Evolutionary consumption

Abstract

An overview of the field of evolutionary consumption is provided. Brief summaries of disciplines within the evolutionary behavioral sciences that preceded evolutionary psychology (EP) are first offered. This is followed by a discussion of important EP principles including the domain‐specificity of the human mind, and the difference between ultimate and proximate scientific explanations. The evolutionary bases of memory, attitude formation/change, emotions, perception (our five senses), personality, and decision making are addressed next, along with specific links to consumer research. Next, I demonstrate how numerous consumer acts could be classified into one of four basal Darwinian modules: survival, reproduction (mating), kin selection, and reciprocal altruism. The paper continues with an exploration of the evolutionary roots of cultural products (e.g., song lyrics) and Darwinian happiness (along with the evolutionary etiology of maladaptive phenomena such as pathological gambling and compulsive buying). I conclude with a discussion of key epistemological benefits of Darwinizing consumer research including greater consilience, increased interdisciplinarity, and an ethos of methodological pluralism.

Gift Giving at Israeli Weddings as a Function of Genetic Relatedness and Kinship Certainty

“…While our first hypothesis might have been posited without a detailed understanding of evolutionary principles, it is hard to imagine how the second hypothesis dealing with paternity uncertainty could have been generated void of an evolutionary lens. Therein lies one of the key epistemological benefits of incorporating principles of evolutionary psychology into consumer research, namely novel research questions are set forth that otherwise might have remained hidden from marketing scholars (Saad, , ; Saad & Gill, ).…”

“…The great majority of research within marketing and consumer behavior has operated at the proximate realm (Saad, ). In recent years, however, evolutionary psychology has emerged as a valuable theoretical framework for the study of consumer behavior (Durante, Griskevicius, Hill, Perilloux, & Li, ; Griskevicius et al., ; Miller, ; Saad, , , ; Saad & Gill, ; Saad & Stenstrom, ). Most explanatory theories regarding gift giving are proximate in nature (e.g., we offer gifts to those who are emotionally close to us); in this study, we offer an ultimate explanation (kin selection predisposes us to offer larger gifts to those who are genetically closer to us).…”

Evolution and consumer psychology

“…Instead, an evolutionary perspective is a broad way of thinking about behavior in any domain. Because all human behaviors include an evolutionary explanation, an evolutionary perspective can be useful for generating theories and ideas for any area of consumer behavior (Saad, , , ). For example, an evolutionary perspective is useful for helping make sense of the many errors and biases people make, including helping predict when and why people will make specific types of errors (Griskevicius & Kenrick, ).…”

How inferred contagion biases dispositional judgments of others

“…Extant research suggests that consumption offers a rich means of communicating information about oneself (Belk, 1988;Miller, 2009;Saad, 2013;Veblen, 1899Veblen, /2005. As Veblen (1899Veblen ( /2005 observed, people sometimes purchase expensive and ostentatious products merely to demonstrate that they can afford to do so.…”