George P.

Moschis

Consumer
Behavior over
the Life Course
Research Frontiers and New Directions
Consumer Behavior over the Life Course
George P. Moschis

Consumer Behavior over the

Life Course
Research Frontiers and New Directions
George P. Moschis
Department of Marketing
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-05007-8    ISBN 978-3-030-05008-5 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5

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Preface and Acknowledgments

Ever since the development of marketing concept in the post–World War II years,
businesses have increasingly tried to understand consumers and satisfy their needs
in order to survive and prosper. The development of the field of consumer behavior
during the past half a century has been the consequence of the increasing impor-
tance of understanding consumers. At early stages of development of the field of
consumer behavior, researchers and practitioners attempted to gain insights into
consumers’ needs by employing well-established theories of human behavior that
were developed in various disciplines of behavioral and social sciences. Despite
merit in any theory, the consumer researchers’ employment of theories from differ-
ent disciplines underscores the notion that human behavior cannot be adequately
explained by any single theoretical perspective. Furthermore, different theories are
more relevant or helpful in understanding behavior at different stages in life. In view
of these limitations, recent trends in social and behavioral sciences have focused on
developing multi-theoretical models that can help understand behavior over the per-
son’s entire life span.
Although consumer researchers have acknowledged the need to use multi-­
theoretical models that would help them study consumers over the course of their
lives, they have been slow in adopting recently developed approaches and methods
in other disciplines. They are yet to benefit from the development of multi-­theoretical
models that are widely used in dozens of disciplines to study various types of phe-
nomena. The impetus for writing this book is to familiarize researchers with the
recently developed multi-theoretical life course approach for studying consumers. It
is hoped that the material presented herein will lay the foundations for future studies
that could address a variety of consumer issues in an innovative way.
This book would not have been possible without the assistance of several indi-
viduals. First, I am grateful to Ms. Kanokporn Jampati for the time she spent proof-
ing the citations used in the book and checking the compiled references and their
accuracy. She spent more time than I did on this project, and I am thankful to her for
her diligent work. I also thank my former students and longtime collaborators, Anil
Mathur and Euehun Lee, for allowing me to work with them and improve my
knowledge about life course research. Ed Rigdon, a longtime colleague at Georgia

v
vi Preface and Acknowledgments

State, contributed to this book by graphically showing results of event history analy-
sis and helped me better understand methodologies suitable for life course research.
Ms. Sharon Sullivan’s help with the figures and tables of this book is greatly
appreciated.
I also want to thank the dozens of individuals from all over the world who col-
laborated with me on various projects with life course themes over the years, includ-
ing Fon Sim Ong, Vasso Grougiou, Sarah Benmoyal-Bouzaglo, Randall Shannon,
Choong Kwai Fatt, Prakash Veil, Hans Kasper, Florian Kohlbacher, Simone
Pettigrew, Cristiane Pizzutti, Kara Chan, Ilias Kapoutsis, Teresa Davis, Helen Duh,
Thorsten Teichert, Betul Balikcioglu, Zerrin Arslan, Yuko Minowa, Russ Belk, and
Takako Yamashita. They all gave me the opportunity to work with them and increase
my knowledge of life course research. I also thank my former doctoral students at
Georgia State University who completed and coauthored life course studies with me
as class projects, including Andy Baker, Scott Friend, Todd Weaver, and Hung Vu
Nguyen. The assignments and dissertations of three doctoral students, Thuckavadee
Sthienrapapayut, Preecha Yingwattanakul, and Pakakorn Rakrachakarn, who I
supervised at Thailand’s Mahidol University, gave me the opportunity to learn more
from them about life course research.
I am also indebted to the “father” of life course, Glen H. Elder, Jr., for his support
and for the information he shared with me that helped me enhance my knowledge
of the life course paradigm. I am similarly grateful to the Bronfenbrenner Life
Course Center at Cornell University for sharing documents helpful in understanding
life course research. The insightful comments on many ideas contained in this book
by attendees of university-sponsored seminars around the world over the years
helped me improve the presentation of these concepts and are greatly appreciated.

Atlanta, GA, USA George P. Moschis

Contents

1 Introduction����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    1
1.1 Consumer Research Needs ��������������������������������������������������������������    2
1.1.1 Theory Development������������������������������������������������������������    2
1.1.2 Methodological Requirements����������������������������������������������    3
1.2 Emergent Approaches in Social Sciences ����������������������������������������    4
1.3 The Emergence of the Life Course as Research Approach��������������    5
1.3.1 Conceptual Foundations��������������������������������������������������������    6
1.3.2 Origins of Life Course Research������������������������������������������    7
1.3.3 The Life Course Paradigm����������������������������������������������������    9
1.3.4 Relevance to Consumer Research����������������������������������������   10
1.4 The Scope and Structure of this Book����������������������������������������������   12
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   14
2 Efforts to Study Consumers Over Their Life Span������������������������������   19
2.1 Traditional Approaches ��������������������������������������������������������������������   20
2.1.1 Socialization Models������������������������������������������������������������   20
2.1.2 Human Development Models ����������������������������������������������   21
2.1.3 Family Life Cycle Models����������������������������������������������������   22
2.2 Traditional Stage Models Vs. The Life Course Paradigm����������������   23
2.3 Life Course Studies of Consumer Behavior ������������������������������������   27
2.3.1 Studies with Implicit Life Course Explanations ������������������   27
2.3.2 Studies Based on the Life Course Paradigm������������������������   29
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   32
3 The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical
Foundations����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   37
3.1 A Conceptual Life Course Model ����������������������������������������������������   38
3.1.1 Events/Changes (T1) and Outcomes (T2)������������������������������   40
3.1.2 Adaptation Processes������������������������������������������������������������   41
3.1.3 Contextual Factors����������������������������������������������������������������   48
3.2 Life Course Assumptions and Premises��������������������������������������������   49
3.2.1 Effects of Life Events and Adaptation Processes������������������   50

vii
viii Contents

3.2.2 Interdependence of Events and Adaptation Processes����������   50

3.2.3 Life Course Axioms or “Principles” ������������������������������������   52
3.2.4 Transitions, Trajectories, and Turning Points ����������������������   53
3.3 Concluding Comments���������������������������������������������������������������������   54
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   55
4 Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context ����������������������������������������   61
4.1 Consumer Behaviors as Events and Trajectories������������������������������   61
4.2 Effects of Events and Transitions������������������������������������������������������   63
4.2.1 Direct Effects of Events and Transitions������������������������������   64
4.2.2 Indirect Effects of Events������������������������������������������������������   66
4.3 Effects of Adaptation Processes��������������������������������������������������������   69
4.3.1 Socialization��������������������������������������������������������������������������   69
4.3.2 Stress and Coping ����������������������������������������������������������������   70
4.3.3 Human Capital Development, Growth, and Decline������������   72
4.3.4 Interdependence of Adaptation Processes����������������������������   74
4.4 Contextual Effects����������������������������������������������������������������������������   74
4.4.1 Timing and Time������������������������������������������������������������������   75
4.4.2 Agency-Related Factors��������������������������������������������������������   77
4.4.3 Structural Factors������������������������������������������������������������������   78
4.5 Summary ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   79
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   80
5 The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative
Application in the Study of Financial Behaviors����������������������������������   85
5.1 Models of Financial Behavior����������������������������������������������������������   86
5.2 Financial Behaviors in Life Course Context������������������������������������   88
5.2.1 Financial Behaviors��������������������������������������������������������������   88
5.2.2 Life Events Experienced and Anticipated����������������������������   90
5.2.3 Adaptation Processes������������������������������������������������������������   91
5.2.4 Contextual Factors����������������������������������������������������������������   93
5.3 Toward a Life Course Model of Personal Finance:
A Propositional Inventory ����������������������������������������������������������������   94
5.3.1 Effects of Life Events and Role Transitions ������������������������   95
5.3.2 Effects of Adaptation Processes��������������������������������������������   97
5.3.3 Contextual Effects����������������������������������������������������������������   99
5.4 Summary ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  105
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  106
6 Methods of Life Course Research����������������������������������������������������������  111
6.1 Quantitative Methods������������������������������������������������������������������������  111
6.1.1 Event History Analysis ��������������������������������������������������������  112
6.1.2 An Illustration ����������������������������������������������������������������������  115
6.1.3 Methodological Issues����������������������������������������������������������  119
Contents ix

6.2 Qualitative Methods��������������������������������������������������������������������������  123

6.2.1 Life Reviews, Life Stories, and Life Histories����������������������  124
6.2.2 An Illustration ����������������������������������������������������������������������  125
6.3 Concluding Comments���������������������������������������������������������������������  126
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  127
7 Contributions to Previous Efforts to Study Consumers
over Their Life Span��������������������������������������������������������������������������������  133
7.1 Consumer Socialization��������������������������������������������������������������������  134
7.1.1 General Conceptual Directions ��������������������������������������������  134
7.1.2 Illustration: The Case of Development of Materialism��������  135
7.2 Family Life Cycle ����������������������������������������������������������������������������  137
7.2.1 General Conceptual Directions ��������������������������������������������  137
7.2.2 Illustration: A Family Life Cycle Study in Thailand������������  139
7.3 Developmental Models ��������������������������������������������������������������������  140
7.3.1 General Conceptual Directions ��������������������������������������������  140
7.3.2 Illustration: The Case of Age Identity����������������������������������  141
7.4 Summary ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  142
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  142
8 Applications to Select Areas of Consumer Behavior:
An Agenda for Future Research ������������������������������������������������������������  147
8.1 The Value of Possessions������������������������������������������������������������������  148
8.2 Gift Giving and Transferring Possessions����������������������������������������  149
8.3 Preferences for Age-Segmented Stimuli ������������������������������������������  151
8.4 Cognitive Declines����������������������������������������������������������������������������  152
8.5 Consumer Well-Being����������������������������������������������������������������������  153
8.6 Decision-Making������������������������������������������������������������������������������  154
8.7 Maladaptive Consumer Behaviors����������������������������������������������������  156
8.7.1 Compulsive Buying��������������������������������������������������������������  156
8.7.2 Binge Eating and Obesity ����������������������������������������������������  159
8.8 General Comments����������������������������������������������������������������������������  162
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  163
9 Implications for Practitioners ����������������������������������������������������������������  169
9.1 Developing Marketing Strategies and Programs������������������������������  169
9.1.1 Forming Consumer Segments����������������������������������������������  170
9.1.2 Event-Based Segmentation ��������������������������������������������������  171
9.1.3 Understanding Within-Segment Differences������������������������  172
9.1.4 Toward Customized Marketing��������������������������������������������  175
9.1.5 Consumer Relationship Management ����������������������������������  180
9.2 Public Policy, Education, and Intervention��������������������������������������  181
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  182
x Contents

10 Summary, Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations ����������  187

10.1 Summary of Previous Approaches and Issues��������������������������������  187
10.2 The Life Course Paradigm as Research Framework����������������������  189
10.3 Potential Contributions to Consumer Research������������������������������  189
10.3.1 Formation, Stability, and Changes in Consumer
Behaviors��������������������������������������������������������������������������  190
10.3.2 Integrative Multi-Theoretical Framework������������������������  191
10.3.3 Toward a Developmental Theory of Consumer
Behavior����������������������������������������������������������������������������  193
10.4 Recommendations��������������������������������������������������������������������������  194
10.5 Conclusion��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  196
References��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  197

Index������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  201
About the Author

George P. Moschis  (PhD, University of Wisconsin) is Alfred Bernhardt Research

Professor of Marketing and the Founding Director of the Center for Mature
Consumer Studies (CMCS) at Georgia State University. He also teaches academic
research at Mahidol University, Thailand, where he has founded and directed the
Consumer Life-course Studies Group (CLSG), a global network of academic
researchers. Dr. Moschis has studied the consumption habits of different age groups
for more than 40 years. His CMCS has been recognized on numerous occasions by
American Demographics over the years as one of the best sources of marketing
information in the United States.
As a guest of various types of organizations around the globe, Dr. Moschis lec-
tures annually in several countries in the five continents and has been cited by aca-
demics and practitioners as one of the world’s foremost authorities on topics related
to consumption habits of different generations. He has served as Consultant to
numerous corporations and government agencies in several countries and has lec-
tured in universities and business forums worldwide. Moschis’ list of publications
includes hundreds of peer-reviewed articles and papers, dozens of research mono-
graphs, and eight books. Based on his impact on academic research, he has been
cited as one of the most influential figures in consumer research today.

xi
Chapter 1
Introduction

In a recent article that reviews the literature on the widely researched topics of mate-
rialism and compulsive buying, the author concludes that the large number of stud-
ies on these topics has produced findings that could be described as inconclusive,
contradictory, and limited (Moschis 2017). He attributes these conclusions to a vari-
ety of reasons that have been major roadblocks to knowledge development, ranging
from the use of limited and single theoretical perspectives to measurement and
methods of analysis used. For example, with respect to theory, previous studies tend
to subscribe to single perspectives that likely provide inadequate understanding of
these phenomena; and many such studies also acknowledge the diversity of the fac-
tors relevant to several theories. Similarly, the dominant perspectives employed
have been viewed as competing, although they are likely complementary; and there
has been little effort to integrate the different perspectives into an overarching theo-
retical or conceptual framework that could help study materialism and compulsive
buying in a more systematic and holistic manner. This author also notes that, while
researchers in other disciplines increasingly develop and subscribe to multi-­
theoretical frameworks, research in the consumer field does not follow this trend.
These observations likely apply to other and less frequently researched areas of
consumer behavior.
Furthermore, this review article suggests that several of these roadblocks to
knowledge development could be removed by (a) adopting multi-theoretical con-
ceptual frameworks capable of integrating the different disjointed perspectives that
have been used, (b) employing both positivistic and humanistic research designs, (c)
using recent valid and reliable measures, (d) improving data collection methods,
and (e) using analytic methods that take into account the dynamic development and
unfolding of consumer behaviors. These recommendations are based in part on
recent theoretical and methodological developments in other disciplines and sug-
gest the need for improvement in the consumer field with respect to theory develop-
ment and methods of data analysis.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 1

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_1
2 1 Introduction

1.1  Consumer Research Needs

1.1.1  Theory Development

The diverse theoretical frameworks that have been employed in the field of con-
sumer research over the years, although they have produced interesting findings,
support the notion that consumer behavior cannot be adequately explained by any
single theoretical perspective. Rather, it is apparent that, in order to advance knowl-
edge in this area, researchers should develop and integrate theories that account for
the diversity of factors that influence consumer behavior. Rather than relying on a
specific theoretical framework, researchers should employ variables derived from
several theories and attempt to study them in the context of broader or overarching
frameworks. Such an effort requires the development and use of multi-theoretical
models.
There is also need for a better conceptualization and measurement of variables
derived from various theories. For example, rather than using age as a measure of
aging (biological change), efforts should be made to measure the functioning of
those bodily systems that could explain specific consumer behaviors (e.g., changes
in the perceptual system as they may affect responses to marketing stimuli) (Dean
1988; Moschis 2000). In addition, for any changes that may occur in the person’s
cognitive and emotional states, a theory should explain the reason(s) why specific
changes occur, circumstances under which they occur, and most importantly the
processes or change mechanisms (i.e., how they occur) that affect consumer behav-
ior (Healy and Hasher 2009; Salthouse 1991; Sternthal and Bonezzi 2009).
In addition, there is need for better contextualization of consumer behaviors. The
theory should explain the behavior of consumers in various contextual settings.
Contextual factors include both factors that define the individual’s personal circum-
stances and factors that are experienced collectively by consumers in different
groups and other structural settings and tend to affect their behavior. The first type
includes individual attributes and characteristics unique to the person (e.g., person-
ality) that affect a person’s mindset and play a role in one’s decisions, while various
structural factors (e.g., sociocultural, economic, market) are commonly experienced
by larger groups to which the individual belongs and have a significant impact on
various types of behaviors (Salthouse 1999, 2010). Rather than acknowledging the
possible effects of specific individual- or group-related factors as caveats in inter-
preting findings or speculating on their effects, such as age differences in consumer
responses (Yoon et al. 2009), these factors should become a more integral part of the
theory.
Furthermore, evidence suggests that a person’s behavior can be influenced by his
or her experiences that are unique to each person, as opposed to experiences com-
mon to large groups of people such social classes and cohorts. For example, studies
of older adults are conclusive with respect to the impact of earlier-in-life experi-
ences on the person’s competencies and susceptibility to persuasive marketing
communications (e.g., Moschis et  al. 2011; Salthouse 2010; Yoon et  al. 2009).
1.1  Consumer Research Needs 3

Their findings show that older consumers can draw upon experiences with the mar-
ketplace that have acquired earlier in life to compensate for declines in cognitive
resources such as ability to process information and make effectual decisions.
Finally, theory should account for time dependencies. Individuals differ with
respect to the length of time they have been at or experience a given state as well as
with respect to their status at that state. For example, older persons may behave dif-
ferently upon entering widowhood than later in life after they had time to adapt to
this role. Furthermore, consumer behavior should be explained in relation to earlier
stages in life. For example, the implicit and unverified assumption regarding older
consumers’ vulnerability, when compared to younger consumers, is the notion that
older consumers were less vulnerable at a younger age (Moschis et al. 2011).

1.1.2  Methodological Requirements

It is also imperative that researchers use methods that can overcome weaknesses
inherent in methods previously used to study people in time and context. The spe-
cific method that should be employed must consider not only the research question
at hand but also the relevant theoretical or conceptual framework that serves as a
blueprint for studying consumers. Each theoretical perspective may lend itself to
single or multiple methods of analysis. The use of multiple methods can help cross-­
validate and complement results obtained from single methods; they can provide
different and new insights.
Studies may produce different findings based on the method employed. Results
produced by the commonly used surveys that attempt to explain the observed dif-
ferences in groups (e.g., based on age, gender, culture) appear the least valid not
only because of the likely presence of common method biases (Podsakoff et al.
2003) but also because of a lack of full knowledge of factors that may account for
the observed differences. Experiments, in contrast, that are also frequently used
provide a greater control over factors that can contaminate results. However, the
experimental method is not free of bias when group analyses or comparisons are
made (e.g., Salthouse 2010). For example, age-related deficits in cognitive func-
tioning revealed by experimental studies in consumer behavior (e.g., Yoon et al.
2009) may be due to cultural factors, as shown in longitudinal studies of cogni-
tion (Willis and Schaie 1988). Unfortunately, even in experimental studies the
effects of various factors cannot be easily decomposed, as in the case of aging
effects which cannot be easily separated from those of period and cohort
(Salthouse 1999, 2010). The decomposition of the effects of such time- and con-
text-related factors requires the employment of relatively new methodologies
(discussed later in this book).
Longitudinal studies that involve repeated measurements on individuals at rela-
tively fixed intervals of time appear desirable over surveys and, in certain occasions,
over experiments. However, even such research designs have shortcomings because,
4 1 Introduction

as Campbell and O’Rand (1988) point out, survey samples from longitudinal stud-
ies do not share a common baseline. Individuals comprising such samples tend to be
heterogeneous with respect to the length of time they have engaged in a particular
behavior or have been at a given state or role (e.g., brand loyal, retirement). And, as
these investigators further point out, “Events that occur between waves of measure-
ment vary across subjects, and are not under the investigator’s control, and do not
occur either in a fixed order or at the same time” (1988: 73). Finally, traditional
scientific methods are not always suitable to the study of every consumption phe-
nomenon, as in the case the effects of the meaning consumers attach to material
possessions or events (e.g., Gentry et al. 1994; Kanner et al. 1981), suggesting the
need for employing humanistic approaches.
In sum, in order to advance knowledge in the field of consumer behavior, research
is needed that employs multi-theoretical frameworks. Multiple methods of data
analysis are required in order to study consumers in time and context; and they
should be capable of disentangling the effects of variables that account for the
observed individual and group differences.

1.2  Emergent Approaches in Social Sciences

In an earlier literature review of research in social and behavioral sciences over the
past several decades, the author of this book concludes that efforts to explain human
behavior at a specific stage in life in various disciplines have gradually merged into
three lines of scientific enquiry: (1) the study of various behaviors over the entire
course of the individual’s life, (2) the integration of various theories into multi-­
theoretical frameworks, and (3) the increasing use of humanistic approaches
(Moschis 2012). The result of these developments has been the emergence and
increasing use of paradigms that integrate these three approaches into more compre-
hensive research frameworks.
With respect to the first development, Pulkkinen and Caspi (2002) observe that
studies of people and their behaviors over the course of their lives have employed
three general approaches: life-span models, growth models, and life course models.
Life-span models contend that a person’s behavior and life in general are influenced
by factors that are age-graded such as education and employment, factors that are
history-graded such as wars, as well as several unscheduled or unexpected events
(e.g., accidents, natural disasters). Growth models focus on the developmental
stages people go through during their lives. Each stage is characterized by the acqui-
sition of new competencies or skills. People are active contributors to their own
development throughout their lives by setting goals, making choices, and develop-
ing strategies for dealing with various life challenges, many of which are stage-­
specific (e.g., parenthood, retirement). Finally, life course models tend to emphasize
the importance of earlier-in-life transitions and experiences in the form of events or
changes (biological, psychological, and social) and demands to which a person
1.3  The Emergence of the Life Course as Research Approach 5

must adapt. In contrast to life-span models and growth models that specify the tem-
poral order of life stages, life course models place emphasis on the timing and
contexts of a person’s experiences that may define developmental stages (e.g., Elder
and Johnson 2002; Elder et al. 2003; Pulkkinen and Caspi 2002).
A second trend has been the development of multi-theoretical models that
attempt to integrate the various types of factors that influence and shape behavior at
a given stage in life. Despite their intuitive appeal, these models suffer from difficul-
ties in combining theories from different disciplines because many such theories
tend to be antagonistic and they differ in their assumptions regarding units of analy-
sis and factors that must be combined (e.g., Passuth and Bengtson 1988).
The third trend reflects the increasing acknowledgment in several fields of social
sciences that the human organism is capable of influencing the environment in
important ways, rather than merely reacting to it. This trend has been the result of
the development of context-specific models (Dowd 1990), such as those introduced
by Riegel (1975), as well as those that underscore more subjective orientations that
can be seen in the works of writers who subscribe to phenomenology and symbolic
interactionism (e.g., Blumer 1969; Kelly 1955). The notion that humans are capable
of influencing their environment has stimulated the development of dialectic models
and the emergence of interpretive science (Neugarten 1984).

1.3  The Emergence of the Life Course as Research Approach

The development of life course as a research framework and approach to the study
of behavior has been the result of all three trends as well as of recent methodologi-
cal developments (e.g., Campbell and O’Rand 1988; Elder et al. 2003; Shanahan
et al. 2016a). Life course models generally incorporate growth models of cogni-
tive development, stage models of personality development, as well as life-span
models (Elder and Johnson 2002). They represent a clear departure from tradi-
tional life stage approaches to research because they underscore the importance of
context and time as relevant dimensions of theory and analysis and are based on
interactions across levels of analysis over time (Elder 1998). Furthermore, these
multi-­theoretical models can accommodate both positivistic and humanistic
approaches (Giele and Elder 1998; Mortimer and Shanahan 2003). They allow the
use of the recently developed methods that are suitable to life course research
(Giele and Elder 1998; Shanahan et al. 2016a) and create opportunities for address-
ing the confounded effects of aging, cohort, and period, as well as the interplay of
individual and social change (Campbell and O’Rand 1988; Mayer and Tuma
1990). These features have helped advance the life course approach to one of the
leading multi-theoretical frameworks in social and behavioral sciences (Elder
et al. 2003; Mortimer and Shanahan 2003; Shanahan et al. 2016a) that is viewed
as “one of the most important achievements in social science in the second half of
the 20th century” (Colby 1998: x).
6 1 Introduction

1.3.1  Conceptual Foundations

The study of life course refers to the study of the effects of stability and change over
time on human development that is viewed biologically, psychologically, and
socially (Clausen 1986; George 2003). It therefore considers factors relevant to sev-
eral disciplines, and its definition varies with the disciplinary background of the
researcher. When psychologists refer to life course, they usually think in terms of
intrapsychic phenomena that characterize life-span development (e.g., George
1982; Perlmutter 1988). Sociologists, on the other hand, refer to life course in con-
nection with role transitions, focusing their attention on age-related transitions that
are socially created and shared (Hagestad and Neugarten 1985). Other researchers
use the term in a broader context to refer to “the study of social processes extending
over the individual life span or over significant portions of it” (Mayer and Tuma
1990: 3). Still, others (e.g., Abeles et  al.) view life course as a perspective that
encompasses the “increasing convergence between certain theoretical work in life-­
span developmental psychology and the sociological analysis of age” (1980: 308).
Clausen (1986) views life course as “a progression through time,” recognizing
three components of time: life time, social time, and historical time. His conception
of life time denotes the person’s aging that takes place with time in the form of bio-
logical or physiological changes of the body or its systems and the onset of disease.
Clausen refers to social time as “a set of norms that specify when particular life
transitions or accomplishments are expected to occur in a particular society or social
milieu” (1986: 2). Finally, his conception of historical time focuses on movement
and transitions of individuals and groups (cohorts) that experience a given set of
circumstances and mirrors societal change, cultural eras, and epoch-making events.
Clausen’s conception of the life course does not deal explicitly with the psychologi-
cal component of life-span development. Instead, the psychological dimension is
viewed to be a part of the biological component.
Parallel to these conceptions, three general perspectives on life course have been
advanced (Clausen 1986). The developmental perspective seeks to explain physio-
logical and psychological changes that occur with the accumulation or diminution
of time. Physiological changes describe the aging process that results in the physical
development and deterioration of the biological system, while psychological (devel-
opmental) changes assume a degree of unfolding of potential that exists in the
organism. The socialization perspective stresses the processes by which people
develop norms relevant to various roles they are expected to assume over the life
course; it considers the demands that other members of society make upon the indi-
vidual. Through the process of socialization, such demands shape attitudes, inter-
ests, values, and behaviors relevant to social roles over the person’s life course.
Finally, the adaptation perspective represents an interdisciplinary and relatively
more recent orientation; it reflects the increasing convergence between psychologi-
cal and sociological approaches to the study of life course (Abeles et al. 1980). This
perspective views the life course as a sequence of adaptations to events and circum-
stances. These adaptations are needed not only because of specific events and
1.3  The Emergence of the Life Course as Research Approach 7

c­ ircumstances an individual may experience over her or his life course but also due
to developmental and social changes. As Clausen puts it:
One must adapt not only to the socially patterned demands of others, but also to one's
growth and developmental problems, to changing life conditions and relationships, to frus-
tration and losses, to illness, and, if we survive long enough, to declining strength and abili-
ties. (Clausen 1986: 17)

Thus, in the context of these diverse perspectives, behavior over the life course
could be the result of adaptation due to developmental changes, an outcome of
socialization, and a consequence of adjustments to specific events and circum-
stances. The main focus of the present book is on such adaptations not only because
this approach represents the most recent trend in life course research but also
because it can serve as a framework for integrating earlier developmental and
socialization perspectives. Thus, the term “life course” is used in the specific con-
text of adaptation, which refers to “the process of meeting the organism’s biologi-
cal, psychological, and social needs, under recurrently changing conditions”
(Pfeiffer 1977: 650).

1.3.2  Origins of Life Course Research

The life course approach to research has its roots in life-span developmental psy-
chology, which is concerned with “the description, explanation and modification
(optimization) of developmental processes in the human life from conception to
death” (Baltes et al. 1980: 2). Adaptation, in particular, has been the main theme of
scientific inquiry in several fields of social science, especially psychology and soci-
ology. Psychologists have studied adaptation in the context of human development.
Child developmentalists have focused on adaptation in the context of growth and
progression during the early years, while life-span developmentalists have focused
on developmental changes (both discontinuities and newly emergent behaviors)
during adulthood and old age (Lerner 1984, 1988). However, while child psycholo-
gists emphasize the strong adaptive responses of individuals who encounter tempo-
rary adverse experiences and the tendency to return to their previous normal
developmental trajectory, life-span researchers are more preoccupied with the pos-
sible nonexistence of a fixed life course of development. The latter group empha-
sizes that there is little biological and cultural stabilization in the period of adult life
and stresses the difficulty in anticipating the types of life experiences the individual
is going to encounter during adulthood and how the person will respond to these
circumstances (Hetherington and Baltes 1988; Lerner 1988). Thus, adult develop-
ment is viewed as the outcome of the person’s adaptation to unpredictable life
events, with adaptation being the product of interaction between specific events and
interindividual variability in coping with these events.
Sociologists, on the other hand, have used the life course approach to study age-­
related transitions across socially recognized turning points in life such as stages in
8 1 Introduction

the life cycle that outline life paths and provide road maps for human lives. They
have viewed the life course as being comprised of a set of interlocking careers that
involve socially prescribed roles such as those of spouse and parent (e.g., Elder and
Rockwell 1979; Goslin 1969; Riley et al. 1972). The social structuring of life time is
a compelling human need to define the predictability of life; it helps a person plot
where one is and where he or she may go by examining culturally constructed age-­
based schedules (Hagestad and Neugarten 1985). Role expectations and role enact-
ment at different stages in life are linked to the life cycle; they are determined to a
large extent by age-graded events, such as marriage and birth of first child. Such
events are known as “transitional events” because they involve experiences in mov-
ing between roles (Pearlin 1982). For transitional events which are connected to
highly scheduled life cycle changes, there tends to be consensus among the members
of a society as to the expected and optimum timing of such events (Pearlin 1982).
The life course approach has developed into an interdisciplinary program for
studying various forms of behavior. It is found in recent theoretical formulations of
biologists, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, demographers, psychia-
trists, and others; and it has been adopted by those who use humanistic approaches,
whether these are dialectic, interpretive, or critical in nature (for studies and cita-
tions, see, e.g., Mortimer and Shanahan 2003, Moschis 2000; Shanahan et  al.
2016a). These scientists employ this multi-theoretical life course approach that is
conceptualized as a research framework, commonly referred to as “the life course
paradigm” (e.g., Daaleman and Elder 2007; Shanahan et al. 2016b), to study various
phenomena in their respective disciplines. The life course approach to research has
diffused rapidly across disciplines; “it has been entering its stage of maturity in the
most recent years” (Billari 2009: 83) but still increasingly used as a framework for
research (Shanahan et al. 2016b), as Fig. 1.1 shows.
Although the life course paradigm has long been viewed by developmental psy-
chologists as potentially useful for “understanding the labor market, the allocation
of time and goods, and the role of the future life time as individuals make economic
and consumption decisions” (Baltes et al. 1980: 100), it has yet to diffuse in the
consumer research field. As of the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century
(year 2009), one source identifies 54 disciplines or fields of social, behavioral, and
medical sciences where published studies use the term “life course,” but no such a
study is found in any areas of business in general and marketing or consumer behav-
ior in particular (Billari 2009). The same source shows that, among hundreds of
studies that use “life course” as keyword, the largest number of studies is roughly
equally published in the fields of sociology and various areas of psychology, col-
lectively accounting for a little over 40% of all life course studies. The closest to the
area of business are the fields of economics (ranked 34th) and industrial relations
and labor (ranked 44th), with less than 1% of the total published studies each, trail-
ing fields such as medicine, geography, and history.
The life course paradigm draws from numerous conceptual streams. It represents
a multidisciplinary field of perspectives, ideas, and empirical observations that
focus on patterns of stability and change over time, as well as on their timing and
contexts (George 2003; Shanahan et al. 2016a). The information that is contained in
1.3  The Emergence of the Life Course as Research Approach 9

Fig. 1.1  Number of life course publications per year. Source: Shanahan et al. (2016b)

this book shows that this paradigm is capable of addressing a great number of theo-
retical and substantive research questions that preoccupy consumer researchers. It
suggests the importance of examining consumers in the contexts of time and life
circumstances in which they are embedded at a given point or stage in life, rather
than in isolation from their previous life experiences and future expectations.

1.3.3  The Life Course Paradigm

The development of the life course paradigm reflects the gradual shift away from
theories aimed at understanding people at different stages in life and their age-­related
differences, such as role theory to understand the behavior of the “aged” (e.g., retire-
ment), to studying “aging” that places methodological emphasis on “dynamic, his-
torical analysis strategies with new data requirements” (Campbell and O’Rand 1988:
62). The emergence of the life course paradigm as a multi-theoretical conceptual
research framework was greatly facilitated by the development of new methodolo-
gies for the collection and analysis of life history data during the last two decades of
the twentieth century. These methodologies have helped life course researchers inte-
grate diverse theoretical perspectives into multi-theoretical conceptual frameworks
by including in their models variables derived from different levels of aggregation,
such as group and individual characteristics, social structures, market conditions,
and historical eras (e.g., recessions) (e.g., Mayer and Tuma 1990; Mortimer and
Shanahan 2003; Shanahan et al. 2016a). They made it possible for researchers to
10 1 Introduction

combine variables deriving from theories that assume different units of analyses and
incorporate them into the broader life course research framework that views diverse
theories as complementary rather than competing (Sherrod and Brim 1986).
The life course paradigm is normally applied to address issues of development,
stability, and change in thoughts and actions over time (George 2003). It attempts to
either identify factors early in the life course that promote continuity in behavior
over time or focus on changing circumstances, especially events that act as turning
points in the life course (McMillan et al. 2004). Events can be in the form of bio-
logical and psychological changes as well as life transitions across the life course.
Such events define typical life experiences, changes, and social roles that serve as
turning points and affect a person’s behavior and life in general (Pulkkinen and
Caspi 2002). The life course paradigm suggests that a person’s experiences of
changing life conditions in the form of life events and choices create physical, emo-
tional, and social demands and circumstances to which one must respond and adapt.
Patterns of thought and action at a given stage in life may be viewed as outcomes of
one’s responses in the form of choices and adaptation to various demands and cir-
cumstances experienced earlier in life, with adaptation entailing the processes of (a)
socialization, (b) stress and coping responses, and (c) cognitive development or
growth and decline. These processes are the underlying change mechanisms of the
three most widely accepted life course perspectives: normative, stress, and human
capital, respectively (Moschis 2007).
The life course paradigm suggests that behavior cannot be studied in isolation
from one’s experiences or expectations; rather it is embedded with circumstances
one has experienced and anticipates at different stages in life. Unlike other
approaches to the study of human behavior, the life course approach attempts to
explain the development and change in patterns of thought and action by focusing
on events and circumstances, including earlier changes in behavior a person has
experienced or expects to experience later in life. Earlier life experiences are exam-
ined within historical and sociocultural contexts by considering their timing, spac-
ing, order, and duration or time elapsed since occurrence. Behavior at any stage in
life is viewed to be the product of responses to changing life conditions and the way
the individual has adapted to social and environmental circumstances he or she has
experienced and expects to experience.

