418:
value to the owner because they have ascribed emotions of comfort and nostalgia to the toy. Advertising and branding has tapped into how consumers value products, and ascribe non-function related meanings to the goods and services. For instance, many dog food commercials symbolize their product to be a lifeforce for pets, keeping them happy and healthy for as long as possible, when in reality pet food is just pet food. Branding in itself can be considered as a construction of symbolic meaning attached to an entity, whether it be a company or a person. For example, Nike as a brand represents perseverance and athletic achievement, especially through their tagline, “just do it,” even though they cannot sell perseverance or athletic success. They sell athletic products, but are successful as a brand because of their advertising with some of the greatest athletes of all time and through imbuing their brand with meaning that permeates through the general public.
305:
137:
consumer as an individual within a socially constructed environment. The process of consumption itself takes into account how activities are socially constructed and organized. Other definitions of consumption necessitate a process that creates utility, agency, and appropriation (in the sense that a raw material is processed, handled, or transformed by humans). For instance, infants cannot consume because they lack agency; instead, their parents consume for them. An example of appropriation is purchasing a
Christmas tree–although it is a natural object, it has been processed by others and therefore consumed by those who purchase it. On the other hand, if one were to go into their backyard, chop a fir themselves, and then bring it into the home, arguably, that is not an act of consumption.
271:, there were significant differences in consumption patterns between those in the industrialized world and those in the unindustrialized world. Yet, those differences got exacerbated during World War II and in the immediate postwar years. Driven by the United States’ monumental industrial capacity, the world exited the Second World War with a new jump in industrialization and mass production. Consumption during World War II was altered globally due to so many resources going to the war effort. However, after the war, the factories still intact switched to consumer goods to avoid an economic slowdown. For the United States with all of its industrial capacity unharmed, the United States became an industrial titan producing mass-consumption goods for the whole world. Additionally through the
398:
individual agency to influence patterns of consumption, it is crucial to note that relationships, networks, and changing societal norms are also sources of influence. CCT also relates to the idea of the “extended self” which is a construction of identity created with external objects. For instance, a fashion blogger may consider their clothes to be an extension of themself. They chose clothes that they liked, bought them (or made them), and wear them to signal their identity. In this way, the “you are what you eat” sentiment can be extended to other things that you consume, whether it be clothes, art, books, computers, etc.
260:
406:
scenes or communities, and to gain recognition and approval from others within these contexts. In this sense, goods and services are seen as part of a broader system of cultural signifiers, in which individuals use a range of material and symbolic objects to communicate their identity and social position. Warde suggests that the meanings and values associated with particular goods and services can change over time, and that these meanings are often contested and negotiated.
175:
430:
325:. In the United States, people tend to dislike public spending and taxation while Europeans tend to support higher rates of taxation for spending on the public good. Additionally, when looking at how American cities look vs European cities, this divergent ideology around public vs private living and responsibility is extremely clear. Look at how Americans have embraced
25:
317:. This divergence is exhibited in how American and European cities function and look. Americans, and subsequently American economic trends, tend to be significantly more self-centered and personal while European economic trends tend to be more community-based. These differences can best be seen in governmental policy toward
405:
suggests that goods and services can be understood as a form of cultural capital, in which individuals use these products to signal their social status and cultural tastes to others. He argues that the consumption of goods and services is often driven by a desire to participate in particular cultural
377:
allowed most
European cities to subside off less consumption per capita. Whereas in America, strict urban planning restrictions limited who could live where and where businesses could be, in Europe, there was a much more lenient system that allowed for and encouraged a much higher population density.
