FAMILY AND

SOCIAL
STANDING
PRESENTED BY: GROUP
8
Tumober, Nadia Tumbelaka,
Christina Gloria Noufer Anugerah

Our
Te a m
 TOPIC OUTLINE
Learning Objectives
Consumer Socialization
How families make purchase decisions
The Family Life Cycle
Consumer Behavior of Nontraditional Families and
Households
Impact of social class on consumer
behavior
The Demographics, Lifestyles, and Consumption
Patterns of Social Classes
To Employ Geodemographics to Locate Target Markets
 INTRODUCTI
This chapter examines two reference
groups: Family and Social Class
Family: Two or more persons related by blood, marriage,
or adoption residing together.

Social Class: Ranking reflecting one’s relative prestige

within a social system and reflects the three components
of social status, that is income, education, and
occupation as well as related facets such as home value
and area of residence, pos- sessions, interests, and
recreation.
 CONSUMER
SOCIALIZATION
Socialization
The process by which people learn how to behave in
ways that are acceptable to other members of their
society.

Consumer Socialization
The process by which children acquire the skills,
knowledge, attitudes, and experiences necessary to
function as consumers.

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

Agent Socialization
Person or organization involved in the socialization
process because of frequency of contact with the
individual and control over the rewards and
punishments given to the individual.

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

FAMILY AND CONSUMER
PARENTAL STYLES AND
CONSUMER
SOCIALIZATION
Refers to how parents' behavior in raising their
children can influence the consumer socialization
process of their children.

Parental styles are classified along two dimensions:

Permissive versus Restrictive and Very Nurturing
versus Not Nurturing

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

FAMILY AND CONSUMER
PARENTAL STYLES AND
CONSUMER
SOCIALIZATION
Parental Styles:
• Indulgent Parents

• Neglecting Parents

• Authoritative Parents

• Authoritarian Parents

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

THE STAGES OF
CONSUMER
SOCIALIZATION
• Perceptual (3–7 years old)

• Analytical (7–11 years)

• Reflective (11–16 years)

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

THE STAGES OF
CONSUMER
SOCIALIZATION
Stage 1: Shopping with Parents and Observing
• Age 12-15 Months
• Children notice products that are fun to eat and play with and begin to recall specific ones
• Parents may buy some items to reward children for good behavior

Stage 2: Shopping with Parents and Making Requests

• Age 2-3 Years
• Children begin to connect advertising with items in the stores and delight parents with
cognitive development
• They Request Item by Pointing

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

THE STAGES OF
CONSUMER
SOCIALIZATION
Stage 3: Shopping with Parents and Making Some Selections
• Age 3-7 Years
• Children begin to distinguish ads from programs, associate brand names with product categories,
and understand the basic script of consumption. Children can evaluate products and make decisions
about spending, saving, and giving charity
• At age 6-7 some children receive their first smartphone

Stage 4: Shopping Independently

• Age 7-11 Years
• Parents gradually and often reluctantly begin to allow children to go to stores or shop online alone
or with friends. Children discover the wonders of shopping and deciding among choices.
• 45% of mobile kids get a smartphone between the age of 10-12 and use it predominantly for texting.
It is expected that by the year 2020 almost 50% pf all smarphones users will be 11 years old or
younger.

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

THE STAGES OF
CONSUMER
SOCIALIZATION
Stage 5: Complex Shopping and Scepticism
• Age 11-12 Years
• Pre-teens and teenagers understand advertising tactics and appeala, become skeptical about
ads, and understand complex shopping scripts. They are adept at negotistion and are able to
influence purchase decisions
• It is expected that by 2020 almost 93% of all smartphone users will be between the age of 12-
17

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

ADULT AND
INTERGENERATIONAL
CONSUMER SOCIALIZATION
Adult Consumer Socialization
Refers to the learning and development of consumption behavior
in individuals who have reached adulthood

Intergenerational Consumer Socialization Refers to the process

where values, norms, and consumption preferences are
transferred or shared between different generations within a
family or society.

