Cultural (Subculture) Influences on Consumer Behavior

Section 4&5 Chapter 13-17

16-2

Culture & Subculture Glossary

• Culture – The values, ethics, rituals, traditions, material objects, and services produced or valued by the members of a society. E.g., US culture, Chinese culture

• Popular Culture – The music, movies, sports, books, celebrities, and other forms of entertainment consumed by the mass market.

• Subculture – Groups whose members share beliefs and common experiences that set them apart from other members of a culture. E.g., social class, ethnic, racial, and religious identifications (African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans in US), age subculture

16-3

Understanding Culture

• What do we mean by culture? How is it related to an individual’s personality?

– We can think of culture as a society’s personality. – It includes both abstract ideas, such as values and

ethics, and material objects and services, such as the automobile, clothing, food, art, and sports, that are produced or valued by a society.

– Put another way, culture is the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms, and traditions among the members of an organization or society.

16-4

Understanding Culture

• Culture = society’s personality– The accumulation of shared meanings, rituals,

norms, and traditions among members

– Discussion: If your culture were a person, how would you describe its personality traits?

E.g., U.S. CultureFreedom, Youthfulness, achievement, materialism,

individuality, mastery over the environment, efficiency, equality, humanitarianism, religious orientation

16-5

Understanding Culture

• Five Changes of the Personality of Chinese (according to the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences )

– Traditionally Chinese are said to be conservative, firm, filial and a little bit cynical. However, under the impact of modernization, their image has greatly changed while they are seeking a balance between tradition and modern lifestyle.  

– With the pace of life becomes faster, Chinese people tend to be more “aggressive”, which also makes them appreciate responsibility better. Besides, they are better at expressing themselves, and they have become more emotional, too.  

16-6

Understanding Culture

• Five Changes of the Personality of Chinese (Cont)

– Compared with the result of a similar research conducted in 1992, the Chinese at the present time are more practical. Apparently, one has to be practical to survive the fast-changing society today.  

– On the other hand, more Chinese dare to become leaders than before, as quite a large proportion of them have started businesses of their own.  

– Now most Chinese appreciate the current harmonious environment, and they will still pay more attention to building their interpersonal relations, instead of developing personalities of individuals 

16-7

Understanding Culture• Culture is the lens through which we view

products– “Culture shock”

(a term used to describe the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within an entirely different cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country. It grows out of the difficulties in assimilating the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not.)

– One’s culture determines product priorities and mandates a product’s success/failure

16-8

Understanding Culture (Cont’d)• Products can reflect underlying cultural

processes of a particular period:E.g., some American products – The TV dinner

(A TV dinner (also called frozen dinner, microwave meal or ready meal) is a prepackaged, frozen or chilled meal which usually comes in an individual package. It requires very little preparation and contains all the elements for a single-serving meal. The term TV Dinner is a trademark originally used for a brand of packaged meal developed in 1953.)

– Cosmetics made of natural materials without animal testing

– Pastel carrying cases for condoms

16-9

Understanding Culture – 3 function areas

Ecology—The way a system adapts to its habitat. Ecology is shaped by the technology a culture uses to obtain and distribute resources (e.g., industrialized societies versus Third World countries).

Social structure —The way in which orderly social life is maintained. This includes the domestic and political groups that are dominant within the culture (e.g., the nuclear family versus the extended family; representative government versus dictatorship).

Ideology—The mental characteristics of a people and the way in which they relate to their environment and social groups. This revolves around the notion that members of a society possess a common worldview. They share certain ideas about principles of order and fairness. They also share an ethos, or a set of moral and aesthetic principles.

16-10

Myths and Rituals

• Every culture develops stories/practices that help its members to make sense of the world– Myths are stories containing symbolic elements that express

the shared ideals of a culture. Modern myths are transmitted through advertising, movies, and other media.

– A ritual is a set of multiple, symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence and that tend to be repeated periodically. Rituals are related to many consumption activities that occur in popular culture. These include holiday observances, gift giving, and grooming.

