Homo Consumericus

The Nature and Nurture of Consumption

Dr. Gad Saad is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the John Molson School of Business (Concordia University) and author of The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption. See full bio

April 23, 2009

During Economic Crises Skirts Become Shorter.

Over the past eight decades, economists, anthropologists, and psychologists have noted that, economic conditions and in some instances other demographic variables, are correlated with fashion trends. Most recently, a group of evolutionists have shown that the extent to which women’s fashion styles are sexy or conservative, are correlated with the prevailing economic conditions. Specifically, as the economy worsens, fashion trends become more provocative. If this theory is true, we should expect a resurgence of the micro miniskirts in the imminent future! Read More

April 13, 2009

Katie Holmes is Taller Than Tom Cruise: This Proves that Men Are Not Taller Than Women…No It Doesn’t!

Many persons who experience anger and indignation when exposed to specific evolutionary facts fail to recognize that these are veridical at the population, and not individual, level. Accordingly, personal anecdotes, which by definition are rooted in idiosyncratic realities, do not "falsify" Darwinian tenets. For example, it is a biological fact that within Homo sapiens, men are taller and heavier than women. This is an instantiation of sexual dimorphism. That Katie Holmes (or your Aunt Jennie) is taller than Tom Cruise (or your uncle Bob) does not invalidate this biological reality. Personal anecdotes are seldom if ever valuable in judging the veracity of a scientific theory. Read More

April 7, 2009

Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann Are Two Sides of the Same Coin.

Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann are public faces of the political Right and Left respectively. Each uses his public platform to demonize the motives and intentions of the other camp. Such coalitional thinking, which is an innate cognitive trap, results in banal, divisive, and caricatured political commentaries. The ability to engage in nuanced thinking is lacking when political affiliations are protected with religious fervor. Read More

April 1, 2009

Would a Business Ethics Class Have Prevented Bernard Madoff from setting up his Ponzi Scheme?

Are we taught our ethical fortitudes or are we born with these? Proponents of the blank slate premise of the human mind believe that environmental forces shape much of what defines us. This is a feel-good mantra that refuses to accept that individuals could be born with "negative taints." Too bad that Bernard Madoff did not enroll in the requisite business ethics class (or pay closer attention to his Talmudic Studies classes assuming that he attended these in his childhood). Apparently, this might have saved unsuspecting investors $60 billion. Here is an alternate reality: he is a born psychopath who is bereft of the computational system that generates feelings of remorse in normally functioning individuals.

March 17, 2009

Should Evolution and Religion Coexist?

Some scientists including the late Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould propose that science and religion operate in non-overlapping spheres. A second group of scholars argues that science and religion need not be pitted against one another rather one should seek a pragmatic and conciliatory stance. Finally, a third group of academics use science to explain the existence of religion. Of note within this group are evolutionists who investigate the evolutionary roots of religious belief. The great majority of scientists fall within the third camp namely they recognize that religion is a phenomenon that is within the purview of scientific exploration whilst noting that religion has nothing to say about scientific matters. With that in mind, I just returned from a conference, where two scholars seemed to "reassure" the audience that evolution was "consistent" with Evangelical Christianity and Islam. Read More

March 6, 2009

Conformist or Innovator? Check Your Birth Order.

There is growing evidence that our personalities are in part shaped by our birth order. Evolutionists argue that the effects of birth order are largely driven by a survival problem faced by all children namely how to appear unique in their parents’ eyes. One of the personality traits most affected by birth order is one’s openness to new experiences, with laterborns scoring higher on this trait. In a recent study, we explored how this phenomenon manifests itself in the consumption setting (conforming versus innovator consumers). Read More

February 24, 2009

Academy Award Winners Live Longer and Multiple Winners Have More Children.

Academy Award winners live longer than losing nominees and longer than a control group of demographically similar actors. Furthermore, the more Oscars that have been notched up by actors/actresses, the greater the number of children that they have. As such, not only should we expect Sean Penn to live a long life but also we should not be surprised to know that he has passed on his genes profusely! Read More

February 16, 2009

Can the Length of Your Fingers Affect Your Consumption?

The eyes are supposedly windows to the soul. Facial and bodily symmetry are advertisements to one's phenotypic quality. One's waist-to-hip ratio is an indicator of not only fertility but also the likelihood of developing specific diseases. What about the hand? Can we gauge anything of value by simply looking at your hands? More specifically, might specific morphological features of your hand predict your consumption acts? Read More

February 9, 2009

Beware of Valentine’s Day Gift Traps: Men and Women Are Indeed from Mars and Venus Respectively.

When it comes to the gift giving ritual, men and women are indeed from the proverbial Mars and Venus respectively. Not only are men more likely to offer gifts to their mates for tactical reasons but also they seem blissfully unaware of how to read the subtleties of the gift giving ritual. Read on if you wish to avoid any Valentine's Day traps! Read More

February 3, 2009

Why Are High Heels So Enticing?

None other than the iconic Marilyn Monroe is reputed to have proclaimed the following: "I don't know who invented the high heel, but all men owe a lot to him." Recently, an Italian urologist linked the wearing of high heels with improved sex for women. Hence, it would appear that both men and women ought to be equally thankful to the latter inventor. Read More

Books by Gad Saad, Ph.D.

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

Evolutionary Psychology Basics

Our bodies evolved over eons, slowly calibrating to the African savanna on which 98 percent of our ancestors lived and died. So, too, did our brains. Evolutionary psychology postulates that the mind is shaped by pressure to survive and reproduce. We jealously guard romantic partners and cherish our closest relatives above all others, lest we fail to pass on our genes.

Go to the Evolutionary Psychology Basics page for more on Evolutionary Psychology including:

Current Issue

Everyday Creativity

How to start living creatively and reap the benefits.

Subscribe to Homo Consumericus

Books by Gad Saad, Ph.D.

Evolutionary Psychology Basics

Current Issue