1.3.4  Relevance to Consumer Research

Consumer researchers’ tendency to try to explain consumer behavior at a given point

in time or stage in life in isolation from a person’s earlier-in-life experiences or
expectations appears to be a serious drawback in developing knowledge in the field
of consumer behavior. Many researchers have long suggested the value of studying
past events in a person’s life as well as one’s perception of the future in attempting
to understand patterns of consumer behavior (e.g., Andreasen 1984; Du Wors and
Haines 1990; Friestad and Wright 1994; Holbrook 1993; Smith and Lux 1993;
1.3  The Emergence of the Life Course as Research Approach 11

Wagner and Hanna 1983), but they have had inadequate tools for addressing con-
sumption issues over the life course. These omissions and suggestions underscore
the relevance of the life course paradigm for consumer research. Although it has yet
to widely diffuse in the consumer field, the life course paradigm is implicitly or
explicitly the overarching conceptual framework in several recent consumer studies
(e.g., Ahuvia and Wong 2002; Baker et  al. 2013; Benmoyal and Moschis 2010;
Connell et al. 2014; Gentry et al. 1994; Harrison et al. 2011; Lee et al. 2012; Mathur
et al. 2008; Minowa and Belk 2018; Price et al. 2000; Richins and Chaplin 2015;
Rindfleisch et al. 1997; Schau et al. 2009; Yang and Netemeyer 2015; Vu Nguyen
et al. 2009; Williams and Drolet 2005).
Efforts to study the development and changes in consumer behavior over the life
course are generally limited to exploratory or descriptive studies that show differ-
ences in consumption-related activities of age groups or people at different stages in
life (e.g., Harrison et  al. 2011; Gentry et  al. 1994; Schaninger and Danko 1993;
Wells and Gubar 1966; Wilkes 1995). Explanations of consumer behavior over the
life course tend to focus either on the observed differences in patterns of informa-
tion processing (e.g., Cole and Gaeth 1990; John and Cole 1986), family decision-­
making (Hill 1965), brand preferences (Guest 1955), and meaning of possessions
(e.g., Gentry et al. 1994) in the context of theories of human development (cognitive
psychology and personality) or on sociological influences under the broad term
“socialization” (e.g., Moschis 1987). However, these approaches are of limited
value as explanations of developmental phenomena, since they are primarily con-
cerned with describing the observed differences in consumer behavior that exist
across categories of individuals and not with explaining the inferred changes
(Salthouse 1991). As Salthouse puts it: “The study of development is therefore the
study of change (emphasis his), and not simply the study of difference” (1991: 26).
Furthermore, approaches that focus on differences in consumer behavior of indi-
viduals at different stages do not show how previous experiences and anticipations
about the future affect present patterns of consumer behavior, since individuals or
segments are not examined in relationship to other stages of life within historical
and cultural contexts (Baltes et al. 1980; Campbell and O’Rand 1988; Pearlin 1982;
Salthouse 1991). Previous research that attempts to link past experiences to present
patterns of consumer behavior tends to be atheoretical and descriptive (e.g., Harrison
et al. 2011; Holbrook 1993; Moschis 1987; Moschis 2012). It discusses the effects
of previous experiences anecdotally (e.g., Lutz 1991) or in the context of research
methodologies such as introspection (Wallendorf and Brucks 1993), historical
method (Smith and Lux 1993), life grid method (Harrison et al. 2011), and cohort
analysis (Rentz and Reynolds 1983).
In sum, previous efforts to study the development and change in consumer behav-
iors over the life course tend to be atheoretical, sparse, and fragmented, reflecting
disjointed efforts that stem from diverse research traditions. Such efforts tend to
characterize consumer research in general and have been criticized in previous
reviews (e.g., Moschis 2017; Sherry 1991). And, although consumer ­researchers
have long recognized the importance of prior life experiences as well as one’s per-
ception of the future in understanding patterns of consumer behavior at specific
12 1 Introduction

stages in life, they have had inadequate theoretical and methodological bases for
studying consumer behavior issues over the life course. Such a research shortcoming
appears to remain a serious roadblock to advancing knowledge in the consumer field.
The life course approach to research appears to satisfy many theoretical and
methodological requirements needed to advance research that would help under-
stand the development and changes in patterns of consumer behavior over time.
First, rather than relying on any single theoretical perspective to explain consumer
behavior (e.g., specific models of aging), it draws from various diverse perspectives.
Second, the life course approach can address the influence of contextual variables
over time, such as cohort and period effects. Third, this approach enables research-
ers to assess the influence of earlier-in-life experiences and circumstances in the
context of several theoretical perspectives using multiple methods (e.g., Giele and
Elder 1998; Mortimer and Shanahan 2003; Shanahan et al. 2016a).
These observations are consistent with developments in various disciplines
which advocate the use of a life course approach to study human behavior. This
approach to research is seen in recent theoretical formulations of scientists in a wide
variety of disciplines (for a collection of such writings, see, e.g., Bengtson and
Schaie 1999; Daaleman and Elder 2007; Elder 1998; Hutchinson 2005; Mortimer
and Shanahan 2003; Shanahan et al. 2016a). Psychologist Ann Colby points out the
“tremendous impact on social science that the life course approach has had” (1998:
xiii) in the previous three decades. Thus, although social scientists have long noted
that the life course approach is potentially useful in understanding various market
and consumption phenomena that are time- and context-dependent (e.g., Baltes
et al. 1980), and convincing evidence shows that the life course paradigm is useful
and increasingly and widely used across disciplines and internationally (Billari
2009; Elder et al. 2003; Shanahan et al. 2016a), the consumer behavior literature is
rather void of systematic efforts to adopt this approach in studying various types of
consumer behaviors.

1.4  The Scope and Structure of this Book

In view of the increasing interest among researchers in studying consumers over the
course of their lives, the limited applications of the life course paradigm to con-
sumer research, and a lack of sound theoretical and methodological bases for study-
ing consumers in time and context, the purpose of the present book is to help
researchers improve their research efforts in studying various time- and context-­
dependent consumption phenomena. The book advocates for the value of the life
course paradigm for improving previous approaches to the study of consumers over
the course of their lives. It intends to contribute to previous efforts by showing
researchers how to use the life course approach to study various forms of consumer
behaviors over one’s entire life.
To accomplish its main purpose, the book organizes the material presented under
ten chapters. Following the present chapter that provides the rationale for this project,
1.4  The Scope and Structure of this Book 13

Chap. 2 presents previous studies that attempt to study consumers over the course of
their lives; it also provides comments on the theories these studies employ and on
their findings. The presentations in Chap. 2 are aimed at making the reader aware of
the issues and drawbacks of the theories and methods used relative to the life course
paradigm. Chapter 3 introduces the life course paradigm as a conceptual research
framework. It attempts to translate conceptual notions that guide the life course
approach into a blueprint that allows the reader to see graphically the various ele-
ments addressed in the life course paradigm and relationships among them.
Chapter 4 organizes and presents consumer research in the context of the concep-
tual life course paradigm presented in Chap. 3. It integrates consumer research find-
ings into the general conceptual framework, using these findings along with
theoretical perspectives and concepts from the life course paradigm to show how
general propositions can be derived to guide future research. Chapter 5 builds on
materials presented in Chap. 4 to illustrate how researchers could use the life course
research framework to develop propositions by making specific reference to con-
sumer financial behaviors. The propositions pertain to specific model elements and
their relationships casted within the life course paradigm, some based on theoretical
notions, others based on empirical findings, and others posed as research questions.
The material in Chap. 5 also helps the reader see how abstract concepts of the life
course paradigm can be operationalized and subjected to empirical testing.
Chapter 6 presents methods of life course research. It discusses their strengths
and weaknesses as well as their methodological issues that confront life course
researchers. By providing illustrations, this chapter also demonstrates how recently
developed quantitative methods superior to conventional analytic methods, as well
as qualitative methods that are congenial to the life course research, could be
employed in life course studies. Chapter 7 shows how prior efforts to study select
topics of interest to consumer researchers could be improved by employing life
course paradigm concepts and methods. Previous research approaches to the study
of each of these topics are first discussed briefly and, in turn, relevant life course-­
related theories, concepts, and methods are provided to suggest conceptual direc-
tions for improving previous efforts.
Chapter 8 presents implications of the life course approach for consumer
research. It proposes an agenda for future research by discussing areas of interest to
consumer researchers where the life course paradigm could be applied to create
knowledge and help improve understanding of various consumption-related phe-
nomena. Chapter 9 shows how marketers and policymakers can employ life course
theories and methods to develop effectual marketing strategies as well as educa-
tional campaigns and intervention programs to better serve consumer needs and
interests. Lastly, Chap. 10 summarizes and highlights the gist of the life course
paradigm as a research approach and as a tool useful to consumer researchers and
practitioners. It briefly discusses the merits of using the life course paradigm as a
research framework and how the employment of the life course paradigm helps
overcome shortcomings inherent in previous efforts; and it presents areas of poten-
tial contributions to consumer theory and research along with challenges that
researchers are likely to face when they employ the life course approach to research.
14 1 Introduction

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Chapter 2
Efforts to Study Consumers Over Their
Life Span

The study of consumers over the course of their lives has been a topic of interest to
scientists even before the development of the field of consumer behavior in the mar-
keting area. Psychologists and economists were among the first to investigate cer-
tain types of consumer behaviors over the life span or a significant part of it. One of
the earliest studies focuses on the development of brand preferences (Guest 1942).
This cross-sectional study, which examines awareness for brands in 16 types of
product categories, finds awareness to increase with age during childhood and ado-
lescent years (ages 7–18), with the onset of awareness being a function of the type
of product and having a positive relationship with socioeconomic status (SES) and
IQ. The development of brand preferences is also assessed longitudinally among
participants of this early study in two follow-up investigations 12 and 20 years later
(Guest 1955, 1964). The 12-year study finds that preference for brands does not
change for approximately 27% of the subjects, while the second study finds consis-
tency in preferences for brand for approximately one-fourth of the subjects over a
20-year period. The latter study concludes that preference for brands is context-­
specific—i.e., it depends on the type of product and social pressure.
Economists have also been interested in studying consumers as money spenders
and savers over the course of their lives. Early work by Modigliani (e.g., Modigliani
and Brumberg 1954) focuses on economic models which assume that people tend to
save during their working years and spend their savings during their retirement
years. While these earlier efforts focus on activities and preferences of individuals
as consumers, early marketing studies of consumers over their entire life consider
the family as a unit of analysis. The landmark article of Wells and Gubar (1966)
describes how household preferences for products and services change as families
go through different stages in life, from the stage of “bachelorhood” to that of a
“solitary survivor.”
Researchers’ efforts to understand people as consumers over the course of their
lives have followed two broad research streams: they have either employed life
stage models or have subscribed to life course assumptions. Studies falling in the
first category tend to use traditional stage models from various disciplines that either

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 19

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_2
20 2  Efforts to Study Consumers Over Their Life Span

describe behaviors of consumer at different stages in life or attempt to explain

changes in behaviors as people “move” through different stages in life. In contrast,
studies based on life course assumptions either implicitly subscribe to life course
notions or explicitly employ perspectives and concepts derived from the life course
paradigm.

2.1  Traditional Approaches

Most models used by researchers to study consumers over the course of their lives
assume that behaviors of consumers at a given point or stage in their lives are the
result of either socialization at that particular stages in life or developmental and
declining factors (e.g., cognitive, emotional) or changes in needs due to social
demands and circumstances (e.g., family structure, retirement). They all take the
form of life stages that define a person’s status, attributes, or experiences and are
linked to consumption. This section highlights the scope and limitations of three
types of such models commonly used in consumer research: socialization, develop-
mental, and family life cycle.

2.1.1  Socialization Models

Studies of consumer socialization generally are confined to the study of a select

age group (e.g., children, adolescents, elderly), in isolation from other age groups
(e.g., Epp and Price 2008; John 1999; Moschis 1987; Moschis et al. 1993), with
assumptions of unidirectional effects of socializer on socializee and outcomes
viewed as normative and impervious to change (e.g., Moschis 1987). Many such
models assume that patterns of thought and action developed in early life persist
and change little in adulthood (e.g., John 1999; Moore et al. 2017). However, there
is evidence which suggests that socialization in general and consumer socializa-
tion in particular are a lifelong process (e.g., Gudmunson and Danes 2011;
Mortimer and Simmons 1978; Moschis 1987), with patterns of consumer thoughts
and actions undergoing formation and change throughout life (e.g., Guest 1964;
Serido et al. 2015). Despite merit, socialization models that are stage-specific (e.g.,
Moore et al. 2017) provide limited explanations of changes in consumer behaviors
beyond a specific stage in life.
In recent decades, socialization research in other disciplines has become embed-
ded within the life course paradigm, focusing on dynamic, reciprocal, and unfolding
processes between the person and his or her environment (cf. Elder 1994). Unlike
most consumer socialization studies that assume a unidirectional influence of
socialization agents (John 1999; Richins and Chaplin 2015), the life course para-
digm recognizes the role of human agency in the socialization process and the bidi-
rectional influences between socializer and socializee. Furthermore, in comparison
2.1  Traditional Approaches 21

to earlier socialization assumptions that earlier-in-life acquired values and behav-

iors are impervious to change, recent studies suggest that such orientations can
change at any stage in life, as individuals interact with different socialization agents
(e.g., Serido et  al. 2015) and have to adapt to different or new expectations and
environments (e.g., new technologies; Thanasrivanitchai et al. 2017). In addition,
rather than studying individuals at a given point in time or stages in life (childhood,
adolescence, adulthood, late life), the life course paradigm acknowledges the influ-
ence of earlier-in-life socialization experiences on present patterns of thought and
action. As Elder and Johnson (2002) put it, “Behavior cannot be fully explained by
restricting analysis to a specific life stage … childhood is relevant to understanding
adaptation in later life, not just in adolescence and young adulthood” (2002: 57).
Consumer researchers have begun to adopt this view in recent years (Ahuvia and
Wong 2002; Baker et  al. 2013a; Connell et  al. 2014; Richins and Chaplin 2015;
Rindfleisch et al. 1997).

2.1.2  Human Development Models

Several models of human development known as stage models of cognitive and

personality development focus on sequential and unfolding life stages and capabili-
ties that characterize human development throughout life (for brief descriptions of
these models, see, e.g., Moschis 1987, 1992, 1996). Most consumer studies that
employ such models tend to focus on limited stages or periods of human develop-
ment, especially in early and late life, assuming that consumer behavior is the
result of cognitive or emotional states that characterize specific periods of a per-
son’s life (often indexed by his or her age or stage in life) (e.g., Barnhart and
Peñaloza 2013; Connell et al. 2014; John 1999; Schau et al. 2009; Sikkel 2013;
Williams and Drolet 2005).
Developmental models of personality and cognition have suffered a barrage of
criticisms (e.g., Moschis 2000; Salthouse 2010). The assumption underscoring
these largely atheoretical models (Salthouse 2010)—that every consumer occupy-
ing a stage in life, as a member of an age group or cohort, is similar to others (e.g.,
Rentz and Reynolds 1983; Reynolds and Rentz 1981)—fails to match reality, in
which great heterogeneity exists within each stage or age group (especially among
aging consumers; Moschis 2012). It also underlies the serious criticisms of age-­
based models that suggest age has little explanatory value (Salthouse 2010) or in
Rutter’s (1996) words “age per se does not provide any kind of explanation” (1996:
608). Studies based on human development models have not permitted uncon-
founded inferences about developmental issues, in part because it is not clear
whether their findings are due to age, period, or cohort (e.g., Gaeth and Heath 1987;
Moschis 2012; Rentz and Reynolds 1983).
Stage developmental models of personality and cognition have been widely
used, especially in humanistic studies; and they have been employed in empirical
research in ex post facto fashion—that is, they are used to interpret obtained fi
­ ndings
22 2  Efforts to Study Consumers Over Their Life Span

rather than to rely on the formation of research designs or measurement instruments

(see Moschis 1996). For example, according to Erikson’s theory, which focuses on
how people develop an identity at different stages in life, unless a person is able to
establish intimacy in early adulthood, he or she cannot establish generativity in
middle adulthood (caring for young and the world one lives in), which is a prereq-
uisite to the development of integrity in late life. Explanations of consumer behav-
ior based on such models can be seen in the work of Schau et  al. (2009), who
interpret their themes of emerged identities in late life in the context of Erikson’s
theory. Similarly, explanations of children’s consumer behaviors have been influ-
enced by Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (John 1999; Moschis 1987). In
recent years, stage, growth, and life-span models have been integrated into the life
course paradigm (Elder et al. 2003; Elder and Johnson 2002), in part because of the
emergence of methods suitable for addressing life course issues that also allow for
the decomposition of age, cohort, and period effects (e.g., Mayer and Tuma 1990;
Yang 2008).

2.1.3  Family Life Cycle Models

The family life cycle model presented by Wells and Gubar (1966) is the first stage
model in the field of consumer behavior. It identifies stages that are defined by age
and social structure (marital status, presence or absence of children) that people go
through during adulthood. Consumption of various products and services is assumed
to be driven by people’s needs that change as people move from one stage to the
next. Certain events that signify life transitions define an individual’s stage, such as
last child leaving the household defines transition from the full-nest to the empty-­
nest stage. This family life cycle model assumes that all people go through all stages
in life defined by the model. Its original structure was influenced by the demograph-
ics of the mid-twentieth century that reported high prevalence of marriages in early
adulthood and intact families throughout most of adulthood years.
Although several versions of the original family life cycle model have been
offered over several decades (e.g., Schaninger and Danko 1993), they all concur in
their assumption that large groups of people occupying different demographically
defined stages exhibit similar consumer behaviors after they make a transition into
a given life stage, with little or no reference to the mechanism(s) that link(s) life
transitions to consumption activities. These models are descriptive, albeit useful,
but they ignore within-group differences that may arise from the timing of a life
transition (e.g., age at marriage) or the length of time one has spent at a given stage.
They are largely atheoretical, assuming that each individual occupying a particular
stage has homogeneous needs with others in the same stage or group. Stage-specific
needs are viewed as the link between life changes and consumption, with little
attention paid to the various contexts (e.g., economic, technological) in which these
consumers may be embedded over the course of their lives that could affect their
behavior (e.g., Oropesa 1993). Such limitations inherent in the family life cycle
2.2  Traditional Stage Models Vs. The Life Course Paradigm 23

models coupled with recent developments in life course research “have resulted in
the replacement of the term ‘life cycle’ with the more continuous concept of the
‘life course’” (Giele and Elder 1998: 19).

2.2  Traditional Stage Models Vs. The Life Course Paradigm

Table 2.1 summarizes the main differences between the traditional stage models and
the life course paradigm. One main difference between the two is that, while stage
models are defined mainly on the basis of age (and in some instances social structure),
the life course paradigm does not have such requirements. Rather, the latter views age
and social structure as contexts. For example, in the traditional family life cycle
model, a person is assigned to a given stage based on his or her age, marital status
(single, married, widowed), and the absence or presence of children and their age. In
contrast, the life course paradigm does not acknowledge life stages; it acknowledges
life conditions and circumstances in which a person is embedded and defines states.
A state is defined by a life event that marks transition into a status or role in life, such
as diagnosis of a hearing impairment that serves as a transition into the state or role of
“hearing impaired” and birth of the first child that defines transition into parenthood.

Table 2.1  Differences between life stage models and the life course paradigm
Life stage models Life course paradigm
Age and social structure define stages Age and social structure define contexts
Sequential, unfolding, and invariant stages Shifts and loops in states (stages) are possible
with time
Stages are largely independent of one States (stages) are interdependent
another
Assume within-stage homogeneity Recognizes within-state heterogeneity
Between-stage transitions are largely Multi-theoretical perspectives explain between-­
descriptive or atheoretical state shifts
Attempt to explain inferred changes in Changes in behaviors are tied to mechanisms that
behavior from observed age or stage link time and context to change
differences
Change in behavior occurs after stage Change in behavior can occur before and after
change status change
Structures in which one is embedded either Behaviors are embedded in micro- and macro-­
shape behaviors or are irrelevant structures; behaviors and structures are reciprocally
linked
Time spent in a stage is irrelevant Time spent in a state is relevant
Changes (events) and their effects are Changes (events) and their effects are
time-independent time-dependent
Previous events and behaviors are largely Previous events and behaviors are relevant
irrelevant
Consumer behavior is the result of Consumer behavior is determined by agency and
cognitions and personality context
24 2  Efforts to Study Consumers Over Their Life Span

Another distinction between stage models and the life course paradigm can be
seen in the assumptions they make about time. With time, usually indexed by the
person’s chronological age, stage models assume that people “move” from one
stage to the next in a sequential and invariant fashion. Stages are programmed, well-­
defined, and in fixed order. In contrast, according to the life course paradigm, there
cannot be an invariant or fixed sequence of stages or states. A person can “shift”
from one state to the next based on his or her experience of an event; and one may
occupy a particular state for an indefinite period in the absence of any life events
that would define transition into a new state. Further, according to life course para-
digm, loops and pauses for any length of time are possible, as in the case of multiple
marriages, although the movement with time over the life span tends to be forward.
And the types of related states a person occupies due to events he or she experiences
define certain trajectories, such as marriages and divorces that define one’s marital
trajectory and degrees received that define one’s educational trajectory (Elder 1998).
An implicit or explicit assumption of stage models is that cognitive, emotional,
and behavioral characteristics of individuals occupying a particular stage in life are
well-defined; and they are largely unrelated to earlier stages in life. This assumption
is present in models of cognitive development and decline. For example, Piaget’s
model of cognitive development assumes that people acquire certain consumer
skills when they reach a certain age (e.g., John 1999; Moschis 1987); resource-­
deficit models assume that all people experience cognitive declines in later life (e.g.,
Moschis 2000; Schau et  al. 2009); and the family life cycle models assume that
consumers at a given stage will purchase certain products regardless of their pur-
chases made at earlier stages (e.g., Schaninger and Danko 1993). With few exemp-
tions (e.g., Erikson’s model), a person’s cognitive and emotional conditions at
earlier stages have little effect on his or her later stages in life. In contrast, the life
course paradigm assumes that events that signify transitions to certain states or
roles, and generally one’s experiences at an earlier stage in life, have a bearing on
future states. This is not only because experience gained earlier in life can be applied
to later life challenges but also because life events tend to be interdependent. The
occurrence or experience of an event increases or lowers the likelihood of the occur-
rence of another (Mayer and Tuma 1990).
Within-stage homogeneity is another assumption made by stage models.
Occupants of a particular stage are expected to exhibit similar cognitive, emotional,
and behavioral orientations, an assumption that runs contrary to assumptions made
by the life course paradigm. According to the latter model, people occupying the
same state or role (e.g., retirees, divorcees) differ markedly because of their earlier-­
in-­life experiences and developmental trajectories that affect their mindsets and
behaviors. Implicit in the assumption of the life course paradigm is that heterogene-
ity increases with age, as people encounter and adapt to different life circumstances,
an assumption supported by overwhelming evidence in the field of aging and older
consumer studies (Moschis 1992, 2012).
Another distinction between stage models and the life course paradigm is that the
former models tend to be descriptive and atheoretical, with little explanation as to
the reason(s) people move from one stage to the next. For example, socialization of
2.2  Traditional Stage Models Vs. The Life Course Paradigm 25

children and adolescents differs from socialization of adults, and adult socialization
differs from socialization of the elderly, with little explanation for these observed
differences (Moschis 1987). Differences in socialization may be due to a number of
factors, ranging from microlevel factors, such as cognitive abilities, to macro-level
factors such as cultural or environmental factors (Moschis 1987). People occupying
various stages are simply described in terms of the extent to which they hold char-
acteristics (e.g., values, norms, behaviors) suitable to a stage rather than offering
reasons for individual differences in the development of such properties. On the
other hand, the life course paradigm places emphasis on the contexts and mecha-
nisms that shape thought and action, with little reference to specific stage in life,
assuming that people continuously change throughout life. Contexts define circum-
stances in which people are embedded at a given point in time and influence the
mechanisms that explain people’s move from one state to the next in response to
events they experience, whether these events are expected such as retirement or
unexpected such as permanent disability. (These mechanisms are discussed in great
detail in Chap. 3.)
Researchers who employ stage models often make observations across people
who occupy different stages with respect to their cognitive, emotional, and behav-
ioral states. They invariably assume that the observed age differences are due to
changes that take place as people move from one stage to the next (often defined by
age), and they offer theoretical explanations for these implied changes (e.g.,
Lambert-Pandraud et al. 2005; Williams and Drolet 2005). Contrary to the assump-
tion that the observed age differences are due to changes, the life course paradigm
ties changes in thoughts and actions to mechanisms that link time and context to
change (Elder et al. 2003). Mechanisms are linked to actual changes (from one state
to the next), emphasizing the processes and contexts that create change rather than
offering explanations of implied changes from observed age or stage differences.
Similar to the assumption of most stage models that people’s mental and behav-
ioral orientations at a given stage are not influenced by earlier-in-life stages or con-
ditions, these models also assume that individuals who occupy a given stage exhibit
behaviors that characterize that particular stage. Individuals are not expected to
engage in mental and behavioral activities most common to people at different life
stages. For example, a person is expected to intensify or engage in certain consump-
tion activities after he or she makes a transition to a particular stage in life (e.g.,
parenthood, empty nest). In contrast, the life course paradigm assumes that people
are not detached from past experiences and future expectations and that their behav-
iors can be influenced not only by the event that signifies change or transition to a
new stage but also by earlier life conditions and their anticipation of future changes
or transitions. For example, they may change their consumption patterns common
to people at a given stage or state before, during, and even after they have occupied
that stage or state, as in the case of consumption of certain apparel products in
anticipation of entrance into and exit from the workforce (Wagner and Hanna 1983).
Stage models of cognitive and personality development also assume that context
either is irrelevant or has little influence on outcome. People go through the same
developmental stages regardless of environments in which they are embedded at a
26 2  Efforts to Study Consumers Over Their Life Span

particular point in time. And any environmental influences assumed by these mod-
els, with some notable exceptions such as the models of Riegel (1975) and Kimmel
(discussed in Moschis 1987), tend to be unidirectional from the environment to
individuals. In contrast, the life course paradigm assumes that the relationship
between individual and environment is dynamic. Environments in the form of
social, cultural, physical, or commercial structures in which people are embedded at
a given point in time are constantly changing. Further, structures and individuals are
reciprocally linked. Environments affect a person, and, in turn, they are affected by
the person’s actions (e.g., George 2003; Elder et al. 2003).
Related to the latter assumptions of the stage and life course models are the
assumptions that these models make about cohort and period influences. The former
assume that such contextual effects are irrelevant, that is, people will develop their
cognitions and personality in the same sequence, independent of the times during
which they were born, raised, or lived, compared with others who were born and
raised during different times. The life course paradigm, in contrast, recognizes
cohort and period influences (e.g., Elder 1974; Giele and Elder 1998). People who
were born at different times (e.g., during periods of economic hardship or prosper-
ity) are expected to differ because of the differences in periods during which they
were raised and acquired the values and norms of the cohort or subculture (e.g.,
baby boomers, millennials) to which they belong throughout their life span.
Another important distinction between stage models and the life course para-
digm is with respect to the assumption made about the length of time spent at a
given stage or state. Stage models assume that the length of time a person spends at
a particular stage has no consequences. For example, all “young marrieds without
children” exhibit the same consumption patterns regardless of whether they were
recently married or have been married for several years. Contrary to this assump-
tion, the life course paradigm recognizes time for its effects on the person’s devel-
opment and behavior (Featherman and Lerner 1985). Time has developmental
implications in the life course paradigm where the length of time spent at a particu-
lar state either promotes stability or increases the likelihood of change in behavior.
Also related to time, the effects of length of time on the person’s likelihood of
experiencing a change (event) at a given stage or state is irrelevant in stage models,
while the life course paradigm assumes that length of time affects the likelihood of
experiencing a change. According to the life course paradigm, with time people
occupying a state or role are increasingly more or less likely to experience an event
or change, as in the case of experiencing the event of a divorce and subsequent
change in marital status from “married” to “divorced.” Furthermore, unlike stage
models, the life course paradigm contends that with time people adapt to an experi-
enced change (viewed as an event), whether the change is in the form behavior,
state, or role.
A main assumption of the life course paradigm is that a person’s early-in-life
experiences in the form of events, changes, or behaviors affect his or her future
behaviors and likelihood of experiencing future events. This is in part because cer-
tain events are interdependent—i.e., the occurrence of one influences the probabil-
ity of the occurrence of another event. And it is also because people differ in the way
2.3  Life Course Studies of Consumer Behavior 27

they respond to the same event, as experience acquired in dealing with an event
earlier in life affects the way one responds to similar events, changes, or circum-
stances at a later point in time (e.g., Elder et al. 1996). Such assumptions are largely
absent or not well-specified in most stage models of cognitive and personality
development.
Perhaps the greatest difference in the assumptions made by stage models
employed by consumer researchers and the life course paradigm concerns their
implied causal effects. Stage models, which were developed to explain the develop-
ment and changes in cognitions and personality over the life span, are also assumed
to explain the development of and changes in consumer behaviors—i.e., consumer
behaviors should differ because of differences or changes in cognitions and person-
ality. Thus, these models that were developed to explain development and change in
cognition and personality are used to explain differences in consumer behaviors,
implying that the observed age-related differences in consumption activities are due
to changes in cognitive and personality characteristics, with little attention paid to
the mechanisms (processes) that link changes in these psychological factors to
changes in behaviors. In contrast, the life course paradigm assumes that changes in
behaviors can be the result of changes in several other factors, in addition to psycho-
logical factors, with emphasis on contextual factors (e.g., social, environmental)
and their effects on the processes or change mechanisms that shape behavior.

2.3  Life Course Studies of Consumer Behavior

A second stream of research efforts to understand consumers over the course of

their lives has followed a path consistent with the assumptions of the life course
paradigm. In this category, one finds two types of studies, regardless of method or
label used. The first category includes studies which attempt to link earlier-in-life
experiences to later-in-life consumer behaviors. These studies place little emphasis
or totally ignore the mechanisms responsible for development or changes in behav-
ior; they implicitly assume life course explanations but fall short of specifying or
studying the developmental or change processes, inferring causal effects of early-­
life experiences that are measured retrospectively (for an exception, see Yang and
Netemeyer 2015). The second category includes studies that employ principles and
perspectives explicitly derived from the life course paradigm.

2.3.1  Studies with Implicit Life Course Explanations

The vast majority of studies in this area assume that consumer behavior at a given
point in life is influenced by early-life experiences. For example, Van Bergen and
Laran (2016) suggest that the emerged differences in adult consumers’ self-­
regulatory behavior are due to parenting styles that these consumers presumably can
28 2  Efforts to Study Consumers Over Their Life Span

recall at the time of their study. In another study based on qualitative data, Weinberger
et al. (2017) argue that “middle-class emerging adulthood is marked by a distinctive
embodied consumer orientation toward accumulating ‘exploratory experiences’”
(2017: 332). This orientation, according to these investigators, stems from habits
developed during childhood and is shaped by an anticipated shortage of opportuni-
ties for exploration in the future. Similarly, Connell et  al.’s (2014) experimental
studies link adults’ product evaluations to exposure in advertisements during child-
hood years.
Mittal and Griskevicius (2016) examine how childhood environment (socioeco-
nomic statues) influences consumer behavior in adulthood by linking retrospective
measures of childhood experiences to present patterns of decision-making in adult-
hood. In this study, as well as in an earlier one (Mittal et al. 2015), although the
authors attempt to explain the mechanisms that link early childhood experiences
with decision-making and consumption patterns in adulthood, they acknowledge
that these processes are not very clear. For example, risk propensity is theorized as
a mediator, yet there is inadequate explanation for the link of childhood environ-
ment with risk propensity. They also suggest that outcomes may reflect differences
in the way people have learned to response to stressors, a notion consistent with one
of the life course paradigm’s theoretical perspectives (Moschis 2007). Thus, while
the Mittal and Griskevicius (2016) study, for example, offers explanations for the
observed differences that range from differences in stress-coping strategies to
socialization practices (parenting), this study does not explicitly assess the impact
of these mechanisms on the onset of and changes in consumption patterns.
In another recent study, Richins and Chaplin (2015) introduce the concept of
material parenting, which refers to parents’ use of material goods to express their
affection and shape children’s behavior. They use three surveys to examine the long-­
term effects of retrospective measures of material parenting practices on materialis-
tic values held in adulthood and find that material parenting may influence children’s
material values by (perhaps unintentionally) encouraging them to use possessions to
shape and transform the self. Thus, in contrast to studies that imply or infer the link
of previous experiences to present patterns of consumer behavior, the Richins and
Chaplin research suggests the processes (mechanisms) that link parenting practices
to materialistic orientations.
Two other cross-sectional studies make assumptions congenial to the life course
paradigm, although they are not labeled as “life course” studies. Andreasen’s (1984)
seminal study examines changes in brand preferences, lifestyles, and life status, with
all three measures assessed retrospectively as events that occurred in the previous
6 months. This study highlights the interdependence of life status and lifestyles, both
of which are positively related to changes in brand preferences. The effects of life
status changes on changes in brand preferences are partly mediated by changes in
lifestyles and stress that is implied to be the result of these changes. Another study by
Rindfleisch et al. (1997) examines the effects of family disruption events experienced
by young adults during their formative years on materialism and compulsive buying;
it places the onus of explanation for the development of these orientations on family
stressors created by negative events surrounding the effects of family dislocation.
2.3  Life Course Studies of Consumer Behavior 29

Thus, while most studies that link earlier-in-life experiences to present consumer
behaviors pay little attention to the mechanisms of development and change, the
studies by Andreasen (1984) and Rindfleisch et al. (1997) acknowledge stress as a
change mechanism; and both studies as well as the Richins and Chaplin’s (2015)
research further suggest socialization processes as possible change mechanisms.
Another set of studies offer developmental explanations of observed differences
in consumer behaviors. For example, Chaplin and Lowrey (2010) describe age dif-
ferences in the number of products and brands children use to form constellations
during childhood and adolescent years. Schau et al.’s (2009) study of older adults
suggests developmental changes as explanations of emergent identity-related con-
sumer behaviors during retirement years, in comparison with earlier years or
cohorts. Another effort to study consumption over the life course is found in a study
by Bhattacharjee and Mogilner (2014) that examines age differences in the way
people use consumption and time to define themselves. Two studies by Chaplin and
John (2005, 2007) examine age differences in self-brand connections and material-
ism among children and adolescents ages 8 through 18. These age differences are
interpreted as changes in such orientations that take place as young people mature.
A more recent study by Chaplin et al. (2014) also examines age differences in mate-
rialistic values during formative years among 177 children and adolescents from
impoverished and affluent families. This study finds that younger children (ages
8–10 years) from poor families exhibit similar levels of materialism to their more
affluent counterparts, but, among older and adolescent youths (ages 11–17), those
from poor families are more materialistic than their wealthier peers.
Several other consumer studies that examine development and change in con-
sumer behaviors report age- or cohort-related differences across consumers at dif-
ferent stages in life. They examine various types of consumer behaviors ranging
from consumer information processing (e.g., Cole and Gaeth 1990; Cole and
Balasubramanian 1993) and responses to advertisements (e.g., Gaeth and Heath
1987; Williams and Drolet 2005) to brand preferences (Lambert-Pandraud and
Laurent 2010; Lambert-Pandraud et  al. 2005) and brand relations (Sikkel 2013),
broad consumption categories (Wilkes 1995), and consumer values and lifestyles
(Noble and Schewe 2003). The development and change in these orientations are
assumed to take place as consumers “move” from one stage or age group to the next,
offering little verification and theoretical explanation of the implied changes. These
studies have been more successful in describing the observed age differences than
in explaining the inferred changes.

