Consumer Psychology (eBook)

Brian M. Young is an Honorary Research Fellow in The Business School at the University of Exeter, UK where he teaches consumer psychology. He is Editor of the quarterly journal Young Consumers and author of Television Advertising and Children.

Preface 6
Contents 9
1 Definitions and Visions of Consumption 11
Definition of Consumption 11
A Vision of Consumption 14
The Cycle of Consumption 16
Instigation 17
Preparation 18
Consummation 20
Exploration 22
Ownership and Possession: Routines and Renewal 24
Brand Loyalty Revisited 26
Dissolution 27
Toward a Theory of Recycling 29
Summary so Far 33
References 37
2 Concepts and Themes 41
Epistemological ‘Creep’ 41
Describing Change 43
Émile Durkheim and Sacred/Profane 43
Claude Lévi-Strauss and Raw/Cooked 44
Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis 44
Some Psychology Now… 45
Conceptual Toolbox 47
Concepts and Natural Categories 49
Images of Childhood 54
References 62
3 How Consumers’ Minds Work: An Introduction to the Basics 65
Contexts, Environments and Ecology 65
Scripts 67
Motivation 69
Perception 71
Memory 74
Attention 76
From Colour to Metaphor 77
Synaesthetic Description 80
Metaphor 81
References 85
4 How We Process Information: A Look at Embodied Cognition and Priming 87
Embodied Cognition 87
The Evidence for Embodied Cognition 89
The Theories 94
Metaphors of the Mind 94
Borghi’s (2017) Review 95
An Introduction to Priming 96
Perceiving Without Awareness 97
The Evidence for Priming 100
Brand Priming 103
What Would a Theory of Brand Priming Look Like? 110
References 116
5 One Mind or Two? An Introduction to Dual Process Theories 123
Dual Process Theories 123
The Hierarchy of Effects 123
Elaboration Likelihood 127
Thinking, Fast and Slow 128
Evolutionary Origins of Two Systems 129
Implicit and Explicit Memory 133
Total Involvement 135
Mindfulness 138
Back to Consumer Psychology 141
Attention Followed by Awareness 143
Being in the Present 144
The Role of External Events 144
Cultivation and Character Development 144
Ethical-Mindedness 144
References 148
6 Development Through the Lifespan: Is It a Viable Approach? 151
Development Through the Lifespan 151
What’s the Lifespan Like? 152
Life Course Theory 156
Generation Theory 157
Boomers 157
Generation X 159
Millennials 159
Postscript 160
References 163
7 Erikson’s Stages of Life: Can We Bridge the Gap? 166
Erikson’s Stages of Life 166
Basic Trust Versus Mistrust 166
Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt 168
Initiative Versus Guilt 169
Industry Versus Inferiority 170
Identity Versus Role Confusion 171
Intimacy Versus Isolation 174
Generativity Versus Self-Absorption and Stagnation 175
Ego Integrity Versus Despair 177
Consumption in Stages 6 Through 8 179
Having a Child 183
Bridging the Gap 185
Time Orientation 186
Stuff Happens 193
Midlife Crisis 193
Quarter Life Crisis 194
Divorce 195
Job Related Crises 196
References 203
8 Childhood and Younger Children: The Gaze from Developmental Psychology 207
Younger Children 207
Predispositions from the Past 208
Doing Experiments with Babies 208
Social Animals 211
Learning and Changing in the Womb 213
Infancy 216
The Object Concept: How Does This Relate to Children’s Understanding of Brands? 221
The Preschool Child 223
That’s Mine! Can Preschoolers Understand Ownership? 224
Number and Piaget’s Ideas About Conservation 227
Children’s Understanding of Other People 229
References 234
9 The Older Child: Becoming a Serious Consumer 237
Older Children 237
Consumer Socialisation 238
Financial Socialisation 240
Money, Money, Money… 241
Children and Brands 243
Executive Functioning 244
Children’s Understanding of Advertising 248
Advertising, Marketing and Promotion 248
The Literature on Advertising to Children 251
The Locus of Meaning 257
Digital Media 260
Children in the Ecology of Advertising 263
References 269
10 Children, Ownership and Possessions: The Origins 275
Ownership and Possession: The Origins 275
Cultural Capital and a French Intellectual 276
Children, Ownership and Possession 278
Gift Giving 281
Back to Ownership 290
Transitional Objects 291
Young Children 293
Older Children 295
Adolescence 298
Self and Identity in Adolescence 299
Summary 302
References 306
11 Ownership and Possessions: The Adult Perspective and into the Future 311
Ownership—The Adult Perspective 311
Dematerialisation 314
Re-embodiment 320
Distributed Memory 321
The Social Internet 321
Ownership and Growing Older 325
References 329
12 And Now the End Is Near… 333
And Now the End Is Near… 333
Terror Management Theory 334
A Quick Primer on Materialism 336
More on Terror Management 338
…and a Funeral 339
References 345
Index 348