Spent Review: Why Consumers Empty their Pockets

By Stephanie Halgren
August 19, 2009

Society revolves around an endless parade of enviable goods—Rolex watches, Prada handbags, cars flaunting the Ferrari logo, and artwork by Rembrandt, Monet, or Warhol. After depositing a paycheck, we race to the shopping mall to snatch up the latest and greatest items, never pausing to consider the true reasons behind our “need” for these products. So why do we buy? Geoffrey Miller, an evolutionary psychologist from the University of New Mexico, dives headfirst into this question in his new book Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior. He provides a comprehensive account of how our purchases function primarily as signals that advertise our underlying personality traits, and only secondarily as objects with material value.
Spent combines the concepts of conspicuous consumption and costly signaling theory in order to demonstrate the confluence between consumption and display. According to costly signaling theory, different species display energy-intensive fitness indicators that demonstrate their personal quality and thereby attract attention from potential mates. People who follow the theory of conspicuous consumption buy luxury goods to advertise their wealth to peers and potential suitors. Miller argues that we have convinced ourselves that we need more than our bodies and personalities to market ourselves to other people; advertisements suggest that “other people will care deeply what products we buy, display, and use.” Therefore, the argument follows that humans spend an enormous amount of money on material purchases in order to display our central qualities. Miller details a set of “Central Six” traits that we put on display: general intelligence, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, stability, and extraversion.
Miller’s arguments are well supported in the book, however the reader does begin to wonder if the six traits are exhaustive enough to account for all of the displays that people put on for potential friends and suitors. For instance, Miller acknowledges that humans buy many products to enhance their sexual attractiveness (e.g. cosmetics, Botox, diet pills, anabolic steroids, Viagra, and Rogaine), yet sexual maturity is not included as a trait in his “Central Six”. We know from mate selection research that (in addition to the personality traits of general intelligence, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, stability, and extraversion) people search for romantic partners who are fertile – and not because this trait represents deeper “personality information” (Geary, 1998). This raises the question of  whether traits such as “sexual maturity” and “physical fitness” indicators should be included as additional marketed traits, and whether these traits would fall under the umbrella explanation of costly signaling theory.
As the reader progresses deeper into Miller’s analysis, and subsequently starts to tear out his hair upon realizing the uselessness of the majority of his purchases, the evolutionary psychologist offers some remedies for rampant consumerism. For example, Miller points out that because we can effectively convey our underlying traits in just a few minutes of simple conversation, we could scale down our consumerist behaviors without sacrificing display power—instead of buying the newest model of the iPod, we could dig one that we already own out of the closet. We could borrow or rent items, or even buy them used. We could also wait a few years for new technology to become affordable before we buy it. Lastly, Miller suggests that America’s current income tax be replaced by a consumption tax (of about 25%). During the current recession, some of this advice may seem obvious because people have naturally gravitated towards frugality; however, these suggestions might make the recession easier to bear.
Although Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior is a bit verbose, it serves an enjoyable introduction into the world of consumer behavior and evolutionary psychology. No psychological background is necessary to understand Miller’s argument. Marketers who read Spent will gain some valuable insight—Miller reveals that marketers are unaware of the predictive qualities of the Central Six traits. Indeed, when studying demographics, marketers often unknowingly measure levels of the Central Six traits that vary according to factors such as age or political beliefs. His recommendation that marketers examine the preferences of people who display different combinations of the Central Six characteristics, and target sectors that most values their products’ traits, is a unique contribution to the segmentation manager research toolkit. These traits could be combined with other attitudinal and behavioral variables to produce more predictive and precise market segments. In addition, Miller suggests that this evolutionary level of analysis explains why personalized products are successful, because these items allow customers to display their individuality.
While these marketing insights are important, as a whole, this book applies much more to the individual consumer who would like to discover the roots of their compulsive shopping behavior.
Take just one look at the cover of Spent, and you will be sold. Who can resist a book that displays a caveman, straight out of the Museum of Natural History, participating in a modern day shopping spree?
Spent, Geoffrey Miller **** 4 of 5 stars
Enjoyable Reading: 4/5
Applicable to Business: 3/5
Behavioral Insight: 5/5
Geary, D.C. (1998). Male, female.  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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