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

 THE FAMILY’S SUPPORTIVE
ROLES
Economic Well-Being
The most important economic function of the family is to provide
financial resources to its members and allocate its income in a way that
supports all members adequately

Emotional Support
A core function of the family is providing its members with love,
affection, and intimacy

Suitable Lifestyles
What people view as a “suitable” lifestyle reflects their experiences while
growing up

FAMILY AND CONSUMER

 FAMILY
DECISION-MAKING
AND MEMBERS’
ROLES
 HUSBAND–WIFE
FAMILY DECISION-
MEMBERS’ ROLES
DECISION-MAKING
MAKING AND

Four patterns of husband–wife decision-making:

Husband-dominated decisions
Where the husband’s influence is greater than the wife’s

Wife-dominated decisions
Where the wife’s influence is greater than the husband’s

Joint decisions
Where the husband’s and wife’s influences are equal

Autonomic decisions
Where either the husband or the wife is the primary
or only decision maker
FAMILY DECISION-
MEMBERS’ ROLES
MAKING AND

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN
HUSBAND–WIFE
DECISION-MAKING
 CHILDREN’S INFLUENCE ON
FAMILY DECISION-
MEMBERS’ ROLES
FAMILY DECISION-MAKING
MAKING AND

Tactics that children typically use:

Pressure: The child demands, threatens, and tries to intimidate the
parents
Exchange: The child promises something in exchange
Rational: The child uses a logical arguments and factual evidence
Consultation: The child seeks parents’ involvement in the decision
Ingratiation: The child tries to get the parent in a good mood first
and then make the request
FAMILY DECISION-
MAKING AND
MEMBERS’ ROLES
FAMILY DECISION-
MEMBERS’ ROLES FAMILY MEMBER’S ROLES
MAKING AND

Gatekeepers
Influencers

Deciders
Buyers

Prepares
Users

Maintainers
Disposers
 THE
FAMILY
LIFE CYCLE
Bachelorhood: Refers to young single men and women, mostly college-educated,

T H E FA M I LY
who have incomes that allow them to leave home and establish their own

LIFE CYLE
households

Honeymooners: Refers to young and newly married couples

Parenthood: Designates married couples with at least one child living at home

Post-parenthood: Refers to older married couples (or singles) with no children

living at home.

Dissolation: Refers to the family with one surviving spouse

NONTRADITIONAL
FAMILIES AND
HOUSEHOLDS
Two groups that are not represent “typical” families or
households:
Nontraditional Household
Families that do not readily fit into the traditional family life cycle

Nonfamily Household
Living situations that are not legally defined as families

NONTRADITIONAL
FAMILIES AND
 TARGETING STRATEGIES

Targeting consumers like some of the ones featured in Figure

10.10 represents a marketing dilemma. On the one hand,
marketers of many products must now acknowledge the
existence of segments that consist of nontraditional households.

NONTRADITIONAL
FAMILIES AND
 SAME GENDERS FAMILIES

For many marketers, same-gender couples represent a lucrative market.

Figure 10.12A shows that most same-gender couples are between 45 and 54
years old—the primary years of purchasing, saving, and investing. Figure
10.12B indicates that the incomes of same-gender couples exceed those of
married and unmarried opposite-gender couples, and those of male–male
couples are the highest among the marital and gender categories.

NONTRADITIONAL
FAMILIES AND
 SOCIAL
STANDING AND
CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Social Class
The division of members of a society into a hierarchy of distinct status
classes, so that members of each class have relatively the same status and
members of all other classes have either more or less status.
Some form of class structure (or social stratification) has existed in all
societies throughout history. In contemporary societies, people who are
better educated or have prestigious occupations have more status relative
to other members of the same society.
According to social comparison theory, individuals compare their own
material possessions with those owned by others in order to determine
their relative social standing.
 SOCIAL CLASS AND
SOCIAL STANDING

SEGMENTATION
AND CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Ranked in a hierarchy, ranging from low to high status.
Members of a specific social class perceive members of
other social classes as having either more or less status than
they do.
Social-class hierarchies are reflected in consumption
patterns. Consumers purchase certain products because these
products are favored by members of either their own or a
higher social class (a high-priced Swiss wristwatch), but will
avoid products that they perceive as “lower-class” (a “no-
name” brand of sneaker or off-the-rack suits).
 WHAT’S MY SOCIAL
CLASS?

