Published books in the Marketing and Consumer Psychology series

Consumer Behavior and Advertising Involvement

Selected Works of Herbert E. Krugman

By Edward Krugman

This book is an honor to the many important contributions of Herbert Krugman, past president of APA, The Division of Consumer Psychology and The Association for Public Opinions Research. This reader will contain his selected works in Consumer Behavior and Advertising which combine insights from Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology and Survey Methodology. William Wells, University of Minnesota, has provided the foreword and section overviews for the book which will help it appeal to all academics and students of consumer research.

Published May 28th 2008 by Psychology Press (formerly published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates).

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Handbook of Consumer Psychology

Edited by Curtis P. Haugtvedt, Paul M. Herr, Frank R. Kardes

This Handbook contains a unique collection of chapters written by the world's leading researchers in the dynamic field of consumer psychology. Although these researchers are housed in different academic departments (ie. marketing, psychology, advertising, communications) all have the common goal of attaining a better scientific understanding of cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses to products and services, the marketing of these products and services, and societal and ethical concerns associated with marketing processes. Consumer psychology is a discipline at the interface of marketing, advertising and psychology. The research in this area focuses on fundamental psychological processes as well as on issues associated with the use of theoretical principles in applied contexts.

The Handbook presents state-of-the-art research as well as providing a place for authors to put forward suggestions for future research and practice. The Handbook is most appropriate for graduate level courses in marketing, psychology, communications, consumer behavior and advertising.

Published February 8th 2008 by Psychology Press (formerly published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates).

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Visual Marketing

From Attention to Action

Edited by Michel Wedel, Rik Pieters

This comprehensive volume aims to further research and theory development in visual marketing. By bringing together leading researchers in the field, it strives to contribute to the establishment of visual marketing as a coherent discipline. The chapters represent an array of issues in visual marketing. They address three areas in theory: attention and perception, visual cognition and action and choice. The chapters go beyond what is known, and offer in many cases a more speculative and visionary account of the directions that visual marketing research could and should take.

Rather than being confined to advertising only, this new volume shows how visual marketing permeates almost all consumer and marketing activities. It will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students in marketing, management, industrial design, and consumer and social psychology. Professional practitioners, especially those involved with marketing communications, retail, and in store marketing and market research, will also benefit from the empirically based and innovative ideas put forth in this book.

Published September 19th 2007 by Psychology Press (formerly published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates).

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The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption

By Gad Saad

The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption by Gad Saad applies Darwinian principles in understanding our consumption patterns and the products of popular culture that most appeal to individuals. The first and only scholarly work to do so, this is a captivating 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.

Engaging and diverse in scope, the book 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 notion that they exist through the reverse causal link, as proposed by social constructivists. The link between evolutionary theory and consumption behaviors is detailed throughout the book via an examination of (among many others):

appearance-enhancing products and services;
financial and physical risk-taking;
use of sexual imagery and the depictions of women in advertising; and
television programs, movies, songs, music videos, literature, religion, and art.

The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption will appeal to evolutionists who desire to explore new areas wherein evolutionary theory can be applied; consumer and marketing scholars who wish to learn about the ways in which biological-and evolutionary-based theorizing can be infused into the consumer behavior/marketing/advertising disciplines; as well as other interdisciplinary scholars interested in gaining knowledge about the power of evolutionary theory in explaining a wide range of behavioral phenomena.

Published January 23rd 2007 by Psychology Press (formerly published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates).

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Contemporary Consumption Rituals

A Research Anthology

Edited by Cele C. Otnes, Tina M. Lowrey

Bringing together scholars in consumer behavior, history, anthropology, religious studies, sociology, and communication, this is the first interdisciplinary anthology spanning the topic of ritual studies. It offers a multifaceted exploration of new rituals, such as Celebrating Kwanzaa, and of the ways entrenched rituals, such as Mardi Gras, gift giving, and weddings have changed. Moreover, it examines the influence of both cultures and subcultures, and will enhance our understanding of why and how consumers imbue goods and services with meaning during rituals.

In this volume, the first in the Marketing and Consumer Psychology series:

a religious studies scholar talks about the media representation of ritual;
communication scholars discuss the transformational aspects of rituals surrounding alcohol consumption;
a marketing scholar demonstrates the relevance of organizational behavior theory to understanding gift-giving rituals in the workplace; and
a historian describes how the marketing of Kwanzaa was so integral to its successful adoption.

Published October 1st 2003 by Psychology Press (formerly published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates).

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