2.3.2  Studies Based on the Life Course Paradigm

Consumer studies that can be viewed as life course investigations appear in the mid-­
1990s. A small number of these studies are qualitative, focusing on life transitions
and the construction of the self (Gentry et al. 1995a, b; Noble and Walker 1997;
Schouten 1991). Because some use the term “life course,” they can be viewed in the
30 2  Efforts to Study Consumers Over Their Life Span

context of the life course paradigm, although they do not explicitly address life
course premises. These studies tend to be descriptive of changes in consumption
patterns and the role possessions play in constructing a new self, following or antici-
pating major events that signify life transitions in general (Schouten 1991) as well
as specific events—as in the case of loss of a loved one (e.g., Gentry et al. 1995a)
and change in school status (Noble and Walker 1997); or they use the term life
course in the context of age-based life stages (“youth,” “mainstream,” “elderly”) or
life events and the changes people make in their consumption patterns (Gentry et al.
1995b; Harrison et al. 2011).
In contrast, Minowa and Belk’s (2018) qualitative study is based on the life
course paradigm and investigates the different meanings of romantic gift giving
among baby boomers in Japan. Using depth interviews that allow each informant to
retrospectively describe their life history, the authors’ analyses suggest that stress
and socialization experiences in early childhood have a lasting impact on love styles
and romantic gift giving in later life. Thus, unlike previous investigations that imply
life course explanations, the Minowa and Belk study, as well as more recent empiri-
cal consumer studies (described below) that employ the life course paradigm, can
be labeled as “life course” studies because they make their approach to research
explicit by relying on life course concepts, perspectives, and methods.
To the author’s best knowledge, the first empirical consumer life course study is
inspired by his interactions with his doctoral students and colleague members of
Georgia State University’s Gerontology Institute. Exploratory analyses of longitu-
dinal data collected at his Center for Mature Consumer Studies (CMCS) in the early
to mid-1990s and his postdoctoral work in the field of gerontology, where he is first
exposed to the life course paradigm, spur enough interest in the topic to encourage
his doctoral students to do life course studies as dissertations. The first life course
project is completed as a doctoral dissertation by Euehun Lee (1995). It is based on
a cross-sectional national mail survey using retrospective measures, and it is a rep-
lication and extension of Andreasen’s (1984) study. In this study, the same types of
variables used in Andreasen’s study are casted into a life course conceptual frame-
work, some new measures are added, and relatively new analytic methods (event
history analysis) suitable to life course research are applied. For example, the vari-
able “changes in lifestyles,” which is viewed as a consequence of life status changes
in Andreasen’s study, is revised, expanded, and interpreted as “coping behaviors” in
response to life status changes that are assumed to be stressful in psychological
studies of stress. The main findings of this study can be seen in a number of publica-
tions (e.g., Lee et al. 1998, 2001; Mathur et al. 2000, 2003, 2006).
Twelve months after the date of data collection for Lee’s (1995) study, the 1534
respondents who participate in his study and are identified anonymously (by asking
them to return a postcard with their name and address separately from the question-
naire) receive a second survey that includes questions similar to those in the first
survey. The data collected at two points in time allow this author and former students
to do the first longitudinal life course studies using methods similar to those employed
in Andreasen’s (1984) study (Mathur et al. 2008), as well as Cox regression, a more
rigorous method of event history analysis (EHA) (Lee et al. 2007, 2012).
2.3  Life Course Studies of Consumer Behavior 31

Inspired by the study of Rindfleisch et al. (1997), which attempts to explain the
development of materialistic attitudes and compulsive behaviors, the author of this
book also sees opportunities for casting their study into the broader conceptual life
course framework. In the middle of the first decade of the present millennium, he
conceptualizes the variables and their hypothesized relationships in the Rindfleisch
et al.’s study within the life course paradigm and proposes this framework as a via-
ble approach to study the onset and development or change of consumer behaviors
(Moschis 2007). He also develops a questionnaire that measures these variables and
reaches out to several colleagues in other countries, asking them to collect data from
young adults. The author then makes these data available to his doctoral students,
who are asked to use the life course paradigm as a backdrop in analyzing data and
preparing manuscripts, a requirement in his doctoral research seminar at the Georgia
State University.
Colleagues from ten countries are able to collaborate in this effort by collecting
data. Some of them make these databases that are based on relatively small sample
sizes (mostly of student who complete in-class or online questionnaires) available
for analysis as class projects. Others assume the responsibility for analysis and man-
uscript preparation, using a life course conceptual model (Moschis 2007). Country-­
by-­country and cross-country analyses of these data produce more than 20
publications that address the development of materialistic values and compulsive
behaviors among young consumers in the United States (Baker et al. 2011, 2013a,
2016), France (Benmoyal and Moschis 2009, 2010), Australia (Weaver et al. 2011),
Malaysia (Moschis et al. 2009; Veil and Moschis 2008), Japan (Moschis et al. 2011),
Brazil (Moschis et al. 2013), Greece (Grougiou and Moschis 2011, 2015; Grougiou
et al. 2014, 2015), Thailand (Vu Nguyen et al. 2009a, b), Hong Kong (Friend et al.
2009), and South Africa (Duh et al. 2015), as well as across countries (Baker et al.
2013c; Duh et al. 2015) and cultures of the East and West (Moschis et al. 2011). The
general theme that emerges from these life course studies, where the three mecha-
nisms of development and change (stress and coping, socialization, and human
capital) are examined, is that cultural context does make a difference with respect to
the types(s) of mechanism(s) that appear(s) to operate in the development of these
consumer orientations.
Parallel to these efforts, a number of other studies are conducted based on data col-
lected from several countries and measures based on the life course paradigm as a
theoretical backdrop. These studies use larger samples with a wide age range and
address a variety of topics ranging from specific consumer choices such as the p­ urchase
of a hearing aid (Moschis et al. 2015) to changes in consumer preferences (Ong and
Moschis 2012) and materialism and subjective well-being (Baker et al. 2013b).
Shortly after the establishment of the Consumer Life-course Studies Group
(CLSG) at Mahidol University’s School of Management in 2011, a similar effort is
made to collect data for cross-cultural life course studies from countries around the
world. Several members of the GLSG’s network agree, and, at the time of writing
this book, there are colleagues from ten participating countries (United States,
Thailand, France, Germany, Japan, Holland, Turkey, Brazil, Malaysia, and Korea),
with collaborators from each of these countries contributing from one to six large
32 2  Efforts to Study Consumers Over Their Life Span

databases for life course studies across a wide range of ages. Papers based on 20
databases are published or are in the process of preparation and publication (e.g.,
Yingwattanakul and Moschis 2017, in press; Sthienrapapayut et al. 2018). For exam-
ple, a study based on Thai data uses the life course paradigm discussed in this book
as a framework for studying the onset and continuity of three preventive healthcare
behaviors reveals that life events experienced earlier in life significantly affect the
likelihood of the onset of certain behaviors and have a different impact on the likeli-
hood of discontinuation of such a behavior at different life stages. Its findings support
the notion that the longer people engage in a certain preventive healthcare activity,
the more likely they are to continue that activity (Yingwattanakul and Moschis in
press). Additional single-country and multiple-country analyses that are under way
should generate insights into timely topics (e.g., financial solvency, preventive
healthcare). Identification of participants of some of these surveys, a practice that is
allowed in Qualtrics panels, will provide opportunities for longitudinal research.

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Chapter 3
The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual
and Theoretical Foundations

The term “paradigm” is broadly used to imply a combination of theories, methods,

and evidence (Alford 1998). Shanahan et al. (2016a) point out that “compared to a
theory…the content, boundaries and emphasis of a paradigm are less easy to iden-
tify with a high degree of consensus” (2016a: 3). As researchers tend to apply the
life course concept differently not only according to their disciplinary backgrounds
(e.g., Alwin 2012) but also within their specific discipline (Shanahan et al. 2016b),
the life course paradigm has also diverse meanings. However, the most common use
of the term refers to a set of perspectives relevant to the study of patterns of stability
and change (George 2003). According to this view, explanations of continuity and
change must involve the study of a sequence of responses and adaptations to chang-
ing life conditions (Pulkkinen and Caspi 2002), and the term “adaptation” in turn
refers to people’s adjustments to biological, psychological, and social changes they
experience over the course of their lives (e.g., Clausen 1986; Gierveld and Dykstra
1993). These adaptations are necessary due to the life changes and events that peo-
ple experience, including developmental and social changes (Clausen 1986).
Thus, the life course paradigm refers to a set of perspectives that are applied to a
series of responses and adjustments to life changes and reflect the person’s need to
adapt. These perspectives are in reference to adaptations needed for “meeting the
organism’s biological, psychological, and social needs, under recurrently changing
conditions” (Pfeiffer 1977: 650). Thus, in this book, adaptations refer to the pro-
cesses by which people develop and change their mental and behavioral patterns in
response to biological, psychosocial, and environmental demands in specific con-
texts and times during their lives. In this conceptual milieu, the life course paradigm
assumes that changes in life conditions define typical life events and create social,
emotional, and physical demands and circumstances to which a person must respond
and adapt by changing his or her thoughts and actions (e.g., Giele and Elder 1998;
Pulkkinen and Caspi 2002). Thus, behaviors at any stage in life can be viewed as
either responses in the form of choices and adjustments to changing present and
anticipated life conditions or products of adaptation to various events and environ-
ments or circumstances previously experienced.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 37

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_3
38 3  The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations

3.1  A Conceptual Life Course Model

Life course studies and relevant theories found in the literature typically focus on
six kinds of variable and their relationships. These types of variables can be classi-
fied into two broad sets or categories of elements; they collectively constitute the
components of the life course paradigm and provide the bases for the development
of the general conceptual model (shown in Fig. 3.1) that is used in this book to help
organize and present relevant material. One set of elements is made up of three main
types of variables, shown within the shaded area of the model; these are the main
elements of the model. The first type includes events or changes that people experi-
ence, both expected or anticipated (e.g., retirement) and unexpected (e.g., chronic
disease), at a specific stage or time (T1) in their lives (e.g., Hughes et al. 1988). The
second form of variables includes three interdependent adaptation processes trig-
gered by these events or changes (shown in the egg-shaped figures); they can be
specific socialization processes (e.g., family communications; John 1999; Mortimer
and Simmons 1978), stress processes (both acute and chronic stress; Thoits 1995)
and coping responses (primary and secondary; Heckhausen and Schulz 1995), or
changes (development or growth and decline) in human capital (knowledge and
mastery; Bolger et  al. 1988). The third category within the shaded area features
outcomes that consist of variables in the form of events, changes, or patterns of
thoughts and actions that occur at later points in time (T2). Events (T1) and outcomes
(T2) may take the form of single choices or changes in thoughts and behaviors, both
abrupt and gradual (Elder 1998; Mayer and Tuma 1990; Moschis 2007a); and they
may also be in the form of patterns of thoughts and actions (Elder 1998; George
2003). Many such life events and experiences are interdependent and have been
referred to as “transactional” events (e.g., Moschis 2007a), because the increased or
decreased likelihood of the occurrence of one such an event (at T2) depends the
occurrence of another event (at T1) (Mayer and Tuma 1990) (Fig. 3.1).
The second set of elements consists of three types of contextual factors (shown
outside the shaded area of Fig.  3.1) that collectively define the various circum-
stances in which people are embedded (e.g., Bolger et al. 1988; Elder 1998; Elder
et al. 2003; George 2003): (a) the timing of events (age at which a person experi-
ences them) and time (length or duration) of experiences (Ts); (b) factors related to
human agency in the form of earlier-in-life experiences (at T−1) and attributes,
including events/changes, sociocultural contexts, choices, states, and traits (Ps); and
(c) structural factors defined at different levels of aggregation and stability (Ss)
relevant to the T1–T2 time frame. These contextual factors affect variables and rela-
tionships (shown in the shaded area of Fig. 3.1), including experienced and antici-
pated events at T1, the adaptation processes trigged by them, and their outcomes (T2)
during the T1–T2 time frame. Over time, some structural factors (Ss) can be affected
by events and people’s actions (e.g., Featherman and Lerner 1985; Hetherington
and Baltes 1988), prompting reciprocal effects (Fig. 3.1).
Thus, outcomes in the form of changes or patterns of thoughts and behaviors at
T2 are the results of previously experienced events, changes, or transitions,
 T1 Timing and Time (T s) T2

Adaptation Processes

Socialization

Human agency-
related factors —
Events/
3.1  A Conceptual Life Course Model

Events/ Stress Changes

experiences (T-1)
Changes and (T2)
and attributes:
(T1) coping
events/changes,
socio-cultural
contexts, choices,
states, & traits (Ps)
Development
and decline

Transactional Effects

Structural factors
specific to T1—T2 time
frame: Economic, cultural,
social & commercial (Ss)

Fig. 3.1  A conceptual life course model

39
40 3  The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations

a­ daptation processes, and contextual factors relevant to the specific time frame (T1–
T2) in the person’s life. The influence of these sets of factors produces different
outcomes during different time frames in the person’s life span, as he or she experi-
ences different life events (changes) and is embedded in different contexts with
time. Time frame (T1–T2) refers to a period of time between event or change expe-
rienced at T1 and event or change occurred (experienced) at T2. It can be in the form
of different units of time such as number of years (or months, weeks, days, etc.), age
range, calendar years (e.g., 2012–2018), specific periods in the person’s life span
(e.g., college years), and stage or state in life (e.g., adolescence, “full-nest” years).

3.1.1  Events/Changes (T1) and Outcomes (T2)

According to the life course paradigm, expected or unexpected changes and condi-
tions people experience and choices they make, including environmental, biologi-
cal, psychological, and social demands during an individual’s life, define typical life
events and transitions to roles (Elder 1998; George 1989). While sociologists tend
to define an event as a change in life status that serves as a marker of transition into
a social role (George 1993), psychologists view events in the context of “life experi-
ences.” Such experiences refer to controllable and uncontrollable changes (expected
or unexpected) related to the person (e.g., in the form of choices) and his or her
environment (e.g., strikes, traffic jams) that affect one’s cognitive or emotional
states (Cohen 1988); and they are often identified as occurrences which do not fit
into one’s established patterns of behavior (Thoits 1995). Furthermore, sociologists
and psychologists concur that events in the form of deliberate choices that people
make are aimed at satisfying needs via a variety of reward systems.
In line with the homeostatic (or drive reduction) model, positive events may be
viewed at times as stressors and at other times as useful to reducing externally or
internally induced aversive states (Reich and Zautra 1988). It is assumed that an
underlying need is satisfied in the process whenever the organism acts (Miller and
Dollard 1941). However, Reich and Zautra (1988) draw our attention to two addi-
tional theoretical perspectives relevant to the impact of events in general: activation
and cognitive theories. Activation theories view heterostatic behaviors (e.g., curios-
ity, attraction to novel stimuli) as affective responses to positive stimuli that decay
over time rather than responses that satisfied needs. For example, controllable events
or behaviors associated with risk-taking and thrill-seeking (e.g., bungee jumping)
are associated with sensation-seeking (Cohen 1988). Along these lines of relatively
nonsatiable urges for stimulation, Reich and Zautra (1988) cite Berlyne’s proposi-
tion that positive events may activate reward systems. Thus, both drive reduction
and activation approaches predict ongoing behavior based on prior experiences or
what Troland (1928) refers to as “hedonism of the past.”
In contrast, cognitive approaches assume that behavior is shaped by its expecta-
tion based on the “hedonism of the future.” Behavior is bent toward prediction and
3.1  A Conceptual Life Course Model 41

control of future events (Reich and Zautra 1988). Reich and Zautra summarize these
perspectives that provide a frame of reference for the classification of positive
events:
...there are a few qualities of events that can be defined as positive. These include one class
of events that boost arousal moderately, generate feelings of interest and excitement, and
are characterized by approach behaviors. From a cognitive perspective, such events fit plans
and goals of the organism in that they strengthen perceptions of, the expectations for, and
control over desirable outcomes. Another class of events is positive because they reduce
aversive arousal, promote feelings of relief and satisfaction of needs through avoidance,
escape, and/or consummatory behaviors. Cognitively, these events reduce uncertainty about
current contingencies and lower the probability of future negative outcomes. (1988: 153)

Thus, many life events, changes, and choices (events at T1 and T2 in Fig. 3.1) are
deliberately engineered by human agency to activate reward systems (Schau et al.
2009; Thoits 1995); they do not reflect merely responses or adaptations to experi-
enced or anticipated changing life conditions. Human agency actively plans the
timing of many events that require adaptation, such as marriage, employment, and
retirement (e.g., Thoits 1995), which has implications for changes in behavior, such
as meal preparation and purchases of high-tech products (e.g., Oropesa 1993).
These planned changes can be conceived of in the context of the gain/loss compo-
nent of prospect theory that “complements the life course emphasis on cycles of
control and strategies of adaptation” (Moen 2003: 277). They can be viewed in the
context of control theory and appear useful in studying the effects of life events,
helping us focus not only on events that are unpleasant but also on events and life
changes which are pleasant.

3.1.2  Adaptation Processes

The main focus of the life course paradigm is on linking specific context- and time-­
dependent events in earlier life to responses in later life (Seligman et al. 1988). And
an important consideration inherent in life course perspectives is how and why
events that take place at an earlier age influence later life (Seligman et al. 1988). Of
significance in studying life events and role transitions is not the mere experience of
events or changes that occur across time but also the adjustments and responses to
these circumstances and changes (Pearlin 1982). In order to understand a person’s
response to, and influence by, an event at a given stage in life, one must examine
events and circumstances in earlier life using theories congenial to the life course
paradigm. Abeles et al. (1980) observe that research on life course has been guided
by three major theoretical orientations: normative, stress, and human capital per-
spective. This section presents these three theoretical perspectives on adaptation
that define the three main change mechanisms (socialization, stress and coping, and
development/growth or decline, respectively) (Fig. 3.1), processes that are interde-
pendent and complementary rather than competing or mutually exclusive (Pearlin
and Skaff 1996; Sherrod and Brim 1986).
42 3  The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations

Normative  The normative perspective assumes that certain cognitive and behav-
ioral patterns and changes (viewed as events at T2) are manifestations of a person’s
adaptation to new life conditions in the form of assumption of new roles and relin-
quishment of old ones. Major life events (at T1), such as marriage, the birth of first
child, and retirement, serve as markers of a transition into important life roles
(spouse, parent, and retiree, respectively). The basic premise of this perspective is
that “there are social norms governing the order, continuity, and timing of role tran-
sitions and that deviations from the prescribed patterns result in the application of
social sanctions” (Abeles et al. 1980: 319). People are assumed to be aware of these
norms and are expected to pattern their lives accordingly; they are expected to learn
the social norms that characterize a particular role at a given stage in the life course.
Behavior at different life stages is expected to be consistent with socially created
and shared norms. People are socialized to new roles by acquiring socially desirable
skills and attitudes compatible with the roles they are expected to enact. And during
the socialization process, they gradually change their identity to fit the assumed or
anticipated role and engage in activities consistent with that role (Gierveld and
Dykstra 1993; Moschis 2007a).
Adaptation to normative and social demands related to life stages has been the
focus of socialization theory and research (Clausen 1986), and the study of the life
course from a sociological perspective focuses on the person’s socialization to vari-
ous roles appropriate for different stages of life. Socialization explanations, once
restricted to childhood and adolescent years, suggest that behavior develops or
changes at various stages of life as a result of the person’s interaction with socializa-
tion agents (e.g., family, mass media) whose influence tends to differ across socio-
cultural settings (e.g., social class, life stage). Socialization into new roles often
takes place far in advance of the normative event or role, through anticipatory
socialization (Mortimer and Simmons 1978). Adaptation to normative or expected
events and role transitions (e.g., retirement) may occur over a relatively long period
of time because people anticipate and prepare for their occurrence (Riley et al.
1972); and it may continue for a considerable time thereafter (Murrell et al. 1988).
However, it is likely that the actual experience of the event or new role one encoun-
ters may be quite discontinuous with earlier preparation and socialization (Pearlin
1982). Similarly, the process of becoming an “ex” entails several stages, beginning
from the experience of first doubts and ending with the formation of a new identity
as a former role occupant (Ebaugh 1983).
Research in sociology has addressed four aspects of role transitions: timing, dura-
tion, spacing, and order (e.g., George 1993, 2003; Elder 1998; Hagestad and
Neugarten 1985). Timing refers to the time or age in the person’s life span when a
given transition occurs. Duration refers to the time required to complete a transition
or “the span of time between successive changes in state” (Elder 1998: 956). Spacing
is the length of time occurring between two or more transitions. Order refers to the
sequencing of role changes. Because the life course is conceived as a set of inter-
locking roles, the timing, order, or duration of an age-graded event that marks transi-
tion into a certain role (e.g., graduation, employment, marriage, retirement) can
3.1  A Conceptual Life Course Model 43

create deviation from the age-graded progression, causing alterations in the remain-
ing age-graded events or roles (Hetherington and Baltes 1988). For example, an
event that deviates from the expected age-graded progression such as the birth of a
child to an unwed teenage girl (referred to as “off-time” event) may impact not only
her parenthood career but also her educational, occupational, and marriage career
and ultimately her personality (Elder 1998). Adjustments to life events and role tran-
sitions entail socialization processes that result in adaptation to new life conditions.
Thus, transition into a role is distinguished from socialization conceptually. The
former refers to social status attainment, usually due to the occurrence of an event
that marks transition into a role (e.g., “widowhood” due to death of a spouse),
whereas the latter refers to the process of acquiring the norms relevant to the enact-
ment of socially prescribed roles. Therefore, a person may be socialized to roles
such as “parenthood” prior to the required event or status attainment (birth of first
child); conversely, a person may acquire social status with little or no socialization
to socially prescribed norms before or even after the event occurs. The latter could
occur due to the person’s reluctance or inability to assume the new role (e.g., due to
the absence of positive role models or socialization agents). Reluctance or inability
to respond to life changes and assume various roles may not lead to adaptation.
Many people may deny or have difficulty adapting to roles such as parenthood and
retirement (Mergenhagen 1995), but role denial or inability to adapt to a new role
should also be of interest to researchers because it could lead to behavioral changes.
For example, single fathers are three times more likely than single mothers to use
outside help such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping; and divorced women are
more likely than divorced men to seek financial advice from professionals
(Mergenhagen 1995).
Socialization theories, especially learning theories, view the individual as a prod-
uct of his or her environment, responding to social demands or absorbing informa-
tion in various social settings (e.g., Goslin 1969; Moschis 1987). Most of the
contributions to this field come from sociology, especially structural functionalism
and symbolic interactionism. While the traditional view on socialization stresses
normativity (macro-level processes) (Goslin 1969), more recent formulations
acknowledge the dynamics of microlevel processes addressed by symbolic interac-
tionists (Dannefer 1988). The symbolic interaction version is acknowledged by
treating socialization processes as reciprocal where the supposed socializee is rec-
ognized as not just a passive recipient but as a co-socializer (e.g., Dannefer 1988;
Riley et al. 1972). Thus, social interactionists view socialization as an ongoing dia-
lectic process between the individual and his or her environment. And life course
researchers envision adaptation to normative events as the outcome of socialization
and as a progression through a series of socially defined, age-linked social roles
(Clausen 1986; Elder 1998).
Stress and Coping  The stress perspective contends that a person’s behaviors at a
given time or stage in life have been shaped by his or her adaptation to stressful
experiences. Definitions of stress vary, but it most commonly refers to a state of
arousal or a condition resulting from social or environmental demands placed on an
44 3  The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations

individual which exceed his or her ability to respond (e.g., Caplan 1981; Cohen
1988). Selye (1956) views stress as a psychological reaction to any form of noxious
demand, which he calls “general adaptation syndrome.” According to this view, any
environmental, social, or internal demands (often known as “stressors”) experi-
enced or anticipated (at T1) create disruptions of previously more or less balanced
(homeostatic) states and a generalized demand for readjustment or coping (Thoits
1995). Coping includes “any cognitive or behavioral effort to manage stress, regard-
less of how well or badly it works” (Lazarus and Folkman 1984: 141). Control
theory offers a framework for understanding the use of specific strategies by human
agency to restore psychological disequilibrium and gain control over life outcomes
(Heckhausen and Schulz 1995; Rothbaum et al. 1982).
Research using stress as a theoretical orientation focuses on the individual’s
efforts to respond to undesirable states produced by scheduled and unplanned
events. Much of life event research in psychology has been drawn from psychoso-
matic and stress disorder research, which is based on homeostasis. Any life change
that requires an adjustment is viewed as a stressor, regardless of whether it is
expected or independent of its desirability (Murrell et al. 1988). Pearlin (1982) sum-
marizes this assumption:
There is a widely held view that life events create instability among inner forces and that
stress is a signal that the organism is struggling to re-establish stability and equilibrium...
Under normal conditions, inner forces are in harmony with one another and with the envi-
ronment. Alterations in the environment, however, intrude upon this harmony and create a
situation of disequilibrium and instability. Within this framework, life events can be
regarded as environmental sources of personal dislocation. (1982: 65)

Extensive research shows that stress is present whenever a person experiences

change, whether in the form of unexpected events and life status changes (e.g., early
widowhood) (Cohen 1988) or in connection with highly scheduled or anticipated
life cycle changes or in the enactment of normative roles (e.g., worker, parent, spou-
sal) (Pearlin 1982). The anticipation of life events may also cause psychological
uneasiness and stress. People appear to have a desire to organize their life’s experi-
ences into a consistent, understandable, and predictable system, and lack of clarity
or uncertainty about anticipated events and the future in general can thwart this
desire and lead to stress (Baglioni 1989). For example, Balkwell summarizes the
results of studies of person’s experience of death of a spouse and transition into
widowhood by stating that: “In addition to the stress generated by grief is the ten-
sion induced because widowhood is an ambiguous role that offers little guidance for
appropriate behavior” (1985: 577–578). Thus, both positive and negative events,
expected and unexpected, and roles may create stress and hardships.
Not all events have the same impact on an individual. For example, important
events have a greater impact than unimportant or irrelevant life events, unanticipated
events create more stress than anticipated life events, and undesirable or negative
events create more stress than desirable or positive events (Cohen 1988). Similarly,
events that are beyond the individual’s control may make up a different form of stress
than events that can be influenced by the individual (Monroe and Peterman 1988).
3.1  A Conceptual Life Course Model 45

And their effects may or may not be lasting (George 1989). For example, unexpected
events such as accidents and temporary illness may not affect one’s life course or
developmental trajectory after the event passes because they may not have lasting
effects on the individual. In contrast, many other nonnormative events such as
chronic illness and divorce may result in more permanent or longer-­lasting changes
and role transitions and affect individual development over the life course
(Hetherington and Baltes 1988). And transactional events (e.g., Moschis 2007a;
Fig. 3.1) may lead to cumulative stress over the life course. For example, an accident
may result in physical handicap that could subsequently cause career shifts, financial
duress, and alterations in social relations. Thus, consumer behaviors such as pur-
chase of a home and receiving college education can be viewed as major life events
(e.g., Tausig 1982) not only because they are likely to create stress but also because
such behaviors tend to have long-lasting effects on consumers and their families.
People who are faced with forces that adversely affect them actively react by
employing a variety of coping strategies (Pearlin 1982). Coping refers to “those
actions and thoughts that enable the individual to handle difficult situations” (Stone
et al. 1988: 183) and “the means through which an individual, via thoughts and acts,
attempts to solve problems and reduce stress” (Lazarus and Folkman 1984: 118).
Methods people use to cope with stress vary widely, but most can be classified into
one of the following seven categories (Stone et  al. 1988): problem-solving that
entails rational decision-making, avoidance in the form of cognitive or behavioral
responses, behaviors that reduce tensions (e.g., exercising), seeking social support
from family and friends, information seeking from the professional community,
redefining the situation differently for the purpose of diminishing its perceived
severity, and religiosity (e.g., praying). Lazarus and Folkman (1984) classify coping
mechanisms into problem-focused and emotion-focused. The former includes
efforts directed at solving the problem such as seeking information about the prob-
lem and alternative solutions, developing new standards of behavior, and engaging
in direct action. In contrast, emotion-focused coping mechanisms involve cognitive
processes through selective attention or complete avoidance and seeking out com-
forting (consonant) information from the environment that minimizes threat
(Moschis 2007b). Lazarus and Folkman’s conceptualization of coping (Ways of
Coping Checklist) has been by far the most influential classification schema.
Whereas the traditional view of stress and coping focuses on the present or recent
past (Moschis 2007b), life course researchers are interested in chronic and acute
stress as processes that experienced over the lifetime and have cumulative impacts
(Elder et al. 1996; Pearlin and Skaff 1996). Coping with stress and adapting more or
less successfully to it is considered an important element in the life course (Clausen
1986). Vaillant (1977) asserts the relevance of stress to life course in the context of
developmental trajectories as a result of adaptation to stressful events. He discusses
how each person builds a unique set of strategies to cope with unacceptable and pain-
ful feelings due to normative and unscheduled events. Thoughts and behaviors that
serve as effective strategies in reducing stress during a particular time span in the life
course are originally effortful and reflect coping, but over time they may be rein-
forced and become automatized or conditioned responses through learning processes,
46 3  The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations

such that they result in habitual behaviors (at T2) and reflect behavioral adaptations
(Lazarus and Folkman 1984). They tend to develop into individualized sets of strate-
gies over the life course (Vaillant 1977).
Human Capital  The human capital perspective assumes that a person’s behaviors
are determined by one’s personal resources or “human capital,” which refers to the
various resources in the form of qualifications, skills, and knowledge that people
acquire (Frytak et al. 2003). A person’s engagement in activities that improve human
capital may affect his or her behavior. For example, a person’s increasing knowledge
about various financial instruments as a result of formal or informal education is
likely to lead to changes in the management and allocation of his or her financial
assets. Thus, one makes the necessary adaptations to his or her increasing level of
human capital. Individuals are agents of their own human capital development. They
make mental and behavioral adaptations to their increasing level of human capital or
to declining abilities resulting from uncontrollable changes (events) they experience
in late life (e.g., biological, social), or else they use their human capital to interpret
or respond to life events and act in new ways. The outcomes of these adjustments,
in the forms of thoughts and actions, are fluid and can be both socially desirable and
maladaptive or deviant (Mortimer and Simmons 1978; Moschis 2007a).
The development or growth and decline of human capital derive from both events
and roles that people experience over certain periods of their lives (e.g., T1–T2 in
Fig. 3.1), as well as from the contexts in which they are embedded at various times
(Ts, Ps, and Ss) (Elder 1998; Elder et al. 1996). The factors that explain the growth
and decline of human capital, and subsequent mental and behavioral adaptations, in
turn emerge from three theoretical perspectives: organismic, mechanistic, and con-
textual (cf. Moschis 2007a). Organismic theories consider humans as active con-
structors of knowledge and meaning within their environmental and biological
constraints. A person’s experience of an event or role is pertinent to his or her human
capital and so is the length of time or duration (Ts) he or she spends in a specific
growth-enhancing state (Elder et al. 1996). Human agency can influence the rates of
cognitive development and decline because the cognitive system is capable of adapt-
ing to the environmental circumstances and demands that it encounters (Ss), a fea-
ture known as “plasticity” (e.g., Baltes et  al. 1980). Experience built through
decision-making could compensate for some biological limitations (Salthouse 2010).
In contrast, mechanistic theories view humans as reactive; they contend that knowl-
edge development that promotes adaptation directly reflects the external environ-
ment (Ss in Fig. 3.1). A person’s location within these structures (Ss) affects his or
her capital accumulation potential, and the explanations that link structures to out-
comes (at T2) range from mechanisms that can be empirically verifiable such as
income (Elder 1998) to those psychologists often view as an ­“amorphous and
unclearly differentiated set of influences” (Bolger et al. 1988: 2). Finally, contextual
theories view adaptation as the result of dynamic and reciprocal interactions (pro-
cesses) between the person and his or her environment, due to the frequent and
emergence of needs and “crises” (e.g., Riegel 1975; Turner and Avison 1992).
3.1  A Conceptual Life Course Model 47

Context-specific models view a changing person in a changing social structure.

