About the Book
For courses in Consumer Behavior in Fashion and Interior Design; as well as similar courses offered in the departments of Sociology, Psychology, and Business.
In addition to contributing to the understanding of why people buy things, this text considers how products, services, and comsumption activities contribute to the broader social world we experience. This book not only probes the psyche of the American consumer, but also attempts wherever possible to consider the multicultural perspectives of consumers from around the world. Models of consumer behavior underscore the complex interrelationships between the individual consumer and his/her social reality.
Table of Contents:
(NOTE:Most chapters include an Introduction, Chapter Summary, Key Terms, Discussion Questions and Endnotes.)I. INTRODUCTION.
1. Introduction to Fashion Concepts, Theories and Consumer Behavior.
Consumer Behavior: People in the Marketplace. The Nature and Meaning of Fashion. Fashion Leadership Theories. What Is Consumer Behavior? Consumers' Impact on Marketing. Marketing's Impact on Consumers. Taking It From Here: The Plan of the Book.
2. Cultural Influences on Consumer Behavior.
Understanding Culture. Myths and Rituals. Sacred and Profane Consumption. Transferring Product Meaning from Culture to Culture.
3. Creation and Diffusion of Fashion and Consumer Culture.
The Creation of Culture. The Diffusion of Innovations.
II. CONSUMER CHARACTERISTICS AND FASHION IMPLICATIONS.
4. Individual Consumer Dynamics: Motivations and Values.
Theories of Motivation for Wearing Clothes. The Motivation Process. Motivational Strength. Motivational Direction. Consumer Involvement. Values. Materialism: "He Who Dies with the most Toys, Wins."
5. Individual Consumer Dynamics: The Self.
Perspectives on the Self. Self-Concept. Consumption and Self-Concept. Sex Roles. Body Image.
6. Demographic Subcultures: Age, Race, and Ethnicity.
Age and Consumer Identity. The Teen Market: Gen Y, Like totally, Rules. Baby Busters: "Generation X." Baby Boomers. The Gray Market. Race and Ethnic Subcultures. African Americans. Hispanic Americans. Asian Americans.
7. Demographic Subcultures: Income and Social Class.
Consumer Spending and Economic Behavior. Social Class. How Social Class Affects Purchase Decisions. Status Symbols.
8. Psychographics: Personality, Attitudes, and Lifestyle.
Personality. Attitudes. Forming Attitudes. Attitude Measurement. Using Attitudes to Predict Behavior. Lifestyles and Psychographics. Lifestyle Trends: Consumer Behavior in the New Millennium.
9. Consumer Perceptions.
Object Perception. Person Perception. Physical Perception: Sensory Systems. Exposure. Attention. Interpretation.
III. FASHION COMMUNICATION AND DECISION MAKING.
10. Fashion Communication.
Basic Components of Communication. Dress as Nonverbal Communication. Changing Attitudes Through Communication. The Source. The Message.
11. Individual and Household Decision Making.
Consumers as Problem Solvers. Problem Recognition. Information Search. Identifying Alternatives. Product Choice: Selecting Among Alternatives. The Family as a Decision-Making Unit. Family Decision Making. Children as Decision Makers: Consumers-in-Training.
12. Group Influence and Fashion Opinion Leadership.
Reference Groups. Fashion Conformity and Individuality. Word-of-Mouth Communication. Opinion Leadership.
13. Buying and Disposing.
Situational Effects on Consumer Buying. Shopping: A Job or an Adventure? Postpurchase Satisfaction. Product Disposal.
IV. ETHICS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION.
14. Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Issues.
Consumer and Business Ethics. Social Responsibility. Environmental Issues and the Fashion Industry. The Dark Side of Consumer Behavior.
15. The Role of Government and Business in Consumer Protection.
The Complex Marketplace. Government Protection. Consumer Protection from Business Agencies.
About the Author :
Michael R. Solomon, Ph.D., is the Human Sciences Professor of Consumer Behavior in the Department of Consumer Affairs, College of Human sciences, at Auburn University. Prior to joining Auburn in 1995, he was Chairman of the Department of Marketing in the School of Business at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. Professor Solomon began his academic career at the Graduate School of Business Administration at New York University, where he also served as Associate Director of NYU's Institute of Retail Management. He earned B.A. degrees in Psychology and Sociology magna cum laude at Brandeis University in 1977, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981.
Professor Solomon's primary research interests include consumer behavior and lifestyle issues; the symbolic aspects of products; the psychology of fashion, decoration, and image; and services marketing. He has published numerous articles on these and related topics in academic journals, and he has delivered invited lectures on these subjects in The United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Australia, and Latin America. He currently sits on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Consumer Behavior and the Journal of Retailing, and he serves on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Marketing Science. In addition to his academic activities, Professor Solomon is a frequent contributor to mass media. His feature articles have appeared in such magazines as Psychology Today, Gentleman's Quarterly, and Savvy. He has been a guest on "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," CNBC, Channel One, "Inside Edition," "Newsweek on the Air," and National Public Radio.
Among the awards that Dr. Solomon has received are the Cutty Sark Men's Fashion Award for his research on the psychological aspects of clothing. He is editor of The Psychology of Fashion and co-editor of The Service Encounter: Managing Employee/Customer Interaction in Services Businesses (Lexington Books). His textbook Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being (Prentice Hall), now in its fifth edition, is widely used in universities throughout North America, Europe, and Australia, and has been translated into several languages. The third edition of Marketing: Real People, Real Choices (Prentice Hall) was published in 2002.
Professor Solomon lives in Auburn, Alabama, with his wife Gail, and their three children, Amanda, Zachary, and Alexandra.
Nancy J. Rabolt, Ph.D., is a professor of Apparel Design and Merchandising at San Francisco State University, where she is also Chair of the Department of Consumer and Family Studies/Dietetics. Dr. Rabolt has taught fashion consumer behavior and fashion merchandising for over twenty-five years, at Southern Illinois University and Marygrove College prior to San Francisco State. She holds a B.S. degree in Education from State University of New York, Oneonta; an M.S. in Clothing and Textiles from Southern Illinois University; and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Textiles/Merchandising/Design, Social Psychology, and Consumer Behavior from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Professor Rabolt's primary research interests include cross-cultural consumer behavior and global aspects of the apparel industry. She has made numerous presentations at marketing, consumer, apparel, and family and consumer sciences conferences. She has published in several international journals, including Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, International Textiles and Apparel Association Special Publications, and Journal of Consumer Studies & Home Economics. She is also the primary author of Concepts and Cases in Retail and Merchandise Management (Fairchild Publications).
Dr. Rabolt lives near the Pacific Ocean in Montara, California.
