Book : Spent Sex, Evolution, And Consumer Behavior - Miller,

-Titulo Original : Spent Sex, Evolution, And Consumer Behavior

-Fabricante :

Penguin Books

-Descripcion Original:

A leading evolutionary psychologist probes the unconscious instincts behind American consumer culture Illuminating the hidden reasons for why we buy what we do, Spent applies evolutionary psychology to the sensual wonderland of marketing and perceived status that is American consumer culture. Geoffrey Miller starts with the theory that we purchase things to advertise ourselves to others, and then examines other factors that dictate what we spend money on. With humor and insight, Miller analyzes an array of product choices and deciphers what our decisions say about ourselves, giving us access to a new way of understanding-and improving-our behaviors to become happier consumers. From the Author Follow me on twitter @matingmind About the Author Author of The Mating Mind (2001) and Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (2009); co-editor of Mating Intelligence (2007). Ph.D. from Stanford, B.A. from Columbia. Evolutionary psychology professor at University of New Mexico; also worked at University of Sussex, Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research, University College London, and U.C.L.A. Researches consumer behavior, sexuality, evolutionary psychology, behavior genetics, intelligence, personality, creativity, humor, mental disorders. Published over 40 journal papers, over 60 book chapters and other publications; has given over 120 invited talks around the world. Research has been featured in Nature, Science, Time, Wired, New Scientist, The Economist,The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Psychology Today, on NPR and BBC radio, and on CNN, PBS, Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, National Geographic Channel, BBC, and Channel 4. Follow on twitter (@matingmind), goodreads, , linkedin. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 1Darwin Goes to the MallConsumerist capitalism: it is what it is, and we shouldn’t pretendotherwise.But what is it, really? Consumerism is hard to describe when it’sthe ocean and we’re the plankton.Faced with the unfathomable, we could start by asking some freshquestions. Here’s one: Why would the world’s most intelligent primatebuy a Hummer H1 Alpha sport- utility vehicle for $139,771? It is not apractical mode of transport. It seats only four, needs fifty- one feet inwhich to turn around, burns a gallon of gas every ten miles, dawdlesfrom 0 to 60 mph in 13.5 seconds, and has poor reliability, accordingto Consumer Reports. Yet, some people have felt the need to buy it- asthe Hummer ads say, “Need is a very subjective word.”Although common sense says we buy things because we think we’llenjoy owning and using them, research shows that the pleasures ofacquisition are usually short- lived at best. So why do we keep ourselveson the consumerist treadmill- working, buying, aspiring?Biology offers an answer. Humans evolved in small social groupsin which image and status were all- important, not only for survival,but for attracting mates, impressing friends, and rearing children.Today we ornament ourselves with goods and services more to makean impression on other people’s minds than to enjoy owning a chunkof matter-a fact that renders “materialism” a profoundly misleadingterm for much of consumption. Many products are signals first andmaterial objects second. Our vast social- primate brains evolved to pursueone central social goal: to look good in the eyes of others. Buyingimpressive products in a money- based economy is just the most recentway to fulfill that goal.Many bright thinkers have tried to understand modern consumerismby framing it in a historical context, asking, for example: Howdid we go from showing off our status with purple- bordered togas inancient Rome to showing it off with Franck Muller watches in modernManhattan? How did we go from the 1908 black Model- T Fordto the 2006 “Flame Red Pearl” Hummer? How did we go from eatingcanned tuna (about $4 per pound) to eating magical plankton(“marine phytoplankton