Conspicuous consumption : a study of exceptional consumer behaviour

The thesis offers a detailed study of that part of consumerbehaviour which is status-directed and which encouragesindividuals to purchase and consume products not for theirintrinsic value (i.e. their value in use) but for theirextrinsic (i.e. prestige) value.The work is in two parts. Part One (7 Chapters) exploresthe nature of conspicuous consumption and seeks to explainwhy and under what conditions such exceptional behaviouroccurs. The treatment of conspicuous consumption ineconomic and social thought is examined and evaluated(Cn.l) and Chapter 2 proposes a theoretical explanationof the propensity to conspicuously consumer. Chapter 3develops a research methodology appropriate to the theory.Chapters 4, 5 and 6, then comprise a study of conspicuousconsumption as observed in traditional, achieving andaffluent societies, while Chapter 7 draws these studiestogether in perspective.Part 2 (3 Chapters) focuses more specifically on conspicuousconsumption in the modern, affluent society and seeks todevelop a theoretical model of consumer decision processesrelating to such behaviour. Chapter 8 is concerned withevaluating the treatment of conspicuous consumption withinbehavioural theories of consumer demand. Chapter 9 complementsChapter 8 in assessing the contribution of economics and ofeconomic demand theories to the subject. Drawing on Chapters8 and 9, Chapter 10 then proposes a theoretical model ofconsumer decision processes with respect to conspicuousconsumption in the modern, industrialised society