16-1
Chapter 16
Cultural Influences on
Consumer Behavior
Understanding Culture
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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
Way a System is
Adapted to
Its Habitat
Ideology
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
How Interpersonal Relationships
Form When Power Differences
Exist.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Degree to Which People Feel
Threatened by Ambiguous
Situations.
Masculinity/ Femininity
Degree to Which Sex Roles Are
Clearly Delineated.
Individualism
Extent to Which the Welfare of the
Individual Versus the Group is
Valued.
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Values of a Culture
Values are Very General Ideas About Good and Bad Goals
Enacted Norms
Crescive Norms
Explicitly Decided On
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
Festivals, Holidays
Civic
Parades, Elections, Trials
Group
Business Negotiations
Family
Mealtimes, Birthdays
Personal
Grooming, Household
Gift - Giving Rituals
16-8
The Gift - Giving Ritual Can Be Broken Down
Into the Following Three Distinct Stages:
Gestation
Giver is
Motivated By
An Event to
Buy a Gift
Presentation
Reformulation
Process of
Gift
Exchange
Bonds
Between
Parties Are
Adjusted
Holiday Rituals
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What Rituals Are Associated With the Following
Holidays?
Thanksgiving
Valentine’s Day
Secretaries’ Day
Grandparents’ Day
Christmas
New Year’s
Halloween
Rites of Passage
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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
> Involves Objects and
Events That Are “Set
Apart” From Normal
Activities, and Are
Treated With Some
Degree of Respect or
Awe.
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Profane
Consumption
> Involves Consumer
Objects and Events
That Are Ordinary,
Everyday Objects
and Events That Do
Not Share The
“Specialness” of
Sacred Ones.
Domains of Sacred
Consumption
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• Sacred Places
– May have religious or mystical significance.
– Others are created from the profane world and
given special sacred qualities (i.e. Disney World,
or shopping malls)
– The home is a particularly scared place.
• Sacred People
– Memorabilia can take on special meaning, from
baseball cards to clothing the special person has
touched or worn.
Domains of Sacred
Consumption
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• Sacred Events
– Many consumer’s activities (events) have taken
on special status.
» Examples would include the Super Bowl, the
Olympics, the World Series, even family vacations.
– Personal mementos from sacred events can
include:
»
»
»
»
Local products (i.e. wine from California).
Pictorial images (i.e. post cards).
“A piece of the event” such as a rock or seashell.
Symbolic shorthand (i.e. a miniature Statue of
Liberty).
» Markers (i.e. Hard Rock Cafe T-shirts).
From Sacred to Profane, and
Back Again
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• Some sacred things have become profane, and
some profane things have become sacred.
– 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.
– Examples: Monuments, artwork, American flag, religion.
– Sacralization occurs when ordinary objects, events,
and even people, take on sacred meaning to a culture
or to specific groups within a culture.
– Examples: Super Bowl, or Elvis.
» Objectification occurs when sacred qualities are attributed
to mundane objects.
» Collecting refers to the systematic acquisition of a particular
object or set of objects.