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The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption -- Copyright -- Contents -- Series Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 What Is Evolutionary Psychology? -- Historical Overview Leading Up to the Founding of Evolutionary Psychology -- What is Evolutionary Psychology? -- Proximate Versus Ultimate Explanations -- Domain-Specific Versus General-Purpose Modules -- Chapter Summary -- Chapter 2 Consumer Research: Domain-General and Proximate-Level Theorizing -- Proximate Models Utilizing Domain-Independent General-Purpose Mechanisms -- Learning -- Motivation -- Culture -- Standardization Versus Adaptation -- Decision Making -- Perception -- Attitude Formation and Attitude Change -- Emotions -- Personality -- Applications of Evolutionary Psychology in Other Disciplines -- Chapter Summary -- Chapter 3 Consumption and Darwinian Modules -- The Reproductive Module -- Human Mating as a Consumption Choice -- Information Search in Mate Selection -- Gift Giving as a Courtship Ritual -- Sex Differences in Aggregate Consumption Patterns -- Toy Preferences -- Appearance-Enhancing Products and Services -- Cosmetic and Plastic Procedures -- High Heels, Haircuts, and Provocative Attire -- The Myth Behind the Beauty Myth -- Risk-Related Consumption Phenomena -- Financial Risk Taking -- Physical Risk Taking -- The Evolutionary Roots of Conspicuous Consumption -- Conspicuous Consumption in Religious Settings -- The Universality and Innateness of Conspicuous Consumption -- Philanthropy: Costly Signaling Via Nonreciprocal Altruism -- The Survival Module -- The Kin Selection Module -- Family Research in Consumer Behavior -- Evolutionary Account of Kin Relationships -- Darwinian Perspective on Birth Order Effects in the Consumption Setting -- The Reciprocation Module -- Gift Giving as a Means of Creating and/or Solidifying Bonds

Editor's Note. In this engaging talk given last February on a particularly cold and blustery day at Texas Tech University, Professor Gad Saad of Concordia University discusses his work in the area of evolutionary consumption. In making the case for understanding consumerism from a Darwinian perspective, Saad addresses several key tenets from his booksThe Consuming InstinctandThe Evolutionary Bases of Consumption. In particular, Saad argues that: (1) many consumption acts can be mapped onto four key Darwinian modules (survival, mating, kin selection, and reciprocal altruism); and, (2) cultural products such as song lyrics and movie plotlines are fossils of the human mind that highlight a shared, biologically based human nature. In this wide-ranging inquiry, Saad summarizes several of his other empirical works, including the effects of conspicuous consumption on men's testosterone levels and how the ovulatory cycle in the human female influences consumption. Overall, Professor Saad contends that an infusion of evolutionary and biologically based perspectives into the discipline of consumer behavior and related government regulatory policies yields myriad benefits, notably greater consilience, more effective practices, an ethos of interdisciplinarity, and methodological pluralism.

PurposeTo argue that childhood obesity is minimally influenced by media sources. Rather, our evolved gustatory preferences for fatty and sweet caloric foods, which were adaptive in our evolutionary history, yield maladaptive outcomes in today's plentiful environments.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is discursive relying on several literature streams to make the key points of the current paper.FindingsObesity, whether in children, adolescents, or adults, is minimally linked to media images. The "media‐obesity" postulated relationship stems from the blank slate viewpoint of the human mind, which places undue importance on environmental cues and related socialization forces.Research limitations/implicationsHighlights the fact that social scientists have expended too much intellectual capital in investigating largely illusory links between food advertising and childhood obesity, when in reality this relationship is tenuous at best.Practical implicationsPolicy makers should spend less time worrying about the regulation of media images as these have little effect on behaviors with deleterious consequences (including childhood obesity).Originality/valueOne of the few papers (if not the only one) in the marketing literature to apply evolutionary‐based theorizing in understanding the forces that shape individuals' food consumption habits.

This article focuses on social change among Indians in South Africa since their arrival as 'indentured' and 'passenger' Indians fr,om India, 130 years ago. It concentrates on the concept of the joint or extended family, its developmental cycle, causes of segmentation and the status and acculturation of women in a rapidly changing society subjugated by a white minority government.

