Download Uses of Sociology in Studying ``Consumption`^ Behavior

Uses of Sociology in Studying
''Consumption'^
CHARLES Y. GLOCK
and
FRANCESCO M. NICOSIA
Although there has been
a growth in the amount of
social science dealing with
consumers, for the most part
sociologists have not been
concerned with the study of
the AGGREGATE behavior
of consumers.
Here is a discussion of
some of the ways that sociological theories and methods
may contribute toward the
prediction and explanation
of aggregate consumption
behavior.
Journal of Marketing, Vol. 28 (July,
1964). pp. 51-54.
Behavior
STUDYING human behavior social scientists generally have
I Nrelied
on two basic approaches. On the one hand, they have
attempted to understand the behavior of single individuals—^micro
behavior; and on the other hand, they have been concerned with
the behavior of the mass or aggregate of individuals—^macro behavior.
The first of these approaches may be called the study of consumer behavior, and the second one the study of consumption
behavior.^
The study of consumer behavior always focuses on the decision
processes of the individual consumer or consuming unit, such as
the family. It includes all the efforts to describe and explain one
or more acts of choice either at a given time or over a period of
time. It concerns the consumer's investment of money and personal
labor in goods, services, and leisure pursuits; or his decisions with
respect to saving and assets; or his "purchase" of ideas.
In contrast, the study of consumption behavior is concerned with
the description and explanation of the behavior of aggregates of
consumers or consuming units, again at a given time or over a
period of time. The subject matter of consumption behavior parallels at the aggregate level that of consumer behavior at the individual level.
Sociology and Consumption Behavior
Although they may contribute to the study of both kinds of
behavior, most sociologists have tended to give principal attention
to consumer behavior. Accordingly, this article is concerned with
some potential contributions of sociology to the study of consumption behavior.
There are almost infinite kinds of consumption behavior. One
could study, for instance, the sales of a product or brand, the
popularity of a particular style of clothes, the ratio of saving
to spending, investments in the stock market, the distribution of
income, total consumption expenditures, and so on. Although such
studies may be carried out statically—for example, the ratio of
For the uses of sociology in studying "consumer behavior," see
Charles Y. Glock and Francesco M. Nicosia, "Sociology and the
Study of Consumers," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 3 (September, 1963), pp. 21-27. For a general review of the literature on
consumer behavior and decision processes, see Francesco M. Nicosia,
Consumer Decision Processes (Englewood CliflFs, New Jersey; Prentice-Hall, Inc., forthcoming). Chapters 2, 3, and 4.
51
52
spending to saving may be observed at one point
in time and some attempt made to explain it—for
the most part they are done dynamically. That is,
the interest centers on a shift in some aggregate
behavior over time.
Analysis of such macro-phenomena is usually
made by economists. By and large, the procedure
is as follows. To begin with, data are collected
on the aggregate observed over time. The resultant
time series is then analyzed statistically to establish
the character of its oscillations—long-term, cyclical,
seasonal, weekly, random, or some combination of
these.
In such work economists most often draw upon
statistical theory and method, rather than on the
theory and method of economics. In other words,
this initial procedure is essentially atheoretical from
the viewpoint of the social sciences.^
There follows, then, a series of operations which
either explicitly or implicitly is directed toward
explaining the oscillations described in the time
series. The essential technique is the comparison
of the oscillations with those plotted from time
series of other aggregate behaviors.
Thus, the car manufacturer may compare time
series of his own sales with similar data on the
sales of other makes of cars, with sales for the
entire automobile industry, with sales of related
industries, with total consumer expenditures, with
the gross national product, and other measures. Or
he may "break down" his own data along with data
from other car manufacturers (where available)
to compare shifts in sales by different price lines,
styles, colors, and other characteristics. The aim
is to see how his own is related to other aggregate
behaviors.
This comparative time series analysis of different
aggregate behaviors may or may not be directed
by theoretical considerations. It is conceivable
that an investigator searching for data that correlate positively may introduce comparative material almost at random. Usually, however, those
time series to be compared are chosen on theoretical
grounds drawn primarily, if not exclusively, from
economic theory. Thus, he may introduce data on
income, based on the hypothesis that his own sales
are a function of fluctuations in total income. Or
he may compare his own investments in advertising
with those made by his competitors.
Obviously different time series variables will be
For an elementary description of a phenomenon over
time, and a "statistical interpretation" of the resulting curve followed by a sociological interpretation, see: The Adoption of New Products: Process
and Influence (Ann Arbor, Michigan: The Foundation for Research on Human Behavior, 1959), pp.
1-4; and Charles M. Crawford, Sales Forecasting:
Methods of Selected Firms (Urbana, Illinois: Bureau
of Economic and Business Research, University of
Illinois, 1955).
Journal of Marketing, July, 1964
pertinent to different problems. For example, the
economist who works for a financial institution and
is interested in shifts in the ratio of saving to
spending will draw upon different variables than
the economist working for an automobile manufacturer. Nevertheless, the fundamental procedures
in the two cases are essentially the same.