148:
defines consumption as "the process by which goods and services are acquired, used and disposed of by households and other economic actors" (p. 3). He emphasizes that consumption involves not just the physical act of purchasing and consuming goods, but also the cultural meanings and social norms that
136:
When defining consumption, there must be a focus on the consumer, their relationships, and the process of consumption itself. When considering the consumer’s role in consumption, there is an emphasis on the moment of exchange of a good or service as well as stressing the importance of considering the
386:
One major area of research within the sociology of consumption is the study of consumer culture. This includes analyzing the ways in which consumer goods and services are marketed, consumed, and integrated into social identities and cultural practices. Scholars in this area have examined the role of
157:
Consumption patterns have a direct link to ways in which people interact with the environment. What people eat and wear, what types of homes people live in, and where people even buy groceries all have impacts on the environment. This immense stratification of impact has a long and rich history that
107:
The processes associated with globalization have created hitherto unimaginable opportunities for cultural forms and practices to travel far beyond the indigenous sites and spaces in which they were first conceived and produced. While there have always been cultural movements and flows from one space
295:
cars, and
American electronics. While people around the world were seeing the “Made in America” stamp more and more frequently, a mirrored impact is that Americans of all classes were becoming richer in comparison. This increase in wealth allowed for the increase in stratification between Americans
95:
is generally seen as the first major theoretical work to take consumption as its primary focus. Despite these early roots, research on consumption began in earnest in the second half of the twentieth century in Europe, especially Great
Britain. Interest in the topic among mainstream US sociologists
417:
sheds light on the potency of symbolic value. Symbolic value is defined as the value derived from the symbolic meaning of an object. For instance, a stuffed animal from childhood has little physical value (in that the toy itself is not necessarily worth much or do much), but can have high symbolic
140:
The academic debate surrounding definitions of consumption include whether or not consumption is an active choice or an action carried out simply due to habit or circumstance. Though individualism and identity is highly intertwined with practices of consumption, so are the economic conditions that
312:
When looking at
American cities, they look remarkably different to cities around the world. These drastic differences have a lot of causes yet they all lead to cities that have on average significantly higher levels of per capita consumption than others around the world. Stemming largely from the
238:
Subsequently, production overall grew exponentially as industrial production transitioned into the backbone of the global economy. Everyday people began having more things and more specifically, more uniform mass-produced things. As more and more people began having more and more things, the raw
353:
to be implemented across the nation. These highways, coupled with the uniquely
American ability at the time for the average family to afford a car, provided the necessary infrastructure to accelerate and accommodate a massive shift into the suburbs. In the suburbs, families could have their own
132:
The sociology of consumption is a field within sociology specifically about the social, economic, and cultural dimensions of consumer behavior. It studies how and why individuals and groups acquire and use goods and services in a given society, as well as the cultural meanings and social norms
397:
theory that one’s consumption patterns are rooted in their upbringing and environment. Consumption through the lens of CCT is not only shaped by external factors (such as socioeconomic status, marketing, and upbringing) but also is rooted in individual agency. However, even though CCT credits
182:
Before the
Industrial Revolution, consumption looked very different. Around the world, consumption patterns revolved largely around what food could be grown and brought into the villages, towns, and cities of the day. Additionally, prior to the Industrial Revolution, the
286:
People all around the world, in every corner, in every nation, had
American and Western European goods flowing in during the second half of the 20th century. The cheap Western goods enabled a new level of consumption where people could now have cheap American corn and
149:
are associated with these practices, including economic conditions, new technologies, and cultural trends. Moreover, consumption has significant implications for social inequality, as patterns of consumption are often tied to broader patterns of social stratification.
86:
in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Sociologists view consumption as central to everyday life, identity and social order. Many sociologists associate it with social class, identity, group membership, age and stratification as it plays a huge part in modernity.
108:
to another, the intensity and ease of contemporary intersections of the global and the local have forced scholars to look closely at the myriad ways in which culture is consumed – used up, made sense of, embraced, and explored.
283:
revitalization with immense economic support from the United States, European nations rebuilt extremely quickly and were able to modernize their industrial systems toward mass production as well.
227:
with the more expendable income they had. This pattern only grew exponentially as time moved toward the present. In contrast to the individuals in industrializing countries, people in the
874:
656:
560:
199:. Collectively, these limitations prohibited a majority of the global population from being able to consume in excess. Excess consumption was reserved for the global elites.
