Skip to main content
Log in

Consumers, commodities, and choices: A general model of consumer behavior

  • Article
  • Published:
Historical Archaeology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Results of present-day marketing and consumer behavior research suggest that consumer decision-making processes and commodity acquisition patterns differ depending upon a number of variables, including identity of the decisionmakers, nature and type of commodity, perceived need for an item, and the socio-cultural environment. Archaeological research tends to focus on aspects of historical consumer behavior associated with specific commodities and exhibited by particular segments of the population. It is suggested that a general model of consumer behavior, one not linked to any specific commodity or population segment, will serve to place archaeological research in a broader context and permit the future development of consumer behavior models for other types of commodities and population segments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Borchert, James 1980 Alley Life in Washington: Family, Community, Religion, and Folklife in the City, 1850–1970. University of Illinois Press, Urbana.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bottomore, T.B. 1972 The Nature of Social Class. In Issues in Social Inequality, edited by Gerald W. Thielbar and Saul D. Feldman, pp. 120–134. Little, Brown, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burk, Marguerite C. 1967 Survey of Interpretations of Consumer Behavior by Social Scientists in the Postwar Period. Journal of Farm Economics 49(1):1–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deetz, James J.F. 1977 In Small Things Forgotten: The Archaeology of Early American Life. Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1982 Households: A Structural Key to Archaeological Explanation. In Archaeology of the Household: Building a Prehistory of Domestic Life, edited by Richard R. Wilk and William L. Rathje. American Behavioral Scientist 25:717–724.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duesenberry, James S. 1949 Income, Savings and the Theory of Consumer Behavior. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, Milton 1957 A Theory of the Consumption Function. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glassie, Henry 1968 Pattern in the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, Milton M. 1978 Human Nature, Class, and Ethnicity. Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, Susan L. 1987 Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior in Turn-of-the-Century Phoenix, Arizona. In Consumer Choice in Historical Archaeology, edited by Suzanne Spencer-Wood, pp. 359–381. Plenum Press, New York.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hyman, Herbert 1960 Reflections on Reference Groups. Public Opinion Quarterly 24:383–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahl, Joseph A. 1957 The American Class Structure. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassarjian, Harold H., and Thomas S. Robertson 1973a Social Class. In Perspectives in Consumer Behavior, edited by Harold H. Kassarjian and Thomas S. Robertson, pp. 390–400. Scott, Foresman, Glenview, Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1973b Social Processes. In Perspectives in Consumer Behavior, edited by Harold H. Kassarjian and Thomas S. Robertson, pp. 292–299. Scott, Foresman, Glenview, Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katona, George 1960 The Powerful Consumer. McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keynes, John Maynard 1936 The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Harcourt, Brace, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Komarovsky, Mirra 1970 Class Differences in Family Decision-Making on Expenditures. In Research in Consumer Behavior, edited by David T. Kollat, Roger D. Blackwell, and James F. Engel, pp. 503–511. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroeber, A.L. 1948 Anthropology. Revised edition. Harcourt, Brace, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laslett, Peter, and Richard Wall (editors) 1972 Household and Family in Past Time. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laumann, Edward O., and James S. House 1973 Living Room Styles and Social Attributes: The Patterning of Material Artifacts in a Modern Urban Community. In Perspectives in Consumer Behavior, edited by Harold H. Kassarjian and Thomas S. Robertson, pp. 430–440. Scott, Foresman, Glenview, Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • LeClair, Edward E., Jr., and Harold K. Schneider (editors) 1968 Economic Anthropology: Readings in Theory and Analysis. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibenstein, Harvey 1950 Bandwagon, Snob, and Veblen Effects in the Theory of Consumer Demand. Quarterly Journal of Economics 64(2): 183–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, Sidney J. 1959 Symbols for Sale. Harvard Business Review 37:117–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martineau, Pierre 1958 Social Classes and Spending Behavior. Journal of Marketing 23:121–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, Abraham H. 1943 A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review 50:370–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, James H., and Jonathan Gutman 1974 Life Style: The Essence of Social Class. In Life Style and Psychographics, edited by William D. Wells, pp. 235–256. American Marketing Association, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicosia, Francesco M., and Robert N. Mayer 1976 Toward a Sociology of Consumption. Journal of Consumer Research 3(2):65–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, Talcott, and Neil J. Smelser 1956 Economy and Society. Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, Karl, Conrad Arensburg, and Harry Pearson 1957 Trade and Market in the Early Empires. Free Press and Falcon’s Wing Press, Glencoe, Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • Press, Irwin 1969 Ambiguity and Innovation: Implications for the Genesis of the Culture Broker. American Anthropologist 71(2):205–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, Thomas S. 1970 Consumer Behavior. Scott, Foresman, Glenview, Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • St. George, Robert Blair (editor) 1988 Material Life in America, 1600–1860. Northeastern University Press, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiffer, Michael B. 1976 Behavioral Archaeology. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiffer, Michael B., Theodore E. Downing, and Michael McCarthy 1981 Waste Not, Want Not: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Re-use in Tucson, Arizona. In Modern Material Culture: The Archaeology of Us, edited by Richard A. Gould and Michael B. Schiffer, pp. 67–86. Academic Press, New York.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schiffman, Leon G., and Leslie Lazar Kanuk 1987 Consumer Behavior. Third edition. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlereth, Thomas J. (editor) 1982 Material Culture Studies in America. American Association for State and Local History, Nashville, Tennessee.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuyler, Robert L. 1980 Preface. In Archaeological Perspectives on Ethnicity in America: Afro-American and Asian American Culture History, edited by Robert L. Schuyler, pp. vii–viii. Baywood, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shibutani, Tamotsu 1962 Reference Groups and Social Control. In Human Behavior and Social Processes: An Interactionist Approach, edited by A. M. Rose, pp. 128–147. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smelser, Neil J. 1976 The Sociology of Economic Life. Second edition. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

    Google Scholar 

  • South, Stanley 1977 Method and Theory in Historical Archeology. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer-Wood, Suzanne (editor) 1987 Consumer Choice in Historical Archaeology. Plenum Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suits, Daniel B. 1963 The Determinants of Consumer Expenditure: A Review of Present Knowledge. Impacts of Monetary Policy Research Study No. 1. A series of research studies prepared for the Commission on Money and Credit. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thielbar, Gerald W., and Saul D. Feldman (editors) 1972 Issues in Social Inequality. Little, Brown, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veblen, Thorstein 1934 Theory of the Leisure Class. Modern Library, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vivello, Frank Robert 1978 Cultural Anthropology Handbook: A Basic Introduction. McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, Max 1972 Class, Status, Party. In Issues in Social Inequality, edited by Gerald W. Thielbar and Saul D. Feldman, pp. 165–179. Little, Brown, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells, William D., and George Gubar 1970 Life Cycle Concept in Marketing Research. In Research in Consumer Behavior, edited by David T. Kollat, Roger D. Blackwell, and James F. Engel, pp. 512–527. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, Carle C. 1932 Ernst Engel’s Law of Expenditures for Food. Quarterly Journal of Economics 47:78–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Henry, S.L. Consumers, commodities, and choices: A general model of consumer behavior. Hist Arch 25, 3–14 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373511

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373511

Navigation