At this point the analysis is refined to examine
the relationship between variables—with time, in
effect, controlled. The goal is to discover whether
a given relationship is the same or different within
different time intervals. Thus, it becomes possible
to say that aggregate purchases of a given product
within a defined time interval vary in describable
ways with level of income, or assets, or whatever
other economic factor is introduced.
The result of these procedures establishes the
degree and character of the association between
one or more independent variables and the dependent variable—for example, the suggestion that expenditures rise with increasing income but do not
decline with falling income.^
Carried to this point, economic analysis provides
a basis for predicting aggregate behavior; but at
best, it only partially explains it. The interpretations of the relationships among economic variables,
if pursued, invariably require the introduction of
sociological and psychological considerations. By
and large, however, sociologists have not been concerned with the study of consumption behavior.
The remainder of the present discussion is orJames Duesenberry, Income, Saving and the Theory
of Consumer Behavior (Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press, 1949).
• ABOUT THE AUTHORS. Charles Y.
Glock is Professor of Sociology and Director cf the Survey Research Center at
the University of California at Berkeley.
He was formerly Professor of Sociology
and Director of tho Bureau of Applied
Social Research at Columbia University.
In 1957-58 he was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the B«havioral Sciences.
Dr. Glocic has an
M.B.A. from Boston University and a
Ph.D. in Sociology from Columbia University. He is the author
of many studies on research methods, mass communication, public opinion, and the sociology of religion.
Francesco M. Nicosia is Assistant Professor at the School of Business Administration at the University of California at
Berkeley, and Director of the Consumer
Behavior Program. He received the degree of "Dottore in Economia e Commercio" from the University of Rome
where he taught Marketing and Management, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of California.
He has published in the fields of marketing and advertising.
The present article is No. A I 6 in the publication series of
the Survey Research Center, University of California at Berkeley.
Uses of Sociology in Studying "Consumption" Behavior
ganized around three topics: interplay between social and economic theory, sources of data in macroanalysis, and study of the marketing processes.
Interplay between Social and Economic Theory
There have been some efforts toward a reunification of social and economic theory at the general
systems level.* Such efforts toward the general
integration of social and economic theory have not
been paralleled, however, by attempts on the part
of sociologists to apply sociological theory to everyday problems dealt with by economists in the study
of consumption behavior.
In the face of the apparent indifference of sociologists to this task, economists have tried increasingly to suggest sociological interpretations themselves. For example, in an attempt to reconcile the
different statistical associations between consumption expenditures and disposable income, one economist suggested that our society makes it mandatory for consumers to "emulate their neighbors"
("keep up with the Joneses"), thus explaining why
expenditures increase with increasing income. This
same social pressure also makes consumers reluctant
to return to lower standards of living, thereby explaining why expenditures tend to remain stable
with declining income.^
Speculative interpretations of social factors underlying relationships among economic variables
are obviously only a beginning toward the understanding of consumption behavior. Yet such speculations can provide a core set of hypotheses to be
tested through research.
Sources of Data in Macro-analysis
The problems of consumption behavior cannot be
resolved, however, simply by asking sociologists to
theorize about the nature of consumption behavior.
Theory must necessarily be tested by research.
Representatives of government, business, and
mass media are busily engaged in compiling data
to document shifts in aggregate economic variables.
For most economic indexes, data have been collected
over many years, providing funds of information
which make economic analysis of consumption behavior possible.
There is no comparable body of material, though,
to document changes in the social fabric of society.
* See, for example, Talcott Parsons and Neil J. Smelser. Economy and Society (Glencoe, Illinois: The
Free Press, 1956).
5 Duesenberry, same reference as footnote 3. For
other examples, see Robert Ferber, "Research on
Household Behavior," American Economic Review,
Vol. 59 (March, 1962), pp. 19-63. With respect to
the general pervasiveness of social-psychological elements in macro-economic theories, see Mirra Komarovsky, editor. Common Frontiers of the Social Sciences (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1957).
53
The United States Census, of course, regularly collects basic information on the social composition
of the population—on sex, age, education, and other
variables. However, information is not collected on
a regular basis to assess changes in values, norms,
habits, and customs. The fundamental data for
studying the bearing of social factors on consumption behavior are seldom, if ever, available.
Sociologists can probably fill the gap by collecting
the data themselves, where the problem being
studied is of a short-term character and relatively
circumscribed. However, they cannot collect data
regularly over extended periods of time.
There are a myriad of consumption questions
which are closed to sociological analysis because
necessary data are not available. What are the
major changes occurring in the way populations
spend their leisure time? How do these changes
affect the consumption of goods and services? What
are the social processes that govern the ways in
which new products and services are adopted? Are
there general patterns of innovation, are they confined to particular types of goods and services, or
is there no pattern at all? With popular taste for
all sorts of goods and services constantly changing,
where are the data to document these changes, much
less to explain them?