16-11

Understanding Culture – Myths• Myths are stories containing symbolic elements that

express the shared ideals of a culture. Modern myths are transmitted through advertising, movies, and other media.

– A monomyth is a myth that is common to many cultures. The most prevalent monomyth involves a hero such as Superman who emerges from the everyday world with supernatural powers and wins a decisive victory over evil forces. He then returns with the power to bestow good things on his fellow men.

– Examples of mythic movies include: Gone With the Wind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Trekhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4yUQJeKZNs

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=9SrFsckGgVc&feature=PlayList&p=D77BC79C8A869E63&index=17

16-12

Understanding Culture – Rituals

• A ritual is a set of multiple, symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence and that tend to be repeated periodically. – Rituals are related to many consumption activities that occur in

popular culture. These include holiday observances, gift giving, and grooming.

– There are many grooming rituals that are dominant themes in commercials. Virtually all consumers have private grooming rituals.http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=S0oOxSwVHig

– In the gift-giving ritual, consumers procure the perfect object (artifact), meticulously remove the price tag (symbolically changing the item from a commodity to a unique good), carefully wrap it, and deliver it to the recipient.

– Holidays are filled with rituals.– Rituals can provide us with a sense of order and security.

16-13

Understanding Culture – Rituals• The Chinese New Year Celebrations span across 15 days with

each day having its individual significance.

Day 1The first day celebrations of the Chinese New Year are by "welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth." Many people go without meat on the first day of the Chinese New Year because it is believed that this will ensure long and happy lives for them.

Day 2The second day celebrations marks, the Chinese prayers to their ancestors as well as to all the gods. They are extra kind to dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.

Day 3 & 4The third and fourth days are for the sons-in-laws to pay respect to their parents-in-law. On this day of the Chinese New Year , son-in-laws present gifts and other items to show their love and care for their parents-in-law.

16-14

Understanding Culture – RitualsDay 5

The fifth day of the Chinese New Year is called Po Woo. On this day people stay home to welcome the God of Wealth. No one visits families and friends on the fifth day because it will bring both parties bad luck.

Day 6On the sixth to the tenth day of the Chinese New Year , the Chinese visit their relatives and friends indulging in fun and celebrations . They also visit the temples to pray for good fortune and health.

Day 7Farmers display their produce on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year . On this day the farmers make a drink from seven types of vegetables to mark the celebration of the occasion. The seventh day of the New Year is also considered the birthday of human beings. Noodles are eaten to promote longevity and raw fish for success.

16-15

Understanding Culture – RitualsDay 8

Celebrations on the eighth day take a full swing with the Fujian people having another family reunion dinner, and at midnight praying to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven.

Day 9The ninth day of the Chinese New Year is to make offerings to the Jade Emperor.

Day 10 to 13The 10th through the 12th day's celebrations are days that friends and relatives should be invited for dinner. After so much rich food, on the 13th day you should have simple rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum) to cleanse the system.

Day 14 & 15The 14th day are for preparations for the celebration the Lantern Festival, which is to be held on the 15th night.

16-16

Understanding Culture – Rites of Passage

• Rites of Passage can be construed as being special times marked by a change in social status. – Every society sets aside times when these passages occurs. Stages

include:• Separation – detaching from the original group (e.g., the college

freshman leaves home)• Liminality – person is literally in between statuses (e.g., the new

arrival on campus tries to figure out what is happening during orientation week)

• Aggregation – person reenters society after rite-of-passage (e.g., the students returns home for Christmas vacation as a college “veteran”)

– The final rite of passage is death. This ritual (funeral ceremony) is tightly scripted in most societies.

– Marketers attempt to reach consumers during these passage times.

16-17

Understanding Culture – Sacred and Profane consumption

• Sacred consumption - involves objects and events that are “set apart” from normal activities and are treated with some degree of respect or awe. They may or may not be associated with religion, but people tend to regard most religious items and events as sacred.

