Unit 12: Affluence, Leisure, and Consumption

Question 1

Affluence

Answer 1

Having the economic means to privately afford leisure time and luxury material consumption. The state of having a great deal of money; wealth.

Question 2

Luxury

Answer 2

Anything beyond basic subsistence

Question 3

Leisure time

Answer 3

Time spent not working and not engaged in sustenance activities (eating, sleeping, etc…).

Question 4

Leisure time in the Industrial Revolution

Answer 4

70 hour work weeks with very little leisure time per week. Workers earned only enough for a very meager existence

Question 5

Leisure time in the early 1900s

Answer 5

Through the 19th and early 20th century, workers movements (unions) pushed for an 8 hour day and weekends off work. Wages increased to allow for a comfortable living with these hours

Question 6

Leisure time in the 1920s

Answer 6

With basic needs met, there was a continued union push for establishing a 6 hour work day plus weekends (30 hrs/week). During the great depression, the government supported reduced working hours to try to spread employment out. It was predicted there would be a 15 hour work week in the 21st century.

Question 7

Early 20th century working class and consumption

Answer 7

The working classes were modest consumers, but consumption was growing at a modest rate as people were demonstrating a greater interest in increasing their leisure time. The federal government and producers worried that without increased demand among the working classes, the economy would stagnate. The US government and US Corporations saw benefits in accelerating the growth of consumption among the masses.

Question 8

How to accelerate consumer demand (4)

Answer 8

1. Increase pay for working class, but push back against reduced working hours
2. Improve access to credit
3. Planned Obsolescence
4. Advertising

Question 9

Planned Obsolescence

Answer 9

Most products were ‘lifetime’ products and were often multi-generational. Producers and retailers realized that it would be difficult to maintain demand and sought to shorten the psychological and physical lifespan of products.

Question 10

Rise of mass media and advertising

Answer 10

Radio and TV allowed advertisers access into the workers’ homes. Both became fundamental parts of everyday life and provided access directly to consumers in a way not possible in the past.

Question 11

Today’s consumption

Answer 11

Significant overconsumption as too much is being consumed to be sustained, leading to catastrophe for species unless something changes.

Question 12

Misconsumption

Answer 12

Individuals consume in a manner that it undermines their own well-being (suboptimal consumption). In most cases, it is people consuming more goods and services than they should, and working and/or going into debt more than they should.

Question 13

Low cognition

Answer 13

When Factors other than logic of argument are used to persuade someone, often taking advantage of our heuristics and our emotions.

Question 14

High cognition

Answer 14

Challenges brain patterns through comparing strengths/logic of argument by encouraging high effort processes by targeted individuals to consider. Change in brain patterns occurs when convinced by fact based argument.

Question 15

Examples of low cognition (3)

Answer 15

1. Emotional forms of engagement that disengage skepticism/mistrust using our emotions
2. Characteristics of the Messenger (celebrities)
3. Taking advantage of our fears and hopes regarding ‘Social Identity’ and ‘status’ (‘Descriptive Norm Messaging’ to define what is normal and desirable).

Question 16

Self identity and consumption

Answer 16

Decisions to make purchases are part of an attempt to find meaning, status, and identity and results in misconsumption.
Decisions are heavily influenced by the cultural environment, Advertisers sell lifestyles instead of products, which act as conduits to the lifestyle.

Question 17

Thorstein Veblen

Answer 17

Coined the term Conspicuous Consumption in his 1899 study of the wealthy class, which found that a large part of their expenditure was entirely focused on status.

Question 18

Conspicous consumption

Answer 18

Consumption that the primary intent is based upon a goal of gaining status. It is not just about being at the top of the status hierarchy, it is about fitting in and not falling in status.

Question 19

Status seeking

Answer 19

Focus of members of society becomes maintaining and enhancing status

Question 20

Problem of status seeking

Answer 20

Status is a Zero Sum Game so at a societal level economic growth may be doing nothing to improve total ‘happiness’ and in fact may be reducing it through encouraging misconsumption and overconsumption.

Question 21

“Normal “ consumption levels

Answer 21

Subjective to what is defined as “normal.” Most often middle class.

Question 22

Basic life consumption levels (6)

Answer 22

To have a basic life, one is a high consumer due to:
1. Rent/mortgage
2. Utilities
3. Insurance
4. Childcare
5. Car payments
6. Phone payments

Question 23

Household consumption levels (3)

Answer 23

Additional consumption on top of basic needs.
1. Eating out
2. Extracurriculars
3. Clothing

Question 24

Impacts of commercial marketing

Answer 24

Continuation and expansion of a consumption based lifestyle. Happiness is
increasingly commodified.

Question 25

Commercial marketing

Answer 25

Persuasion driven by industries that want you to consume their product.

Question 26

Social Marketing

Answer 26

Persuasion by governments, NGOs, and others meant to change your behavior to support the social good.

Question 27

Early Social Marketing

Answer 27

Often high cognition due to marketing seeking to explain ‘facts.’ Low Cognition Marketing involved mostly Injunctive Norm Messaging, telling someone else how they SHOULD behave.

Question 28

Example of early social marketing (2)

Answer 28

“Everyone should recycle” its “The right thing to do”

Question 29

Early social marketing effects

Answer 29

Limited effectiveness in changing behavior since Tragedy of the Commons effect lead to self interest often overriding ‘moral’ messages about doing the right thing.

Question 30

Recent social marketing

Answer 30

Increasingly low cognition. Employs ‘Social Identity’ fears and ‘Descriptive norm messaging’ to make good environmental behavior desirable and environmentally harmful behavior undesirable. Humor, sex, celebrity etc… are used in the same ways that commercial marketers do.

Question 31

Injunctive norm messaging

Answer 31

Telling someone else how they should behave.

Question 32

Descriptive norm messaging

Answer 32

Effort to ‘Normalize’ good behavior and denormalize bad behavior. Generating a sense that the ‘normal’ and/or desirable state is one which involves the promoted behavior.

Question 33

Descriptive messaging

Answer 33

Identifying what others are doing and using self concern about ‘fitting in’ as a means to influence behavior. More powerful than using injunctive norms alone.

Question 34

Example of descriptive norm messaging

Answer 34

Smoking campaigns