Social-Class
Demographics Indices
Consciousness
 SOCIAL-CLASS
SOCIAL STANDING

CONSCIOUSNESS
AND CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Social-class consciousness is a person’s level of
identification with a given social class. It is established by
asking respondents to determine their social standing:
“Which of the following four categories best describes your
social class: lower class, lower-middle class, upper-middle
class, or upper class?”
SOCIAL STANDING
DEMOGRAPHICS
AND CONSUMER
Occupational prestige ranking represents society’s beliefs
BEHAVIOR
regarding the occupation’s social worth and desirability, as
stemming from the knowledge required to attain it (i.e.,
educational level) and the material rewards that occupants
receive (i.e., income).
The amount of income is another objective estimate of
social standing and prestige. The more education people
have, the more likely it is that they are well paid, have
prestigious occupations, and therefore belong to higher
social classes than the less educated.
SOCIAL STANDING
INDICES
AND CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR
Two indices that combine several demographics to
determine social-class:
• Index of Status Characteristics (Warner’s ISC) is a
weighted measure of the following socioeconomic
variables: occupation, source of income (not amount of
income), house type, and dwelling area (quality of
neighborhood)
• Socioeconomic Status Score (SES) was developed by
the U.S. Bureau of the Census, and combines three
socioeconomic variables: occupation, family income,
and educational attainment.
AMERICA’S SOCIAL
CLASSES
 There is no uniform definition as to how many distinct classes depict the class structure of the U.S.
population. Most early studies divided Americans into five or six social-class groups. Figure 10.14 shows the
distribution of the U.S. population by social class.

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

Seven Social Classes in U.S:
The Upper-Upper Class—Inherited Wealth and Privilege
• The “upper crust,” “WASPS,” or “blue bloods”
• Less than 1% of the population together with the Nouveau Riche
• Inherited privilege, wealth, and trust funds
• Status and wealth are passed on from generation to generation (homes, trust funds)
• Multigenerational wealth and leadership positions (e.g., presidents, senators, judges)
• Serve as trustees and on boards of directors for universities, hospitals, charities
• Control and own significant portions of corporate America
• Heads of major financial institutions; owners of long-established firms
• Attended exclusive boarding schools and Ivy League universities
• Belong to exclusive clubs, “summer” together, marry people “like themselves”
• Accustomed to wealth, so do not spend money conspicuously
• Consider “toys” bought to display wealth publicly (e.g., yachts) to be vulgar
• Hobbies: shooting, sailing, parasailing, golf, horseback riding

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

Seven Social Classes in U.S:
The Nouveau Riche—Money Is King
• The “lower-uppers,” “super-rich,” or “capitalist class”
• Less than 1% of the population together with the upper-upper
• Have millions and often billions of dollars but seldom inherited wealth
• Some have little or no college education (e.g., celebrities)
• Some are entrepreneurs (often in the technology sector) who attended top universities
• Often isolated from others because of bodyguards and large entourages
• Often featured in tabloids, gossip columns, and public scandals
• Strive to join the upper-uppers (e.g., by marriage), mostly unsuccessfully
• Highly conspicuous consumption—the more vulgar, the better
• Prime target for “hot” (and mostly short-lived) fashion and interior design trends
• Employ large staffs—chefs, nutritionists, maids, nannies, personal assistants

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

Seven Social Classes in U.S:
The Upper-Middle Class—Achieving Professionals
• Key features are high educational attainment and professional achievement
• Approximately 15% of the population
• Career-oriented, highly educated professionals whose work is largely self-directed
• Corporate managers, business owners, doctors, lawyers, professors
• College graduates, many with advanced degrees
• Active in professional networks, community, and social activities
• Trendsetters in health, fitness, and environmental causes
• Have a keen interest in obtaining the “better things in life”
• Homes, cars, and travel symbolize their achievements
• Consumption is often conspicuous, but not vulgar
• Some are very child-oriented

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

Seven Social Classes in U.S:
The Lower-Middle Class—Faithful Followers
• Semi-professionals and craftspeople with an average standard of living
• About 30% of the population
• Primarily nonmanagerial white-collar workers and highly paid blue-collar workers
• Most have some college education and are white-collar
• Strive to achieve respectability and be good citizens
• Raise their children to be good and honest adults
• Value religion and are involved in its social activities
• Value and price conscious and avoid fads and “hot” styles

