The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption (Marketing and Consumer Psychology Series)

I found this book after I had taken some MBA courses on Consumer Behavior, and was delighted to find that it was both interesting, well written, and practical. His treatment of the material is even in tone and he shows a technique that makes previously intractable problems somewhat approachable. His breakdown of the Evolutionary Modules into 4 specific modules allows you to take a Framework based approach to problem solving. His topic choices are quite interesting and his introduction to Evolutionary Psychology, given in the beginning, is enough for you to grasp the core concepts. It's also a good refresher if you are familiar with EP. I've used this approach to tackle business problems (which appear to have a Darwin etiology) and it has allowed me attack Organizational Behavior problems in a more scientific way. The modules he describes allow you to at least attempt to form some testable hypothesis. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has not been exposed to Evolutionary informed psychology as well as anyone interested in adding new tools to their tool kit concerning marketing and sales. If you are neither of the above, I would recommend reading it because you may find it just plain interesting.

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This is a brilliant book. It is a path-breaking analysis of consumption from an evolutionary psychological perspective. Professor Saad shows that the widespread belief that advertisers can sell us anything if the ad campaign is clever enough is just plain wrong. Successful advertising - and ultimately consumption - is, to a large degree, based on tapping into basic preferences that evolved over millennia. Saad adroitly integrates basic research in evolutionary psychology and evolutionary biology with consumer behavior, and he provides many interesting and amusing examples. This book should be on the shelf of anyone who studies consumption or who is involved in marketing.

In this work Gad Saad provides an excellent review of evolutionary psychology and its relevance to the field of consumer behavior. A particularly novel idea is encompassing mate choice within acts of consumption. Although not an easy read, once you begin to see how much Saad's ideas provide a paradigm shift in the field of consumer (and human) behavior, you will definitely want to reread this book in order to relish all its nuances. If new to the field of consumer behavior, you shall learn much about the evolutionary bases for your everyday decisions, from buying a car to accepting a date and choosing a perfume. I gained much knowledge from this book and consider it a must read for anybody interested in a scientifically rigorous review of human behavior in the field of consumption. You will not be disappointed!

In his book "The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption" Gad Saad has founded a new field in the social sciences: evolutionary consumer behavior. While Saad is an expert in marketing, I was surprised to find out that his understanding of evolutionary psychology is both wide and deep.The book is very well written and each chapter focuses on a different topic, in a way that makes the reading interesting and fluent. The literature reviews are comprehensive, making it a great book to start with when exploring a new question. This book is highly recommended for both scholars and marketing managers.

I'm a marketing research professor. I used to looking for sources to explain consumer behaviour. Ive read Pinker's book Tabula Rasa and I had had high expectagions about the book of Gaad Saad. Unfortunatelly, the major part of the lines are about criticism and atacks over other explanative aproaches to consumer behaviour. It's ok, but I couldn't see enough examples that show clear relations between consumer behaviour and evolutionary psychology.

I really expected so much more out of this book. I expected Saad's assertions to be supported by scientific research. Instead, like many academic books, it was just full of theory and conjecture. There's nothing wrong with Saad writing in a way that's biased toward corporate interests. Academics have lost credibility by not accommodating this audience. Still, I'm certain the corporate world of research and marketing writes far more pragmatic literature than this right wing academic does. The world of marketing and research may stumble, but at least they aren't firmly ensconced in the "ivory tower" as Saad is.

An outstanding contribution to understanding human behavior. Will be read and re-read for generations.

Tediously elaborate writing style, omg, but it's really worth it. An excellent, comprehensive overview of the topic. Highly recommended.

the information is a little dense and intense, but the ideas are definitely there! shows why we consume what we consume and how our brains work. combine with the other books by Dr. Saad for full information.

Great subject but the book is hard to read. Get "The Consuming Instinct" instead; it's much cheaper, more enjoyable to read and the content is similar.

Having read The Consuming Instinct (Gaad) and this book, I have to say that both were a great read. Both books similar, yet distinct information, detail, research studies, target audience (this one is more academic)... The two aren't copy paste, and should both be looked into. This book is more academic in and makes a great addition for those who wishes to learn the depths of evolution in relationship to consumption.