Many such models are known as dialectical (e.g., Riegel 1975) because the person
not only changes in response to one’s environment but also helps change the envi-
ronment. According to such contextual models, adaptation is “a continuous process
of coping with stage-specific forms of crises” (Thomae and Lehr 1986: 430) such
that successful resolutions of problems or crises in a given stage (e.g., T1 in Fig. 3.1)
serve as building blocks for solutions in subsequent developmental stages (e.g., T22)
(Turner and Avison 1992). Such adaptations shape life trajectories and can change
the environments in which persons are embedded (e.g., Gecas 2003).
Within the human capital perspective, certain life course patterns and trajectories
may facilitate or inhibit growth of one’s capital. For example, the order of role transi-
tions (e.g., worker, parent) and discontinuities in enacting a role affect one’s cogni-
tive, physical, and social skills and capabilities needed for the accumulation of goods
and assets (Abeles et al. 1980). This view runs parallel to many theoretical perspec-
tives on cognitive aging. For example, research reviewed by Salthouse (1991) sug-
gests that individuals who continue to engage in cognitive activities, which are
initially established in earlier life due to the nature of their job or hobbies (at T−1 in
Fig.  3.1), can maintain and even enhance cognitive skills in later life. In a more
elaborate view on cognitive aging, Perlmutter (1988) summarizes much of the
research on cognitive aging in a model which suggests the existence of cognitive
tiers deriving from environmental experiences and the organism’s cognition about its
own activity. According to this model, the cognitive system seems to be capable of
adapting to environmental circumstances it encounters, and experience incorporated
in thought and decision may compensate for processing limitations due to biological
declines. Cognitive skills underlying an activity that is especially well-­mastered are
believed to emerge out of the organism’s cognition about its own activities.
The study of adaptation from a human capital perspective also can be viewed in
the broader context of personality development. The relationship between life events
and personality development can be found in crisis theory (cf. Turner and Avison
1992). It can be traced to the work of Erik Erikson (1950) who conceptualizes nor-
mal personality growth as an outcome of normative developmental crises where
successful resolution of problems or crises relevant to a given developmental stage
is seen as building blocks for solutions at subsequent developmental stages. In a
parallel vein, Gould’s (1972) theory of transformation is anchored in psychoanaly-
sis, with life course stages related to the adaptation involved in taking on new social
roles and responsibilities. Similarly, Riegel’s (1975) life event perspective focuses
on adaptation to changing life conditions, which create “asynchronies” among four
different types of progressions over the life course: outer-physical, inner-biological,
individual-psychological, and cultural-sociological. Asynchronies among the four
dimensions create crises and catastrophes for individuals and society, and life events
are meaningful only to the extent they create asynchronies to which both individual
and society must respond (adapt). Research over several decades has shown how
events such as natural disasters, wars, and other consequences of personal crises
contribute to personality development (Zautra et al. 1988).
48 3  The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations

Other writers (e.g., Caplan 1961) also assert that unscheduled crises or life
events, when successfully resolved, may promote personality growth. In a rather
similar vein, Turner and Avison (1992) advance the thesis that life events represent
both opportunities and hazards. While unresolved or poorly resolved events tend to
be viewed negatively with respect to their consequences, successfully resolved
events are considered enhancing and growth-producing. Their research further sug-
gests that the likelihood of resolving a present crisis or event successfully depends
greatly on one’s “history of successes and failures in confronting previous similar
and dissimilar life events” (Turner and Avison 1992: 38). This position links up well
with hypotheses about the acquisition and maintenance of personal and social com-
petence advances by cognitive psychologists and socialization researchers (cf.
Turner and Avison 1992); and it is the major theme underlying efforts to use life
events as a connection between the study of life transitions and the inner develop-
ment of individual over the life course (e.g., Elder 1998; Ryff 1986).

3.1.3  Contextual Factors

Contextual factors take various forms and define the settings in which events, pro-
cesses, and changes take place (Elder and Johnson 2002). They include the timing
of an event (age a person experiences an event, such as those occurring at T1) and its
time (duration) (Ts), human agency-related factors in the form of earlier-in-life
experiences and life conditions (e.g., events, states, sociocultural contexts), attri-
butes (e.g., demographics, psychological), and personal choices (Ps), as well as
structural or environmental factors specific to the T1–T2 time frame (e.g., social,
cultural, commercial, economic) (Ss) (Fig. 3.1). These factors have different effects
on the way the individual (human agency) experiences and responds to an event and
initiates change or choice (at T1), as well as on adaptation processes (during T1–T2)
and their outcomes (in the form of events or changes at T2 in Fig. 3.1) (e.g., Giele
and Elder 1998). Thus, contextual factors can have direct, indirect, and moderating
effects on outcomes, although life course studies tend to focus on their moderating
impacts.
The timing of events, particularly those that signify transitions into and out of
social roles, has different impact on the person according to the stage or period in
life he or she experiences them (Elder et al. 1996). Events that define transitions into
roles (e.g., birth of the first grandchild into “grandparenthood”) can occur “on-time”
or “off-time,” with the latter events having the greatest impact (Elder and Johnson
2002; George 1993). The duration (e.g., during T1–T2 time frame in Fig. 3.1) of a
person’s experiences of a given life condition, event, role, or a process has develop-
mental implications, because duration is a necessary condition for any form of
development or change (e.g., Featherman and Lerner 1985). For example, life
course researchers (Elder and Johnson 2002; Elder et al. 2003) assert that a longer
duration in a given state increases the likelihood of behavioral continuity. Thus, the
length of time a person experiences a life condition in the form of an event, role or
3.2  Life Course Assumptions and Premises 49

state, adaptation process (e.g., stress and coping), and structure (e.g., social, com-
mercial) in which he or she is embedded makes a difference on outcomes.
Human agency-related factors apply to the individual (or self-agency) and take
various forms (e.g., individual attributes and experiences, historical events; Ps in
Fig. 3.1). These factors affect the way a person responds to events and adapts to life
changes. For example, the effects of a life event depend upon a person’s previous
experiences with similar events (at T−1), with those events successfully resolved in
the past being the least likely to have an impact on the person (Turner and Avison
1992), leading to adaptations of decreasing duration—i.e., requiring relatively
shorter periods of adjustment (Eysenck 1983)—as in the case of multiple divorces
(Elder et al. 1996). Furthermore, the way one responds to events and the coping
strategies he or she employs differ by characteristics such as gender and personal-
ity (e.g., Chatters and Taylor 1989). Following bereavement (event at T1), for
instance, men are likely to turn to alcohol, while women tend to report increased
intake of drugs (Stroebe and Stroebe 1987). Similarly, a person’s choice (or
response to an event) at T1 depends on his or her personality such as attribution or
explanatory style—i.e., the tendency to attribute causality and explain positive or
negative events in a characteristic way (Seligman et al. 1988). Within the context
of control theory, Rotter (1966) argues that people’s belief about causality can be
arrayed along the dimension of locus of control, with “internals” tending to believe
that outcomes are caused by their own responses and “externals” tending to believe
that outcomes are not caused by their own behaviors but by lack, chance, or fate
(cf. Ambramson et al. 1978).
Structural factors are sociocultural elements in the form of nested, hierarchical,
and interrelated social systems that locate the person in his or her environment (Ss
in Fig. 3.1). They range from distal (macro-level) settings (e.g., culture, class) to
those located proximally (e.g., family, work). Within a specific time frame (e.g.,
T1–T2), the macro-systems determine and define the proximal settings, including
the structure, character, and function of the environment with which the person is
in contact and can interact directly (e.g., family members, peers), which constitute
“the vehicles of behavior change and individual development” (Bolger et al. 1988:
2). The influence of these factors becomes clear when applied to the proximal set-
ting of a family as a unit. For example, strong resources in the form of social fam-
ily support tend to reduce the likelihood of experiencing stress that is normally
present upon the occurrence of significant life events (Norris and Murrell 1984;
Thoits 1995).

3.2  Life Course Assumptions and Premises

The life course paradigm suggests that expected or unexpected changes people
experience and choices they make, including environmental, biological, psycho-
logical, and social demands during an individual’s life, define typical life events
and social roles that serve as turning points that shape one’s life. The way the
50 3  The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations

person experiences, interprets, and responds to these changes (events) at a given

point in time (T1) and adapts to them over time (T1–T2) depends on their timing
and duration (Ts), the person’s earlier-in-life circumstances (at T−1) and charac-
teristics (Ps), and the structural contexts (Ss) in which he or she is embedded
during a given period of time (i.e., during T1–T2). And the outcomes that can take
various forms (outcomes/events at T2) are the result of the direct and indirect
effects of life events and adaptation processes, as well as the direct and moderat-
ing effects of the contextual variables (Fig.  3.1) (e.g., Elder 1998; Giele and
Elder 1998; Shanahan et al. 2016a).

3.2.1  Effects of Life Events and Adaptation Processes

Examining the effects of events through the lenses of the life course paradigm
entails the assumption that such effects operate indirectly, through the three adapta-
tion processes. Significant life events or changes (T1 in Fig. 3.1), especially those
that signify transitions to new roles (e.g., death of spouse and transition into widow-
hood), are stressful and set in motion other life events and role transitions which are
themselves stressful (Pearlin 1982; Wheaton 1990). Such events require coping in
the form of changes that may include consumption- and nonconsumption-related
thoughts and actions and the acquisition and disposition of products to help define
a new self-concept consistent with the newly acquired or anticipated social role—
that is, socialization (e.g., McAlexander et al. 1993; Schouten 1991). Furthermore,
many life events and role transitions may force the development of consumption-­
related knowledge and skills (human capital) because they require a person to per-
form activities that he or she has had little experience performing (e.g., Elder et al.
1996), leading to changes in consumer behaviors. Thus, for example, the effects of
a life event such as divorce (as reported by McAlexander et al. 1993) can be exam-
ined as a transition into the role of divorcee that entails the development of a new
identity and change in patterns of consumption (i.e., socialization to a new role), as
a stressful experience that leads to the initiation or intensification of certain con-
sumption activities (i.e., coping responses), and as a source of intellectual growth or
human capital (e.g., learning new consumer skills such as managing one’s finances)
that emerge from the crises and demands of this new role.

3.2.2  Interdependence of Events and Adaptation Processes

Furthermore, many life events and role transitions are interrelated, and some of
them occur simultaneously (Hagestad and Neugarten 1985; Wheaton 1990). The
occurrence of an event cannot be viewed in isolation from the occurrence of other
events because, as Allison explains, “if the occurrence of one event raises or lowers
the hazard of the occurrence of the other event, then surely the first event must be
3.2  Life Course Assumptions and Premises 51

taken into account in studying the second event” (Allison 1984: 45). For example, a
small event may lead to a major event, and many small events may accumulate to
cause psychological distress (Zautra et al. 1988). Similarly, events or role transi-
tions occurring close together are more likely to have an effect than when these
events occur in isolation (Murrell et al. 1988).
Researchers (e.g., Mathur 1991; Mathur and Moschis 1999) report findings
regarding the interdependence of role transitions, showing that a person’s ability to
enact the role of the caregiver is influenced by other roles (worker, parental, spou-
sal) he or she is expected to enact. Thus, an event or role transition may lead to
another event, change, or role transition, as the occurrence of an event or role transi-
tion can affect the probability of the occurrence of another event or role transition
(Mayer and Tuma 1990). For example, childbirth may not only lead to a role transi-
tions (e.g., parenthood) but also may interfere with work (i.e., enactment of one’s
role as “worker”) and lead to the occurrence of other events (e.g., giving up employ-
ment, worsen financial status).
These second-order influences, in turn, may have additional direct and indirect
influences. For example, a longitudinal study by Mathur et al. (2008) finds that life
events lead to anticipated life events that signify transitions into new roles whose
effects on consumer behaviors can be direct or indirect via chronic stress. In a fol-
low-­up replication study that uses the same measures as those used by Mathur and
associates, Ong and Moschis (2012) also report short-term and long-term direct and
indirect effects of life events (measured retrospectively) on consumer behaviors
among a large sample of Malay consumers. The results of this study further suggest
that the indirect effects of life events are not only the result of stress and coping but
also the outcome of transitions to newly acquired roles—i.e., socialization. Since
there are economic, social, and time constraints in life, the number of events or role
transitions the consumer experiences during a period of time (at T1 in Fig. 3.1) can
directly or indirectly (via adaptation mechanisms) affect the number of events or
role transition she or she is likely to experience during a later period of time and the
subsequent number of changes in behaviors (at T2). In fact, Ong and Moschis (2012)
study suggests that the relationship between life events and changes in brand prefer-
ences may be affected by subcultural factors, underscoring the moderating effects
of contextual (social structural) variables in the emerged relationship between life
events and consumer behaviors.
Similarly, the three adaptation processes are interdependent. An adaptation pro-
cess may affect other adaptation processes over the course on one’s life on a con-
tinuous basis. Specifically, the strategies one uses to cope with stressful events are
viewed as outcomes of socialization rooted in childhood years (Seligman 2006),
and socialization in the form of social interaction and social capital in general cre-
ates human capital (Coleman 1990). And human capital in the form of experience
and knowledge can also be gained from the successful resolution of critical events
(Turner and Avison 1992) that can also lead to the development of effective coping
strategies (Elder and Liker 1982), while ineffective coping strategies may prompt
the need for social interaction in the form of socialization (Moschis 2007b).
52 3  The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations

3.2.3  Life Course Axioms or “Principles”

A person’s responses and adaptation to events and changing life conditions over
time, including the choices he or she makes (at T1), are underlined by five axioms
known as “principles” of the life course paradigm (e.g., Alwin 2012; Elder et al.
2003; George 2003). These axioms are relevant to the role of contextual factors
(factors outside the shaded area of Fig. 3.1) and the relationships among the sets of
variables in the shaded area over the person’s entire life span.
The paradigmatic principle pertaining to the timing of events (Ts in Fig. 3.1) refers
to the stage in the person’s life at which he or she experiences a particular life event.
Events and transitions have different consequences on outcomes according to their
timing (Elder et al. 2003; Moen 2003); and their impacts also depend on the length of
time the person experiences them (i.e., their duration; e.g., Elder and Johnson 2002;
George 2003) and length of time between them (i.e., spacing; e.g., Elder 1998; Murrell
et al. 1988). The principle of time and place states that the life course is embedded in
and shaped by historical times and places that people experience over their lifetimes.
It highlights the historical and temporal specificity of the person’s exposure to routine
activities and their cumulative consequences (Browning et al. 2016). Historical effects
(Ps in Fig. 3.1) include “cohort effects,” which refer to “influences shared by people
growing up in a particular time period that persist as the individual ages” (Salthouse
2010: 45), such as the influence of the Great Depression on older generations (Elder
1974). They can also include “period effects” if the impact of change is relatively
uniform across successive birth cohorts, such as periods of economic prosperity
(Giele and Elder 1998). Place effects (Ss in Fig. 3.1) refer to social structures or envi-
ronments (e.g., culture, market, family) that embed the person in particular times in
his or her life span; and they can apply to any period in the person’s life, both earlier
in life (T−1) and to a specific time frame (between T1 and T2, Ss in Fig. 3.1).
The principle of linked lives refers to the interdependence between an individual
and his or her social worlds over the course of the person’s life —including family,
friends, and co-workers. The personal actions and life events experienced by others
(at T−1) have consequences for the individual (at T1) and vice versa. This principle
acknowledges the interdependence of individuals, both temporally (e.g., intergen-
erational linkages in the context of human agency’s early-life experiences at T−1)
and spatially (e.g., concurrent influence among individuals) during a current time
frame (e.g., T1–T2) (Browning et al. 2016).
The principle of life-span development suggests that people develop and adapt to
changes (such as those taking place between T1 and T2 in Fig. 3.1) throughout their
lives. Adaptations in earlier life have developmental implications for adaptations in
later life (e.g., Featherman and Lerner 1985). Finally, the principle of human agency
(or self-agency) implies that individuals are active constructors of their life course.
They make choices (e.g., marriage, retirement) and respond to events experienced
(at T1) according to individual-related constraints and life conditions (e.g., biologi-
cal, financial; Ps in Fig. 3.1); and they interact with changing environments (Ss in
Fig. 3.1) to produce behavioral outcomes and social changes.
3.2  Life Course Assumptions and Premises 53

These five principles “come together and are experienced through the individu-
al’s adaptation to concrete situations and events” (Giele and Elder 1998: 10) to shape
his or her life trajectory; they also provide guidance for studying various phenomena
in time and context. For example, Elder’s (1974) seminal work shows the various life
trajectories of veterans based on their choices among the options available to them
at the end of World War II (e.g., college, marriage, employment), which “resulted in
the different adaptations made by their families” (Giele and Elder 1998: 8).

3.2.4  Transitions, Trajectories, and Turning Points

According to the central premise of the life course paradigm, development, stability,
and changes in patterns of thoughts and actions do not occur randomly in a vacuum
but relate systematically to changing life conditions that are viewed as life events.
Many of these events are defined as choices people make, while other events are in
the form of expected and unexpected biological, psychosocial, and environmental
changes. These events that people experience over the course of their lives create the
need for adaptations to new life conditions and affect the individual’s thoughts and
actions; and their nonoccurrence tends to promote stability in thoughts and behav-
iors (Elder and Johnson 2002).
The choices people make and their adaptations to changing life conditions deter-
mine change and continuity in the various domains of a person’s life (e.g., work,
family, consumption). Changes in roles or states are known as transitions, while
trajectories refer to “the sequence of roles and experiences” that form one’s life
course trajectory (Elder et al. 2003: 8). Such trajectories are nonlinear patterns of
forward progression that include shifts in directions, pauses, and loops (Pearlin and
Skaff 1996). Multiple life changes (events) throughout life signify major transitions
and define specific trajectories, such that they collectively determine a person’s life
course. As Elder (2000: 1615) explains, a “life course is defined by trajectories that
extend across the life span … and by short-term changes or transitions” to which a
person must adapt. He further asserts: “Each life-course transition is embedded in a
trajectory that gives it specific form and meaning,” and he gives examples: Work
transitions define the work-life trajectory, whereas multiple marriages and divorces
are elements of a marital trajectory.
When transitions are connected to trajectories that show movement in and out of
social roles sequentially over time, they reflect socially approved trajectories (e.g.,
finishing college, getting a job, getting married). These transitions are bundled
together into what has been called “role configurations” (e.g., Macmillan and
Furstenberg 2016). The presence of role configurations in a person’s life trajectory
(e.g., work, family) and their absence have social significance because they define
a person’s life trajectory as normative or deviant (problematic), as in the case of a
recent trend in the United States, the so-called “NEETS” where a growing number
of young adults are failing to make the transition into adulthood (single, unem-
ployed, not in education, not in training) (Macmillan and Furstenberg 2016).
54 3  The Life Course Paradigm: Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations

Events that cause alterations in former paths in a person’s life trajectories and redi-
rect life trajectories because of their abrupt effects, such as migrating to another
country and experiencing an incapacitating chronic health condition, create turning
points in a person’s life course. Such events tend to be nonnormative or unex-
pected, and their effects can be both desirable (e.g., winning the lottery) and unde-
sirable (e.g., a disabling injury). Lastly, transitions cannot be simply thought of as
changes but as processes. As Elder asserts, “life transitions can be thought of as a
succession of mini-transitions or choice points” (emphasis his) (1998: 958).

3.3  Concluding Comments

In this chapter, the author presents and defines concepts, perspectives, and axioms
of the life course paradigm. In the absence of comprehensive life course conceptual
frameworks in the literature, he develops a model to graphically show and facilitate
the presentation of the main conceptual and theoretical notions of the life course
paradigm. As a paradigm is by definition rather abstract and not well-defined, the
conceptual life course framework represents the author’s interpretation of the life
course literature regarding the many concepts and assumptions one finds in this
research stream. It represents his view as to the types of elements and their relation-
ships that should be included in a life course model.
The material presented in this chapter suggests that some concepts are not well-­
defined in part because of conflicting views as to their proper definition and location
in the conceptual framework. For example, available theories suggest that some
choices people make can be defined either as events that occur at T1 and create the
need for adaptation or as coping responses. This is in part because the motivation for
the behavior differs across people, as in the case of a divorce that is viewed as stress-
ful or unpleasant by half of those experiencing it and equally as pleasant by the
other half who see it as an event that alleviates chronic stress due to ongoing spousal
discord—i.e., a coping response (Elder et al. 1996).
Furthermore, the types of elements in the sets and categories, and the relation-
ships among them shown graphically, are not by any means exhaustive or, in some
cases, mutually exclusive. For example, sociocultural influences in the form of T−1
factors (Ps in Fig. 3.1) can affect a person’s choice (event at T1); and they can also
influence a person’s actions as structural factors (Ss) during the T1–T2 time frame.
And it is possible that additional relationships between variables within and between
categories exist, albeit not shown in the conceptual model. For example, certain
types of variables, such as those labeled Ps and Ss, can interact to produce effects
on variables and relationships in the shaded area of the model, beyond those graphi-
cally shown in Fig. 3.1. Theory-derived hypotheses and exploratory research could
address such relationships.
Finally, the reader should keep in mind that despite its popularity and increas-
ing use across disciplines and internationally, the life course paradigm is not a
theory. At best, it could be considered a theoretical orientation (Elder et al. 2003).
References 55

Using Merton’s conception of theoretical orientation, Elder et  al. view the life
course paradigm as a conceptual framework for descriptive and exploratory
research. As a theoretical orientation, it “covers the identification and formulation
of research problems, rationales for variable selection, and strategies for research
design and data analysis” (Elder et al. 2003: 4). In a similar vein, Abeles et al. use
the term “perspective” to describe the life course paradigm: “As a perspective—as
opposed to a theory—it provides a general orientation for posing research ques-
tions, analyzing data, and interpreting findings. It does not represent a rigorous set
of postulates as explanations for relationships between variables, but it does repre-
sent a step toward such explanations” (Abeles et  al. 1980: 308). These notions
underscore the purpose and value of the proposed conceptual life course frame-
work in presenting relevant consumer research, which provides the bases for the
conceptual research directions that are suggested in the chapters that follow.

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Chapter 4
Consumer Behavior in Life Course
Context

Within the life course paradigm that is outlined in Fig. 3.1 (Chap. 3), this chapter
presents research in consumer behavior that can be viewed in the context of this
broad conceptual framework. Organized in line with this framework, the chapter
explicates life course conceptual and theoretical notions to provide new insights
into the study of consumer behavior. It cites and interprets consumer research that
supports these views and demonstrates how displaced theories and previous find-
ings can be integrated within life course paradigm to develop general propositions
(Table 4.1) for the relationships in Fig. 3.1, without reference to specific variables,
to provide conceptual directions for future research. These propositions in turn
serve as bases for illustrating (in chapters that follow) how the life course paradigm
could be applied to consumer research to enrich or improve previous efforts, and
they help provide a template for research in select areas.

4.1  Consumer Behaviors as Events and Trajectories

According to the life course paradigm that the author has attempted to show graphi-
cally in a model (Fig. 3.1), the various changes and responses or choices people
make take the form of events that are experienced. And adaptations to events and
changing life conditions experienced determine change and continuity in various
life domains (e.g., work, family, education) that form one’s life course trajectory
(Elder et al. 2003).
In applying these notions to the field of consumer behavior, many consumer
choices become events that serve as transitions into new consumption states and
define specific consumption trajectories (e.g., education, housing, financial), which
then determine the person’s entire consumption trajectory as a component of his or her
life course trajectory. For example, admission into a college (event) determines the
transition into the role of a college student, and graduation (event) is the transition out
of that role; the related adaptations apply to specific roles or states (e.g., titles such as

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 61

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_4
62 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

Table 4.1  General propositions suggested by the life course paradigm

P1: The consumer’s experience of a life event or life status change at a given point in time
increases the likelihood of change in his or her preferences for brands and vendors at a
later point in time
P2: Consumer choices are interdependent, with expenditure decisions consumers make on
major consumption categories at a given time affecting selective choices they make or
expect to make at a later point in time
P3: The larger the number of life events and role transitions consumers expect to experience
in the foreseeable future, the larger the number of changes in their consumption habits
they are likely to make prior to experiencing them
P4: Consumer behaviors (viewed as consumption events) are interwoven with life events; they
are reciprocally related to life events, with the adaptation mechanisms of socialization,
stress and coping, and human capital development serving as mediators of their reciprocal
effects
P5: Anticipated life events and consumption activities are reciprocally related, with the
adaptation mechanisms of socialization, stress and coping, and human capital
development serving as mediators of their reciprocal effects
P6: The level of stress consumers is likely to experience within a period of time is
proportionate to the number of events or role transitions they (a) experience within the
same period of time and (b) expect to experience in the foreseeable future
P7: The probability of onset of a compulsive behavior increases with the (a) number of
stressful life events experienced and (b) duration of stressful experiences
P8: The occurrence or anticipation of an event which serves as a marker of transition into a
role leads to (a) changes in consumption activities relevant to the enactment of that role
and (b) the person’s interaction with socialization agents for the purpose of obtaining
information relevant to the enactment of the specific role
P9: The number of changes in consumers’ cognitive structures during a period of time in the
form of knowledge and cognitive competencies is positively related to the (a) number of
role transitions and (b) diversity of life events they have experienced or expect to
experience within the same period of time
P10: High levels of social integration and interaction with socialization agents (a) lead to the
onset or development of new consumption patterns and (b) promote changes in existing
patterns of consumer behavior
P11: Excessive levels of consumption activities during long periods of time in the person’s life
are positively associated with higher levels of cumulative stress a person has experienced
during his or her lifetime
P12: The excessive consumption of products and services by frequent users is more likely to
further increase when these consumers experience higher than lower levels of stress
P13: Changes in consumer behaviors result from the (a) growth or development of human
capital and (b) declining levels of human capital
P14: The three adaptation mechanisms are reciprocally related. Each adaptation mechanism is
positively linked to the remaining two mechanisms
P15: Compared with older consumers, younger consumers are more likely to (a) initiate role
transition events and (b) make more changes in their consumption habits within a
specified period of time
P16: Younger people, in comparison to their older counterparts, experience higher levels of
stress and engage in consumption activities that reduce stress
P17: A longer duration in a consumption (or nonconsumption) state (a) increases the
desirability of that state and (b) delays adaptation to a new state or environment
(continued)
4.2  Effects of Events and Transitions 63

Table 4.1 (continued)
P18: Longer durations of adaptation mechanisms increase the likelihood of change in and the
onset of new consumption patterns
P19: The earlier in life a consumer uses a product or service to cope with stress, the higher the
likelihood of the use of the product or service becoming compulsive later in life
P20: The consumer’s repeated experience of the same event decreases the impact of that event
on adaptation mechanisms and on subsequent changes in established consumption habits
P21: Consumers with higher self-esteem, compared to those with lower self-esteem, are more
likely to (a) initiate events to attain their life’s goals, (b) experience lower levels of
event-induced stress, and (c) use confrontative or primary than avoidance or secondary
consumption-coping strategies
P22: The amount and diversity of family members’ tangible and intangible resources
collectively facilitate adaptation to life changes and promote changes in the person’s
consumption patterns

college student, graduate, alum). Receiving multiple college degrees would define the
person’s education trajectory, added to his or repertoire of consumer trajectories.
Thus, the assumptions relevant to the study of a person’s adaptation to life events over
the course of her or his life could be applied to the study of adaptations to consump-
tion roles and events, such as becoming a home owner and an investor. Consumers
adapt to different consumption states in much the same way that they adapt to other
changing life conditions. Continuity and change in consumer behavior patterns of
thoughts and actions thus likely result from responses and adaptations to not only
changing life conditions (life events, roles) but also to consumption-related events
over the course of that consumer’s life.
In line with the central premise of the life course paradigm, development, stabil-
ity, and changes in consumption patterns do not occur randomly in a vacuum but
relate systematically to changing life conditions. The expected and unexpected bio-
logical, psychosocial, and environmental changes (life events) that consumers expe-
rience over the course of their lives create the need for adaptations to new life
conditions and affect their consumption activities; the nonoccurrence of events
tends to promote stability in consumer thoughts and behaviors (Elder and Johnson
2002). The presentation of material that follows is aimed at (a) showing how
research in consumer behavior may relate to the main groups of variables and their
relationships shown in the conceptual framework presented in Chap. 3 and outlined
in the model (Fig. 3.1) and (b) developing the general propositions (Table 4.1) that
help provide conceptual directions for future consumer life course studies.

4.2  Effects of Events and Transitions

Several aspects of a person’s consumer behavior observed at a given point in his or

her life can be traced to events and circumstances experienced in earlier life. Many
first-time decisions are likely to be made during transitional periods in a person’s
64 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

life, and the development of, or change in, patterns of consumer behavior can be
linked to these periods (Mergenhagen 1995). Empirical and interpretive studies
have reported changes in consumption patterns following life events or life status
changes (e.g., Andreasen 1984; Andreasen and Dickson 1966; Belk 1992; Commuri
and Gentry 2000; Gentry et  al. 1994, 1995; Harrison et  al. 2011; Lee 1995; Lee
et al. 2001; Mathur et al. 2003, 2008), but they have fallen short of offering adequate
theoretical explanations for the observed relationships or changes. Furthermore, it
is not clear whether these linkages are indeed direct or operate via other (mediating)
variables (Fig. 3.1) and whether changes in consumption patterns are the effects of
either experienced or anticipated events, as such events tend to be interdependent.

4.2.1  Direct Effects of Events and Transitions

Life Events Experienced (at T1)  Although researchers have interpreted changes in
consumer behavior following life events and role transitions in the context of adap-
tation as a result of socialization to new roles (Gentry et  al. 1995; Harrison and
Gentry 2007; Mathur et al. 2008) and coping with stressful life changes (Andreasen
1984; Lee et al. 2001; Mathur et al. 2008; Oropesa 1993), empirical evidence also
suggests direct effects of life events on consumer behavior changes, even for non-­
transition and stress-free life events (Andreasen 1984; Mathur et al. 2008; Ong and
Moschis 2012). For example, Andreasen’s (1984) research shows a link between
life status changes and changes in consumer behavior, even after the mediating
impact of lifestyle changes and stress is considered. Lee et al. (2001) find a direct
relationship not only between events that signify transitions into new roles and
changes in consumption patterns and store preferences but also between unsched-
uled or unexpected life events and consumer behaviors. This and two other studies
by Mathur et al. (2003, 2008) also report positive links between life events experi-
enced and changes in consumption patterns (viewed as coping responses), even
after considering the mediating effects of chronic stress. These findings suggest that
the influence of life events or role transitions on consumer behavior do not simply
operate through mediating variables but they also may be direct or transactional (as
shown in Fig. 3.1).
The direct effects of life events are in line with the general life course premise
that events tend to be interdependent (Mayer and Tuma 1990). The occurrence of
one event or role transition at T1 increases or decreases the probability of the occur-
rence of another (at T1 or T2). For example, childbirth may interfere with work (i.e.,
enactment of one’s role as “worker”) and lead to the occurrence of other events
(e.g., giving up employment, worsen financial status) and role transitions (e.g., par-
enthood, grandparenthood). These second-order influences may or may not, in turn,
have additional direct and indirect influences. Considering the interdependence of
events and consumption activities, Andreasen’s (1984) hypothesis can be rephrased
as follows: the consumer’s experience of a life event or change at a given point in
4.2  Effects of Events and Transitions 65

time increases the likelihood of change in his or her preferences for brands and
vendors at a later point in time (P1 in Table 4.1).
Furthermore, the notion that life events in general and consumption activities in
particular tend to be interdependent is consistent with that of researchers who sub-
scribe to the interdependence of consumer behaviors (e.g., Gould et al. 1993; Wells
1993), such that “life-altering” decisions (e.g., college education, purchase of a new
home) set in motion a chain of decisions of decreasing in importance (Wells 1993).
It is supported by studies that show that generic decisions (e.g., establishing an
investment plan for retirement) can lead to selective preferences for products (e.g.,
choices of financial instruments, brands, and vendors) (Andreasen 1984; Lee et al.
2001; Mathur et al. 2003, 2008). Thus, changes in consumer behaviors may also
result from other factors that are not related to adaptation processes, such as changes
in other consumption domains that can disrupt an existing “equilibrium” of con-
sumption activities, leading to additional changes and adjustments in consumer
behaviors, in much the same way that life events trigger additional life events (i.e.,
transactional events in Fig. 3.1). Therefore, these consumer findings can be inter-
preted in the context of the life course paradigm’s assumptions regarding the inter-
dependence of life events and role transitions—i.e., experience of a life event or role
transition at a point in time increases the number of life events the person experi-
ences or expects to experience at a later point in time. Thus, consumer choices are
interdependent, with decisions made on major expenditure categories at a given
time affecting selective choices consumer make or expect to make at a later point in
time (P2 in Table 4.1).
Anticipated Events and Transitions  Many life events and role transitions, both nor-
mative and unexpected, often serve as signals of other upcoming life events or
changes (Pearlin 1989; Wheaton 1990). The person’s response to such anticipatory
events can be driven by his or her perceptions associated with the assumption of a
new role upon the expected occurrence of the event. Studies (Lee et al. 2001; Mathur
et  al. 2008), for example, report a significant positive relationship between the
occurrence of both normative and unscheduled events and the anticipation of future
(mostly normative) events or role transitions. Thus, a person’s actions at a given
point in time or stage in life can be influenced not only by the events and changes he
or she has experienced but also by anticipated events, with the number of antici-
pated events and role transitions being proportional to the number of events or role
transitions he or she has experienced during recent periods of time.
Anticipation of an event that signifies transition into a new role or life stage may
influence one’s consumer behavior directly. Previous studies report changes in con-
sumer behavior as a result of the anticipation of event occurrence or transitions into
new roles, such as changes in the aging person’s decision to allocate his or her avail-
able resources on various expenditure and investment categories (such as long-term
care insurance in anticipation of a transition into widowhood; George 1993) and
reduction in clothing expenditures in anticipation of retirement—i.e., from the role
of a worker to that of a retiree (Wagner and Hanna 1983). The study by Lee et al.
(2001) also reveals a positive relationship between anticipated life events and
66 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

changes in various types of consumer behaviors, including purchase of new prod-

ucts and services. Thus, the larger the number of life events and role transitions
consumers expect to experience in the foreseeable future, the larger the number of
changes in their consumption habits they are likely to make prior to experiencing
these events and transitions (P3 in Table 4.1).