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

Seven Social Classes in U.S:
The Upper-Lower Class—Security-Minded
• The “working class,” solidly blue collar, no college education
• About 30% of the population
• High school education
• Clerical and mostly blue-collar workers whose work is highly routinized
• Adequate standard of living dependent on the number of income earners
• Strive for security (often gained from union membership)
• View work as a means to “buy” enjoyment
• Want children to behave properly
• High wage earners in this group may spend impulsively
• Interested in items that enhance their leisure time (e.g., TV sets, hunting equipment)
• Males typically have a strongly “macho” self-image
• Males are sports fans, heavy smokers, beer drinkers

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

Seven Social Classes in U.S:
The Working Poor—The Insecure The Underclass—Rock Bottom
• The “lower class” • The “lower-lower class”
• About 13% of the population • About 12% of the population
• Service, clerical, and some blue-collar workers • Limited or no participation in the labor force;
• Low on the social ladder uneducated, unskilled laborers
• High economic insecurity and risk of poverty • No political or social power and unable to improve their
• Some high school education communities
• Reliant on the government, often unemployed and
without health insurance
• Children are often treated poorly
• Live a day-to-day existence

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

 UPWARD MOBILITY

Americans have traditionally believed in upward mobility, defined as the opportunity to move from
a lower social class to a higher one due to many opportunities.
About a century ago, a sociologist conceptualized the trickle-down effect.
Originally applied to fashion, the concept stated that members of lower classes adopt the fashions of
the upper class and maintain them even after the upper class has abandoned these fashions.

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

 YOUNG ADULTHOOD
The population of 18- to 34-year-olds is a cohort, which is a group of people who share a common demographic characteristic—in
this case, age. This cohort of 18- to 34-year-olds is divided into two groups—ages 18 to 24 (young millennials) and ages 25 to 34
(older millennials)—in U.S. Census reports.

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

 AFFLUENT MIDDLE-CLASS DOWNSCALE
CONSUMERS CONSUMERS CONSUMERS
Upscale market segment that consists of There is no standard definition of Defined as households earning less
households with incomes that are, according middle class. than $40,000 annually—control
to most definitions, over $100,000. Affluent Sociologists describe middle-class somewhere near 30% of the total
Market Segment: persons as having comfortable living income in the United States and are
• Least affluent: Households with annual standards, economic security, and the an important market segment.
incomes of $100,000 to $149,000 expertise they need to maintain their
• Middle affluent: Households with lifestyles
annual incomes from $150,000 to
$249,000
• Most affluent: Households with annual
incomes of $250,000 or more

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

 CLOTHING, FASHION, SAVING, SPENDING,
COMMUNICATIONS
AND SHOPPING AND CREDIT CARD
USAGE
What is considered fashionable, tasteful, The management of financial When it comes to describing daily
or elegant varies across social strata. For resources is closely related to life, members of the lower class
example, some working-class consumers social-class standing. Upper-class often portray it in personal and
often wear T-shirts, caps, and clothing consumers are “future oriented” concrete terms, whereas members of
that carry logos, trademarks, or names of and confident of their financial the middle-class use different
celebrities or music groups. acumen; they invest in insurance, language, and upperclass members
stocks, and real estate. use their own lexicon.

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

 DOWNWARD MOBILITY

Represented by people who have a lower social class level than their parents in terms of
the jobs they hold, their residences, level of disposable income, and savings. Commonly, in
the United States, each generation lived better than its predecessor. However, there are now
signs that some downward mobility, defined as moving down rather than up the social
ladder, is taking place. In fact, many predict that today’s youngest generation often referred
to as the Eco Boomers will experience lower living standards than their parents.

AMERICA’S SOCIAL CLASSES

GEODEMOGRAPHY
AND
SOCIAL CLASS
 GEODEMOGRAPH
GEODEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTS

Y AND SOCIAL
Geodemographic segments are groups of households that have been identified,
classified, and described according to zip codes and data from the U.S. Census and state
and local governments.

The most sophisticated geodemographic segmentation is Nielsen’s PRIZM. Which

combines socioeconomic and demographic factors— education, income, occupation,
family life cycle, ethnicity, housing, and urbanization—with consumer buying and
media exposure data. It is used by marketers use to locate concentra- tions of consumers
with similar lifestyles and buying behaviors.
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Family and Social Standing by Group 8
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