives that deal with different types of motivation and varying degrees of resources that segment markets. Finally, it examines the divergence and congruence in these varied perspectives.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Appadurai, A. (1990). Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy. Theory, Culture & Society, 7, 295–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgements. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership, and men (pp. 177–190). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atlas, J. (1984, October). Beyond demographics. The Atlantic Monthly, pp. 49–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bannock, G., Baxter, R. E., & Davis, E. (1998). The dictionary of economics. London: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baudrillard, J. (1975). The mirror of production. St Louis: Telos Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baudrillard, J. (1981). Towards a critique of the political economy of signs. St Louis: Telos Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Z. (1983). Industrialism, consumerism and power. Theory, Culture and Society, 1(3), 32–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belk, R. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(September), 139–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bettman, J. R., Capon, N., & Lutz, R. J. (1975). A multimethod approach to validating multi-attribute attitude models. Advances in Consumer Research, 2, 357–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calder, B. J. (1975). The cognitive foundations of attitudes: Some implications for multi-attribute models. Advances in Consumer Research, 2, 241–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, C. (1991). Consumption: The new wave of research in the humanities and social sciences. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(6), 57–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaney, D. (1998). The new materialism? The challenge of consumption. Work, Employment and Society, 12(3), 533–544.

    Google Scholar 

  • Claritas. (2007). Claritas PRIZM ® NE Segment Narratives. Ithaca, NY: Claritas.

    Google Scholar 

  • England, P., & Kilbourne, B. S. (1990, April). Feminist critiques of the separative model of self: Implications for rational choice theory. Rationality and Society, 2(2), 156–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Featherstone, M. (1987). Lifestyle and consumer culture. Theory, Culture & Society, 4, 55–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fehr, E., Gachter, S., & Kirchsteiger, G. (1997, July). Reciprocity as a contract enforcement device: Experimental evidence. Econometrica, 65(4), 833–860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M. (1963). An investigation of the relationships between beliefs about an object and an object and the attitude toward that object. Human Relations, 16, 233–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, M. (1957). A theory of the consumption function. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fromkin, H. L. (1971). A social psychological analysis of the adoption and diffusion of new products and practise from a uniqueness motivation perspective. Proceedings of the Second Annual Conference of the Association for Consumer Research, pp. 464–469.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keynes, J. M. (1967). The general theory of employment interest and money. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krugman, H. E. (1965, Autumn). The impact of television advertising: Learning without involvement. Public Opinion Quarterly, XXIX, 349–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lastovicka, J. L., & Joachimsthaler, E. A. (1988, March). Improving the detection of personality – behavior relationships in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(4), 583–587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavidge, R. C., & Steiner, G. A. (1961, October). A model of predictive measurement of advertising effectiveness. Journal of Marketing, 25, 59–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lipke, D. J. (2000, October). Head trips – A new way to understand consumer psychology. American Demographics, 38–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lury, C. (1996). Consumer culture. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396. http://psychoclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.hmt. Retrieved 15 Feb 2007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A. H. (1971). The further reaches of human nature. New York: Viking Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mauss, M. (1976). The gift. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Modigliani, F., & Brumberg, R. (1954). Utility analysis and the consumption function: An interpretation of cross-section data. In K. K. Kurihara (Ed.), Post Keynesian economics (pp. 390–397). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monroe, K. R. (1996). The heart of altruism: Perceptions of a common humanity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palan, K. M. (2001). Gender identity in consumer behaviour research: A literature review and research agenda. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 10, 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palda, K. S. (1966, February). Hypothesis of a hierarchy of effects: A partial evaluation. Journal of Marketing Research, 3(1), 13–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perugini, M., & Gallucci, M. (2001). Individual differences in social norms: The distinction between reciprocators and procsocials. European Journal of Personality, 15, S19–S35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polyani, K. (1944). The great transformation. New York: Rinehart & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quirk, J. P. (1986). Intermediate microeconomics. Chicago: Science Research Associates Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ray, M. L. (1974). Consumer initial processing: Definitions, issues, and applications. In G. D. Hughes, M. L. Ray, & G. Haines (Eds.), Buyer/consumer information processing (pp. 145–156). Chapel Hill, NC: North Carolina Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reibstein, D. J., Lovelock, C. H., & Dobson, R. de P. (1980, March). The Journal of Consumer Research, 6(4), 370–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SBI (Strategic Business Insights). (2010). VALS. Menlo Park, CA: SBI. http://www.startegicbusinessinsights.com. Retrieved 24 Jan 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shove, E., & Warde, A. (1997). Noticing inconspicuous consumption. Paper presented at ESF TERM Programme workshop on Consumption, Everyday Life and Sustainability, at Lancaster University, April 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. (1982). Models of bounded rationality. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. E., & Swinyard, W. R. (1982, Winter). Information response models: An integrated approach. Journal of Marketing, 46(1), 81–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V. L. (2002). Constructivist and ecological rationality in economics. Nobel Prize Lecture. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2002/smith-lecture.pdf. Retrieved 4 Mar 2007.

  • Sproles, G. B. (1974). Fashion theory: A conceptual framework. Advances in Consumer Research, 1, 463–472.

    Google Scholar 

  • SRIC. (2006a). VALS survey. http://www.sric-bi.com/vals/surveynew.shmtml. Retrieved 11 June 2006.

  • SRIC. (2006b). The VALS segments. http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/types.shtml. Retrieved 11 June 2006.

  • Swedberg, R. (1987, Spring). Economic sociology: Past and present. Current Sociology, 35(1), 1–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilly, L. A., & Scott, J. W. (1978). Women, work and family. New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valkratsas, D., & Ambler, T. (1999, January). How advertising works: What do we really know? Journal of Marketing, 63(1), 26–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veblen, T. (1919). The theory of the leisure class: An economic study of institutions. New York: B. W. Huebsch.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warde, A. (1990). Production, consumption and social change: reservations regarding Peter Saunders’ sociology of consumption. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 14(2), 228–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warde, A. (1994). Consumption, identity-formation and uncertainty. Sociology, 22(4), 877–897.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing and Management, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia

    Jo M. Martins & Farhat Yusuf

  2. Department of Sociology, University of California Riverside, Watkins Hall 1223, 92521, Riverside, California, USA

    David A. Swanson

Authors
  1. Jo M. Martins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Farhat Yusuf
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David A. Swanson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jo M. Martins .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Martins, J.M., Yusuf, F., Swanson, D.A. (2011). Perspectives on Consumer Behaviour. In: Consumer Demographics and Behaviour. The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis, vol 30. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1855-5_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation