Consumer socialization

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Consumer socialization (alternatively spelled socialisation) is the process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace. [1] It has been argued, however, that consumer socialization occurs in the adult years as well. This field of study is a subdivision of consumer behavior as its main focus is on how childhood and adolescent experiences affect future consumer behavior. It attempts to understand how factors such as peers, mass media, family, gender, race, and culture play an influence in developing customer behavior.

Contents

This field of study has increasingly interested policy makers, marketers, consumer educators and students of socialization. [2]

Mothers tend to have the most influence in consumer development and can teach consumer behavior through observation, direct discussions, and parent supervision. 1970sgrocerystore.jpg
Mothers tend to have the most influence in consumer development and can teach consumer behavior through observation, direct discussions, and parent supervision.

Influences

George Moschis and Gilbert A. Churchill Jr posit that mass media, parents, school and peers are all agents of consumer socialization. According to this theory children and young adults learn the rational aspects of consumption from their parents while the mass media teaches them to give social meaning to products; schools teach the importance of economic wisdom and finally peers exercise varying social pressures. [2]

Research in this field is primarily based on two models of human learning: the cognitive development model, which stem primarily from the works of Jean Piaget, and the social learning model, which is based primarily on neo-Hullian, neo-Skinnerian and social learning theory.

This aspect of child socialization started receiving academic attention in early 1970s. [1] [3] Systematic academic research in this area was triggered by charges of various consumer advocacy groups which were concerned with the effects of marketing, especially TV advertising on children. [1]

Peers

Adolescents tend to rely more on peers, such as friends and classmates, to develop their consumer behavior compared to television and family. [2]

Television and advertisements

Mass media has been shown to be as important of a socialization agent as family and peers. Children learn from observation so by viewing advertisements and lifestyles from a television show they will develop their consumer behavior as well as leaning consumer role perceptions. [2]

Family

Family is a major influence in consumer socialization. Parent-child socialization is an adult initiated process by which developing children, through insight, training, and imitation acquire the habits and values congruent with adaptation to their culture. [4] Mothers tend to have the most influence in consumer development and can teach consumer behavior through observation, direct discussions, and parent supervision. [5]

Parenting style plays an important role in consumer socialization because parent-child interactions determine how parents teach their child consumer behavior. Parents who have a higher degree of smooth communication with their children and have more obedient that will have a higher impact. During daily smooth communication, parents' consumption preferences and attitudes will also affect their children consumption. [6] Parents who have negative attitudes toward television advertising tend to have children who request fewer purchases and are more consumer educated. [7] Children who spend less time with parents and other familial ties are more likely to be affected by peers and media than children who spend time with their family. [8]

The influence that other familial connections, such as siblings and grandparents, may have on consumer socialization has not been studied as extensively as parents. Siblings has been found to rely on each other to gain information on the marketplace. [9]

Gender

Gender has been identified as a critical social structure variable in consumer socialization. Women tend to have a more positive attitude toward advertisements than males. [10] Young girls and teenagers are more affected by peer and family influence than boys. [8] [11] Young girls are also more likely to deem a brand their favorite based on whether their friends have them. [8]

Boys tend to be more influenced by non-personal communication than interpersonal interactions. [8]

Race

African Americans tend to watch more hours of television a week and watch different types of television programs compared to their Caucasian counterparts. African Americans rely more on television as a form of consumer socialization than family. African Americans also have a more positive attitude toward advertisements than their Caucasian counterparts. [10] African Americans tend to buy the same brand rather than competing brands. [12]

In Asian cultures, parents and peers tend to have a greater influence on consumer socialization than television. This may be due to Asian cultures' tendency to behave in ways that are best for the community rather than for the individual. This close-knit community leads to a reliance on referrals and word-of-mouth. [13]

Hispanic cultures, like Asian cultures, are family-oriented and can be considered to be collectivist. Hispanic children tend to depend on parents and peers to learn more about consumer behavior. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The 'effects of advertising on body image have been studied by researchers, ranging from psychologists to marketing professionals. "These days we know that the media and body image are closely related. Particularly, the body image advertising portrays affects our body image. Of course, many other things influence our body image: parenting, education, intimate relationships, and so on. The popular media does have a big impact, though" This is because thousands of advertisements contain messages about physical attractiveness and beauty, examples of which include commercials for clothes, cosmetics, weight reduction, and physical fitness. Researchers have conducted studies in an attempt to see if such advertisements have effects on teenage body image, and what those effects might be.

Gender in advertising refers to the images and concepts in advertising that depict and reinforce stereotypical gender roles. Advertisements containing subliminal or direct messages about physical attractiveness and beauty have been of particular interest regarding their impact on men, women, and youth. Gendered advertisements have and continue to shape what is expected of a distinct gender, regarding physique and attitude. Not only are these types of stereotypes present in various forms of media, but they also hold significant weight in everyday life.