841:
369:
Conversely, Europe embraced a more collectivist community-based approach to living that does not necessitate the same level of hyper-consumption. Europe has a much higher
313:
post-World War II divergence, the United States built much of its prosperity on its national demand for mass-consumption goods whereas Europe built theirs largely around
304:
103:
However, over the last twenty years, sociological research into the area of consumption has burgeoned in cognate fields, particularly in global and cultural studies:
728:
207:
Starting during the
Industrial Revolution, consumption patterns changed drastically around the world. For the countries getting industrialized first, cheap
483:
341:, where cities have grown outwards rather than upwards. Various American governmental policies have enabled and encouraged urban sprawl. For example,
96:
was much slower to develop and it is still not a focal concern of many
American sociologists. Efforts are currently underway to form a section in the
366:. This focus on personal single-family homes led to this very individualistic and socially repetitive pattern of consumption in the United States.
239:
resources and the consequences of production grew as well. These production-based consequences include but are in no way limited to immense
43:
680:
939:
887:
97:
61:
921:
Stebbins, Robert A. Leisure and Consumption: Common Ground, Separate Worlds. Houndmills, Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
337:. All entities that prioritize and enable hyper-individualized (and often redundant) consumption. American living is epitomized by
191:
had yet to truly be revolutionizing. So, production was significantly limited to the fuel that could be found consisting of wood,
346:
259:
817:
330:
631:
793:
166:, the World Wars, and much more especially as the global population has grown exponentially in recent centuries.
387:
advertising, branding, and other forms of commercial communication in shaping consumer desires and preferences.
879:
512:
491:
393:
maintains that consumption practices contribute to the creation and maintenance of an identity, contrary to
390:
296:
and largely the rest of the world. Americans could now afford to consume gluttonous amounts of everything.
752:
453:
897:
536:
159:
777:
934:
342:
322:
275:, an American foreign policy aid program aimed at preventing broken European nations from becoming
657:"The Ways that Industrialization Altered Patterns of Consumption – Foundations of Western Culture"
561:"The Ways that Industrialization Altered Patterns of Consumption – Foundations of Western Culture"
613:
370:
292:
779:
Trams or Tailfins?: Public and Private Prosperity in Postwar West Germany and the United States
704:
174:
883:
605:
597:
244:
113:
88:
869:
458:
443:
394:
363:
276:
208:
117:
435:
374:
232:
928:
272:
240:
216:
121:
410:
355:
338:
268:
184:
901:
540:
448:
334:
288:
188:
163:
753:"Use It and Lose It: The Outsize Effect of U.S. Consumption on the Environment"
601:
429:
425:
402:
359:
280:
145:
609:
224:
196:
83:
79:
729:"How Did Mass Production and Mass Consumption Take Off After World War II?"
308:
Map of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, June of 1958
82:
since its earliest days, dating back, at least implicitly, to the work of
354:
private single-family house, a backyard, and personal appliances such as
617:
585:
350:
247:
of different animal populations (beaver hunting), and exploitative and
212:
632:"The Troubles of Pollution: Environmental Impact of Industrialization"
231:
of the colonial industrializing powers became dumping grounds for the
326:
314:
248:
228:
220:
681:"When everything changed: the US & UK economies in World War II"
211:
combined with new steady and rising wages. People in countries like
905:
544:
34:
provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject
463:
303:
258:
173:
192:
141:
obstruct agency for marginalized groups and individuals.
318:
18:
818:"Interstate Highway System | Eisenhower Presidential Library"
907:
Globalization and Culture, Vol. 3: Global-Local Consumption
546:
Globalization and Culture, Vol. 3: Global-Local Consumption
300:
Divergence in American consumption vs European consumption
914:
Rey, P; Ritzer, G.(2011) "The Sociology of Consumption",
875:
Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste
39:
373:
prioritizing multi-family units. This polar opposite
144:
In "Consumption, Food and Taste" (1997), sociologist
705:"Milestones: 1945–1952 - Office of the Historian"
349:in 1956 and paved the way for a substantial
267:From the time of the Industrial Revolution until
842:"Zoned in the USA by Sonia A. Hirt | Paperback"
105:
733:World101 from the Council on Foreign Relations
329:as a major way of living. With suburbia comes
794:"How Do US Taxes Compare to Other Countries?"
8:
782:. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
586:"Consumerism and the Industrial Revolution"
916:The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Sociology
409:Considering advertisements and branding,
62:Learn how and when to remove this message
549:. London: Sage Publications. p. xi.
