Week 10 - Income and Social Class Flashcards
The average standard of living continues to improve. Income shifts are driven by two key factors:
- A shift in women’s roles
2. Increases in educational attainment.
Define social class
The overall rank of people in society determined by income, occupation and lifestyle
What are the components of social class?
- Occupational prestige
- Income
- How income relates to social class
- Social class predicts purchases that have symbolic aspects but low to moderate price.
- Income predicts major expenditures that do not have status or symbolic aspects.
- Social class and income predict purchases of expensive, symbolic products.
Low-income households tend to spend more on what kind of items?
Out-of-pocket health care costs, rent and food eaten at home.
What percentage of Australians live below the poverty line?
About 11%
Marketers emphasise what when targeting the poor?
The value of a simple life with less emphasis on materialism
Consumers can be divided into three groups based on their attitude towards luxury. What are they? (Targeting the rich)
Luxury is functional
Luxury is a reward
Luxury is indulgence.
How does social class affects purchase decisions? - WORKING CLASS
- Evaluate products in more utilitarian terms
- Concerned with immediate needs
- More dependent on relatives and are family oriented
- Prioritise the appearance of their home.
How does social class affects purchase decisions? - AFFLUENT CONSUMERS
- Evaluate on appearance and body image
* Focus on longer term goals, but this can result in depression and deviant behaviour
What are status symbols?
Purchases and displays of products that were purchased to let other know that we can afford them.
They don’t have to be luxury products. They can manifest in any number of products/services
A major role of products can be to inspire envy. What is the term for this?
Invidious distinction
The desire to provide prominent, visible evidence of the ability to afford luxury goods is called what?
Conspicuous consumption
Some people deliberately avoid status symbols in a form of conspicuous consumption. This is called what?
A parody display
Analytical techniques that combine data on consumer expenditures with geographic information about the areas in which people live (because people with similar needs and tastes also tend to live near one another) is called what?
Geodemography
The age we perceive ourselves is called what?
Cognitive age
The age that we actually are is called what?
Chronological age
The trend for older people acting and feeling younger than their age is called what?
Down-ageing
Lifespan theories explain what?
As people reach different stages of their life they share common needs with people of a similar age.
Lifespan theories is one set of theories that explains age-based changes. Changes can be:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Cognitive
Two theories that seek to explain development and behaviour are:
- Erikson’s lifespan theory
2. Levinson’s seasons of life
Trust vs. mistrust is what age group in the Erikson’s Lifespan Theory?
0-1 years old
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt is what age group in the Erikson’s Lifespan Theory?
2 years old
Initiative vs. guilt is what age group in the Erikson’s Lifespan Theory?
3-5 years
Industry vs. inferiority is what age group in the Erikson’s Lifespan Theory?
6 years old - puberty
Identity vs. role confusion is what age group in the Erikson’s Lifespan Theory?
Adolescence
Intimacy vs. isolation is what age group in the Erikson’s Lifespan Theory?
Young adulthood
Generativity vs. stagnation is what age group in the Erikson’s Lifespan Theory?
Middle age
Ego integrity vs. despair is what age group in the Erikson’s Lifespan Theory?
Old age
Erikson’s Lifespan Theory is comprised of:
Eight stages based upon age occurring in order without being skipped
Levinson’s Seasons of Life is comprised of:
Five life stages/eras labelled as ‘seasons’. Each commences with a transition and ends with a stable stage
The early adult transition stage is what age group in the Levinson’s Seasons of Life theory?
17-22 years of age
The getting into the adult world stage is what age group in the Levinson’s Seasons of Life theory?
22-28 years of age
The age 30 transitional period stage is what age group in the Levinson’s Seasons of Life theory?
28-32 years of age
The settling down stage is what age group in the Levinson’s Seasons of Life theory?
33-40 years of age
The age 40 transitional period stage is what age group in the Levinson’s Seasons of Life theory?
38-42 years of age
What is an age cohort?
Consists of people of similar ages who have undergone similar experiences. They share common memories about cultural heroes and important historical events.
Value and consumption are shaped by markers - generational life experiences
Children can be decision makers. There are three distinct markets, they are:
- Primary market
- Influence market
- Future market
The process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes relevant to their functioning in the marketplace. This is called what?
Consumer socialisation.
The two primary socialisation sources are what?
Family and the media
How can parents influence consumer socialisation?
Parents deliberately instil their values of consumption; determine degree of exposure to other information sources; and act as significant role models for observational learning.
Children can be segmented by aged based on their stage of what?
Cognitive development (i.e. their ability to comprehend concepts of increasing complexity)
What are 4 teen values, conflicts and desires?
- Autonomy vs. belonging
- Rebellion vs. conformity
- Idealism vs. pragmatism
- Narcissism vs. intimacy
Children aged between 8 and 14, who are in between childhood and adolescence and exhibit characteristics of both groups, are called what?
Tweens
Gen Y makes up 20% of Aus population. They are concerned what kinds of stuff?
Employment prospects, body image, mental health issues, the environment, alcohol and related issues.
People born between 1045 and 1964 are called what?
Baby Boomers
Consumers aged 65 and older are called what?
The grey market
The process of acquiring and storing information over time so that it will be available when needed is called what?
Memory
What are the 3 stages of memory?
Encoding stage: information entered in a recognisable way.
Storage stage: knowledge integrated into what is already in memory and warehoused.
Retrieval stage: the person accesses the desired information.
What are the two types of meaning? (Encoding info)
Sensory meaning (e.g. colour or shape).
Semantic meaning: symbolic associations
(e.g. rich people drink champagne).
What are episodic memories?
Relate to events that are personally relevant (e.g., the movie you saw on your first date with your boy/girl friend)
What are flashbulb memories?
Especially vivid associations.
What are narratives?
An effective way of persuading people to construct a mental representation of the information that they are viewing.
What are the 3 distinct memory systems?
- Sensory Memory: Very temporary storage of information we receive from our senses.
- Short-Term Memory (STM):Working memory (i.e. holds memory we are currently processing).Limited period of time and limited capacity.
- Long-Term Memory (LTM): Can retain info for a long period. For info to enter LTM, elaborative rehearsal is required (i.e. thinking about the meaning of a stimulus and relating it to info already in memory).
A process that allows consumers to shift back and forth between levels of meaning is called what?
Spreading activation
What are the two kinds of test for measuring memory?
Typical recognition test: subjects are shown ads and asked if they have seen them before.
Typical recall test: subjects are asked to independently think of what they have seen without being prompted first.
What are 4 problems with memory measures?
Response Biases: A contaminated result due to the instrument or respondent, rather than the object being measured.
False Memories: The mistaken belief that something has occurred. Can create false product expectations/ evaluations, which then influence purchase decisions.
Memory Lapses: Unintentionally forgetting information by omitting, averaging, telescoping.
Memory for Facts and Feelings: Recall is insufficient to alter preferences. Need more sophisticated attitude-changing strategies