Lifestyle changes have been increasing slowly since the introduction of media. Media – films, television shows, magazines, and more recently, the Internet are the main sources of lifestyle influence around the world. Lifestyle changes include how people eat, dress, and communicate. Lifestyle trends have always been influenced by the wealthy and famous, whether they are spotted at leisure or in a paid advertisement. At the dawn of the media age, the newspaper, popular magazines like Life, and TV allowed the general public glimpse lifestyles that before were only available to the imagination. After its creation, the Internet became arguably the most powerful medium for spotting and influencing trends, not just by celebrities but by the average person. The computer era has changed the way people obtain their news, perspectives and communication. Magazines are still popular, but advertisers now often supply a web address where consumers can visit for more information than a print ad can provide. The average American household has two personal computers, making the Internet easily accessible. The rise of user-generated content is exemplified by the fact that anyone with Internet access can create a blog or an online journal, whether personal or commercial, which might detail someone's experience in a new restaurant, a purchased item of clothing or knickknack, or a review to a film. With the advent of the Android phone and its relative ease of uploading photos to social media sites such as Facebook, one can get an idea of how quickly an idea, pub review, or coveted object can be shared. Advertisers have always been privy to the strength of word-of-mouth and have tapped into social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr to make their wares known. Douglas Kellner writes, "Radio, television, film, and the other products of media culture provide materials out of which we forge our very identities; our sense of selfhood; our notion of what it means to be male or female; our sense of class, of ethnicity and race, of nationality, of sexuality; and of "us" and "them.""

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 Moschis, George P.; Churchill, Gilbert A. (1978). "Consumer Socialization: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis". Journal of Marketing Research. 15 (4): 599. doi:10.2307/3150629. ISSN   0022-2437. JSTOR   3150629.
  3. ↑ John, Deborah Roedder (1999). "Consumer socialization of children: A retrospective look at twenty-five years of research". Journal of Consumer Research. 26 (3): 183–213. doi:10.1086/209559. JSTOR   10.1086/209559.
  4. ↑ Baumrind, Diana (1980). "New Directions in Socialization Research". American Psychologist. 35 (7): 640. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.35.7.639.
  5. ↑ Ward, Scott; Wackman, Daniel; Wartella, Ellen (1977). "The Development of Consumer Information-Processing Skills: Integrating Cognitive Development and Family Interaction Theories". Advances in Consumer Research. 4: 166–171.
  6. ↑ Thorson, Allison R.; Horstman, Haley Kranstuber (2017-08-08). "Family Communication Patterns and Emerging Adult Consumer Outcomes: Revisiting the Consumer Socialization Model". Western Journal of Communication. 81 (4): 483–506. doi:10.1080/10570314.2016.1263361. ISSN   1057-0314.
  7. ↑ Wiman, Alan R. (1983). "Parental Influence and Children's Responses to Television Advertising". Journal of Advertising. 12 (1): 12–18. doi:10.1080/00913367.1983.10672825. JSTOR   4188427.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Dotson, Michael J.; Hyatt, Eva M. (2005). "Major influence factors in children's consumer socialization". Journal of Consumer Marketing. 22 (1): 35–42. doi:10.1108/07363760510576536.
  9. ↑ Kerrane, Ben; Hogg, Margaret (2011). "Helping or Hindering? The Ambivalent Role of Siblings as Socialization Agents Within Family Consumption". Advances for Consumer Research. 39: 244.
  10. 1 2 Bush, Alan J.; Smith, Rachel; Martin, Craig (1999). "The Influence of Consumer Socialization Variables on Attitude toward Advertising: A Comparison of African-Americans and Caucasians". Journal of Advertising. 28 (3): 13–24. doi:10.1080/00913367.1999.10673586. JSTOR   4189114.
  11. ↑ Mangleburg, Tamara F.; Grewal, Dhruv; Bristol, Terry (1997). "Socialization, Gender, and Adolescent's Self-Reports of Their Generalized Use of Product Labels". The Journal of Consumer Affairs. 31 (2): 255–79. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6606.1997.tb00391.x. JSTOR   23860479.
  12. ↑ Miller, Pepper; Kemp, Herb (2005). What's Black About It?: Insights to Increase Your Share of a Changing African-American Market. Ithaca, NY: Paramount Market Publishing.
  13. ↑ Kim, Youn-Kyung; Kang, Jikyeong (2001). "The Effects of Ethnicity and Product on Purchase Decision Making". Journal of Advertising Research. 41 (2): 39–48. doi:10.2501/JAR-41-2-39-48.
  14. ↑ Shim, Soyeon; Gehrt, Kenneth C. (1996). "Hispanic and Native American Adolescents: An Exploratory Study of Their Approach to Shopping". Journal of Retailing. 72 (3): 307–24. doi:10.1016/S0022-4359(96)90032-9.
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