To be sure, current information on such problems
is sometimes available. But how much more valuable
it would be if such data had been accumulated at
regular intervals over the last 50 years or so.
It is very easy, of course, to say that it would be
useful to have fuller information about changes in
the social structure and in a society's values over
time. However, it would obviously require considerable thought and experimentation to decide what
kinds of social data ought to be collected on a
regular basis. Furthermore, their value would have
to be amply documented to gain cooperation from
appropriate organizations. But despite such obstacles, these are matters which should be the concern of sociologists.
As a first step, sociologists could seriously consider the ways in which changes in the social structure and in value systems might affect consumption
behavior. A large number of sociological concepts
imply that these factors have an impact on consumption behavior. Such concepts as social mobility, cultural lag, social integration, life styles,
achievement orientation, are directly relevant. They
may well be guides to data collection methods, although these concepts would first have to be translated into more precise propositions as to how they
bear on the aggregate behavior of consumers. Once
this is done, the indicators on which data might
be collected could be specified.
To illustrate the possibilities, consider the simple
question of how highly our society values work.
Clearly, all sorts of implications for the economy
54
follow from man's achievement orientations.* Many
observers have sensed subtle changes in such orientations, most notably a shift in values from extending oneself in labor to doing as little as is
necessary to "get by." Although sociological data
are not available to do more than crudely sense
these changes, such data would allow greater control
of the economy and so seem well worth the price
of collection.
The prospects for implementing, these ideas in the
near future may be slim; and once adopted, considerable time will have to be spent in accumulating
data before they can become analytically useful.
However, if sociologists are to make meaningful
contributions to the study of consumption behavior
and mass behavior in general, this is the basic path
which must be followed.
Study of the Marketing Processes
It has been implied above that aggregate behavior of consumers can be understood solely as the
result of economic and social psychological forces.
But this aggregate behavior is only a part of a
larger process of interaction among consumers and
manufacturers, middlemen, retailers, advertising
agencies, mass media, and other institutions which
are all functionally related to each other. Eesearch
on consumption behavior is incomplete without some
effort to understand the nature of these functional
relationships.
No adequate discussion is found in marketing
literature of the nature of these relationships.'^
However, some attention has been given to specifying the processes of interactions by case studies
of particular consumption behaviors.
One study was concerned with understanding the
process as it operated in the development of the
"rhythm and blues" fad in popular music.s The
fad is pictured as resulting from the interactions
among the Negro market, the concomitant development of independent record companies, the disc
jockey, the major record companies, and the white
radio audience. The essential point made is that
each of these "aggregates" was functioning both
as an originator and as a recipient of stimuli out
of which the fad emerged.
6 David C. McClelland, Achieving Society (Princeton,
New Jersey: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1961).
f For a brief review and evaluation, see Francesco
M. Nicosia, "Marketing and Alderson's Functionalism," The Journal of Business, Vol. 45 (October,
1962), pp. 410-413.
8 Bureau of Applied Social Research, The "Rhythm
and Blues" Fad (New York: Columbia University,
1955).
Journal of Marketing, July, 1964
Paralleling such empirical studies, there has been
an attempt on theoretical levels to explain the religious revival in the United States of the last decade,
also as the result of the functional interaction between different aggregates.^ Here the process seems
to begin with the publication by the National Council of Churches of statistics showing a slight increase in church membership. This statistical evidence is then picked up by various mass media
and interpreted as a religious revival. This, in
turn, generates a commercial interest in producing
and promoting religious books and literature, songs
and plays with a religious motif, and commodities
having a religious connotation. Mass media are
thus encouraged to give further coverage to religious events.
All of these activities tend to accelerate interest
in religion on the part of the general public, which
is then manifested in increased church attendance,
increased concentration on religious material by
various media, and the purchase of religious books
and commodities. This "feeds back" to the churches,
the mass media, and to producers of religious items
who are thus encouraged to further activity.
Neither of the two examples given indicates how
the interaction process comes to a close, but they
do document the need to consider the process in
consumption behavior research. These examples
share a concern with those short-term changes in
consumption behavior called fads and stylas.i"
Conclusion
In conclusion, sociologists have tended to relinquish their "stake" in the study of consumption
behavior to economists, and economists have used
sociological theory wherever germane to their
problems.
Lack of interest among sociologists in consumption behavior is in part a consequence of the relative absence of an accumulated body of sociological
data on such behavior. But it also is a result of
the seeming ambivalence—or even hostility— of
most sociologists toward the business community
and its problems. Whatever the explanation, it is
unfortunate indeed that sociologists have tended
to overlook aspects of human behavior so central
to understanding the structure and functioning of
societies.
9 Charles Y. Glock, "The Religious Revival in America?" in Religion and the Face of America, Jane C.
Zahn, editor (Berkeley, California: University Extension, University of California, 1958), pp. 25-42.
10 Also see William N. McPhee, Formal Theories of
Mass Behavior (New York: The Free Press of
Glencoe, 1963).