112:Modern theorists of consumption include
475:
100:devoted to the study of consumption.
44:providing more context for the reader
7:
484:"How Sociologists Study Consumption"
251:and resource extraction processes.
584:Fine, Ben; Leopold, Ellen (1990).
14:
133:associated with these practices.
98:American Sociological Association
78:have been a part of the field of
428:
203:During the Industrial Revolution
23:
93:The Theory of the Leisure Class
513:"The Sociology of Consumption"
1:
391:Consumer Culture Theory (CCT)
233:overproduction of commodities
223:began to be able to buy more
910:. London: Sage Publications.
333:, private cars, and massive
187:had yet to be invented and
956:
255:Post-Industrial Revolution
128:Definitions of Consumption
822:www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov
602:10.1080/03071029008567764
263:Tank assembly during WWII
170:Pre–Industrial Revolution
940:Sociological terminology
880:Harvard University Press
846:Cornell University Press
685:www.rapidtransition.org
347:Federal Aid Highway Act
454:Hypermobility (travel)
309:
264:
179:
153:History of Consumption
110:
307:
262:
177:
160:Industrial Revolution
661:foundations.uwgb.org
565:foundations.uwgb.org
343:President Eisenhower
16:Concept in sociology
757:Scientific American
488:About.com Education
331:single-family homes
209:mass-produced goods
40:improve the article
371:population density
310:
265:
249:destructive mining
180:
776:Logemann, Jan L.
709:history.state.gov
158:has roots in the
72:
71:
64:
947:
911:
893:
870:Bourdieu, Pierre
856:
855:
853:
852:
838:
832:
831:
829:
828:
814:
808:
807:
805:
804:
790:
784:
783:
773:
767:
766:
764:
763:
749:
743:
742:
740:
739:
725:
719:
718:
716:
715:
701:
695:
694:
692:
691:
677:
671:
670:
668:
667:
653:
647:
646:
644:
643:
628:
622:
621:
581:
575:
574:
572:
571:
557:
551:
550:
533:
527:
526:
524:
523:
509:
503:
502:
500:
499:
490:. Archived from
480:
438:
433:
432:
415:Imagined Futures
382:Consumer Culture
364:laundry machines
345:implemented the
279:by supporting a
114:Jean Baudrillard
89:Thorstein Veblen
67:
60:
56:
53:
47:
27:
26:
19:
955:
954:
950:
949:
948:
946:
945:
944:
925:
924:
918:, pp. 444.
896:
890:
868:
865:
863:Further reading
860:
859:
850:
848:
840:
839:
835:
826:
824:
816:
815:
811:
802:
800:
792:
791:
787:
775:
774:
770:
761:
759:
751:
750:
746:
737:
735:
727:
726:
722:
713:
711:
703:
702:
698:
689:
687:
679:
678:
674:
665:
663:
655:
654:
650:
641:
639:
630:
629:
625:
583:
582:
578:
569:
567:
559:
558:
554:
535:
534:
530:
521:
519:
511:
510:
506:
497:
495:
482:
481:
477:
472:
459:Overconsumption
444:Consumer theory
434:
427:
424:
384:
323:public spending
302:
257:
205:
197:watermill power
172:
155:
130:
118:Pierre Bourdieu
68:
57:
51:
48:
37:
28:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
953:
951:
943:
942:
937:
927:
926:
923:
922:
919:
912:
894:
888:
864:
861:
858:
857:
833:
809:
785:
768:
744:
720:
696:
672:
648:
623:
596:(2): 151–179.
