Chapter 16

Cultural Influences on Consumer Behavior

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16-2

Understanding Culture

Culture

is the Accumulation of Shared Meanings, Rituals, Norms, and Traditions Among the Members of an Organization or Society and Determines:

Overall Priorities A Consumer Attaches to Different Activities and Products Success or Failure of Specific Products and Services

Aspects of Culture

16-3 A Cultural System Consists of 3 Functional Areas: Social Structure Ecology Way in Which Orderly Social Life is Maintained Ideology Way a System is Adapted to Its Habitat Way in Which People Relate to Their Environment and Social Groups

Other Aspects of Culture

16-4 Although Every Culture is Different, 4 Dimensions Appear to Account for Much of This Variability.

Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity/ Femininity Individualism How Interpersonal Relationships Form When Power Differences Exist.

Degree to Which People Feel Threatened by Ambiguous Situations.

Degree to Which Sex Roles Are Clearly Delineated.

Extent to Which the Welfare of the Individual Versus the Group is Valued.

16-5

Values of a Culture

Values are Very General Ideas About Good and Bad Goals Enacted Norms Explicitly Decided On Crescive Norms Embedded in Culture Customs Mores Conventions

Myths

16-6 A Myth is a Story Containing Symbolic Elements That Expresses the Shared Emotions and Ideals Of a Culture. Myths Serve 4 Interrelated Functions in a Culture:

Metaphysical Cosmological Psychological Sociological

Types of Ritual Experience

16-7 A Ritual is a Set of Multiple, Symbolic Behaviors That Occur in a Fixed Sequence and That Tend to Be Repeated Periodically. Ritual Type Examples Religious Baptism, Meditation, Mass Rites of Passage Graduation, Marriage Cultural Civic Festivals, Holidays Parades, Elections, Trials Group Business Negotiations Family Mealtimes, Birthdays Personal Grooming, Household

Gift - Giving Rituals

The

Gift - Giving Ritual

Can Be Broken Down Into the Following Three Distinct Stages: 16-8 Gestation

Giver is Motivated By An Event to Buy a Gift

Presentation

Process of Gift Exchange

Reformulation

Bonds Between Parties Are Adjusted

Holiday Rituals

16-9 What Rituals Are Associated With the Following Holidays?

Thanksgiving Valentine’s Day Secretaries’ Day Grandparents’ Day Christmas New Year’s Halloween

Rites of Passage

16-10 Rites of Passage Can be Construed as Being Special Times Marked by a Change in Social Status.

Stage 1. Separation Detaching From the Original Group Stage 2. Liminality Person is In-Between Statuses Stage 3. Aggregation Person Reenters Society After Rite-of-Passage is Complete

Sacred and Profane Consumption

Sacred Consumption

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Involves Objects and Events That Are “Set Apart” From Normal Activities, and Are Treated With Some Degree of Respect or Awe.

Profane Consumption

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Involves Consumer Objects and Events That Are Ordinary, Everyday Objects and Events That Do Not Share The “Specialness” of Sacred Ones.

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Domains of Sacred Consumption

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Sacred Places

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May have religious or mystical significance.

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Others are created from the profane world and given special sacred qualities (i.e. Disney World, or shopping malls)

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The home is a particularly scared place.

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Sacred People

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Memorabilia can take on special meaning, from baseball cards to clothing the special person has touched or worn.

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Domains of Sacred Consumption

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Sacred Events

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Many consumer’s activities (events) have taken on special status.

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Examples would include the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the World Series, even family vacations.

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Personal mementos from sacred events can include:

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Local products (i.e. wine from California).

Pictorial images (i.e. post cards).

“A piece of the event” such as a rock or seashell.

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Symbolic shorthand (i.e. a miniature Statue of Liberty).

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Markers (i.e. Hard Rock Cafe T-shirts).

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From Sacred to Profane, and Back Again

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Some sacred things have become profane, and some profane things have become sacred.

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Desacralization occurs when a sacred item or symbol is removed from its special place or is duplicated in mass quantities, becoming profane as a result.

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Examples: Monuments, artwork, American flag, religion.

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Sacralization occurs when ordinary objects, events, and even people, take on sacred meaning to a culture or to specific groups within a culture.

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Examples: Super Bowl, or Elvis.

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Objectification occurs when sacred qualities are attributed to mundane objects.

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Collecting refers to the systematic acquisition of a particular object or set of objects.