4.2.2  Indirect Effects of Events

The life course paradigm assumes that the effects of life events are largely indirect
through the three adaptation mechanisms (Fig. 3.1). Life events can affect consumer
behavior indirectly by setting in motion the adaptation processes of (a) stress and
coping, (b) socialization, and (c) human capital development. Fairly similar adapta-
tion processes occur in relation to the effects of significant consumption events that
are viewed as “life-changing events” (e.g., college education, purchase of first
house, moving into a nursing home) (Wells 1993). Such consumption-related events
are inherently stressful (Murrell et al. 1988) and entail socialization into new roles
(e.g., student, home owner, nursing home occupant) and the development of human
capital. And they increase the likelihood of other life events (e.g., employment leads
to retirement, parenthood to grandparenthood) due to their interdependence (Mayer
and Tuma 1990; Wells 1993). Thus, consumer behaviors (viewed as consumption
events) are interwoven with life events; they are affected by and, in some instances,
lead to the occurrence of life events through the three adaptation processes (P4 in
Table 4.1).
Similarly, the effects of anticipated events likely operate through the same mech-
anisms. Previous studies that report changes in consumer behavior as a result of the
anticipation of event occurrence or transitions into new roles, such as changes in
investments in anticipation of a transition into widowhood (George 1993) or reduced
clothing expenditures in anticipation of retirement (Wagner and Hanna 1983), are
not explicit regarding change mechanisms. These changes may be the result of the
three adaptation mechanisms: socialization to an anticipatory role, such as taking on
various consumption roles previously assumed by a late spouse (O’Bryant and
Morgan 1989); stress and coping responses (e.g., Lee et  al. 2012; Mathur et  al.
2008), because anticipation of an event or role transition can be stressful, indepen-
dent of its desirability (Murrell et al. 1988; Wheaton 1990); and increase in human
capital, because anticipation of an event or transition likely stimulates cognitive
activity relevant to its consequences, such as when anticipating illness or widow-
hood that affects an aging person’s need to understand new investment tools and
methods for financial planning (George 1993). Similar adaptation mechanisms
likely link significant consumption events to the anticipation of life events, as in the
case of working toward a PhD degree—it can create stress, increase human capital,
and entail occupational socialization to the anticipated life event of employment.
Thus, anticipated life events and consumption activities are reciprocally related,
4.2  Effects of Events and Transitions 67

with the adaptation mechanisms of socialization, stress and coping, and human
capital development serving as mediators of their reciprocal effects (P5).
Effects on Stress and Coping  There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that
life events (both positive and negative) create stress (Cohen 1988; Moschis 2007b),
and theoretical explanations have already been presented in Chap. 3. Andreasen
(1984) finds a positive relationship between life status changes and chronic stress.
He further finds little improvement in this observed correlation when assessing the
impact of positive and negative events separately. Similarly, more recent studies
report a positive relationship between the person’s experience of life events and his
or her level of chronic stress during the previous 6 months (Lee et al. 2001; Mathur
et al. 2003, 2008). These studies also report a strong positive relationship between
anticipated life events and chronic stress. The relationship between specific life
events or role transitions and stress is also implicit in interpretive studies. Gentry
et al. (1995), for example, in discussing changes in consumption following death of
a spouse, report that the process of adapting to new circumstances is very stressful.
While unexpected events tend to be the main contributors to stress, many norma-
tive events serve as markers of transition into new roles and may contribute to role
overload and subsequent stress (Pearlin 1989). In a similar vein, research shows that
events occurring close together in time are more likely to elevate stress levels than
when occurring in isolation (Murrell et al. 1988). By the same token, the anticipated
occurrence of an event or role transition is not free of stress. Anticipation of impor-
tant life changes coupled with inadequate preparation can create psychological dis-
location (Lowenthal et al. 1975; Pearlin 1982). For example, O’Bryant and Morgan’s
(1989) research suggests that older women in anticipation of the widowhood role
experience stress due to a lack of knowledge in handling money. In sum, the level of
stress consumers is likely to experience within a period of time is proportionate to
the number of events or role transitions they (a) experience within the same period
of time and (b) expect to experience in the foreseeable future (P6).
People cope with stress in several different ways (e.g., Stone et al. 1988; Lazarus
and Folkman 1984). However, from an adaptation perspective, of greatest interest
to consumer researchers are the many types of consumer behaviors used as coping
responses (Moschis 2007b) that become automatized or conditioned through learn-
ing processes, especially habitual coping behaviors (at T2) that reflect behavioral
adaptations (Lazarus and Folkman 1984) and have been developed into individual-
ized sets of strategies over the life course (Vaillant 1977). Such consumption-
related coping responses are shaped into specific consumption trajectories which
then determine the person’s entire consumption trajectory as a component of his or
her life course. For example, a wide variety of compulsive behaviors (e.g., shop-
ping, buying, gambling) are believed to be conditioned through learning (e.g.,
Faber et al. 1995; O’Guinn and Faber 1989) and shape one’s entire consumption
trajectory (e.g., overspending, debt proneness) that determines the person’s well-
being over the course of much of his or her life. While alternative explanations of
such behaviors abandon (e.g., Faber 1992; Knutson and Samanez-Larkin 2012;
Moschis 2007a, 2017), compulsive behaviors may reflect individualized coping
68 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

strategies that develop over time in response to stress. Thus, the higher frequency
and longer duration of stressful life events experienced increases the likelihood of
the onset of compulsive behaviors (P7).
Effects of on Socialization  Socialization to new roles is the underlying assumption
of the normative perspective. Although there is a fair amount of research on con-
sumer socialization (John 1999; Moschis 1987), there has been considerably little
research that examines the relationship(s) between specific life events and socializa-
tion processes. Antecedent variables linked to socialization processes are usually
reported in the form of individual characteristics (e.g., sex, race, social class) rather
than life events or role transitions (Moschis 1987). There are, however, a few studies
which support the link between life events and socialization processes in the form of
interaction with socialization agents. For example, research suggests that events such
as retirement, children leaving home, and becoming a grandparent may contribute to
the elderly person’s socialization to the “old-age” role (Elder and Johnson 2002;
Sthienrapapayut et al. 2018; Moschis 1992), with socialization agents (e.g., media,
peers, relatives) affecting the acquisition of role-related norms (Barnhart and Peñaloza
2013; Karp 1988; Moschis 1987). Similarly, events that affect the family such as
divorce, parents’ employment, and birth of a child have an impact on the adolescent’s
frequency of interaction with socialization agents (e.g., peers, media) who may affect
the types of values the young person acquires in early life (Moschis 1987).
Other researchers interpret changes in consumer behavior following life events
or transitions in the context of socialization to new roles. For example, Gentry et al.
(1995) find significant changes in consumer roles and personality following death
of a spouse, including efforts to adapt to new circumstances. Similarly, Schewe and
Balazs (1992) discuss how transitions into several roles in later life (e.g., retiree,
grandparent) may lead to changes in consumer behavior due to the enactment of
such roles. Andreasen (1984) also suggests that changes in consumer behavior are
most likely when a person is in the process of experiencing life status transitions,
with persuasive change agents (i.e., socialization agents) contributing to such
changes. In interpreting Andreasen’s findings, O’Guinn and Faber (1991) advocate
the “uses and gratifications” perspective, asserting that people can use the mass
media over the life course to learn to enact various roles defined by various life
status changes. Moschis and Churchill (1978) employ this perspective to show the
effects of mass media on adolescent consumer learning.
Not only experience but also anticipation of a life event or role transition may
influence consumption behavior indirectly via socialization. Anticipation of a role
transition event, such as birth of the first child, may motivate a person to socialize for
the anticipated role of a parent (e.g., learn how to care for a newborn); and this type
of socialization, known as “anticipatory socialization” (Mortimer and Simmons
1978; Moschis 1987), may entail role enactment prior to the assumption of the new
role in the form of consumption activities, such as setting up an account for the child’s
education. Quite often, the socializer rather than the socializee may take the initiative
for socialization, as in the case of the dying person socializing his or her spouse for
various consumption roles (e.g., Morgan 1986; O’Bryant and Morgan 1989). Thus,
4.3  Effects of Adaptation Processes 69

the occurrence or anticipation of an event which serves as a marker of transition into

a role leads to (a) changes in consumption activities relevant to the enactment of that
role and (b) the person’s interaction with socialization agents for the purpose of
obtaining information relevant to the enactment of the specific role (P8).
Effects on Human Capital  Because response to events and role enactment stimulate
cognitive activity (in line with the human capital perspective), one could argue that
people who have dealt with a variety of life circumstances have also been forced to
engage in cognitive activities that may enhance competence. Consumer research,
for example, shows that older consumers’ shopping skills and ability to understand
misleading advertising can improve (change) with proper training (Cole and Gaeth
1990; Gaeth and Heath 1987). Similarly, research suggests that with proper instruc-
tion children are capable of adapting their consumer decision-making skills to dif-
ferent consumer decision environments (e.g., Gregan-Paxton and John 1995;
Stampfl et al. 1978). In reviewing consumer research on attitude change, Petty et al.
(1991) present convincing evidence, which is consistent with research on cognitive
aging, regarding cognitive changes emerging from the organism’s cognition about
its own activities. They conclude that “research on self-generated attitude and belief
change has demonstrated quite conclusively that active thought processes often
accompany attitude change and that self-generated change can be quite enduring”
(Petty et al. 1991: 254). Therefore, life events and circumstances one encounters,
especially those which create demand for cognitive activity and place consumers in
new roles, may increase one’s cognitive skills and competencies.
The notion that events create cognitive demands and opportunities for growth
also runs parallel to crisis theories of personality development, where development
can take place only as a result of the person’s response to demands of changing
conditions (crises). As Turner and Avison (1992) put it: “when (crises) resolved, the
individual may emerge from these engagements with a new skill, confidence, or
other enabling self-attitude that is added to his or her repertoire of responses or cop-
ing mechanisms” (Turner and Avison 1992: 37). Thus, the greater the number of
role transitions and diversity of life events consumers have experienced within a
given period of time, the greater the number of subsequent changes in their cogni-
tive structures during the same time period (P9).

4.3  Effects of Adaptation Processes

4.3.1  Socialization

The normative perspective assumes that the development and changes in cognitions
and behaviors (at T2) are manifestations of the person’s assumption of new roles and
relinquishment of old ones as a result of adaptation to new life conditions. Through
the process of socialization, which may begin in anticipation of role assumption and
70 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

continue for a considerable time thereafter (Murrell et  al. 1988), people acquire
socially desirable skills and attitudes compatible with the roles they enact. Thus, life
course researchers envision adaptation to normative events as the outcome of social-
ization and as a progression through a series of socially defined, age-linked social
roles (Clausen 1986; Elder 1998).
Research provides several examples of changes in consumer behaviors due to
adaptation to acquired or anticipated roles (e.g., Gentry et al. 1995; George 1993;
Harrison and Gentry 2007; McAlexander et al. 1993; O’Bryant and Morgan 1989)
and life status changes (Andreasen 1984; Mathur et al. 2008), as well as changes in
consumer behaviors that result from a redefinition of the self-concept due to social-
ization into a new or anticipated role (e.g., Gentry et al. 1995; Schau et al. 2009).
Changes in consumer behaviors can also be due to role relinquishment, such as
when consumers attempt to dispose of products relevant to the enactment of a previ-
ous role (McAlexander et  al. 1993). Consumption for role enactment, over time,
may contribute to self-definitions through the dynamic interplay of behaviors and
the self (Belk 1988; Schouten 1991).
The role of socialization in the adaptation process has been highlighted in earlier
reviews (e.g., Moschis 1987, 2007a). The development or change in consumer
behavior resulting from the person’s interaction with the various socialization
agents is seen as necessary in helping the person adapt to new roles and social
expectations created by the occurrence or anticipation of role transition events. The
socialization agents may also socialize the individual to new roles for which one is
inadequately prepared, as in the case of single fathers adjusting to their newly
acquired parental role (Harrison and Gentry 2007). Theoretical underpinnings for
these relationships can be found in the work of social interactionists, communica-
tion researchers, and social learning theorists (e.g., Goslin 1969; O’Guinn and Faber
1991; Moschis 2007a), and empirical evidence has been presented that supports the
role of socialization in the development and change of consumer behaviors (e.g.,
John 1999; Moschis 1987). Specifically, the available theory and research suggest
that high levels of interaction with socialization agents earlier in life lead to (a) the
development of new patterns of consumer behavior and (b) promote changes in
existing patterns of consumer behavior later in life. In contrast, lower levels of
social integration and interaction with various socialization agents promote stability
in existing consumption patterns and delay the development of new patterns of
behavior (P10).

4.3.2  Stress and Coping

The stress perspective contends that a person’s thoughts and actions at a given time
or stage in life have been shaped by his or her adaptation to stressful experiences in
earlier life. Thoughts and behaviors that are employed as coping responses and are
effective in reducing stress during a particular time span in the life course are rein-
forced and become automatized or conditioned responses through learning
4.3  Effects of Adaptation Processes 71

processes; they result in habitual behaviors (at T2) that reflect behavioral adaptations
(Lazarus and Folkman 1984) and tend to develop into individualized sets of strate-
gies over the life course (Vaillant 1977). Thus, life course researchers view chronic
and acute stress as processes experienced over the lifetime and with cumulative
impacts (Elder et al. 1996; Pearlin and Skaff 1996).
Moschis (2007b) reports a wide variety of patterns of consumer behavior that
may result from coping with stressors and, over time, reflect adaptations to such
aversive conditions. For example, Rindfleisch and colleagues note the importance
of materialism and compulsive buying as “adaptive mechanisms that facilitate the
adjustment of family members to divorce and separation” (Rindfleisch et al. 1997:
323). They view compulsive buying and materialism as coping strategies, implying
that such orientations are the result of the young person’s stressful family experi-
ences, a notion consistent with the life course view of the effects of stressors as
processes experienced over the lifetime. Other writers are more explicit about the
long-term effects of stress, especially those who theorize about the development of
a wide variety of compulsive disorders and addictions (e.g., Faber et  al. 1995;
Hirschman 1992; O’Guinn and Faber 1989).
Coping behaviors tend to be viewed as temporal changes in thoughts and actions
to reduce stress rather than long-lasting or more permanent orientations. However,
because such behaviors provide short-term relief from negative emotional states
(stress) and enhance one’s sense of control, they are likely to be positively rein-
forced and used at times of distress (Donegan et al. 1983; Hirschman 1992). And, in
the process of reducing aversive feelings, coping behaviors may lead to the develop-
ment of, or changes in, more enduring patterns of consumer behavior; they may
eventually become conditioned responses that result in the development of compul-
sive or addictive consumption patterns, which are viewed as dysfunctional, deviant,
or maladaptive (Moschis 2017). It has been suggested that coping behaviors
employed over time in response to stress, including the use of certain products (e.g.,
alcohol, drugs, cigarettes) and engagement in certain activities (e.g., gambling,
shopping, shoplifting, overspending), may become addictive and create negative
emotions (low self-esteem, depression, withdrawal). Addictions to such products
and activities are conceived to be the result of their excessive employment over time
to handle stress (e.g., Donegan et  al. 1983; Faber et  al. 1987; Hirschman 1992;
O’Guinn and Faber 1989). These notions underscore the long-term and cumulative
effects of stress (Elder et al. 1996; Pearlin and Skaff 1996; Vaillant 1977) on the
formation of compulsive patterns of consumer behaviors and illuminate the princi-
ple of “life-span development” of the life course paradigm (P11).
Andreasen (1984) finds a strong positive relationship between stress and life-
style change. His “life style” variable includes changes in consumption-related
activities (e.g., eating out; consumption of clothes, medicine, and recreation ser-
vices), which may well reflect coping behaviors to reduce stress. Although
Andreasen suggests that stress would lead to changes in consumer behavior, he is
not explicit as to how specific changes in consumer behavior may be viewed as cop-
ing mechanisms to deal with stress. Lee et al. (2001) and Mathur et al. (2003) rep-
licate and expand Andreasen’s study. Their analyses reveal that a variety of lifestyle
72 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

changes (e.g., starting exercising program, taking on a new hobby), which can be
viewed as coping behaviors, mediate the relationship between stress due to life
events (often known as “acute” stress) and changes in consumer behaviors such as
brand and store preferences.
Furthermore, it has been suggested that both compulsive behaviors and fantasies
serve as means of avoiding one’s true problems (O’Guinn and Faber 1989) and that
shopping, buying, television viewing, and overconsumption can be seen as ways of
coping with stress (Faber et al. 1987; O’Guinn and Faber 1991). In fact, Faber and
his associates contend that: “For many, if not most compulsive purchasers, buying
is a reaction to stress or unpleasant situations” (1987: 133). Similarly, Hirschman
(1992) finds that compulsive behaviors such as overeating, undereating, shopping,
and exercising are often a manifestation of psychological and emotional disequilib-
ria one fails to manage internally. While behaviors such as shopping may be viewed
as problem-solving, fantasies can be interpreted as emotion-focused coping mecha-
nisms according to Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) typology. Also, communication
researchers attribute the young person’s inclination to watch fantasy-oriented pro-
grams to conflict (i.e., stress) that is likely to be created by diverse family commu-
nication structures (Moschis 1987). In addition, uses and gratifications theory and
research suggest that one basic motivation for television viewing is diversion, which
includes motivations such as “escaping from a personal problem or daily routines
and experiencing an emotional release” (O’Guinn and Faber 1991: 355). Even chil-
dren as young as 4 and 5 appear able to use television content to alter negative
moods (Masters et al. 1983).
These findings on motivations for consumption can be interpreted in the context
of scape theory, which has been used to explain overconsumption of certain prod-
ucts (e.g., Moschis 2007b). According to this explanation, people consume prod-
ucts, such as food, drugs, and alcohol, because in stressful situations such products
help them reduce self-focus and become less aware of the stressful circumstances
they are facing (Heatherton and Baumeister 1991). Thus, consumption activities are
employed to restore psychological dislocations due to aversive feelings; and they
are accentuated during stressful times, expecting engagement in compulsive con-
sumer behaviors to be more prevalent during heightened stressful times (P12).

4.3.3  Human Capital Development, Growth, and Decline

The human capital view of adaptation contends that individuals are agents of their
own human capital. They make mental and behavioral adaptations to their increas-
ing level of human capital in early and midlife and to declining abilities resulting
from uncontrollable changes (events) they experience in late life (e.g., biological,
social); or else they use their human capital to interpret or respond to life events and
act in new ways. The outcomes of these adjustments, in the forms of thoughts and
actions, can be both socially desirable and maladaptive or deviant (Mortimer and
Simmons 1978).
4.3  Effects of Adaptation Processes 73

Organismic theories that view humans as active constructors of knowledge and

meaning within their biological and environmental constraints are commonly
employed in studies of young and elderly consumers who can adapt to the require-
ments of their environments by developing shopping skills with proper training at
an earlier or later age than suggested by stage theories (e.g., Gaeth and Heath 1987;
John 1999; Stampfl et al. 1978). Mechanistic theories, in contrast, that view humans
as reactive and contend that knowledge development that promotes adaptation
directly reflects the external environment (Ss in Fig. 3.1) are implied in studies that
theorize the effects of macro-level (e.g., cultural, market) and microlevel (e.g., fam-
ily, peers) influences on adaptation (socialization) outcomes, in the form of adop-
tion of new technologies (Oropesa 1993), compulsive buying (Baker et al. 2013,
2016), smoking (Yang and Netemeyer 2015), materialism (O’Guinn and Shrum
1997; Richins and Chaplin 2015), patterns of decision-making (Mittal and
Griskevicius 2016; Mittal et al. 2015), and self-regulatory consumer behaviors (Van
Bergen and Laran 2016). Such views are also present in studies that infer an unde-
sirable long-term impact of television on consumers at different stages in life
(Connell et al. 2014) and in different cultural settings (Sirgy et al. 1998); they sup-
port the contention that the self-agency shaped in such settings “may be directed
toward constructive or to destructive ends and may serve the individual well or
poorly later in the life course” (Gecas 2003: 377). Thus, while the normative per-
spective assumes that behaviors are impervious to change, the mechanistic view of
human capital development assumes that patterns of thought and action may shift
and become deviant under certain conditions (Moschis 2007a). For example,
research shows that reduction in intangible resources associated with family disrup-
tions such as divorce impacts the way the child interacts with his or her parents and
peers, which in turn may constitute the vehicle for the development of behaviors
such as compulsive buying (e.g., Baker et al. 2016) and the development of antiso-
cial behaviors (e.g., shoplifting, drunken driving) (e.g., Moschis 1987). Specifically,
a controlling parenting style that is the outcome of family dislocation (Baker et al.
2013) has aversive consequences on the child’s emotional security and self-esteem
(Hill et al. 2001); and it may deter and impair cognitive development and promote
emotionally gratifying behaviors, leading to ineffective inhibition of impulsive and
antisocial behaviors (Conger et al. 1994; Uhlenberg and Mueller 2003).
Contextual theories of human capital, which view adaptation as the result of a
reciprocal and dynamic interaction (process) between the person and his or her
environment, are present in consumer studies that implicitly or explicitly suggest
the dynamic interplay between individual and environment. Such theoretical per-
spectives apply to research on crises caused by a divorce (McAlexander et al. 1993),
the loss of a loved one (Gentry et al. 1995), the onset of a life-threatening disease
(Pavia and Mason 2004), retirement (Schau et al. 2009), and transition into old age
(Barnhart and Peñaloza 2013). People adjust their consumption patterns to adapt to
adversities (e.g., role and identity loss, illness, loss of income) and the new realities
created by events and transitions, and, in the process of adapting, they also change
their commercial and social environments (e.g., Barnhart and Peñaloza 2013).
74 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

In sum, human capital in the form of development and change in knowledge and
skills affects consumer behaviors, regardless of mechanism involved in responding
and adapting to changes and demands created by changing environments. Thus,
changes in human capital in the form of growth, development, or decline likely lead
to changes in consumer behaviors (P13).

4.3.4  Interdependence of Adaptation Processes

Adaptation processes are complimentary and interdependent (Fig. 3.1). Because of

the interdependence of the three types of adaptation mechanisms (Fig. 3.1), each
adaptation process is expected to have not only direct but also indirect effects on
consumer behaviors by affecting the remaining two adaptation mechanisms. The
specific coping behaviors consumers use to deal with a stressful event can be an
outcome of socialization (Seligman 2006). Interaction with various sources of con-
sumer information (socialization agents) may help the person not only learn to
enact a role for which he or she is inadequately prepared but also learn methods for
handling stress related to the new role such as the role of a widow(er) (Balkwell
1985). Also, stressful contexts require coping and may promote emotion-focused
strategies in the form of social interaction (e.g., seeking social support) (e.g.,
Lazarus and Folkman 1984) and thus socialization to a newly acquired role; and
they may also activate problem-focused strategies that entail knowledge acquisition
(Moschis 2007b). Socialization to stressful roles and acquisition of knowledge
(human capital) for coping with stressful situations, in turn, may lead to enhance-
ment of the person’s coping strategies for handling future stressful episodes that
would help improve their psychological situations (Murphy 2013); and they may
further lead to effective socialization and role enactment (Balkwell 1985;
Gudmunson and Danes 2011). Thus, the three adaptation mechanisms are recipro-
cally related. Each adaptation mechanism is positively linked to the remaining two
mechanisms (P14).

4.4  Contextual Effects

The timing of an event at T1 and its time (Ts), human agency-related factors in the
form of experiences and attributes (Ps), and structural or environmental factors (Ss)
(Fig. 3.1) define the contexts in which events, processes, and changes take place
(Elder and Johnson 2002). Contextual variables play an important role in life course
research because they have different effects on adaptation processes and the way the
individual (human agency) experiences an event, responds to it, or initiates change
(e.g., Giele and Elder 1998).
4.4  Contextual Effects 75

4.4.1  Timing and Time

Timing  The timing of an event refers to the stage in the person’s life the event is
experienced; it is usually tapped by the person’s age at the time the event is experi-
enced. People both respond to the timing of external events and also plan the timing
of their actions for accomplishing life goals. Thus, as Giele and Elder put it, “the
timing of life events can be understood as both passive and active adaptation
(emphasis theirs) for reaching individual or collective goals” (1998: 10). The timing
of events, particularly those that signify transitions into and out of social roles, has
different impacts on the person, according to the period in life he or she experiences
them (Elder et al. 1996). Earlier in life, people tend to experience more events and
occupy a larger number of roles (Hughes et al. 1988), so they have more identities,
or, in the words of Thoits (1983), they are more “integrated,” than people in later life
who tend to occupy fewer roles and are more “isolated.” An identity loss or gain has
less impact on an integrated person with multiple selves and the images connected
to them that serve as “an effective mechanism for adjustment to diverse life situa-
tions” (Baltes and Baltes 1990: 10). In contrast, an isolated actor must commit all of
his or her resources to fewer identities and also has more to lose, because of the
limited identities available (Thoits 1983). Therefore, he or she is less likely to initi-
ate an event that triggers the need for adaptation to a new role or state.
In a similar vein, Pearlin (1982) observes that life is most demanding of those in
the process of becoming established in occupational, economic, and family roles
and is least demanding of those who have been in these roles for a period of time.
Studies have shown that young adults take on a number of life roles within a rela-
tively short period of time (e.g., marriage, parenthood, occupation) (e.g., Hughes
et al. 1988) and, in comparison to older adults, they experience more events related
to work, school, financial matters, legal matters, and changes in personal relation-
ships and living conditions (Henderson et  al. 1981). The number of events also
affects the level of stress, as research shows that events occurring close together in
time are more likely to have an effect than when occurring in isolation or in longer
time intervals (Murrell et al. 1988). Because consumers use products to cope with
stress (Moschis 2007b), as well as to define, enact, and reconstruct their identities
(Belk 1988; Schau et al. 2009), and many consumption activities can be viewed as
events embedded in age-graded or life stage roles (Featherman and Lerner 1985;
Schaninger and Danko 1993), younger consumers likely initiate more role transi-
tion events and make more changes in their consumption habits than older consum-
ers within a given period of time (P15).
The person’s experience of certain events is also likely to affect the way he or she
copes with a stressful event. Eysenck (1983) argues that prior exposure to stress
assists in adaptation to later stress. This assertion is reflected in the comments of an
older Berkeley woman: “It’s only when you have lived through experiences and
digested them that you come to acquire enough sense to know how to deal with
them” (Elder and Liker 1982: 267). Previous events, such as the Great Depression,
she had experienced 40 years prior to the interview provided a training ground for
76 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

coping with future hardship and loss (Seligman et al. 1988). Because older adults
have had the opportunity to be exposed to changes, they may draw upon prior expe-
riences to better adapt to changes in later life. Thus, one can speculate that older
people may cope with consumer problems better than younger people. Their higher
level of consumer satisfaction and lower tendency to complain in relation to younger
consumers reported in several studies (e.g., Moschis 1992) may reflect differences
in the way they respond to unexpected consumption events (e.g., poor product per-
formance). Also, one can speculate that younger people, in comparison to their
older counterparts, experience higher levels of stress and engage in consumption
activities that reduce stress, since younger people tend to experience a larger num-
ber of events (Henderson et al. 1981; Hughes et al. 1988). Andreasen’s (1984) find-
ings are consistent with these speculations, showing a negative relationship between
age and his lifestyle change variable, which, in turn, was positively related to pur-
chase dissatisfaction and brand preference changes. Thus, in comparison to their
older counterparts, younger people experience higher levels of stress and engage in
consumption activities that reduce stress (P16).
Time  The duration (time) of a person’s experiences of a given life condition, event,
or role has developmental implications, because duration is a necessary condition
for any form of development (e.g., Featherman and Lerner 1985). Thus, it is reason-
able to expect duration to be relevant for the development of consumption patterns.
Life course researchers (Elder and Johnson 2002; Elder et al. 2003) assert that a
longer duration in a given state increases the likelihood of behavioral continuity, a
view supported by Strahilevitz and Lowenstein’s (1998) finding that continuity in
the state of product ownership increases the value of the product.
Many consumer choices, especially life-altering consumption decisions (Wells
1993), signify transitions into consumption states whose duration or recurrence can
affect development, stability, and changes in consumer preferences (Andreasen
1984; Mathur et al. 2008; Oropesa 1993). When changes in consumer behaviors are
temporary, they may be viewed as short-term “adjustments” that have few or no
developmental consequences. However, to the extent that these changes are long-­
lasting, they have developmental implications, because duration in a given state can
lead to mental and behavioral adaptations (Featherman and Lerner 1985;
Hetherington and Baltes 1988). In contrast, events and transitions that place con-
sumers in new consumption environments (e.g., relocation, job change) require
more adjustments and therefore entail greater adaptation demands. Thus, a longer
duration in a consumption state (a) increases the desirability of that state and (b)
delays adaptation to a new consumption state or environment (P17).
In a parallel vein, the adaptation processes responsible for changes in a person’s
mental, emotional, and behavioral states that are set in motion by events (T1 in Fig.
3.1) have different durations and, therefore, have different effects (Hetherington
and Baltes 1988). Thus, adaptation processes are also states of varying durations,
during which alterations are experienced. In turn, they have developmental impli-
cations, because the duration of these states (e.g., stress and coping, socialization)
can lead to mental and behavioral adaptations (Featherman and Lerner 1985;
4.4  Contextual Effects 77

Hetherington and Baltes 1988) that affect the formation and change of consump-
tion patterns. Thus, longer durations of adaptation mechanisms increase the likeli-
hood of change in, or the onset of new, patterns of consumer behavior (P18).
With respect to the effects of duration on coping behaviors, the continuous and
long-term employment of coping behaviors is likely to lead to the development of
coping behaviors into compulsive and addictive forms. Thus, longer durations in a
consumption state that entails excessive use of products and services promote devel-
opment and stability or continuity in that consumption state. As younger people
have more opportunities for engaging in the same types of behaviors for a longer
time (duration), those who frequently use a consumption-related coping behavior to
handle stress are more likely to develop compulsive tendencies, compared to their
older counterpart. Alternatively, the earlier in life a consumer uses a product or ser-
vice to cope with stress, the higher the likelihood the use of the product or service
becomes compulsive later in life (P19).

4.4.2  Agency-Related Factors

Human agency-related factors take various forms (e.g., historical events, individual
experiences and attributes; Ps in Fig. 3.1). Factors in the form of previous experi-
ences of an event (at T−1) facilitate adaptation to similar events (at T1). Such experi-
ences lead to adaptations of decreasing duration, requiring relatively shorter periods
of adjustment, and have weaker impacts on the person (Eysenck 1983). Thus, for
events previously experienced, recurrent events have an increasingly lesser impact
on the person’s need for adaptation and subsequent need for changes in his or her
consumption habits (P20).
The specific consumption-related coping strategies people use to deal with
stressful situations appear to vary across persons possessing certain background
characteristics. (Stone et al. 1988). For example, women are more likely than men
to solicit social support, use distraction and tension-reduction strategies when con-
fronted with stressors; and they are more likely to use various forms of relaxation as
coping methods. Nonalcoholics use eating as a coping method more than ­alcoholics,
and ex-smokers use food more frequently than other coping strategies when they are
tempted to smoke (Stone et  al. 1988). Furthermore, many controllable consumer
decisions such as home remodeling and taking adult education courses have been
viewed at times as stressful events and at other times as coping behaviors (e.g., Lee
et al. 2001; Tausig 1982). However, such controllable activities or events may also
be viewed in the context of activation theories (e.g., novelty seeking) (discussed in
Chap. 3). Many controllable events may in fact reflect the person’s desire for sensa-
tion-seeking, novelty, and arousal (O’Guinn and Faber 1991). Similarly, brand
switching has been in part attributed to novelty seeking (Meyer and Kahn 1991),
and many other aspects of consumer behavior such as impulsive buying and recre-
ational shopping may be explained by arousal (O’Guinn and Faber 1991).
78 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

Furthermore, many life events and consumer choices (events at T1 and T2 in Fig.
3.1) do not reflect merely responses or adaptations to experienced or anticipated
changing life conditions but instead are deliberately engineered by human agency to
activate reward systems (Schau et al. 2009; Moen 2003). Human agency actively
plans the timing of many events that require adaptation, such as marriage, employ-
ment, and retirement (e.g., Moen 2003), and such a planning is affected by agency
characteristics and has implications for changes in behavior (e.g., Oropesa 1993).
These planned changes orchestrated by human agency can be conceived of in the
context of the gain or loss component of prospect theory that “complements the life
course emphasis on cycles of control and strategies of adaptation” (Moen 2003:
277). Because people tend to be more anxious at a prospect of a loss than pleased at
a potential gain (loss aversion), the perceived disadvantages of an anticipated event
tend to be viewed as more important than the perceived advantages, which then
affects the person’s consumption activities and their timing at T1.
Consumers likely make decisions that provide them with the greatest sense of
control. For example, Schouten’s (1991) research suggests that consumers attempt
to increase control over their lives by initiating behaviors, such as having a plastic
surgery, for achieving certain social and occupational goals. More recently, Price
et al. (2018) propose a “fresh start mindset” construct that seems to be intrinsically
tied to many personality factors (e.g., self-efficacy, locus of control, optimism) that
are congenial to cycles of control and strategies of adaptation over the life course
(e.g., Elder 1998; Moen 2003). To the extent consumers differ with respect to their
perceived control of their lives (attribute at T−1), those who perceive having greater
control and thus stronger self-esteem are expected to be more likely to initiate
changes (events) to avoid negative future consequences in life (e.g., poor health, low
SES) and, therefore, exhibit changes in their trajectories (occupational, marital,
consumption) that can subsequently affect their consumption patterns (e.g., Price
et al. 2018). And as suggested by the results of several studies (e.g., Moschis 2007b;
Thoits 1995), those with higher levels of self-esteem are less likely to be impacted
by stressful life events in general and less likely to employ avoidance or secondary
consumption-coping strategies at the expense of consumption-coping strategies
characterized as confrontative or primary (P21).

4.4.3  Structural Factors

Structural factors are sociocultural contexts within which the person is embedded.
They take the form of nested, hierarchical, and interrelated social systems (Ss in Fig.
3.1). They range from distal (macro-level) settings (e.g., culture, class) to those
located proximally (e.g., family, work). Within a specific time frame (e.g., T1–T2),
the macro-systems determine proximal settings with respect to their structure char-
acter and function. And proximal settings, which include the environment with
which the person is in contact and can interact directly (e.g., family members, peers),
shape the person’s behavior and psychological development (Bolger et al. 1988).
4.5 Summary 79

The influence of these factors can be seen clearly when they are applied to the
proximal setting of a family as a unit. Consumer research findings suggest that fami-
lies collectively enact roles, respond to stress, and develop human capital in response
to events experienced by one or more family members; and they adapt to critical life
events and transitions by changing and redefining their consumption habits (e.g.,
family meals) (Harrison et al. 2011) and their identities as units (e.g., Epp and Price
2008; Oropesa 1993). Epp and Price (2008) further suggest that continuity in a fam-
ily member’s consumption activities contributes to continuity of the family’s iden-
tity over the life course, whereas changes in consumption patterns serve to redefine
family identities. In many ways, adaptability in consumption practices thus is a
process of enacting and preserving the link of family identities across generations,
a finding in line with the life course paradigmatic principle of “linked lives.”
Epp and Price’s (2008) research also suggests that a family’s adaptability to criti-
cal events likely depends on the amount and diversity of collective resources owned
by family members who comprise a family during a given period of time (T1–T2, Ss
in Fig. 3.1), because changes in individual roles and additional resources (e.g.,
skills) often are needed to adapt to disruptions. Because the diversity of life experi-
ences tends to promote change, families that comprise members who can contribute
diverse resources—both tangible (e.g., financial) and intangible (i.e., human capital,
skills, emotional support)—likely adapt to critical life events faster and, as a result,
change their consumption patterns, unlike families with limited resources (P22).