In this highly informative and entertaining book, the founder of the vibrant new field of evolutionary consumption illuminates the relevance of our biological heritage to our daily lives as consumers. While culture is important, the author shows that innate evolutionary forces deeply influence the foods we eat, the gifts we offer, the cosmetics and clothing styles we choose to make ourselves more attractive to potential mates, and even the cultural products that stimulate our imaginations (such as art, music, and religion). The book demonstrates that most acts of consumption can be mapped onto four key Darwinian drives-namely, survival (we prefer foods high in calories); reproduction (we use products as sexual signals); kin selection (we naturally exchange gifts with family members); and reciprocal altruism (we enjoy offering gifts to close friends). The author further highlights the analogous behaviors that exist between human consumers and a wide range of animals. For anyone interested in the biological basis of human behavior or simply in what makes consumers tick-marketing professionals, advertisers, psychology mavens, and consumers themselves-this is a fascinating read.

AbstractThe current paper serves two purposes. First, it reviews the neuroimaging literature most relevant to the field of marketing (e.g., neuroeconomics, decision neuroscience, and neuromarketing). Second, it posits that evolutionary theory is a consilient and organizing meta‐theoretical framework for neuromarketing research. The great majority of neuroimaging studies suffer from the illusion of explanatory depth namely the sophistication of the neuroimaging technologies provides a semblance of profundity to the reaped knowledge, which is otherwise largely disjointed and atheoretical. Evolutionary theory resolves this conundrum by recognizing that the human mind has evolved via the processes of natural and sexual selection. Hence, in order to provide a complete understanding of any given neuromarketing phenomenon requires that it be tackled at both the proximate level (as is currently the case) and the ultimate level (i.e., understanding the adaptive reason that would generate a particular neural activation pattern). Evolutionary psychology posits that the human mind consists of a set of domain‐specific computational systems that have evolved to solve recurring adaptive problems. Accordingly, rather than viewing the human mind as a general‐purpose domain‐independent organ, evolutionary cognitive neuroscientists recognize that many neural activation patterns are instantiations of evolved computational systems in evolutionarily relevant domains such as survival, mating, kin selection, and reciprocity. As such, an evolutionary neuromarketing approach recognizes that the neural activation patterns associated with numerous marketing‐related phenomena can be mapped onto the latter Darwinian modules thus providing a unifying meta‐theory for this budding discipline.Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AbstractThis study examines consumers' use of in‐store information sources while Christmas shopping. A literature review identifies a number of situational, personal, and démographic variables that may influence search behaviour for a Christmas gift. A survey was conducted soon after the Christmas season to investigate the effects of the identified variables on search behaviour pertaining to a clothing gift. Findings indicate that in‐store search behaviour consists of three dimensions: general information search (e.g., dispays, comparing prices/brands), specific information search (e.g., labels, packaging), and assistance of sales clerks. Each search dimension was regressed on the identified variables, and determinants were obtained. Situational variables consistently outper‐forn all other variables, and personal variables outper‐form demographics for the two nonpersonal search variables. Implications for further research and for practitioners are provided.RésuméLa présente recherche s'intéresse à l'utilisation par les consommateurs des sources d'information à l'intérieur du magasin lors du choix de cadeaux de Noël. Une revue de la littérature identifie plusieurs variables (personnalité, situation et démographie) comme pouvant influencer la recherche d'information lors du choix d'un cadeau de Noël. Une enquěte a été menée juste après les Fětes afin d'identifier les variables qui ont pu influencer le choix d'un větement comme cadeau. Les résultats indiquent que la recherche d'information comporte trois dimensions: la recherche générale (ex.: présentoirs, comparaison des marques et des prix), la recherche spécifique (ex.: étiquettes et emballage) et l'aide d'un vendeur. Une régression de toutes les variables sur chaque dimension permet d'identifier les déterminants de la recherche d'information. Les variables de situation sont les plus importantes sur les trois dimensions, et les variables de personnalité plus importantes que les variables démographiques sur les deux premières dimensions. Enfin, l'article fournit des suggestions pour de futures recherches et indique les retombées pour les gestionnaires.