The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature

Saad (marketing, Concordia U.) describes how evolutionary forces influence the foods people eat, the gifts they give, the clothing styles they choose, and the products they buy. After an overview of evolutionary psychology, its differences from the socialization perspective, fallacies about it, and the nature vs. nurture debate, he maps acts of consumption onto four Darwinian drives: survival, related to foods eaten that are high in calories; reproduction, through the use of products as sexual signals; kin selection, in gift exchange with family members; and reciprocity, by offering gifts to close friends. In subsequent chapters, he discusses local vs. global advertising; institutions that market hope, including religion and self-help books; the biological basis of consumer irrationality that leads to actions like compulsive buying and eating disorders; and the application of evolution to other business areas. Within chapters, he addresses other frameworks that are antithetical to his theory, such as antiscience movements like postmodernism and deconstructionism, and religion. The book is aimed at marketing professionals, advertisers, policy makers, psychologists, and consumers. Annotation 穢2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)