4.5  Summary

This chapter shows the relevance and value of the life course paradigm for con-
sumer research. It applies the life course conceptual model and its elements along
with the assumptions and premises of the life course paradigm that are presented in
Chap. 3 to review relevant consumer research that supports the conceptual model. It
also uses notions from the life course paradigm to develop general propositions that
serve as conceptual directions for future research. The chapter is limited in terms of
presentation of consumer research that can be potentially cited in support of the life
course paradigm and, subsequently, with respect to the number of propositions that
can be developed. Its intent is to present a sample of consumer research findings that
support the model and to show how researcher can employ the life course paradigm
to develop propositions that would help them develop specific hypotheses and study
consumer behaviors in an innovative way. By reviewing and interpreting consumer
research findings in the context of the material presented in the previous chapter to
develop a sample of general propositions, Chap. 4 should offer consumer research-
ers a “sensitizing” framework (Epp and Price 2008) for how to think about and
study various time- and context-dependent consumer behaviors, as well as a viable
conceptual blueprint for further research.
80 4  Consumer Behavior in Life Course Context

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Chapter 5
The Life Course Research Framework:
Illustrative Application in the Study
of Financial Behaviors

Research efforts in the field of personal finance are yet to benefit from recent theo-
retical and methodological developments in behavioral and social sciences that have
advanced the life course paradigm as the leading research framework for studying
behavior over time (e.g., Colby 1998; Elder et al. 2003; George 2003; Mayer and
Tuma 1990). For example, although this multi-theoretical paradigm is mentioned as
a viable research framework for the study of behavioral and mental changes that
surround the critical life event of retirement and the impact of these changes on
psychological well-being (Hershey and Henkens 2013), there is limited research on
the experienced and expected consequences of this transition on the individual’s
financial behaviors. Similarly, models of financial behavior that attempt to incorpo-
rate life course theory and concepts (e.g., Hershey et al. 2010) are void of many key
elements of the life course paradigm. For example, although the life course “prin-
ciples” of time and timing have important implications for the development of
financial solvency (Hershey and Jacobs-Lawson 2012), they are absent from recent
multi-theoretical formulations (e.g., Hershey et al. 2010). Another drawback in pre-
vious research efforts is inherent in the analytic methods commonly used (e.g.,
regression, probit, logit, discriminant), as such methods not only are inferior to
more recently developed analytic models, collectively known as “event history anal-
ysis” (EHA) (e.g., Frazer et al. 1994; Mayer and Tuma 1990), but also inappropriate
for analyzing development and changes of behavior. The latter methods have facili-
tated the development of the life course approach as the leading research framework
(Mayer and Tuma 1990) that is considered one of the most important achievements
of social science and behavioral sciences (Colby 1998).
The present chapter advocates for the value of the life course paradigm for
improving previous approaches to the study of consumers’ financial behavior over
the course of their lives. In order to illustrate the application of the life course para-
digm in conducting research on personal finance, the chapter shows how variables
relevant to the study of financial behaviors could be derived from the broad life
course model shown in Chap. 3. Previous research on financial behavior is cited and
interpreted in the context of life course assumptions and perspectives to provide

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 85

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_5
86 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

support for the model in the context of personal finance. Lastly, based on conceptual
elements and theoretical perspectives of the life course paradigm and supportive
empirical findings in the field of consumer behavior and personal finance, a set of
propositions is developed as a sample to provide guidance for studying several
forms of financial behavior.

5.1  Models of Financial Behavior

After reviewing the personal finance literature, Hershey et al. (2010) conclude that
the study of financial behavior requires an interdisciplinary approach because of the
nature of relevant variables and their interrelationships that are likely to influence
outcome. Models of financial behavior have common themes that underscored the
assumptions of the multi-disciplinary life course paradigm. Hershey and Jacobs-­
Lawson (2012) and Hershey et al. (2010, 2013) recognize the life course perspective
as an appropriate and promising framework for studying the changes that take place
as a result of the retirement transition, including changes in financial resources, that
could affect a person’s well-being. A 6-year longitudinal study by Hershey and
Henkens (2013) explains subjective well-being as a function of changes in resources
experienced over the life course, such as health, financial, and social. These investi-
gators suggest that perceptions of one’s life situation in general and subjective well-­
being in particular are determined, in part, by the interaction of agency and structure;
they are “largely a function of social-familial resources, physiological-­psychological
resources, and fiduciary (often monetary) resources” (Hershey and Henkens 2013:
242). Similarly, Hershey and associates acknowledge that “psychological develop-
ment takes place in a sociocultural context and individual plans and decisions are
shaped both by structure and agency” (2010: 4).
In a rather parallel vein, Gudmunson and Danes (2011) propose a conceptual
model of family financial socialization that is embedded within the life course para-
digm. Their review of the literature reveals that family socialization is tied to the life
course paradigm and shows how life events that signify transitions into various roles
are tied to consumption by causing shifts in resources. These investigators further
emphasize the processes that link sociodemographic characteristics to financial out-
comes and events that change family contexts and processes over a person’s life;
and they consider financial socialization as a lifelong process “especially in times of
change” (Gudmunson and Danes 2011: 645), with changing sociodemographic con-
texts in the form of life events throughout the life course intimately tight to financial
matters. They conclude that “although research on children’s socialization is con-
centrated on children’s socialization, financial socialization occurs throughout life”
(emphasis theirs) (2011: 662), as such socialization evolves from changing adult
roles and resource levels. In support of Gudmunson and Danes’ contention, Serido
et al. (2015) provide evidence of changes in the person’s financial behaviors during
college years as a result of a transition into a romantic relationship.
5.1  Models of Financial Behavior 87

These observations and recent efforts in the personal finance research are consis-
tent with recent developments in social and behavioral sciences, where models of
socialization, human development, and family life cycle have been either replaced
by, or integrated into, the life course paradigm. For example, in recent decades,
socialization research, which generally has been confined to the study of a select
age group (e.g., children, adolescents, elderly) in isolation from other age groups
(e.g., Epp and Price 2008; John 1999), has become embedded within the life course
paradigm, focusing on dynamic, reciprocal, and unfolding processes between the
person and his or her environment (cf. Elder 1994). As Gudmunson and Danes’
review of the literature on financial socialization suggests, “the continued effects of
family socialization occur over the life course” (2011: 663). Similarly, models of
human development, known as stage models of cognitive and personality develop-
ment, which assume that consumer behavior is the result of cognitive or emotional
states that characterize specific periods of a person’s life (often indexed by his or her
age or stage in life) (e.g., Connell et al. 2014; Schau et al. 2009; Williams and Drolet
2005), have been integrated into the life course paradigm (Elder et al. 2003; Elder
and Johnson 2002). Recently developed methods suitable for life course research
(EHA, growth curve models) allow the study of human development as a process
(e.g., Mayer and Tuma 1990; Yang 2008) and the decomposition of aging, cohort,
and period effects, helping to explain the observed age-related differences. These
methods have been suggested for studying financial behaviors within developmen-
tal contexts in order to separate the influence of such effects (Hershey and Jacobs-­
Lawson 2012).
Other models of consumer behavior relevant to the study of financial behaviors
have been either discredited or integrated into the life course paradigm. For exam-
ple, family life cycle models (e.g., Modigliani and Brumberg, 1954; Schaninger and
Danko 1993) are descriptive and largely atheoretical, assuming that each group
occupying a particular stage has homogeneous needs, which are viewed as the link
between life changes and consumption, with little attention paid to the various con-
texts (e.g., economic, technological) in which these consumers may be embedded
over the course of their lives (e.g., Oropesa 1993). They have largely been discred-
ited in the personal finance literature (e.g., Ntalianis and Wise 2010), as they ignore
within-group differences arising from the timing of a life transition or duration in a
given stage. And developments in life course research “have resulted in the replace-
ment of the term ‘life cycle’ with the more continuous concept of the ‘life course’”
(Giele and Elder 1998: 19).
To summarize, models appropriate for studying financial behaviors have been
integrated into the life course paradigm, and recent research in the field of personal
finance points to a trend toward the study of financial behaviors over the course of a
person’s life. However, as Gudmunson and Danes’ review reveals, “the presence of
life course investigations of personal finance are absent in finance literature” (2011:
662). And while authorities on the field of personal finance suggest the life course
paradigm as a viable research framework for studying financial behaviors (e.g.,
Hershey and Jacobs-Lawson 2012; Hershey and Henkens 2013), these authors also
88 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

note that the mechanisms through which agency and social forces interact with con-
textual factors to produce certain outcomes remain relatively unexplored.
The sections that follow illustrate how researchers can employ the life course
paradigm in the field of personal finance. They show how previous variables used in
personal finance research could be casted within the broad conceptual model shown
in Fig. 3.1 (Chap. 3) and how to generate hypotheses using life course notions and
supportive research.

5.2  Financial Behaviors in Life Course Context

The life course model for consumer behaviors (Fig. 3.1) can serve as an overarching
framework within which variables relevant to personal finance can be placed in
specific categories of the model (Table 5.1). Some of these variables are often used
in studies of personal finance, while the relevance of others is suggested by con-
sumer and life course research. The list of these variables is not exhaustive, but it is
merely used to illustrate the application of the life course paradigm to personal
finance research.
The assumptions relevant to the study of a person’s adaptation to life events and
changes over the course of her or his life could be applied to the study of adaptations
to financial roles and events, such as becoming an investor and a home owner.
Consumers adapt to different consumption states in much the same way they adapt
to other changing life conditions. Continuity and change in patterns of financial
thoughts and actions thus likely result from responses and adaptations to not only
changing life conditions (life events, roles, choices) but also to consumption-related
events in the form of financial behaviors over the course of that consumer’s life, as
suggested by recent research (Netemeyer et al. 2018).

5.2.1  Financial Behaviors

Financial behaviors have been defined broadly to include both desirable and unde-
sirable cognitive and behavioral activities and orientations with respect to handling
of finances. Gudmunson and Dane’s review of family socialization literature reveals
two types of financial behaviors: a pattern of actions over time (e.g., saving, spend-
ing) that define a person’s orientations and another that is “more ‘event-like’ and
certainly includes initiation and termination of passive financial processes” (2011:
650) (e.g., setting up a 401 k account). The onset or change in these behaviors can
be viewed as “events” in life course research (e.g., Joo and Grable 2000).
The present illustration focuses on financial behaviors that are likely to enhance
a person’s well-being both in the short run and in the long run. Previous research
(e.g., Gudmunson and Danes 2011; Woodyard and Robb 2012) suggests a variety of
measures of financial well-being, both objective measures (e.g., income, assets,
5.2  Financial Behaviors in Life Course Context 89

Table 5.1  Elements and variables applicable to a life course model of financial behavior
Variable categories in the general Sample of variables in life course model of financial
conceptual model (Fig. 3.1) behaviors
1. Life events/changes 1. Engagement in effectual financial behaviors (T2)
experienced (T2)  (a) Establishing savings plan for retirement
 (b) Savings for retirement regularly
 (c) Doing financial planning
 (d) Choosing sound investment products
 (e) Managing saving and spending responsibly
2(a). Life events/changes 2(a). Life events experienced relevant to financial
experienced (at T1) behaviors (at T1)
 (a) Entry into work force
 (b) Retirement (at own will)
 (c) Marriage
 (d) Birth/adoption of a child
 (e) Divorce/separation
 (f) Last/only child moved out of household
 (g) Significant change in financial status
 (h) Became caregiver to older/disabled person
 (i) Loss of job/business or forced retirement
 (j) Death of a spouse/partner
2(b). Anticipated life events/ 2(b). Life events anticipated relevant to financial
changes (at T1) behaviors (at T1). Life events a to h on “events
experienced” list
3. Adaptation processes (T1–T2 3. Financial adaptation/adjustment mechanisms (T1–T2)
time frame)
 (a) Socialization  (a) Role enactment motivations for financial behaviors
 (b) Stress and coping  (b) Stress/insecurity-coping motivations for financial
behaviors
 (c) Human capital growth/  (c) Change/level of financial literacy/knowledge
development
Contextual variables Contextual variables relevant to financial behaviors
4. Timing and time (T1–T2 time 4. Age and number of years (within the T1–T2 time frame)
frame)
5. Human agency-related factors 5. Experiences and attributes relevant to financial behaviors
(T−1)
 (a) Individual experiences (at  (a) Earlier-in-life socialization influences (at T−1):
T−1)    –  Interactions with informal agents
   –  Interactions with formal agents
   –  Interactions with commercial agents
 (b) Individual attributes  (b) Individual attributes:
   –  Personality: personal control, risk tolerance, FTP,
and debt/spending proneness (compulsive buying,
materialism)
  – Demographics: gender
(continued)
90 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

Table 5.1 (continued)
Variable categories in the general Sample of variables in life course model of financial
conceptual model (Fig. 3.1) behaviors
6. Social structural factors (at 6. Social structural variables relevant to financial behaviors
T1–T2 time frame) (at T1–T2 time frame)
 (a) Socioeconomic status (SES)
 (b) Family size
 (c) Employment status

ownership of goods) and subjective measures such as financial satisfaction, financial

perceived income adequacy, or pressure. Some behaviors are viewed desirable from
a society’s standpoint and are often labeled “responsible financial behaviors” in part
because they have a positive effect on the person’s well-being. They include not
only the person’s engagement in socially desirable activities, such as budgeting and
investing for retirement (e.g., Serido et al. 2015), but also the effectiveness (“qual-
ity”) of such activities in meeting life’s goals (Jacobs-Lawson and Hershey 2005;
Hershey et al. 2007).
In view of previous findings and recent trends, researchers have emphasized the
need for understanding individual differences with regard to several effectual finan-
cial behaviors that enhance financial well-being as well as the effectiveness (“qual-
ity”) of such behaviors in meeting life goals (Jacobs-Lawson and Hershey 2005;
Hershey et al. 2007). Such behaviors may include (a) establishing a savings plan for
retirement, (b) saving for retirement regularly, (c) doing financial planning fre-
quently, (d) choosing sound investment products for accomplishing desirable goals,
and (e) managing spending and saving responsibly, such as budgeting and spending
within budget and paying bills on time (Klontz et al. 2012; Ntalianis and Wise 2010;
Serido et al. 2015) (Table 5.1). These behaviors can be viewed as outcomes in the
form of changes or established patterns of financial behaviors (viewed as events at
T2 in Fig. 3.1).

5.2.2  Life Events Experienced and Anticipated

As every event or change has implications in life course research, most life events
and choices people experience (at T1 Fig. 3.1) are likely to indirectly or directly
affect financial behaviors. They indirectly are likely to affect such behaviors by set-
ting in motion adaptation processes because they either require coping or define
transitions (socialization) into or out of roles or demand cognitive adjustments in
the form of financial knowledge and skill development (human capital), as in the
case of a divorce (McAlexander et al. 1993); or they have direct effects on the per-
son’s financial behaviors such as one’s financial resources and spending and saving
behaviors (e.g., Gudmunson and Danes 2011; Peng et al. 2007). A sample of such
events commonly used in life event scales (e.g., Cohen 1988; Murrell et al. 1988;
Tausig 1982) affect a person’s financial behaviors that have clear implications for
5.2  Financial Behaviors in Life Course Context 91

financial well-being and can be used as “life events experienced” (Events/changes

T1 in Fig. 3.1) include: entry into workforce, retirement (at own will), marriage,
divorce or separation, last (or only) child moved out of household, birth or adoption
of a child, birth of the first grandchild, becoming main caregiver to aged or disabled
person, loss of job/business or forced retirement, and death of a spouse or partner.
The first eight events can also be used as “anticipated life events.”

5.2.3  Adaptation Processes

Adaptation to changing life conditions, whether in the form of socialization, stress

and coping, or human capital development, entails mechanisms of varying dura-
tions. These mechanisms are often operationalized in cross-sectional studies as pro-
cesses that underscore motivations for engagement in various activities, in the form
of gratifications sought and/or received from these activities, which lead to adapta-
tion to new life conditions (e.g., Moschis and Churchill 1978; Yingwattanakul and
Moschis in press). This approach is the cornerstone of the “uses and gratifications”
perspective that represents a relatively recent development in the field of communi-
cations and consumer behavior (O’Guinn and Faber 1991). The basic premise of
this perspective is that people may engage in various consumption-related activities
to satisfy psychosocial needs, including aversive states such as stress and boredom;
it provides the backdrop of derivation of motives for engaging in the various behav-
iors such as exercising (Yingwattanakul and Moschis in press), shopping (Faber and
Christenson 1996), and using the mass media (O’Guinn and Faber 1991). The moti-
vational aspects of engagement in behaviors have been used as measures of adapta-
tion processes of socialization, stress and coping, and human capital development
(Moschis and Churchill 1978; Yingwattanakul and Moschis in press), as they entail
adjustment to changing life conditions. With respect to motivations for investing
and saving, it is assumed that engagement in such behaviors over time entails a
process of adjustment (adaptation) to new life conditions one experiences or antici-
pates (e.g., financial solvency, financial independence).
Previous research in the field of personal finance has examined motivational fac-
tors for engaging in various forms of financial behaviors that are viewed as the result
of significant life changes within the context of uses and gratification perspective and
control theory. In line with the two motivational systems proposed by Gray (1987),
Neukam and Hershey (2003) identify two high-level motivational (i.e., gratifications
sought) factors for saving—financial goals and financial fears—with the former
reflecting on the positive rewards of saving while the latter serving to avoid negative
consequences in the absence of adequate savings. Thus, it has been reasoned that the
occurrence of events (especially role transition events) and their anticipation may be
both psychologically threatening, thus anxiety provoking or stressful (Murrell et al.
1988; Wheaton 1990), as well as pleasant (Elder et al. 1996; Neukam and Hershey
2003). Therefore, motivations for financial behaviors such as saving and investing
may be influenced by potentially pleasant and unpleasant consequences of life
92 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

events, subsequently affecting financial behaviors. The number and types of life
events experienced increase the number of roles people are embedded in and must
enact and subsequently the need for engaging in, or the planning of, spending, invest-
ing, and saving activities for the purpose of adapting to new life conditions.
Within the context of life course, goal-seeking (need-satisfaction) saving and
investment activities reflect the adaptation mechanisms of role enactment (social-
ization) and coping with stressors produced by life events, in line with the normative
and stress perspectives, respectively. The former class of activities may reflect role
enactment motivations for accomplishing normative goals (e.g., children’s educa-
tion, home purchase, vacations), while the latter may reflect coping strategies for
handling expected or unexpected stressful events, such as the anticipated event of
retirement that is associated with financial insecurity during retirement years (Beehr
1986) and unexpected medical expenses due to failing health in late life (Moschis
et al. 2000). This distinction in investment motivations is also supported by Neukam
and Hershey’s (2003) research which suggests two types of financial responses to
the anticipatory event of retirement: goal-based and fear-based. Building upon pre-
vious motivation theories, these authors argue that goal-based financial activities are
driven by a behavioral approach system and a behavioral inhibition system, respec-
tively; the former initiates actions in anticipation of future rewards, while the latter
prompts individuals to avoid actions associated with potentially negative outcomes
or events. In a rather parallel vein, Netemeyer et al. (2018) identify two constructs
of financial well-being: (1) a sense of security in one’s financial future, which can
be promoted by actions that produce future rewards (e.g., adequate saving for retire-
ment), and (2) stress related to the management of money, which is viewed as a
domain of chronic stress (Norris and Uhl 1993) that prompts actions to avoid imme-
diate negative outcomes stemming from ineffectual financial behaviors such as poor
money management and inadequate savings (e.g., Durante and Laran 2016).
Although most previous studies suggest that saving goals are driven mainly by
the anticipated event of retirement and retirement goals (e.g., Neukam and Hershey
2003; Netemeyer et al. 2018), the same two classes of motivations may underscore
all savings activities in response to experienced or anticipated life events and chang-
ing life conditions: (a) normative motivations for financial activities associated with
rewards that are linked to role enactment, as many life events signify transitions into
various roles during adulthood and individuals take on new roles and identities that
enact by changing their monetary resources to fit the newly acquired roles
(Gudmunson and Danes 2011); and (b) stress or insecurity motivations associated
with avoidance of potentially negative outcomes that may occur at any given point
in time (Durante and Laran 2016; Netemeyer et al. 2018). Thus, the adaptation pro-
cesses of socialization and stress-coping can be viewed as ongoing saving and
investment activities for accomplishing these two different sets of goals, as indi-
viduals continuously take on new roles and identities, experience and anticipate
changes in roles, and set new life goals at different stages in life (e.g., marriage,
parenthood, retirement). And the person’s financial knowledge or literacy (human
capital) at a given point in time can be the result of changing life conditions and
associated demands placed upon the person (Murphy 2013) (Table 5.1).
5.2  Financial Behaviors in Life Course Context 93

5.2.4  Contextual Factors

Contextual variables play important role in life course research in general and finan-
cial studies in particular because behavior is driven by agency and structure (Denton
et al. 2004; Hershey et al. 2007). Although contextual factors are often treated as
control variables in studies of financial behavior (e.g., Gudmunson and Danes 2011;
Gonyea 2007; Hershey and Jacobs-Lawson 2012; Murphy 2013; Netemeyer et al.
2018; Serido et  al. 2015), their relationships to financial behaviors are less than
adequately explained. In their review of family socialization literature, Gudmunson
and Danes note that sociodemographic variables that are often linked to financial
outcomes either offer limited explanation or, when used as control variables, “are
assumed to be markers of ‘unknown factors’” (2011: 648). The authors propose
these factors as antecedent variables whose effects are mediated through socializa-
tion processes. These variables can be re-casted within the life course paradigm and
viewed as contextual variables. As suggested by the conceptual life course model
(Fig. 3.1), the effects of these variables on outcomes can be direct and indirect; and
they moderate the effects of life events and adaptation processes on outcomes.
Timing and Time  The life course paradigm outlined in Fig. 3.1 suggests the employ-
ment of age and time (measured in years) as measures of timing and duration,
respectively, in personal finance research (Table 5.1). Although both of these factors
are acknowledged as significant predictors of the person’s financial behaviors within
the broad life course framework (Hershey and Henkens 2013; Hershey and Jacobs-­
Lawson 2012), they are absent from theoretical formulations and models of per-
sonal finance (e.g., Hershey et al. 2007, 2010; Joo and Grable 2000). Within the life
course paradigm, these factors may not only have direct effects on one’s financial
behaviors but also indirect effects, as shown in Fig. 3.1.

Human Agency-Related Factors  Previous research in the field of personal finance

suggests socialization experiences at earlier stages in life, personality traits, and
demographic characteristics as relevant variables (Ps in Fig. 3.1) (Hershey et  al.
2007, 2010; Jacobs-Lawson and Hershey 2005; Gudmunson and Danes 2011). For
example, Kiso and Hershey (2014) find retrospective measures of family influence
on child’s saving habits during formative years to have a positive relationship with
the level of financial knowledge among young and middle-aged consumers. Results
of research reviewed by Hershey and associates (e.g., Jacobs-Lawson and Hershey
2005; Hershey et al. 2007) show that various types of retirement planning practices
are positively linked to personality variables of personal control, risk tolerance,
financial literacy, self-esteem, spending proneness, and future time perspective
(FTP), with such variables viewed as antecedents to financial well-being (Hershey
et  al. 2010). The latter factor (FTP) is a key personality construct that has been
linked to several financial behaviors (Hershey et  al. 2007; Jacobs-Lawson and
Hershey 2005). Spending proneness is viewed as a personality characteristic that is
a deterrent to financial well-being, including specific mental and behavioral orienta-
tions such as materialism and compulsive buying (Hershey and Mowen 2000) that
are broadly referred to as “disordered” orientations (Klontz et al. 2012).
94 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

Joo and Grable (2000) explore the direct effects of contextual variables such as
demographics, family environments, and psychological factors (e.g., risk toler-
ance), as they may affect the person’s likelihood of establishing a retirement savings
program. However, these authors note that it is not clear how or why key agency-­
related contextual factors (e.g., income, education, number of dependents) predict a
person’s likelihood of having a retirement savings plan. For example, it might be
that deferred gratifications may be a mechanism that links SES to savings and
spending behavior, as suggested by Hershey et al.’s (2010) findings, explaining the
effects of FTP. Studies from the general investment literature show that risk toler-
ance affects choices of investment tools (e.g., risk-averse persons prefer CDs and
bonds; risk-tolerant persons prefer equities) (Jacobs-Lawson and Hershey 2005);
they suggest that this personality factor affects investment strategies and possibly
motivations for investing, as FTP affects the likelihood and motivations for retire-
ment planning among working consumers (Jacobs-Lawson et al. 2004).
Structural Factors  Contextual variables in various forms such as sociocultural,
economic, and commercial factors locate the person within various structures in the
life course model. Such factors may affect the person’s financial behaviors directly
or indirectly by affecting adaptation processes during the T1–T2 time frame, as
shown in Fig. 3.1. Some social structural characteristics, such as social class (SES),
have been empirically linked to financial behaviors, usually serving as control vari-
ables with little theoretical justification for the emerged relationships (e.g., Jacobs-­
Lawson et al. 2004; Murphy 2013). Such variables may in fact represent the effects
of social structural variables within which the person is embedded during a given
period of time. Research by Murphy (2013) suggests that contextual factors in
forms such as culture and family structure may affect the person’s need for financial
preparedness for retirement directly or indirectly by affecting adaptation processes.
For example, the availability of caregivers and norms regarding the provision of
care to older people vary not only across different cultures (e.g., collectivistic cul-
tures of the East vs. individualistic cultures of the of the West) (e.g., Knight and
Sayegh 2010) but also within the same culture such as between US cohorts and
races (Chatters and Taylor 1989; Moschis et al. 2000). Such differences may affect
the working person’s financial preparedness for retirement.

5.3  T
 oward a Life Course Model of Personal Finance:
A Propositional Inventory

Gudmunson and Danes (2011) observe that studies of personal finance within the
life course paradigm are rare, although previous researchers implicitly or explicitly
attempt to study financial behaviors over the person’s life (Hershey and Henkens
2013, Hershey and Jacob-Lawson 2009, 2012; Hershey et  al. 2010; Serido et  al.
2015). Variables in previous models of financial behavior that have life course
5.3  Toward a Life Course Model of Personal Finance: A Propositional Inventory 95

themes can be re-casted within the life course conceptual model (Fig. 3.1). For
example, with respect to Hershey et al. (2010) model, age may be viewed as a mea-
sure of timing and time (duration); early learning, personality, and some demo-
graphic characteristics can be examined as agency-related contextual variables; and
the availability of social support systems and state and company-sponsored pro-
grams can be viewed as contextual variables with respect to structural factors.
Contextual factors may not only have direct effects (as posited in the Hershey et al.’s
model), but they can also have indirect consequences by affecting variables and
relationships (within the shaded area of Fig. 3.1).
This section suggests conceptual directions in the field of personal finance in the
form of propositions regarding the relationships among the six types of variables
outlined in Fig. 3.1 and specified in Table  5.1. In the context of the general life
course conceptual model, research in the consumer field presented in Chap. 4 is
integrated with research in the field of personal finance to suggest links between
financial behaviors (viewed as outcomes of events or changes at T2) and the indirect
and direct effects of (a) select events/changes (at T1), (b) the three adaptation mech-
anisms, and (c) the direct, indirect, and moderating effects of select variables repre-
senting the three types of contextual factors.

5.3.1  Effects of Life Events and Role Transitions

Indirect Effects  Examining the effects of events through the lenses of the life course
perspectives entails the assumption that such effects operate indirectly through the
three adaptation processes. Significant life events or changes (T1 in Fig. 3.1), espe-
cially those that signify transitions to new roles (e.g., transition into widowhood
upon death of a spouse), are stressful (e.g., Pearlin 1989; Wheaton 1990). Such
events not only require coping in the form of changes in thoughts and actions, but
also socialization and role enactment involving the acquisition and disposition of
products to help define a new self-concept consistent with the newly acquired or
anticipated social role (e.g., McAlexander et al. 1993; Schouten 1991). And many
role transitions entail the performance of activities the person has had little experi-
ence performing, forcing the development of new skills, hence increasing in human
capital (e.g., Elder et al. 1996. McAlexander et al. 1993).
Support for the indirect effects of life events in the personal finance literature
comes from Gudmunson and Danes’ (2011) review of published studies which sug-
gests that throughout life, as individuals take on new roles and identities, they tend
to enact them by changing their monetary resources to fit the newly acquired roles.
Stress associated with these changes (Moschis 2007) may also induce people to
engage in financial choices that can serve as coping strategies and enhance well-­
being, such as putting aside funds for emergencies and starting a retirement savings
program to alleviate stress that is the result of inadequate planning for retirement
(Ferraro and Su 1999).
96 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

Thus, life changes create social and psychological demands and needs that set in
motion responses aimed at satisfying the newly created needs. These notions are
consistent with the “uses and gratification perspective” which suggests that adapta-
tion processes reflected in motivations for financial behaviors do not occur in a
vacuum but are driven by needs that are the result of changing life conditions
(events) people experience. The motivations for financial behaviors for achieving
certain goals are also consistent with control theory, which suggests that people
initiate behaviors for achieving life goals associated with potential rewards of future
states and for avoiding negative consequences of experiencing those states (e.g.,
Moen 2003). Normative motivations for financial activities are associated with
social rewards that are linked to role enactment during adulthood (Gudmunson and
Danes 2011), while stress or insecurity motivations are associated with avoidance of
potentially negative outcomes that may occur at any given point in time (Durante
and Laran 2016; Netemeyer et al. 2018). And significant life changes likely increase
financial knowledge and management skills (human capital) as people are forced to
make new financial decisions because of changing life conditions (Murphy 2013),
such as when experiencing a divorce (McAlexander et al. 1993).
P1: The number of events or role transitions experienced is positively related to (a)
role-enactment motivations for saving, (b) stress-/insecurity-coping motivations
for saving, and (c) financial knowledge.
Previous studies also report changes in consumer behavior as a result of the
anticipation of event occurrence or transitions into new roles, such as changes in
investments upon experiencing or in anticipation of a transition into widowhood
(George 1993; O’Bryant and Morgan 1989) or reduced clothing expenditures in
anticipation of retirement (Wagner and Hanna 1983). These changes may be the
result of the three adaptation mechanisms: (a) socialization to a new or anticipatory
role, such as by taking on various consumption roles previously assumed by a late
spouse (Balkwell 1985; O’Bryant and Morgan 1989); (b) stress and coping responses
(e.g., Lee et  al. 2001; Mathur et  al. 2008), because anticipating an event or role
transition can be stressful, independent of its desirability (Murrell et  al. 1988;
Wheaton 1990); and (c) furthermore, anticipation of an event or transition likely
stimulates cognitive activity relevant to its consequences, such as when experienc-
ing or anticipating the critical life event of death of a spouse (George 1993; O’Bryant
and Morgan 1989), which force the development of financial knowledge because of
the person’s need to understand new investment tools and methods for financial
planning (George 1993).
P2: The number of anticipated events or role transitions experienced is positively
related to (a) role-enactment motivations for saving, (b) stress/insecurity-coping
motivations for saving, and (c) financial knowledge.
Direct Effects  Although researchers have interpreted changes in consumer behavior fol-
lowing life events and role transitions in the context of adaptation as a result of socializa-
tion to new roles (Gentry et al. 1995; Lee et al. 2001; Mathur et al. 2008) or coping with
stressful life changes (Andreasen 1984; Lee et al. 2001; Mathur et al. 2008), empirical
5.3  Toward a Life Course Model of Personal Finance: A Propositional Inventory 97

evidence also suggests direct effects of life events on consumer behavior changes, even
for non-transition and stress-free life events (Andreasen 1984; Lee et al. 2001; Mathur
et al. 2008). Changes in consumer behaviors may result from other factors that are not
related to adaptation processes, such as changes in other consumption domains that can
disrupt an existing “equilibrium” of consumption activities, leading to additional changes
and adjustments in consumer behaviors, in much the same way that life events trigger
additional life events (i.e., transactional events in Fig. 3.1; e.g., Gould et al. 1993; Wells
1993). This view is supported by Gudmunson and Danes’ (2011) review of personal
finance literature which suggests that life events and role changes affect a person’s
resources which may affect financial behavior directly, as in the case of acquiring more
debt due to change in family status such as birth of a child (Peng et al. 2007). Thus, the
occurrence and anticipation of life events affect the likelihood of the onset of new finan-
cial behaviors and continuity of established financial behaviors, with the nature of their
influence depending on the resource demands associated with the specific event.

P3: The number of life events a person experiences that demand the outlay of finan-
cial resources deters (a) the likelihood of the onset of a retirement plan and (b)
the continuity of contributions to one’s retirement plan.
P4: The number of life events a person experiences that raise the levels of his or her
financial resources increases (a) the likelihood of the onset of a retirement plan
and (b) the continuity of an established retirement plan.
P5: The number of life events a person anticipates that demand the outlay of finan-
cial resources deters (a) the likelihood of the onset of a retirement plan and (b)
the continuity of an established retirement plan.
P6: The number of life events a person anticipates that raise the level of a person’s
financial resources increases (a) the likelihood of the onset of a retirement plan
and (b) the continuity of an established retirement plan.

