ESCP Europe

Item type

Book

Language

English

Publication year

2007

ISBN

978-0-8058-5150-2

Subjects

This book applies Darwinian principles in understanding our consumption patterns and the products of popular culture that most appeal to individuals. This is a study of the adaptive reasons behind our behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and perceptions. This lens of analysis suggests how we come to make selections such as choosing a mate, the foods we eat, the gifts that we offer, and more. It also highlights how numerous forms of dark side consumption, including pathological gambling, compulsive buying, pornographic addiction, and eating disorders, possess a Darwinian etiology. It maps consumption phenomena onto four key Darwinian modules : survival, reproduction, kin selection, and reciprocal altruism. As an interesting proposal, the author suggests that media and advertising contents exist in their particular forms because they are a reflection of our evolved human nature - negating the standard social constructivist position.