Culture
What is Culture?
 The
sum total of learned beliefs, values, and
customs that serve to direct the consumer
behavior of members of a particular society.
 A society’s
personality.
Beliefs, Values, Customs
Beliefs
Knowledge, perceptions about specific
product or consumption situation.
Large number of beliefs.
Values
Global perceptions widely accepted by
society; serve as a guide for behavior.
Relatively few values.
Customs
Overt modes of behavior that constitute
culturally approved or acceptable ways of
behaving in specific situations.
Components of Culture
 External,
material culture.
– Tangible objects of our world.
 Internal, mental culture.
– Ideas and points of view
 Knowledge system
 Belief and value system
 Social normative system
Social Normative System
 The
system of rules, standards of conduct,
rewards, and punishment in a culture.
 Norms
– Fads
– Folkways
– Mores
– Laws
 Sanctions
Characteristics of Culture
 Culture
is learned.
– Through language and symbols.
– Formal, informal, and technical learning.
– Enculturation.
– Acculturation.
– Cultural universals.
Cultural Universals
– Similarities exist among all cultures.
– Examples:
 Athletics
 Body decoration
 Courtship
 Music
Transmission of Cultural Meaning
 Transmit
cultural meaning through rituals,
symbolic activities consisting of a series of
steps occurring in a fixed sequence and
repeated over time.
– Fitness behavior
– Shopping behavior
– Gift giving
Culturally constituted world
Advertising/
Fashion system
Fashion
system
Consumer goods
Possession
Ritual
Grooming
Ritual
Exchange
Ritual
Individual consumer
Divestment
Ritual
Characteristics, continued…
 Culture
satisfies needs.
– Order, direction, guidance.
– Culture continually evolves to meet
evolving needs of society.
Characteristics, continued...
 Culture
is shared.
– Significant portion of society accepts
same values, beliefs, and customs.
– Shared through learning, socialization,
institutions, religious centers, mass
media.
Characteristics, continued...
 Culture
is dynamic.
– Constantly evolving and changing.
– Cultural trends
 Increasing number of working women.
 Increasing participation in health and
fitness activities.
 Decreasing social acceptance of
cigarette smoking.
 Increasing acceptance of e-commerce.
Measurement of Culture
 Content Analysis
 Consumer
Fieldwork
– Observation
 Value Measurement Instruments
– Rokeach Value Survey (RVS)
– Values and Lifestyles (VALS)
– List of Values (LOV)
Rokeach Value Survey Instrument
 Terminal
values
– The relative importance of end-state
values.
 Comfortable life
 Instrumental values
– The basic approaches adopted to reach a
desired end-state.
 Ambitious
Core Values
 Core
values are pervasive, enduring, and
consumer-related.
 Each
culture has its own set of core values.