5.3.2  Effects of Adaptation Processes

When adaptation processes are viewed in the context of the “uses and gratifications”
perspective, they take the form of motivations for engaging in behaviors. In this
regard, motivations for investing and saving using various instruments are assumed
to be driven by needs that arise at various stages in the person’s life span and reflect
role enactment, effort to cope with stress, and the state of one’s financial knowledge
(human capital). The normative perspective, which assumes that certain life events
serve as markers of transition into important life roles (e.g., spouse, parent, retiree),
suggests that changing adult roles affect a person’s financial behavior, as one
attempts to enact newly acquired roles and identities (e.g., worker, parent, spouse)
and satisfy new financial needs associated with these roles. Similarly, the anticipa-
tion of events that signify transition into roles has a bearing of the person’s financial
behavior, as a person acquires role-appropriate norms through anticipatory social-
ization prior to transitioning into a role. Research in the field of personal finance
98 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

finds that motivations for retirement savings rates can be influenced by social norms
and expectations (Koposko et al. 2016), and so is spending on products and services
relevant to the enactment of socially defined roles such as parenthood and retire-
ment (Hershey et  al. 2010). As different financial needs and decisions are likely
associated with newly acquired roles, savings motivations for role enactment should
also reflect normative behaviors that elevate the level of effectual financial
behaviors.
P7: Role enactment motivations for saving are positively associated with effectual
financial behaviors.
The stress perspective contends that a person’s behaviors at a given time or stage
in life have been shaped by his or her adaptation to stressful experiences. Consumer
studies have uncovered a wide variety of consumer behaviors that are the result of
coping with stressors and, over time, reflect adaptations to certain life conditions
(Moschis 2007). Several types of coping behaviors affect the person’s financial
well-being because they either promote or impede upon the person’s financial well-­
being. For example, in response to life event-induced stress, financial activities such
as allocating assets, using financial services, and purchasing insurance are cited as
confrontative (problem-focused) stress-handling coping strategies, whereas exces-
sive shopping and buying and materialism are cited as avoidance (emotion-focused)
behaviors that impede financial solvency (Moschis 2007). Recent findings of exper-
imental studies can be interpreted within this two-dimensional typology of adaptive
motivations in response to stress. These researchers find that: “Consumers experi-
encing stress may show increased saving behavior, which assures them that finan-
cial resources will be available” and “…increased spending behavior, directed
specifically toward products that the consumers perceive to be necessities and that
allow for control in an otherwise uncontrollable environment” (Durante and Laran
2016: 814). In the context of the uses and gratifications perspective, motivations for
saving reflect the need for coping with stress or insecurity, with saving and investing
behaviors viewed as confrontative-coping strategies that promote effectual financial
behaviors.
P8: Stress/insecurity-coping motivations for saving are positively associated with
effectual financial behaviors.
The mechanistic view of human capital development is the underlying assump-
tion of learning theories (for a review of these theories see Bandura 1977;
Gudmunson and Danes 2011; Hershey et al. 2010) and is supported by results of
financial socialization studies (e.g., Gudmunson and Danes 2011; Ntalianis and
Wise 2010; Serido et  al. 2015). For example, research on financial socialization
illuminates the importance of a romantic partner’s financial behavior on the indi-
vidual’s financial habits, following entry into a serious or committed relationship
(event) (Serido et al. 2015). Similarly, Von Gaudecker (2015) reports that financial
advice leads to asset diversification, suggesting that increase in financial knowledge
leads to changes in financial behaviors. In contrast, the organismic view of human
capital is supported by Peng et  al. (2007) research findings that show children’s
5.3  Toward a Life Course Model of Personal Finance: A Propositional Inventory 99

experience in owning investments at a young age is associated with their inclination

to save a higher portion of their incomes several years after graduating from college.
Finally, the contextual human capital view of adaptation that focuses on a reciprocal
and dynamic interaction (process) between the person and his or her environment is
illustrated in studies which show that financial knowledge increases as a function of
hands-on investing experience (for studies see Hershey et al. 2010).
Thus, regardless of the specific human capital mechanism involved, financial
knowledge development should lead to increase in effectual financial behaviors.
P9: Financial knowledge is positively associated with effectual financial
behaviors.
Because of the interdependence of the three types of adaptation mechanisms
(Fig. 3.1), each adaptation process is expected to have not only direct but also indi-
rect effects on financial behaviors by affecting the remaining two adaptation mecha-
nisms. Socialization entails change in identity due to the assumption of new roles
that can be stressful requiring coping due to inadequate preparation (Wheaton
1990), such as enacting the roles of retiree (Hershey and Henkens 2013) and
widow(er) (Balkwell 1985). And financial stressful contexts in general that have
been referred to as “financial threats” (Mittal and Griskevicius 2016; Murphy 2013)
may over time encourage individuals to “become more financially literate so that
they can improve their financial and psychological situation” (Murphy 2013: 74).
New role enactment also requires development of knowledge and skills suitable to
the new role (Gudmunson and Danes 2011). Personal finance research also shows
that the person’s socialization to the role of investor by financial professionals not
only leads to increased knowledge about finances and effectual financial decisions
(e.g., Jacob-Lawson and Hershey 2005; Hershey et al. 2010) but also is stressful
(NSPC 2013) and thus requires coping in the form of increased knowledge (for
studies, see Murphy 2013). Furthermore, acquired knowledge about finances likely
affects the extent a person uses financial strategies to cope event-induced stress
(Moschis 2007), as in the case of a divorce (McAlexander et al. 1993); and it may
further may lead to role-enactment motivations for saving and investing.
P10: Role-enactment motivations for saving, stress/insecurity-coping motivations
for saving, and financial knowledge are reciprocally related. Each of these three
adaptation mechanisms is positively linked to the remaining two mechanisms.

5.3.3  Contextual Effects

Contextual variables in the form of timing and time, human agency factors, and
structural variables can have direct and indirect effects on the person’s financial
behaviors. And they can also moderate the effects of the relationships shown in the
shaded area of Fig. 3.1 (Chap. 3).
100 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

Timing and Time  Timing (age) and time (period or duration) are significant con-
textual factors in life course research. Although age is viewed as “empty” variable
in developmental studies (Rutter 1996), it has a meaning in life course research
where the timing for certain events or behaviors has implications because they are
dictated by social clocks or norms (Elder 1998), such as saving for retirement and
children’s education (e.g., Hershey et al. 2010). The timing of events, particularly
those that signify transitions into and out of social roles (e.g., parenthood, grandpar-
enthood, widowhood), has different impacts on the person according to the period
in life he or she experiences them (Elder et  al. 1996; Elder 1998). As many life
events entail financial demands, those who experience such events earlier in life
may respond to the financial demands associated with these events earlier than those
who experience such events later in life. Thus, the person’s propensity to engage in
effectual financial behaviors is likely to be higher when he or she experiences such
events earlier than later in life.
P11: The timing of events affects the person’s likelihood of engagement in effectual
financial behaviors, so that the earlier timing of life events experienced promotes
the performance of effectual financial behaviors.
P12: The timing of events affects the person’s likelihood of engagement in effectual
financial behaviors, so that the earlier timing of anticipated life events promotes
the performance of effectual financial behaviors.
However, individual differences in the timing of the onset of effectual financial
behaviors (viewed as events), such as setting up a retirement plan and doing finan-
cial planning, are also likely to have consequences on future financial behaviors and
outcomes as consumer behaviors in general tend to be interdependent (P2, Table
4.1). The timing of the onset of effectual financial habits likely affects the develop-
ment of other effectual habits. For example, studies show that most people approach-
ing retirement have inadequate resources either because they fail to plan early, or do
not contribute enough, or do not save for adequate periods of time by discontinuing
or withdrawing savings earlier than planned (e.g., Hershey et  al. 2007; Jacobs-
Lawson and Hershey 2003; Lusardi and Mitchell 2007a, b). Thus, the earlier-­in-life
onset of effectual financial behaviors leads to the onset of future effectual financial
behaviors and subsequent outcomes (e.g., contribution rates, better financial prepa-
ration, financial satisfaction).
P13: The early timing of the onset of an effectual financial behavior increases the
likelihood of the onset of other effectual financial behaviors.
The duration (time) of a person’s experiences of a given life condition, event,
role, or adaptation process has developmental implications, because duration is a
necessary condition for any form of development (e.g., Featherman and Lerner
1985). Life course researchers (e.g., Elder and Johnson 2002; Elder et  al. 2003)
assert that a longer duration in a given state increases the likelihood of behavioral
continuity, a view supported by Strahilevitz and Lowenstein’s (1998) finding that
continuity in the state of product ownership increases the value of the product.
5.3  Toward a Life Course Model of Personal Finance: A Propositional Inventory 101

Therefore, it is reasonable to expect duration to be relevant for the development of

consumption and saving patterns.
Because it can be argued that experiencing new events and role transitions place
greater demands for socialization, coping, and human capital development (e.g.,
George 1993; McAlexander et al. 1993), new and diverse experiences likely increase
competencies at handling finances and result in more effectual financial behaviors.
Events that place consumers in new roles and consumption environments (e.g., relo-
cation, job change, marital status) require more adjustments and therefore entail
greater adaptation demands and thus more changes in mental and behavioral pat-
terns. In contrast, the experience of fewer events and roles likely are associated with
longer durations in existing states or roles, promoting behavioral continuity of exist-
ing financial habits and undermining the development of new skills and effectual
financial behaviors. Thus, ineffectual financial behaviors are expected to be more
pronounced among consumers who have experienced a fewer number of events and
role transitions during their lifetime, thus longer durations in previously occupied
states due to infrequent changes in life conditions. Because duration in a given role
or states promotes stability and undermines change in existing behaviors and the
development of new behavioral patterns, one can speculate that:
P14: The person’s propensity to engage in effectual financial behaviors is nega-
tively related to his or her durations in previously occupied roles or states.
In a parallel vein, the adaptation processes responsible for changes in a person’s
mental, emotional, and behavioral states that are set in motion by events (T1 in Fig.
3.1) are also of varying durations during which alterations are experienced, and,
therefore, they have different developmental consequences (Featherman and Lerner
1985; Hetherington and Baltes 1988). Because the duration of these processes (e.g.,
stress and coping, socialization) can lead to mental and behavioral adaptations
(Hetherington and Baltes 1988), they can affect the formation and stability of con-
sumption patterns. Therefore, longer durations of adaptation mechanisms are
expected to promote the stability of effectual financial behaviors, while shorter
durations and changes in these mechanisms undermine stability in such behaviors.
P15: The person’s stability of effectual financial behaviors is positively related to
durations of (a) role-enactment motivations for financial behaviors and (b)
stress-/insecurity-coping motivations for financial behaviors; and (c) it is
inversely related to changes in his or her financial knowledge.
Duration may also affect the continuity of one’s effectual financial behaviors. In
the context of retirement savings and investing, for example, where the onset of a
retirement plan can be viewed as an event (consumer choice) that signifies transition
to the role of long-term investor, time in the plan (role) can be viewed as duration
that affects the development of savings patterns, with longer durations (number of
years saving for retirement) increasing the likelihood of investment continuity and
shorter durations increasing the likelihood of discontinuity. This view is supported
by research findings that show younger people to be more likely to “cash out” of
their retirement accounts (Gonyea 2007).
102 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

P16: The longer a person has been contributing to a retirement savings plan, (a) the
greater the likelihood he or she will continue contributing to a retirement savings
plan and (b) the lower the likelihood of discontinuity of his or her contributions
prior to retirement.
Human Agency-Related Factors  Agency factors take the form of historical factors
and individual attributes. Within the broader life course conceptual framework, the
person’s earlier-in-life socialization experiences (at T−1) should be considered
because socialization theory and research suggest that financial socialization takes
place throughout life (Gudmunson and Danes 2011; Hershey and Henkens 2013;
Hershey et al., 2010; Serido et al. 2015). With respect to the influence of socializa-
tion agents, one should consider the possible effects of three types of socialization
agents that are suggested by studies, respectively: informal instruction (parents, co-­
workers, peers, and acquaintances) (e.g., Gudmunson and Danes 2011; Serido et al.,
2015; Sundarasen et al. 2016), formal instruction (at school or work) (Hershey et al.
1998; Ntanialis and Wise 2010), and various forms of commercial sources such as
those used in scales of financial preparation (e.g., Internet, TV, magazines; e.g.,
Hershey et al. 2007).
P17: The likelihood of engagement of effectual financial behaviors increases as a
function of the person’s earlier-in-life exposure to (a) informal, (b) formal, and
(c) commercial socialization agents.
Previous research findings of studies reviewed by Hershey and associates (e.g.,
Jacobs-Lawson and Hershey 2005; Hershey et al. 2007) show that personality vari-
ables of personal control, self-esteem, future time perspective (FTP), and risk toler-
ance are empirically linked to various forms of financial behaviors. However, there
is adequate theoretical justification only for the role of personal control because
control theory offers a framework for understanding the use of specific strategies by
human agency to gain control over life outcomes (Moen 2003; Heckhausen and
Schulz 1995; Rothbaum et al. 1982). Locus of control is a psychological concept
and a key component of self-control and self-esteem (Thoits 1995) that captures
individuals’ beliefs about the controllability of life events and lives in general; and
it could explain the links between effectual financial behaviors and other personality
factors (e.g., self-esteem, FTP) uncovered in previous studies.
Many life events and consumer choices (events at T1 and T2 in Fig. 3.1) do not
merely reflect responses or adaptations to experienced or anticipated changing life
conditions but instead are deliberately engineered by human agency to activate
reward systems (Moen 2003; Schau et al. 2009). When these changes are conceived
within the context of the gain and loss components of prospect theory that empha-
sizes the cycles of control and strategies of adaptation (Moen 2003), human agen-
cy’s plans for the timing of many events that require adaptation, such as marriage,
parenthood, and retirement (e.g., Moen 2003), are likely to affect a person’s finan-
cial behavior (e.g., purchase of life insurance, saving for child’s education) (e.g.,
Elder 1998; Moen 2003). As consumers likely make decisions that provide them
with the greatest sense of control, the stronger their sense of control (attribute at T−1)
5.3  Toward a Life Course Model of Personal Finance: A Propositional Inventory 103

and the greater the likelihood that their consumption activities at any given stage in
their lives are influenced by long-term planning that favors future over immediate
gratification (e.g., saving vs. overspending). This premise is supported by Cobb-­
Clark et al. (2013) study that found households with an internal reference person
save more both in terms of levels and as a percentage of their permanent incomes.
P18: The person’s propensity to save is positively related to his or her (a) perceived
personal control, (b) self-esteem, and (c) FTP.
Because the psychological characteristic of risk tolerance predicts investment
strategies (Jacobs-Lawson and Hershey 2005), one expects this attribute to also
affect the financial choices individuals make in their efforts to adapt to new life
conditions. Research shows that high risk-tolerant individuals prefer options (e.g.,
equities), whereas risk-averse persons prefer CDs and bonds (Jacobs-Lawson and
Hershey 2005). Thus, the use of investment instruments for enacting roles and
adapting to stressful life conditions likely is influenced by risk tolerance.
P19: Compared to their lower risk-tolerant counterparts, high risk-tolerant indi-
viduals are more likely to report the use equities than other forms of savings as
(a) role enactment motivations for saving and (b) stress-/insecurity-coping moti-
vations for savings.
Spending proneness (overconsumption) can be viewed as both a personality vari-
able and as a disorderly financial behavior but in either case is a deterrent for saving
(Jacobs-Lawson and Hershey 2005), as such an orientation is considered a disor-
dered money behavior that sabotages one’s financial well-being (Klontz et al. 2012).
P20: Spending proneness is negatively associated with the person’s propensity to
engage in effectual financial behaviors.
With respect to the effects of gender, the available evidence points to differences
in financial knowledge and financial preparation for retirement, with males display-
ing higher levels of financial knowledge and retirement financial preparation than
females (for studies, see Hershey and Jacobs-Lawson 2012; Woodyard and Robb
2012). These differences may be explained by family and role theories where the
socially prescribed male role includes the belief that males are expected to be finan-
cial providers and allocators (Jacobs-Lawson and Douglas 2003; White and Klein
2002; Woodyard and Robb 2012). Gudmunson and Danes (2011) are more explicit
in asserting that gender role differences are due to gender socialization. Similarly,
Hershey and Jacobs-Lawson (2012) suggest that gender differences in saving and
planning for retirement reflect cultural differences in socialization of men and
women during earlier stages in life (T−1). Thus, as financial “officers” of the house-
hold, men are expected to be more involved in financial decisions as a result of life
changes than their female counterparts. They are more likely to make the required
adaptations to changes in the form of changes in financial behaviors and engage in
effectual financial behaviors.
104 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

P21: The likelihood of engagement in effectual financial behaviors is higher among

males than among female workers.
P22: Men are more likely than women to have higher levels of (a) role-enactment
motivations for saving, (b) stress/insecurity-coping motivations for saving, and
(c) financial knowledge.
Structural Factors  Structural factors take the form of nested, hierarchical, and
interrelated social structures (Ss in Fig. 3.1, Chap. 3), ranging from distal (macro-­
level) settings (e.g., culture, class) to those located proximally (e.g., family, work),
with the former influencing the latter within a specific time frame (e.g., T1–T2). In
the field of personal finance, one can find examples of structural factors that affect
a working person’s likelihood of saving for retirement, such as the availability of
various state-sponsored public pension systems (e.g. Social Security, AOW; Hershey
et al. 2010), and various types of proximal settings such as availability of employer-­
sponsored pension programs at the place of work (Gonyea 2007) and other forms of
social support (e.g., family members, caregivers) that are examples of microlevel
systems (Hershey et al. 2010).
Within a specific time frame (e.g., T1–T2 in Fig. 3.1), the macro-system defines
the character, structure, and function of proximal settings which affect the individ-
ual’s financial behavior because of their proximity to and direct interaction with the
person (e.g., co-workers, family members, peers) (Bolger et al. 1988: 2). The influ-
ence of structural factors becomes clear when they are applied to the proximal set-
ting of a family as a unit (household size), availability of formal social networks
(based on one’s employment status), and socioeconomic status (SES). Gudmunson
and Dane’s (2011) review of personal finance literature specifically highlights the
importance of social contexts in which a person is embedded, because contexts such
as family composition can affect financial behavior directly by affecting family
resources (e.g., income, debt).
P23: The person’s likelihood of engagement in effectual financial behaviors is
greater to the extent he or she (a) lives in a larger than in a smaller family, (b) is
employed than unemployed, and (c) belongs to upper than lower social class.
The individual’s level of embeddedness in micro-social systems can also affect
financial behaviors indirectly by affecting adaptation to changing life conditions.
Micro- social systems create human capital (Coleman 1990), serve as socialization
agents to newly acquired or anticipated roles (Mortimer and Simmons 1978) (e.g.,
by emphasizing the importance of saving for the future in a timely manner; Hershey
et  al. 2010; Serido et  al. 2015), and help individuals cope with stress (Moschis
2007). Gudmunson and Dane’s (2011) review of the personal finance literature sug-
gests that family characteristics have indirect effects on financial behaviors and
financial well-being by affecting socialization process, which in turn lead to increase
in financial knowledge and skills. The indirect effects of social structure on financial
behaviors are also revealed in studies of adult socialization (e.g., Serido et al. 2015)
and coping with life stressors (Moschis 2007). Thus, with respect to the indirect
effects of family size, employment, and SES, it is proposed that:
5.4 Summary 105

P24: Compared to adults who live in smaller households, those living in larger
households are more likely to have (a) stronger role-enactment savings motives,
(b) stronger stress/insecurity-coping saving motivations, and (c) (a) greater
financial knowledge.
P25: Compared to adults who are retired or unemployed, those in the workforce are
more likely to have (a) stronger role-enactment savings motives, (b) stronger
stress/insecurity-coping saving motivations, and (c) (a) greater financial
knowledge.
P26: Compared to adults in lower SES households, those in upper SES households
are more likely to have (a) stronger role-enactment savings motives, (b) stronger
stress/insecurity-coping saving motivations, and (c) (a) greater financial
knowledge.
Finally, the reciprocal links between the individual and his or her structures are
illustrated in the studies of Hershey et al. (2010) and Hershey and Henkens (2013)
that underscore the life course principle of “linked lives”—i.e., the effect of a family
member’s employment or retirement on other members’ financial resources. And
the work of Barnhart and Peñaloza (2013) suggests that people adjust their con-
sumption patterns to adapt to adversities (e.g., illness, loss of income) and the new
realities created by events and role transitions, and in the process of adapting they
also change their commercial and social environments. Furthermore, Epp and
Price’s (2008) research suggests that families collectively adapt to critical life events
(e.g., retirement, loss of a loved one), and a family’s adaptability depends on the
amount and diversity of collective resources owned by family members. Because a
family’s ability to adapt to a critical life event experienced by a family member
often requires additional resources (e.g., skills), and diversity of life experiences
tends to promote change, families that comprise members who can contribute
diverse resources—both tangible (e.g., financial) and intangible (i.e., human capital,
skills, emotional support)—in the form of life experiences likely adapt to critical
life events faster and, as a result, change their consumption patterns, unlike families
with limited resources (P22, in Chap. 4).
P27: A family member’s propensity to engage in effectual financial behaviors is
positively related to his or her family members’ diversity of resources.
P28: The effects of life events on changes in the person’s effectual financial behav-
iors are moderated by the diversity of his or her family’s resources, so that
greater diversity leads to more changes in effectual behaviors in response to life
events.

5.4  Summary

This chapter illustrates the application of the life course paradigm to the study of
consumers’ financial behaviors. It shows how theories and variables used in previ-
ous studies can be placed and interpreted within the broad conceptual life course
106 5  The Life Course Research Framework: Illustrative Application in the Study…

framework and how financial behaviors could be studied through the lenses of the
life course paradigm. The chapter first reviews research in the field of personal
finance that, although it acknowledges the importance of studying financial behav-
ior over the life course, it offers limited guidance in this regard. In turn, the chapter
demonstrates how general life course notions can be applied to the field of personal
finance. It also shows how researchers can use life course perspectives and research
from the fields of consumer behavior and personal finance to develop propositions
that could guide future research. By using the area of personal finance to illustrate
the employment of the life course paradigm in consumer research, the chapter sug-
gests a pathway to the study of other consumption phenomena as well.

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Chapter 6
Methods of Life Course Research

Researchers who employ the life course paradigm to investigate various phenomena
can use both positivistic methodologies, which are grounded in the assumption of
causal relations, as well as humanistic approaches capable of helping enrich their
understanding of various phenomena (Giele and Elder 1998a; Shanahan et al. 2016).
Several techniques of data analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, can be used to
investigate consumption-related issues within the life course paradigm (for a review
of life course methods, see Giele and Elder 1998a; Mortimer and Shanahan 2003;
Shanahan et al. 2016). This chapter presents research designs appropriate for life
course research and explains the main methods of analysis. It gives illustrations of
recently emerged quantitative methods, with special emphasis on event history anal-
ysis, and several qualitative or humanistic (interpretive) methods. Also, this chapter
provides information on limitations and potential applications of analytic methods
that are yet to be widely used in life course studies. Additional illustrations of appli-
cations of life course methods are shown in later chapters.

6.1  Quantitative Methods

Because the study of behavior in the context of life course focuses on abrupt or
gradual changes that are viewed as events and are context- and time-dependent, it
lends itself to recently developed methodologies which are collectively known as
event history analysis (EHA) (also known as hazard models and survival models).
Life course research has been facilitated greatly by the development of EHA models
for analyzing discrete-state, continuous-time stochastic processes. These models
have made “a major breakthrough in life-course research by providing an appropri-
ate way of studying multiple dependencies in social life” (Mayer and Tuma 1990:
4). Such models draw on statistical developments in biometry, epidemiology, and
several other fields (e.g., Allison 1984; Yamaguchi 1991). These methodologies are

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 111

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_6
112 6  Methods of Life Course Research

superior to conventional methods for analyzing historical data (e.g., Fraser et  al.
1994; Helsen and Schmittlein 1993; Yang 2008).

6.1.1  Event History Analysis

Event history analysis can be defined “either as the analysis of the duration for the
non-occurrence of an event during the risk period or as the analysis of rates of the
occurrences of the event during the risk period” (Yamaguchi 1991: 3). Specifically,
in EHA any kind of change from one state to the next, whether abrupt such as from
a nonowner to owner of a product, or continuous such as from a light user to a heavy
user, is equivalent to an event and can be considered a transition between states.
Movement from an original state to a different or destination state defines a transi-
tion. All subjects begin in the original state and are “at risk” of making the transition
to the destination state (e.g., parenthood to grandparenthood). Thus, the dependent
variable is expressed as a probability (i.e., risk or hazard) of change, given the length
of time (duration) a person has been at a given state, with the independent variables,
commonly referred to as “covariates,” affecting the likelihood of a transition with
respect to time (Mayer and Tuma 1990). The covariates may describe attributes of
the individual, a larger collectivity to which the person belongs, or environmental
factors and other events experienced by the person (Yamaguchi 1991). Covariates
whose values do not change throughout the risk period (e.g., race, sex) are time-­
independent, whereas those whose values change (e.g., years employed, accumula-
tion of retirement savings) are time-dependent (for more information on types of
covariates, data requirements, and analytic procedures used in EHA, see, e.g.,
Allison 1984; Mayer and Tuma 1990; Yamaguchi 1991).
Modeling Change  Life course research was greatly facilitated by EHA models
because these models can address the dynamics of discrete as well as continuous
change by relating the rate of transition to time and to other variables (Campbell and
O’Rand 1988). When an event, transition, or change a person experiences depends
on how long the individual has been at a given state, it becomes duration-­dependent;
it can be expressed as a probability in the rate or likelihood of transition with respect
to time. Duration can be defined with respect to any baseline; and it can be mea-
sured with respect to some event specific to an individual (e.g., years of employment
prior to retirement) or common to all members of a given population (e.g., eco-
nomic recessions, new product introductions) (Campbell and O’Rand 1988). The
duration-dependent perspective allows the researcher to study a transition from one
stage to the next both as a continuous and as a discrete transition (Campbell and
O’Rand 1988).
Most EHA models are defined by expressing the hazard rate of an event (or the
transition rate when a shift to one of several states is possible) as a specific function
of relevant time dimension (e.g., time period, age in years), measured covariates,
and an unmeasured random disturbance (Mayer and Tuma 1990). The hazard rate
6.1  Quantitative Methods 113

(or hazard function) can be defined as “the ratio of the unconditional instantaneous
probability f(t) of having an event divided by the survival function” (Yamaguchi
1991: 9), with the survival function expressing the instantaneous risk of having an
event at time t, given that the event did not occur before time t. A hazard rate gives
the number of transitions that occur in one unit of time in a given sample. This rate
can be used in hazard models as a dependent variable to estimate the effects of vari-
ables that can affect transition from one state to the next. Thus, based on a number
of explanatory factors, one can estimate the number of transitions (e.g., new product
adopters) to occur by a given point in time and the precise effect of independent
variables (e.g., special promotions) on the transitions (Vuchinich et  al. 1991).
Estimation procedures allow changes in hazard rate while the process (event or
transition) is under way—i.e., a wide variety of linear and nonlinear changes or
combination of changes (e.g., Vuchinich et al. 1991).
Preliminary considerations  Studying consumer behavior in the context of the life
course paradigm using EHA requires researchers to specify a time span, whether as
a chronological period in years (e.g., 2000–2010), as a stage in life (e.g., adoles-
cence), or as a risk period for experiencing an event or transition (e.g., age at diag-
nosis of hearing impairment marks the beginning of the “risk” period for hearing aid
purchases). The consumption phenomenon of interest should define a relevant
period. For example, a life course study of smoking initiation would use adoles-
cence as a risk period, because nearly all smokers develop this habit during their
adolescent years (Lewit et al. 1981; Pechman et al. 2005). Participants need to be
assessed with respect to the relevant sociocultural and historical contexts in which
they are (and were) embedded at the time of “entry” into the relevant period. Such
contexts likely affect the probability of experiencing an event, as well as the per-
son’s response to it. For example, married people are at risk of experiencing divorce,
and the experience of the same event is likely to have a decreasing effect on the
person each time it is experienced (Eysenck 1983; Turner and Avison 1992).
By employing EHA, it is possible to examine several dynamic aspects of con-
sumer behavior within the life course paradigm (as shown Fig. 3.1), such as a single
purchase or a new product adoption process involving successive stages (e.g.,
awareness, evaluation, purchase) that could be studied as mini-transitions (Elder
1998). And as Elder further points out, “Different causal factors may operate at each
phase of the process” (1998: 958). For example, a hearing-impaired person’s deci-
sion to purchase a hearing aid can be studied as a series of mini-transitions from one
stage to the next (e.g., from evaluation to trial or purchase stage), where each transi-
tion from one state to the next is modeled as a probability with respect to duration
in a given state, using covariates such as timing (age at diagnosis), human agency-­
related factors (e.g., gender, cohort), sociocultural contexts (e.g., family structure,
social class), and influence of socialization agents (e.g., healthcare professionals,
co-workers).
Advantages  Event history analysis has several advantages. First, it helps research-
ers discover relationships between events (Mayer and Tuma 1990), especially when
114 6  Methods of Life Course Research

the occurrence of one event raises or lowers the hazard of the occurrence of another
event (Allison 1984). Because changes in consumer behavior can be considered as
events (e.g., Wells 1993), EHA can help examine the relationships not only between
life events and consumer behaviors but also between specific types of consumer
behaviors. Furthermore, because EHA can be applied to repeated events, each suc-
cessive event can be explained by different variables, and a separate analysis can be
conducted for each repeated event (Allison 1984).
Second, EHA helps scientists detect patterns of variation over time and disen-
tangle the effects of factors at different levels of aggregation (e.g., individual, fam-
ily, class, ethnic group, cohort); and it allows investigators to distinguish between
time dimensions such as duration in a given life stage, age, exposure to a particular
event or social situation, historical eras, and point-in-time events (Campbell and
O’Rand 1988; Mayer and Tuma 1990). Therefore, EHA makes it possible to deal
with the multi-time dimension of life events. Third, hazard rate models are more
effective than commonly used analytic methods because they outperform conven-
tional models (e.g., regression, probit) in terms of stability of the estimates, face
validity of the parameter estimates, and predictive accuracy (Helsen and Schmittlein
1993). This analytic method is especially useful in studying situations where the
dependent variable is categorical (an event or change taking place or not taking
place) and when the information regarding the timing of the event (survival time) is
available—i.e., for those individuals who experienced the event, exactly when they
experienced the event within the risk period. While correlation analysis focuses on
co-occurrence (or co-variation) of the event of interest and its explanatory variable(s),
it does not consider the timing of the event. Although multiple regression and logis-
tic regression analyses can be used to explain categorical dependent variables that
define change (as an event), these analytic methods do not consider the timing of the
event. Also, EHA can be used to build models where explanatory variables them-
selves are time-dependent (Allison 1984).
Of particular value of EHA is the method’s ability to disentangle the effects of
age, cohort, and period (Blossfeld and Rohwer 1995; Featherman and Petersen
1985; Hetherington and Baltes 1988), a major problem in interpretations of age-­
related findings (e.g., Rentz and Reynolds 1983; Salthouse 2010; Yoon et al. 2009).
Examples of how these effects can be decomposed are offered by Blossfeld and
Rohwer (1995) and by Featherman and Petersen (1985). Not only can EHA be used
to model time-dependent events, including time-dependent covariates, but it also
can be applied to repeated events, such as the purchase of the same brand, as well as
to gradual changes that may lead to a major change (e.g., shift in attitudes), with
small changes studied as mini-transitions (Elder 1998). Each repeated event and
each abrupt or gradual change (i.e., transition or mini-transition) can be explained
by different variables (Allison 1984; Elder 1998).
Finally, EHA has an advantage over traditional longitudinal surveys, which con-
sist of repeated measures on individuals and relatively fixed intervals. Such survey
samples do not have a common baseline, and they tend to differ with respect to the
length of time participants have been at a given state (e.g., use of a brand or product)
6.1  Quantitative Methods 115

(Campbell and O’Rand 1988). (For additional advantages of EHA, see Fraser et al.
1994; Helsen and Schmittlein 1993; Mayer and Tuma 1990; Yamaguchi 1991.)
Limitations  Despite its many advantages over conventional multivariate methods,
EHA is not without limitations. Because software easily accessible for EHA, such
as Cox regression available in SPSS, assess the effects of all independent variables
simultaneously, some of which are antecedents or exogenous and others are them-
selves dependent (or both dependent and independent, as in the case of mediating
variables), information is lost about the direct and indirect effects of antecedent
variables as well as those of mediating variables. In comparison with SEM where
both direct and indirect effects can be tested simultaneously and the mediating
effects of some variables can be easily accessed via methods such as Delta, research-
ers must gain access to existing software that allow them to specify a multiple equa-
tion version of EHA that would let them model mediation and other relationships.
Thus, access to and choice of proper EHA software becomes a main issue.

