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Chapter 16
Cultural Influences on
Consumer Behavior
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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
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Aspects of Culture
Social Structure

Way in Which Orderly
Social Life is
Maintained
Ecology

Way a System is
Adapted to
Its Habitat

Ideology

Way in Which People
Relate to Their
Environment and
Social Groups

A Cultural System Consists of 3 Functional Areas:
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Other Aspects of Culture
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.
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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
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Myths
Metaphysical
Psychological
Cosmological
Sociological
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:
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Types of Ritual Experience
A Ritual is a Set of Multiple, Symbolic Behaviors That
Occur in a Fixed Sequence and That Tend to Be
Repeated Periodically.
Religious
Baptism, Meditation, Mass
Rites of Passage




Festivals, Holidays
Parades, Elections, Trials
Graduation, Marriage

Ritual Type
Examples
Group
Business Negotiations
Family
Personal
Grooming, Household
Mealtimes, Birthdays
Cultural
Civic
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Gift - Giving Rituals
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
Process of
Gift
Exchange

Reformulation
Bonds
Between
Parties Are
Adjusted
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Holiday Rituals
Thanksgiving
Valentines Day
Secretaries Day
Grandparents Day
Christmas
New Years
Halloween
What Rituals Are Associated With the Following
Holidays?
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Rites of Passage
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
Rites of Passage Can be Construed as Being Special
Times Marked by a Change in Social Status.
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Sacred and Profane
Consumption







Sacred
Consumption












Profane
Consumption
>Involves Objects and
Events That Are Set
Apart From Normal
Activities, and Are
Treated With Some
Degree of Respect or
Awe.
> 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
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.
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Domains of Sacred
Consumption
Sacred Events
Many consumers 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).
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From Sacred to Profane, and
Back Again
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.