MKT 3352 CH 16
Cultural Influences on Consumer Behavior
Terms
undefined, object
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- Rites of Passage
- special times marked by a change in social status, culturally defined activities associated with the transition from one place or stage of life to another. Can mark any change in place, condition, social position, and age. Has 3 stages.(puberty, death, divorce, sweet 16, etc.
- Collectivism
- giving priority to the goals of ones group, and defining one's identity accordingly
- Desacralization
- occurs when a sacred item or symbol is removed from its special place or duplicated in mass quantities, becoming profane as a result.
- Cultural system
- consists of ecology(the way a system adapts to its habitat), social structure(the way orderly social life is maintained-dominant political and social groups(nucleur families vs extended family)) and ideology(mental characteristics of a ppl and the way in which they relate to their environment and social groups)
- More
- a custom with a strong moral overtone. Involves a taboo, forbidden behavior such as incest or cannibalism.
- Individualism
- attaching more importance to personal goals, and ppl are more likely to change memberships when the demands of the group(workplace, church, etc) become too costly.
- norms
- rules dictating what is right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable.
- Cosmological
- They emphasize that all components of the universe are part of a single picture.
- Convention; More
- where you stand in an elevator is a ____ but why you choose not to marry your cousin is a ____
- Sociological
- They maintain social order by authorizing a social code to be followed by members of a culture. (culture as a whole)
- Collecting
- refers to the systematic acquisition of a particular object or set of objects
- Separation
- first stage, occurs when the individual is detached from his original group or status (college freshman leaves home)
- Aggregation
- last stage (3), takes place when the person reenters society after the rite of passgae is complete (the student returns home for Christmas vacation as a college "veteran")
- Crescive norms
- embedded in a culture and we only discover them when we interact with other members of that culture, subtle, not necessarily written down (3 types-custom, more, conventions)
- Liminality
- middle stage(2nd), the person is literally b/t statuses (new arrival on campus tries to figure out what is happening during orientation week)
- Sacred Places
- "set apart" places b/c they have religious or mystial significance (Behlehem, Mecca, Stonehenge) or b/c they commemorate some aspect of a country's heritage (the Kremlin, the Emperor's Palace in Tokyo, the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero)
- Culture
- The accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms and traditions among members is knowns as ____
- Grooming Rituals
- sequences of behaviors that aid in the transition from the private self to the public self or back again. These rituals serve various purposes, ranging from inspiring confidence before confronting the world to cleansing the body of dirt and other impure materials. This also includes 2 sets of binary oppositions that personal rituals express are private/public and work/leisure. Many beauty rituals reflect the transformation from a natural state to the social word (women "put on their face) or vice versa.
- Rituals
- Sets of multiple, symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence and that tend to be repeated periodically.(trips to star bucks)
- Mediating Figure
- can resolve the conflict b/t mythical opposing forces by linking the opposites by sharing characteristics of each. (animals with human traits, Colonel Sanders-KFC, Ronald McDonald-McDonald's, Bill Gates-MS, Steve Jobs-Apple, etc.
- Sacred Events
- Many consumers' activities have also taken on a special status. Sports is sacred, public events resemble sacred, religious ceremonies, tourism, etc.
- Economic Exchange
- the giver transfers an item of value to a recipient, who in turn is somehow obligated to reciprocate.
- Symbolic Exchange
- wanting to acknowledge a friend for their intangible support and companionship.
- Sacralization
- occurs when ordinary objects, evets, and even ppl take on sacred meaning to a culture or to specific groups within a culture
- Gestation
- 1st stage; the giver is motivated by an event to procure a gift. structural (xmas) or emergent(more personal/buy b/c you want to)
- Hoarding
- unsystematic collecting, becoming a problem in some areas where consumers' refusal to throw things away in some extreme cases has resulted in fires,eviction, and even the removal of children from the home.
- Self-gifts
- socially acceptable way to reward ourselves for good deeds, to console ourselves after negative events,
- Reformulation
- 3rd/last stage; the giver and reciever adjust the bond b/t them (looser or tighter) to reflect the new relationship that emerges after the exchange is complete.
- Masculinity/femininity
- the degree to which sex roles are clearly delineated. (taking man's last name/who is responsible for certain household tasks)
- Metaphysical
- They help to explain the origins of existence.
- Enacted norms
- explicitly decided on (green means go/red means stop)
- Objectification
- occurs when we attribute sacred qualities to mundane items (like smelly socks, wanting the Ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz)
- Custom
- a norm handed down from the past that controls basic behaviors. (division of labor in household, handed down/traditions)
- Profane consumption
- involves consumer objects and events that are ordinary, everyday objects and events that do not share the "specialness" of sacred ones.(ordinary)
- Binary opposition
- a defining structural characteristic of many myths in which 2 opposing ends of some dimension are represented (good vs evil; nature vs technology); 2 opposing ends of some dimension
- Presentation
- 2nd stage; process of gift exchange; the recipient responds to the gift (appropriately or not) and the donor evaluates this response
- Souvenirs
- represent a tangible piece of the consumer's sacred experience. Personal memntos such as ticket stubs saved from a favorite concert, local products (wine from CA), Pictorial images (postcards), "Piece of the rock"(seashells, pine cones), Symbolic shorthand in the form of literal representations of the sites (mini Statue of Liberty), and Markers (t-shirts)
- Sacred consumption
- involves objects and events that are "set apart" from normal activites and are treated with some degree of respect or awe.(may/may not be associated with religion)
- Culture
- a society's personality, the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms, and traditions among the members of an organization or society. It is also the "lens" through which ppl view products.
- Power distance
- the way members perceive differences in power when they form interpersonal relationships (vertical vs horizontal equality)
- Social Expression
- exchange-oriented in the early stages of a relationship, but becomes more altruistic as the relationship develops.
- Myths
- story containing symbolic elements that represent the shared emotions and ideals of a culture. Thestory often features some kind of conflict b/t 2 opposing forces, it's outcome serves as a moral guide for ppl, and it reduces anxiety.
- Conventions
- norms regarding the conduct of everyday life; way we behave, silverware use. "correct" way to do things.
- Holiday Rituals
- Marketers find ways to encourage gift giving, Businesses invent new occasions to capitalize on need for cards/ritual artifacts (grandparents day/secretaries day), Retailers elevevate minor holidays to major ones to provide merchandising opportunities (Cinco de Mayo), Most cultural holidays are based on a myth, and often a historical(Miles Standish on Thanksgiving) or imaginary(Cupid, Easter Bunny) character is at the center of the story.
- Myths follow four characteristics/functions
- metaphysical, cosmological, sociological, and psychological.
- Psychological
- They provide models for personal conduct. (individual)
- Gift-Giving Rituals
- consumers porcure the perfect object, meticulously remove the price tag and carefully wrap it (symbolically changing the item from a commodity to a unique good), and deliver it to the recipient. (store bought items, home-made items, or services)
- Sacred People
- when we idolize ppl and set them apart from the masses. Souvenirs, memorabilia, and mundane items touched or used by sacred ppl take on special meanings and acquire value in their own right.
- Uncertainty avoidance
- the degree to which ppl feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have beliefs and institutions that help them to avoid this uncertainty (organized religion, natural disasters)