590:Social History
576:
552:
528:
517:www.asanet.org
504:
474:
473:
471:
468:
467:
466:
461:
456:
451:
446:
440:
439:
436:Society portal
423:
420:
383:
380:
375:urban planning
351:highway system
301:
298:
256:
253:
204:
201:
195:, or possibly
171:
168:
154:
151:
129:
126:
70:
69:
52:September 2017
31:
29:
22:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
952:
941:
938:
936:
933:
932:
930:
920:
917:
913:
909:
908:
903:
899:
895:
891:
889:0-674-21277-0
885:
881:
878:. Cambridge:
877:
876:
871:
867:
866:
862:
847:
843:
837:
834:
823:
819:
813:
810:
799:
795:
789:
786:
781:
780:
772:
769:
758:
754:
748:
745:
734:
730:
724:
721:
710:
706:
700:
697:
686:
682:
676:
673:
662:
658:
652:
649:
637:
633:
627:
624:
619:
615:
611:
607:
603:
599:
595:
591:
587:
580:
577:
566:
562:
556:
553:
548:
547:
542:
538:
532:
529:
518:
514:
508:
505:
494:on 2016-12-23
493:
489:
485:
479:
476:
469:
465:
462:
460:
457:
455:
452:
450:
447:
445:
442:
441:
437:
431:
426:
421:
419:
416:
412:
407:
404:
399:
396:
392:
388:
381:
379:
376:
372:
367:
365:
361:
357:
356:refrigerators
352:
348:
344:
340:
336:
332:
328:
324:
320:
316:
306:
299:
297:
294:
290:
284:
282:
278:
274:
273:Marshall Plan
270:
261:
254:
252:
250:
246:
242:
241:deforestation
236:
234:
230:
226:
222:
218:
217:United States
214:
210:
202:
200:
198:
194:
190:
186:
176:
169:
167:
165:
161:
152:
150:
147:
142:
138:
134:
127:
125:
123:
122:George Ritzer
119:
115:
109:
104:
101:
99:
94:
90:
85:
81:
77:
66:
63:
55:
45:
41:
35:
32:This article
30:
21:
20:
915:
906:
902:Szeman, Imre
873:
849:. Retrieved
845:
836:
825:. Retrieved
821:
812:
801:. Retrieved
797:
788:
778:
771:
760:. Retrieved
756:
747:
736:. Retrieved
732:
723:
712:. Retrieved
708:
699:
688:. Retrieved
684:
675:
664:. Retrieved
660:
651:
640:. Retrieved
638:. 2022-11-11
636:TheCollector
635:
626:
593:
589:
579:
568:. Retrieved
564:
555:
545:
541:Szeman, Imre
531:
520:. Retrieved
516:
507:
496:. Retrieved
492:the original
487:
478:
414:
411:Jens Beckert
408:
401:Sociologist
400:
389:
385:
368:
339:urban sprawl
335:supermarkets
311:
285:
269:World War II
266:
237:
206:
189:fossil fuels
185:steam engine
181:
156:
143:
139:
135:
131:
111:
106:
102:
92:
75:
74:Theories of
73:
58:
49:
38:Please help
33:
935:Consumption
898:James, Paul
798:The Balance
537:James, Paul
449:Consumerism
360:dishwashers
245:overhunting
225:commodities
164:imperialism
76:consumption
929:Categories
851:2023-03-14
827:2023-03-14
803:2023-03-14
762:2023-03-14
738:2023-03-14
714:2023-03-14
690:2023-03-14
666:2023-03-14
642:2023-03-14
570:2023-03-14
522:2021-05-07
498:2016-12-01
470:References
403:Alan Warde
395:Bourdieu’s
281:capitalist
146:Alan Warde
91:'s (1899)
610:0307-1022
277:Communist
178:Watermill
84:Karl Marx
80:sociology
904:(2010).
872:(1984).
543:(2010).
422:See also
327:suburbia
319:taxation
291:, cheap
229:colonies
618:4285840
315:exports
213:England
886:
616:
608:
362:, and
221:France
219:, and
215:, the
120:, and
614:JSTOR
464:Waste
884:ISBN
606:ISSN
321:and
293:Ford
289:Spam
193:peat
598:doi
413:’s
42:by
931::
900:;
882:.
844:.
820:.
796:.
755:.
731:.
707:.
683:.
659:.
634:.
612:.
604:.
594:15
592:.
588:.
563:.
539:;
515:.
486:.
358:,
243:,
235:.
162:,
124:.
116:,
892:.
854:.
830:.
806:.
765:.
741:.
717:.
693:.
669:.
645:.
620:.
600::
573:.
525:.
501:.
65:)
59:(
54:)
50:(
46:.
36:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