- Sacred places (forbidden city, temple, home)- Sacred people (Princess Diana, celebrities)- Sacred events (Olympics)

• Profane consumption - involves consumer objects and events that are ordinary, everyday objects and events that do not share the “specialness” of sacred ones.

16-18

Understanding Subculture – Social Class

• We use the term social class more generally to describe the overall rank of people in a society.

– People who are grouped within the same social class are approximately equal in terms of their social standing in the community.

– Indeed, “birds of a feather do flock together.” They work in roughly similar occupations, and they tend to have similar lifestyles by virtue of their income levels and common tastes. These people tend to socialize with one another and share many ideas and values regarding the way life should be lived.

A taste culture differentiates people in terms of their aesthetic and intellectual preferences. This concept helps to illuminate the important yet sometimes subtle distinctions in consumption choices among the social classes.

16-19

Understanding Subculture – Age Cohort

• An age cohort consists of people of similar ages who have undergone similar experiences.

– They share many common memories about cultural heroes (e.g., John Wayne versus Brad Pit), important historical events (e.g., World War II versus the 2001 terrorist attacks), and so on.

– Although there is no universally accepted way to divide up people into age cohorts, each of us seems to have a pretty good idea of what we mean when we refer to “my generation.”

– Marketers often target products and services to one or more specific age cohorts.

– Campaigns can be developed to attract consumers of different ages.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o3FOXypot0&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVxBNyHbgWoSaturn communicates the ideas that the car is designed to take its owner through each life stage

Snapshots of Chinese Cultural Objects

16-21

A Chinese Opera (Beijing Opera) performance in Beijing, one of the many aspects of traditional Chinese culture

16-22

People in imperial China - Qing dynasty Everyday life in old China

16-23

Chinese dragon was a symbol reserved for the Emperor of China or high level imperial families during the Qing Dynasty

16-24

Chinese calligraphy written by Song Dynasty (1051-1108 CE) poet Mi Fu

16-25

A Luohan, one of the spiritual figures shared between Chinese and Indian Culture across different types of Buddhism.

16-26

Zhūgě Liàng, a character in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

16-27

A Tang Dynasty tri-color Chinese glazed horse circa 700 CE, Chinese ceramics is a form of fine art

16-28

Wu Chien-ch'uan in the Wu style's version (T'ai Chi Ch'uan )of the posture known as Cloud Hands 雲手

16-29

A north corner of Forbidden City, featuring classic construction style

16-30

Chinese meal in Suzhou with rice, shrimp, eggplant, fermented tofu, vegetable stir-fry, vegetarian duck with meat and bamboo

16-31

The Chinese Dragon, Fu dog (Lion) and incense (Joss Sticks) comprise three symbols within traditional Chinese culture.

16-32

A goldfish pond is a signature Chinese scenery depicted in countless art work.

16-33

Two women wear cheongsam (Qipao, a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women) in this 1930s Shanghai advertisement

16-34

A red envelope is a monetary gift which is given in Chinese society during holiday or special occasions. The red color of the packet symbolizes good

luck.

16-35

Numbers in Chinese Culture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_in_Chinese_culture

Lucky numbers: 1,2,4,6,7,8,9

Unlucky numbers: 4,5,6,7,combinations

16-36

The Red Detachment of Women, one of the Eight model plays with Communist themes

16-37

“The Red Sun" Album featuring young Mao Zedong on the

cover. A Guoyue theme album.

16-38

Hong Kong, a hybrid culture of east and west

16-39

Happy valley housing estates, a mostly residential suburb of Hong Kong,

located in the north of Hong Kong Island. It is one of the early communities of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of Wan Chai District.

16-40

Cheung Chau Bun Festival or Cheung Chau Da Jiu Festival (

traditional Chinese: 長洲太平清醮 ) is a traditional Chinese festival on the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong.

16-41

A cantopop (Chinese: 粵語流行曲 ) concert by Andy Lau

16-42

Shopping in HK: Westernized stores such as U2 are numerous

16-43

Mahjong is a game for four players that originated in China

16-44

HK Cuisine 2007