D2L Chapter Consumption

Question 1

What were George Ritzers thoughts on consumption?

Answer 1

Consumption in sociology-not represented enough

Question 2

What are Marx’s means of production?

Answer 2

Main social means needed for producing wealth

Question 3

What are Marx’s means of consumption?

Answer 3

Main social means by which people consume what is produced.

Question 4

What did Thorstein Veblen observe?

Answer 4

Observed and critiqued consumption patterns

Question 5

What is conspicuous consumption?

Answer 5

Purchase/use of possessions/services primarily for the purpose of demonstrating wealth and status. Engaged in by wealthy class-business people who make money from labour of others but do not contribute to economic productivity.

Question 6

What is pecuniary emulation?

Answer 6

Copying expensive spending habits of the wealthy when you do not have the finances to do so.

Question 7

What was Jean Baudrillard’s theory?

Answer 7

The things we buy say a lot about who we are. Any object has value attached in 4 different ways; use value, exchange value, symbolic value and sign value.

Question 8

Affluence Hypothesis

Answer 8

Having a comfortable large disposable income. Consumption habits of western societies are more socially significant than those of people in less affluent countries.

Question 9

What did Ronald Inglehart notice?

Answer 9

Change in values and priorities of people in times of relative economic security and prosperity. More concerned with non-material, quality of life issues.

Question 10

What is the debt-to-income ratio?

Answer 10

Measure of households debt compared with households income after tax. Expressed as % of income made up of household debt.

Question 11

Embourgeoisement Thesis

Answer 11

When working class begins to adopt consumption patters and tastes of the bourgeois- loss of class consciousness

Question 12

Class Consciousness

Answer 12

Understanding of what is in the best interests of their class-creates false consciousness.

Question 13

What did Ferdynand Zweig study?

Answer 13

Workers in an affluent society

Question 14

Consumption as Communication Thesis

Answer 14

Acts of consumption have socially significant symbolic meanings

Question 15

Consumption Reductionism

Answer 15

Reducing study of people to the study of solely consumption patterns, fails to take into account social factors

Question 16

Cohort

Answer 16

Group of people who share a common statistical trait

Question 17

Ethic of Consumption

Answer 17

Celebrates ability to spend

Question 18

How did elite consumption turn into mass consumption?

Answer 18

Luxuries once reserved for the rich became consumption for the masses

Question 19

What did Marshall Sahlins discover?

Answer 19

Original affluent society-hunter gatherer cultures, material needs are few. Affluence=time rich, have disponsable time.

Question 20

Branding

Answer 20

Sociological term-use of marketing to establish certain brands as essential in identity formation and establishing individuals as part of specific groups.

Question 21

Pack-aged rebel

Answer 21

Person who tries to establish themselves as part of a counter-cultural group, actual rebellion comes with social cost.

Question 22

What did Naomi Klein discover?

Answer 22

Brand bullies- aggressiveness of companies in marketing their products towards young people

Question 23

Technological Fetishism

Answer 23

Making recently developed technology the object of uncritical adoration

Question 24

Planned Obselescence

Answer 24

Product designed to last for short amount of time so consumers will crave and purchase newer versions

Question 25

Fair Trade

Answer 25

Supports workers in developing countries, promotes fair wages, safe working and living conditions, equity for women, elimination of child labour.

Question 26

What are the 2 meanings of consumerism?

Answer 26

1. Societal promotion of need to purchase goods and services

2. Consumer activism: Practices aimed at protecting consumers from being exploited by sellers.

Question 27

What are needs in a consumption based society?

Answer 27

Things we want are perceived as things we need (manufactured needs) keeps economy stable and growing.

Question 28

What is the difference between competitive consumption and comparitive consumption?

Answer 28

Competitive: Who has better stuff?
Comparitive: Modern, compares to celebrities.

Question 29

How many credit cards does the average Canadian own?

Answer 29

3

Question 30

Average debt to income ratio in Canada in 2012?

Answer 30

165.8