6.1.2  An Illustration

The study described in this section as an illustration of EHA application to life

course research regarding the purchase of a hearing aid. It employs the life course
framework and identifies theoretically plausible explanatory variables, which may
account for differences in the likelihood of hearing aid purchase (for details of this
study, see Moschis et al. 2015). The study represents a rather narrow application of
the broader model depicted in Fig. 3.1. In applying the life course framework, the
main premise of this study is that the purchase of hearing aids is not merely depen-
dent upon the need as a result of one’s hearing loss (event at T1) but also upon the
relevant contexts in which the person is embedded when the event is experienced
(e.g., timing of diagnosis, gender, work status) and the mechanisms that promote
change from user to nonuser (e.g., agents of change).
Furthermore, consumers must not only have the physical need for hearing assis-
tance but also must see themselves as engaged in a role where use of a hearing aid
is appropriate. Besides healthcare professionals who may change the hearing-­
impaired person’s self-perceptions and contribute to his or her socialization into the
role of a hearing-impaired person, other factors are also important in changing
thoughts and actions. The passage of time itself is important, allowing the consumer
to gradually acclimate to the hearing-impaired role. The passage of time in later life
also brings life events that signify transition into the “old-age” role (e.g., retirement,
birth of the first grandchild) (Atchley 1987). As a result of these experiences, people
in later stages of their lives develop old-age role perceptions about themselves,
though variability marks the timing and circumstances that lead to this role acquisi-
tion (Elder and Johnson 2002).
Thus, in the context of the life course paradigm as outlined in Fig. 3.1 (Chap. 3),
the purchase of a hearing aid can be viewed as an outcome of socialization into the
116 6  Methods of Life Course Research

role of a hearing-impaired person, as a way of coping with the stressful event of

diagnosed hearing impairment, which also can be viewed as a personal crisis
prompting the development of human capital—e.g., learning about this physical
impairment and the benefits of using a hearing aid. A number of hypotheses can be
derived from the life course paradigm shown in Fig. 3.1. Based on assumptions and
premises of the life course paradigm, this illustrative study develops and tests a
number of hypotheses. The rationale for the hypotheses below can be seen in the full
article (Moschis et al. 2015). For the convenience of the reader, these hypotheses are
restated below as follows:
H1: The likelihood (“risk”) of a hearing purchase is positively related to the number
of transitions into old-age roles the hearing-impaired person has experienced.
H2: The later in life a person experiences hearing loss, the greater the likelihood of
hearing aid purchase.
H3: The effect of timing of onset of hearing impairment on the likelihood of hearing
aid purchase is higher among hearing-impaired persons who have experienced a
greater than a smaller number of transitions into old-age-related roles.
H4: There is a U-shape relationship between duration in the hearing-impaired role
and the likelihood of purchasing a hearing aid.
H5: There is a U-shape relationship between duration in old-age roles and the likeli-
hood of purchasing a hearing aid.
H6: The likelihood (“risk”) of a hearing aid purchase increases when the hearing-­
impaired person is counseled by (a) audiologists; (b) ear, nose, and throat doc-
tors; and (c) hearing aid dispensers.
This study uses a retrospective life history approach, which is commonly
employed in life course studies (e.g., Giele and Elder 1998a), to collect information
about the respondent’s experience of life events, including the age or year their
hearing deficit was diagnosed (all respondents who received anonymous question-
naires were hearing impaired). A 0- to 6-point index is used to measure the person’s
experience of six life events that define the arrival of old age as transitions into old-­
age roles (NOATRNS) and the number of transitions into old-age roles before diag-
nosis of hearing impairment (NOATRNS2D). The measure of the person’s duration
in old-age roles (OADUR) is obtained by using the year (age) the respondent had
experienced each life event, summing responses across the six events to form an
index (in years) of the respondent’s duration in old-age-related roles. Duration in
the hearing-impaired role (HIRLDUR) is measured in years, from the person’s age
at diagnosis to his or her age at the time of the survey. The timing of hearing impair-
ment diagnosis (TIMING) is measured by using the respondent’s age in the year he
or she was diagnosed as having a hearing impairment. Interaction with the three
hearing specialists (as measures of socialization) was tapped by asking respondents
to indicate whether they had consulted an audiologist (AUD); an ear, nose, and
throat doctor (ENT); or hearing aid dispensers (HAD) about their hearing loss.
Affirmative responses are coded as 1 and 0 otherwise. Because retrospective mea-
sures of emotional and mental states of a person’s distant past are of questionable
validity and reliability (Henry et al. 1994), measures of cumulative stress and his or
6.1  Quantitative Methods 117

her increased knowledge (human capital development) about hearing deficit and
hearing aids as a result of the hearing deficit diagnosis are not used in the study.
Also, the cross-sectional nature of the data employed does not allow the decomposi-
tion of aging effects from those of period and cohort. Aging effects are inferred from
age-related differences in the hypothesized relationships (see Moschis et al. 2015).
In this study, the authors measure the risk period starting at the age the person is
first diagnosed with (or first acknowledges) a hearing deficit, and duration is mea-
sured in years to the time (age) at which a person purchases his or her first hearing
aid. Once diagnosed as having a hearing loss, respondents are modeled as continu-
ally “at risk” of making a purchase until a purchase actually happens. It is assumed
that all hearing-impaired participant did not purchase a hearing aid prior to the age
they were diagnosed as hearing impaired—i.e., there are no left-censored cases.
Some respondents reached the time of the study period without having made a pur-
chase, and those who might or might not purchase a hearing aid after the study
(right-censored cases) are not relevant for the study’s purpose.
Descriptive statistics and correlations among all the variables in the study are
shown in Table 6.1. The study hypotheses are tested using the Cox regression haz-
ard model, which is a form of EHA or survival analysis. In this analysis, the depen-
dent variable is the rate at which respondents engage in the behavior—i.e., the
purchase of a hearing aid. This rate is modeled by taking account of the effects of
time elapsed since the respondent entered the risk period—i.e., age at which he or
she became at risk of engaging in the behavior—to the time he or she first purchased
a hearing aid (for those who had purchased one), using the hypothesized predictors
as covariates.

Table 6.1  Correlations among study variables

Variables M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 PURCHA .42 .49
2 NOATRNS 3.60 1.67 .08
3 TIMING 37.88 17.13 –.13a .21b
4 HIRLDUR 20.87 15.17 .22b −.03 .91b
5 HIRLDUR 665.40
2
826.04 .20b .02 .87b .96b
6 OADUR 53.31 45.57 .14a .67b .24b .01 .03
7 OADUR 2
4914.54 13,399.02 .12a .34b .19b −.01 .003 .82b
8 AUD .66 .47 .39b .12a .14a .20b .15a .11c .08
9 ENT .47 .50 .13a .10c .29b .27b .26b .11c −.08 .17b
10 HAD .21 .41 .34b .07 .14a .21b .19b .11c .11c .17b .06
(N = 460)
Notes: PURCHA ownership of hearing aid, NOATRNS transition into old-age-related roles,
TIMING timing of hearing impairment diagnosis, HIRLDUR duration in the role of hearing-­
impaired, OADUR duration in old-age roles, AUD audiologist, ENT ear, nose, and throat doctor,
HAD hearing aid dispenser
a
p < .01
b
p < .001
c
p < .05
118 6  Methods of Life Course Research

The hazard rate (or hazard function) reflects “the ratio of the unconditional
instantaneous probability f(t) of having an event divided by the survival function”
(Yamaguchi 1991: 9). The rate of first-time purchases of hearing aids across the
sample of respondents is estimated by a given point in time, and the effects of the
independent variables (e.g., old-age role transitional events experienced, duration in
roles) either increase or delay the likelihood of purchase. The Cox regression option
in the SPSS statistical package is used to estimate the hazard model, and the results
are provided in Table 6.2. In Cox regression, model assessment is made in terms of
reduced deviance using the χ2 statistic, unlike the use of the R-square statistic and
F-test in regression. The impact of the proposed model in reducing deviance is
highly significant (χ210 = 124.91, p < .001).
The reader can see the hypothesized relationships and results of Cox regression
in Table 6.2. This study does not demonstrate the predictive power of old-age role
transition events, but duration in the role of a hearing-impaired person predicts the
risk of hearing aid purchase in a nonlinear fashion. The results specifically reveal a
negative coefficient for HIRLDUR (but a positive coefficient for HIRLDUR2). The
nature of this relationship can be clarified by calculating simple slopes (Cohen
et al. 2003), that is, the first derivative of the regression model with respect to a
single predictor, in this case HIRLDUR, evaluated for a particular value of the pre-
dictor. From the parameter estimates in this case, a simple slope is estimated to be
equal to −.085  +  2  *  .001  ×  HIRLDUR.  Standard practice would interpret this
simple slope for three values of HIRLDUR: the mean, one standard deviation

Table 6.2  Results of Cox regression

Hypothesis and
expected
relationship (+/−) Risk of purchase
Independent variables B Exp(B) p-value
Number of transitions ever experienced H1(+) −.048 .953 .625
(NOATRNS)
Age at hearing impairment diagnosis (TIMING) H2(+) .023a 1.024 .090
Number of transitions before diagnosis × timing of H3(+) −.000 1.0 .888
hearing impairment (NOATRNS2D × TIMING)
Duration in hearing-impaired role (HIRLDUR) H4(−) –.085b .919 .003
Duration in hearing-impaired role squared H4(+) .001b 1.001 .008
(HIRLDUR2)
Duration in old-age roles (OADUR) H5(−) .001 1.001 .801
Duration in old-age roles squared (OADUR2) H5(+) .000 1.000 .920
Consulted audiologist (AUD) H6a(+) 1.417c 4.123 .000
Consulted ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT) H6b(+) .222 1.249 .154
Consulted hearing aid dispenser (HAD) H6c(+) .776c 2.173 .000
−2 log-likelihood (overall) 1930.223
χ2 124.941c
a
p < .1; p < .05
b
p < .01
c
p < .001
6.1  Quantitative Methods 119

Table 6.3  Calculation of M SD

simple slopes
HIRLDUR 20.87 15.17
Value of HIRLDUR Simple slope
M − 1 SD 5.70 −.074
M 20.87 −.043
M + 1 SD 36.04 −.013

above, and one standard deviation below that mean (see Table 6.3). Using those
values, the simple slope ranges from −.074 (one standard deviation below) to −.043
(mean value) to −.013 (one standard deviation above). Thus, as more time passes
since diagnosis, the slope of the relationship between time since diagnosis and the
risk of hearing aid purchase becomes less and less negative (see Fig. 6.1). Still, the
slope does not approach zero until several decades after diagnosis, and even then
the odds of purchase remain substantially smaller than the odds of purchase for
someone who is newly diagnosed but otherwise identical. This finding is in line
with Proposition 17—i.e., “A longer duration in a consumption (or nonconsump-
tion) state (a) increases the desirability of that state and (b) delays adaptation to a
new state or environment” (Table 4.1, Chap. 4). The results also show no significant
relationship between duration in old-age roles (OADUR) and the risk of hearing aid
purchase, neither linear nor quadratic. Further, they suggest that consultation with
an audiologist and with a hearing dispenser increases the risk of purchase.

6.1.3  Methodological Issues

Researchers using quantitative methods to study consumer behaviors within the life
course conceptual framework should be aware of several issues, which can be
grouped into two broad categories: (a) measurement and (b) methods of data
analysis.
Measurement  Because the life course paradigm assumes that a persons’ behavior at
a given point in time is the product of his or her earlier-in-life experiences and con-
ditions, future expectations, as well as circumstances in which the person is embed-
ded at different times, life course research relies heavily on retrospective and
prospective measures that are subject to error. Although longitudinal designs are
most suitable for life course studies, they are frequently advocated but rarely
employed because of their time and cost demands. The vast majority of life course
studies are based on cross-sectional and experimental designs that employ retro-
spective measures of various events, behaviors, and other states or conditions that
are relevant to people at different periods in their lives.
Although retrospective measures are appropriate in life course studies (Giele and
Elder 1998b), they should be used with caution and should be employed only to
120 6  Methods of Life Course Research

Fig. 6.1  Change in the odds of purchase with duration of hearing impairment

assess certain types of variables. Research shows that people can accurately recall
the occurrence and time of important events experienced (e.g., marriage, gradua-
tion, retirement) at almost any age or stage in life (Rodgers and Hertzog 1987), but
the recall of unimportant events appears to drop off at the approximate monthly
rates of 2–5% (Tausig 1982). In comparison to retrospective measures, measures
taken over time intervals tend to be more reliable, albeit more difficult and expen-
sive to obtain. However, recent methodological advances in the development of
sophisticated data gathering instruments, such as the life grid method (Blane 1996),
the structure of autobiographical memory, and the event history calendar (e.g.,
Axim et al. 1999; Belli 1998), have improved the accuracy of retrospective mea-
sures and elevated the use of life course approach to research.
Because transitions are embedded in trajectories, which require longitudinal data
over long periods of time, most life course studies examine transitions (retrospec-
tively) rather than trajectories (George 1993). Thus, the accuracy of recall measures
of earlier-in-life experiences into the distant past becomes an issue, especially when
measuring psychological constructs. Longitudinal studies that have examined the
reliability of psychological measures on annual basis show that these measures
become unreliable when they are assessed beyond 2  years into the distant past
(Henry et al. 1994). The author of this book and his colleagues have had the same
experience with CMCS longitudinal surveys that assess a commonly use measure of
chronic stress retrospectively over 1, 2, and 5 years (Lee et al. 2012; Mathur et al.
2008), suggesting that the reported high reliabilities of measures of psychological
constructs assessed retrospectively many years or decades prior to the survey or
experiment may reflect common method bias (Podsakoff et al. 2003).
Due to difficulty in assessing psychological constructs retrospectively, stress
researchers assume that every event is stressful regardless its desirability (Moschis
2007; Murrell et al. 1988); and they use summated measures of events experienced
as a measure of cumulative impact of stressors over the person’s life course (Elder
et al. 1996; Pearlin and Skaff 1996). This raises the issue of whether every event has
an equal impact (Cohen 1988). An event may have a different impact on a person
6.1  Quantitative Methods 121

depending on not only what actually happens as a result of the event but also because
of what an event may imply. For example, in describing their Hassles and Uplifts
Scales, Kanner and associates (1981) ask if the importance of a hassle lies in its
significance to a person, indicating in the example of a broken shoelace that he or
she is “inept, doomed to fail at critical moments, or unable to control even the little
things of life” (1981: 5). Fortunately, available methods allow researchers to mea-
sure not only the impact of event and also its meaning to those who experience it
(cf. Zautra et al. 1988).
Other issues related to measurement of life events include (a) whether summary
measures of positive and negative life events (as opposed to single life events)
should be used; (b) whether experience of a given event is independent of the expe-
rience of another event in the multiple item scales; (c) whether there is an overlap or
confounding of items in the life event scale with dependent measures, causing
increase in the size of the correlation between life events and the dependent mea-
sure; (d) whether events should be simply counted or scaled; (e) the proper number
of items in the life events scale; (f) whether events should be weighed based on
consensual judgments or individual perceptions; and (g) the proper time span over
which life events should be measured (Cohen 1988; Hughes et al. 1988; Norris and
Walker 1980; Tausig 1982). Validity and reliability issues of life event scales are
also present. For example, some psychologists view life events in summated scales
having psychometric properties (Cohen 1988), other argue that because most life
events are unrelated and have little, if anything, in common and should be treated as
indexes (e.g., Herbert and Cohen 1996; Kim et al. 2003).
Method of analysis  Life course researchers are often confronted with a key issue
pertaining to EHA which deals with the type of data that should be used. As there
are two forms of data suitable for EHA, they must decide whether to use the so-­
called strong form of data, which requires exact dates of events and transitions, or
the weak form that requires information on whether or not a transition or event has
taken place within a specific time frame (Campbell and O’Rand 1988). The first
method appears to be the most desirable but more difficult to implement. In con-
trast, when using the weak form of data, the time span during which events should
be measured becomes crucial because recall of events appears to drop off signifi-
cantly with time (Tausig 1982). Events that do not occur frequently or are not
important may not be accurately recalled. The issue related to the appropriate time
span used as the risk period is particularly important when events are dependent on
time and the researcher makes observations of an event within a specified time,
without knowing whether or when the same event had occurred earlier in time (a
condition known as “left-censoring”) (Allison 1984).
Many methodological issues concerning transitions into the assumption of new
roles are similar to those confronting socialization researchers (Moschis 1987). For
example, socialization studies assess the effects of a person’s early-life experiences
of family communication structures without considering the length (years) of these
experiences, assuming that these are constant (John 1999), when evidences suggest
that these change during formative years (Saphir and Chaffee 2002). Furthermore,
122 6  Methods of Life Course Research

when transitions are viewed as duration-dependent, the issues raised are those that
focus on covariates that affect transitions. For example, one must address the issues
of whether different rates of transition should be assigned to various subgroups, the
characteristics of individuals that affect transition rates, and the proper socialization
processes relevant to a specific transition. Another issue deals with the specification
of the appropriate baseline for a particular transition (Mayer and Tuma 1990).
Because of the interdependence of adaptation processes (Fig. 3.1), researchers
using cross-sectional data are confronted with the challenge of decomposing the
reciprocal effects of these mechanisms on outcome variables. One way of partition-
ing variance present in reciprocal relationships is by using two-stage least squares
regression models with instrumental variables (see, e.g., Churchill and Moschis
1979; Moore and Brand 2016). However, this approach is suitable only when the
researcher can identify variables suggested by theory that are expected to be associ-
ated only with one of these process variables but not with measures of the remaining
two adaptation mechanisms. Variables that can serve as instruments for each adapta-
tion process must be theory-based that link a specific contextual variable to each
adaptation process. Such variables tend to be sparse, in part because there is limited
theory available to justify their links to adaptation mechanisms. Unless instrumental
variables emerge as significantly correlates of only their respective adaptation
mechanisms, this method cannot be useful in assessing the reciprocal effects of the
adaptation processes.
Mayer and Tuma (1990) discuss issues regarding the development of models of
the occurrence of events and transitions over the life course that are theoretically
grounded and depict reality as accurately as possible. These include proper specifi-
cation of the dependence of the change process on time and on covariates. For
example, one must make assumptions about how transition rates change over time
and use the proper model accordingly. Similarly, several relationships between
covariates and transition rates (e.g., linear, curvilinear) are possible (Helsen and
Schmittlein 1993).
Furthermore, the specification of the appropriate consumer behaviors that relate
to the anticipation of an event or life status change and the assumption or enactment
of a role become an issue. For example, while parenthood provides clear guidance
as to the appropriate consumer activities for the newborn, widowhood is an ambigu-
ous role that offers little guidance for appropriate behavior (Balkwell 1985). Also,
many life events are interdependent (Tausig 1982) and are confounded with out-
come measures (Monroe and Peterman 1988). In dealing with interdependent
events, one must decide whether to examine item internal structure (e.g., via factor
analysis), use a priori classification, or perform analyses to explain the possible
causal links among them (e.g., Cohen 1988; George 1989). Because many events
may occur almost simultaneously, separating the causes from the consequences also
becomes an issue. It is for this reason that cross-sectional data are considered to be
uninterpretable (Murrell et al. 1988).
Finally, many life events may not be perceived or experienced the same way by
respondents as in the case of those who are experiencing divorce (Elder et al. 1996;
6.2  Qualitative Methods 123

Tausig 1982); and such experiences may vary at different stages in life and across
subcultures (Chatters and Taylor 1989). The issue then becomes whether the posi-
tivistic EHA methods are appropriate tools for studying role transitions and experi-
ences of life events or whether the interpretive method is more suitable.

6.2  Qualitative Methods

The life course paradigm is not only congenial to researchers who subscribe to posi-
tivism but also to those who use qualitative or humanistic methods (e.g., Minowa &
Belk in press). The latter methods can be used to enrich our understanding of the
meaning and impact of events in several ways. First, interpretive methods can help
researchers understand the meaning of a specific event, role, or change among con-
sumers. Research suggests that people may interpret events and consumption differ-
ently based on their stage in life and other circumstances (Gentry et  al. 1994;
Harrison et  al. 2011; Thompson et  al. 1989). Second, because the meaning and
interpretation of events may change over the life course, it has been suggested that
researchers use the introspection method to interpret certain events in the context of
other events a person may have experienced. For example, Freeman (1984) empha-
sizes the importance of looking back over the flow of events in an attempt to under-
stand and explain their possible connections. As he puts it, “it seems evident that a
viable science of life course must admit the necessity of adopting a fundamentally
retrospective perspective for at least a portion of the questions it addresses”
(Freeman 1984: 2). Moreover, a historical perspective on change assumes that the
patterns of adaptation to events experienced by individuals and other units of analy-
sis will vary across historical periods (Parke 1988), suggesting the need to under-
stand events and changes in relation to one’s environment and specific situational
variables. The latter notion is consistent with research reported by Harrison and
associates (2011) and results of a study of gift-giving rituals by Minowa et al. (2011)
which finds changes in the meanings, functions, and structure of gift-giving rituals
that correspond to changes in the national economy, social values, consumer ideol-
ogy, gender roles, and power relationships in Japanese society.
The value of studying consumer behavior in a life course context using human-
istic methods has been demonstrated by consumer researchers. For example,
Wallendorf and Brucks (1993) describe the use of introspective methods in con-
sumer research, showing how information about consumer experiences can be
obtained from accounts of important events in the consumer’s life. Similarly, the
role of life events in shaping future patterns of consumer behavior is implicitly rec-
ognized by researchers who question informants about such events (e.g., O’Guinn
and Faber 1989). Thus, useful insights into consumer behavior can be obtained from
individual interpretations rather than objectively defined realities that are assumed
to be the bases for behavior (e.g., Moschis 2000).
124 6  Methods of Life Course Research

6.2.1  Life Reviews, Life Stories, and Life Histories

Because the life course paradigm assumes that people’s behaviors are the products
of past experiences, present circumstances, and future expectations, researchers use
broader terms such as “life reviews,” “life stories,” and “life histories” to refer to
qualitative methods that tap trajectories of events and experiences retrospectively
and prospectively. According to Clausen (1998: 192), life review is based on the
person’s efforts to “reenvision episodes or long sequences from the past,” while life
story (or life history) deals exclusively with “the person’s subjective, retrospective
report of past experiences and their meaning to that person.” In contrast, Scott and
Alwin (1998) discuss life histories in the context of both retrospective and prospec-
tive reports and give examples of life history data that can be collected from people
pertaining to their past and present experiences as well as future expectations.
Several methods and procedures can be employed to obtain qualitative data on
the person’s past, present, and future life experiences (e.g., Giele and Elder 1998a).
For example, methods such as autobiography and co-biography are commonly used
to help researchers understand one’s behavior in relation to larger units of analysis
(e.g., family, group) (Lerner 1988). Similarly, social autobiography helps research-
ers understand one’s own experiences within the larger history of one’s times
(Merton 1988). Reker and Wong (1988) discuss several other interpretive methods
that can be used to investigate a person’s experiences, including the life history nar-
rative, the personal document approach, and the life-drawing technique. For exam-
ple, in one study which uses the latter method, subjects draw graphs of their life
courses and describe what had caused the up and down swings. Almost without
exemption they attribute causes to factors that could be broadly defined as stressors
(Lowenthal et  al. 1975). This approach could be used to study changes in broad
consumption orientations (e.g., compulsive, nostalgic, ecological) over one’s life
course. And methods commonly used to increase accuracy in the collection of ret-
rospective quantitative data, such as the life grid method, can also be effectively
used to enhance accuracy in qualitative data (Harrison et al. 2011).
Starr (1982–1983) proposes the study of various developmental phenomena over
the life course using a social phenomenological approach, which is central to the
interpretive paradigm. In comparison with developmental models featured in many
life history studies where the important questions are how people proceed through
stages or respond to events, this approach focuses on how they negotiate and gener-
ate the reality and meaning of change, stages, and events. He asserts that the social
phenomenological approach guards against the possibility that people may attribute
behavioral changes to recent events that are vivid or important. Starr further sees this
method suitable to the study of events that are unnamed (e.g., socially deviant, hid-
den, secret or suppressed) as well as life events that are emerging or transitional
because of changes in social context. The key concept in this approach is Schutz’s
idea of biographical work, specifically the process of “typification,” which allows
people to classify events into categories and interpret them as meaningful. These
notions are exemplified in a recent consumer study by Barnhart and Peñaloza (2013).
6.2  Qualitative Methods 125

While traditional qualitative methods of life course research rely on the person’s
retrospective accounts of his or her experiences obtained at a given point in time by
means of the life history approach (Starr 1982–1983), the increasing use of longitu-
dinal research in qualitative studies overcomes several criticisms inherent in other
qualitative methods of life course research. Hermanowicz (2016) presents this
methodological strategy, which helps study within- and between-cohort processes
related to age, and discusses opportunities for improvement along with issues of
design, execution, and analysis.
Qualitative methods are not without limitations. Because these methods allow
researchers the flexibility to deviate from rigidity, they create their own problems
when it comes to theory development. They can produce several and often rival
interpretations of the world that could not be easily adjudicated, leading to different
theories and fragmentation of social reality (Moschis 2000). As Moody puts it: “The
danger here is that qualitative methods inspired by humanities could simply result
in further fragmentation and could deepen the spreading relativism in our view of
social reality” (1988: 24).

6.2.2  An Illustration

Life course studies in consumer behavior that use qualitative methods are rare. Most
such studies implicitly assume life course explanations of consumer behaviors by
interpreting the role of early-life experiences in the context of methodologies used,
such as introspection (Wallendorf and Brucks 1993; O’Guinn and Faber 1989) and
phenomenology as exemplified in the life story interview method (Mick and Buhl
1992). Gentry and associates (1994) review qualitative studies that focus on the
meaning people attach to possessions at different stages in life; they compare the
role of possessions at different life stages to advance their narrative that people use
possessions to create, maintain, and preserve their identities as they make transi-
tions from one life stage to the next over the life course. At the time of preparation
of this book, the author could find only one qualitative consumer study that explic-
itly refers to the life course paradigm as a research framework (Minowa and Belk
2018). This section briefly illustrates these authors’ employment of the life course
approach to study baby boomers’ romantic gift-giving behavior.
In the Minowa and Belk (2018) study, depth interviews conducted by these
authors allow each informant to retrospectively describe their life history and the
private story of romantic gift giving in his or her lived world and to articulate the
network of meanings that constitutes their gift-giving practices. The life history
approach based on depth interview method (Belk et al. 2013) is used to apply the
life course paradigm’s socialization and stress perspectives to explain variations in
later-in-life gift-giving practices by linking them to early-life experiences.
Specifically, within the life course paradigm, Minowa and Belk (2018) use a
­typology of life experiences: ordinary experiences, which include social relation-
ships, indulgent treats, and romantic love, and extraordinary experiences, which
126 6  Methods of Life Course Research

include rites of passage, travel, and significant cultural events. These classification
notions run parallel to the process of “typification” that people use to assign events
to categories “that is part of their ‘stock of knowledge’ at hand” and to “make sense
of the numerous and varied events in life” (Starr 1982–1983: 262). These authors’
analysis finds that Japanese baby boomers use romantic gift giving within ordinary
experiences to enhance relational significance and develop new relational styles in
their old age.
This study also finds that earlier euphoric experiences in gender and gift social-
ization result in storgic love and mature “perfect gift” experiences, and stressors
from childhood traumas have lasting impacts on the love styles and romantic gift
giving in later life. Although Minowa and Belk’s study does not explicitly address
human capital life course explanations of the Japanese baby boomers’ gift-giving
behaviors, their findings suggest that their life experiences have increased their
knowledge about tangible and intangible benefits of the various products and ser-
vices that can be given to their loved one. Their data not only provide support for the
three main adaptation mechanisms but also exemplify axioms and assumptions of
the life course paradigm such as the principles of time and place, linked lives,
human agency, and life-span development (Giele and Elder 1998b).

6.3  Concluding Comments

Life course researchers are confronted with a host of methodological issues, ranging
from data management to measurement and analysis. Some of these issues are men-
tioned in this chapter, while other such issues related to both quantitative and quali-
tative life course research are discussed in detail elsewhere (e.g., Clausen 1998;
Karweit and Kertzer 1998; Scott and Alwin 1998). Moore and Brand (2016) offer
an excellent overview of the available analytic methods and research designs suit-
able for life course research. They present various methods used in life course stud-
ies as they pertain to causal inference (e.g., multiple regression, matching models,
and fixed and random effects models), including their assumptions, strengths, and
limitations that life course researchers should be familiar with.
Although this chapter does not discuss the many methods available and suitable
for life course research (e.g., Minowa & Belk in press), the reader can consult addi-
tional sources for more information about them. For example, besides EHA, growth
curve models (e.g., Macmillan and Fustenberg 2016) are appropriate for life course
research and have also been used in a recent consumer life course study (Yang and
Netemeyer 2015). Because of the repeated measurements of the outcome variable
of interest, these models enable researchers to construct trajectories and better spec-
ify connections among models, hypotheses, and measures (Shanahan et al. 2016).
These and other methodological developments have created opportunities for life
course researchers to c­ apture temporal complexities of both context and outcome
and better assess causal inference (Shanahan et al. 2016).
References 127

Thornberry (2016) discusses a host of other issues related to design, sampling,

and measurement that apply to quantitative methods for life course research and not
covered in this chapter. A major criticism of the life course approach to understand-
ing behavior in general is the difficulty in making causal inferences (Shanahan et al.
2016). Traditional methods of life course research that generate correlational find-
ings do not allow solid causal inferences (Adler et al. 2012; Moore and Brand 2016).
These issues and criticisms notwithstanding, recent methodological developments
have helped address methodological issues and have been contributing to the diffu-
sion of life course research across disciplines. Moore and Brand (2016). However,
given the landscape of the methods that can be applied to consumption-related life
course issues, including the strengths and limitations of these methods, it would be
prudent for life course researchers to use any method with caution and seek the
employment of multiple methods to increase validity in their conclusions.

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Chapter 7
Contributions to Previous Efforts to Study
Consumers over Their Life Span

The life course paradigm can address consumer issues in an innovative way. Nearly
every form of consumer behavior that is influenced by previous life experiences or
future expectations and is time- and context-dependent can be studied within the life
course framework. Thus, consumer behaviors may be viewed as duration-dependent
mental and overt activities or patterns, where development and change in such cog-
nitions and behaviors represent events; they can be considered with respect to the
length of time a consumer has been in a particular consumption state and the con-
texts in which he or she is embedded. Furthermore, because the various disciplinary
approaches to life course research are complementary (Sherrod and Brim 1986), the
life course paradigm could be used as an overarching conceptual framework to help
integrate the various perspectives employed in previous studies and interpret find-
ings to enhance understanding.
The material presented in the previous chapters suggests that the life course para-
digm could be employed to (a) enrich life stage models commonly used to study
consumers over the course of their lives and (b) improve previous efforts to explain
differences in consumer behavior at specific stages in life. To illustrate the value of
the life course paradigm, this chapter shows how researchers could use this research
approach to improve their efforts in studying consumer behavior issues relevant to
different stages in life. It applies the life course paradigm to the three types of life
stage models that are commonly employed to study consumer behavior over the life
span or at a specific stage in life—i.e., consumer socialization, family life cycle, and
developmental models (discussed in Chap. 2). For each type of model, general rec-
ommendations are first offered in the form of conceptual directions, followed by an
illustration where specific recommendations are offered based on the life course
paradigm’s principles and assumptions.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 133

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_7
134 7  Contributions to Previous Efforts to Study Consumers over Their Life Span

7.1  Consumer Socialization

Consumer socialization researchers use cross-sectional studies to investigate the

development of consumption skills, often inferring the development of these skills
from the observed age differences during childhood and adolescent years (John
1999). Because consumer socialization appears to occur throughout a person’s life
(Moschis 1987) and is a dynamic and reciprocal process within the home (Epp and
Price 2008), the life course paradigm could contribute to the study of this topic in
several ways.

7.1.1  General Conceptual Directions

First, unlike previous socialization explanations of consumer behavior that are

restricted to the study of individuals at different stages in life (e.g., childhood, ado-
lescence, adulthood, late life) in isolation from previous stages in life (John 1999;
Moschis 1987; Moschis et al. 1993), the life course paradigm recognizes the influ-
ence of earlier-in-life socialization experiences. Socialization explanations of con-
sumer behavior at any stage in life should consider the effects of earlier-in-life
experiences, the timing and durations of these experiences, and their socialization
contexts. For example, researches should account for youthful experiences of parent-
ing practices (Richins and Chaplin 2015) and styles of family communication (Epp
and Price 2008; Flouri 1999), as well as the timing of their onset as well as their
duration. Such experiences cannot be assumed to be constant for unspecified periods
of time (e.g., adolescence), because research shows that they change during forma-
tive years (Saphir and Chaffee 2002) and their length or duration has developmental
implications (Featherman and Lerner 1985; Hetherington and Baltes 1988). It is
speculated in consumer studies (Baker et  al. 2013, 2016) that these factors likely
have greater developmental effects on youths when they are experienced earlier
rather than later in life and are of longer duration. Similarly, other socialization
agents such as television appear to have different effects depending on the timing of
(e.g., child’s age at) initial exposure (Connell et al. 2014). Thus, assessments of the
effects of socialization practices must account for the person’s experience of all pos-
sible structures of varying duration during formative years (Elder and Johnson 2002).
Second, socialization studies that focus on adult consumers at different stages in
life should consider the bidirectional influences between the socializer and the
socializee—i.e., reverse socialization, such as the effects of children on their adult
and elderly parents. Such research would be helpful in understanding how changes
in structural factors (Ss in Fig. 3.1) (e.g., technological, demographic) affect the
messages communicated to consumers by commercial socialization agents, such as
messages about aging and the aged (Barnhart and Peñaloza 2013), as well as how
consumer actions in turn change their commercial and social environments (e.g.,
Moschis 2000).
7.1  Consumer Socialization 135

7.1.2  Illustration: The Case of Development of Materialism

Studies of the onset and development of materialistic orientations in early life focus
on young persons’ experiences that promote the development of materialistic atti-
tudes. Some investigators emphasize family socialization practices in the form of
parenting styles, either because of conditioned learning, such as positive reinforce-
ment (e.g., rewards in the form of tangible stimuli) (Richins and Chaplin 2015), or
due to the family’s style of communications at home (Flouri 1999; Moschis 1985,
1987). Other studies focus on the young person’s circumstances or events experi-
enced during his or her formative years, such as economic deprivation (Ahuvia and
Wong 2002) and changes in family structures (e.g., loss of a parent due to death or
divorce) (Rindfleisch et  al. 1997), which are viewed as antecedents that promote
materialism because of their indirect effects through factors such as impaired self-­
esteem (Chaplin et  al. 2014), insecurity (Richins and Chaplin 2015), and stress
(Rindfleisch et al. 1997) that can be alleviated by acquiring and valuing material
possessions. The contexts of young people’s experiences outside family settings are
seldom addressed (e.g., Chaplin et al. 2014) or are addressed only at an aggregate
level where all persons presumably are influenced equally by proximal or macro-­
level factors (e.g., culture, class, peers; Ahuvia and Wong 2002; Moschis and
Churchill 1979; O’Guinn and Shrum 1997).
The life course paradigm could be used as an overarching conceptual framework
to help integrate the various perspectives employed in previous studies, interpret
findings to enhance understanding, and offer new insights and directions for further
research. A normative adaptation perspective on the development of materialism
(viewed as an undesirable orientation; e.g., Chaplin et al. 2014) assumes that the
child’s prolonged experience of adverse family settings, such as those resulting
from disruptive family events (e.g., loss of a parent, divorce), interferes with effec-
tive socialization and weakens parent-child bonds (Hill et al. 2001). Such experi-
ences have negative direct effects on the level of family resources the young person
receives in the form of lessened parental warmth, understanding, and caring
responses by parents (Baker et al. 2016; Hill et al. 2001), potentially due to the par-
ent’s increased emphasis on coercive parenting strategies through which he or she
attempts to maintain control over the child’s activities (Hill et al. 2001).
Similar strategies characterize economically deprived families, where family
members frequently argue over limited resources (Hill et al. 2001). An emphasis on
such strategies and communications with offspring tend to weaken the child’s emo-
tional security and self-esteem (Elder 1998; Hill et al. 2001) and promote a socio-­
oriented family communication style (Baker et al. 2016; Saphir and Chaffee 2002),
both of which function as strong predictors of materialism (e.g., Belk 1988; Chaplin
et al. 2014; Flouri 1999), in line with Richins and Chaplin’s (2015) findings. Because
duration in a state is necessary for the development of values (Featherman and
Lerner 1985), length of exposure (in years) to the strategies used by parents in dis-
located and economically deprived families may explain findings regarding the
onset and development of a low self-esteem during adolescence (Chaplin et al. 2014)
136 7  Contributions to Previous Efforts to Study Consumers over Their Life Span

which promotes materialism (Chaplin and John 2007). In contrast, parenting in the
form of prolonged provision of material rewards may unintentionally create materi-
alistic values, because such rewards likely are viewed as desirable norms by these
families (Richins and Chaplin 2015). Thus, the timing of the onset of such strategies
and their duration likely affect the child’s emotional states and, subsequently, the
development of materialistic orientations.
Research that offers stress-related explanations for the development of material-
ism can be viewed in the context of adaptation to adverse changes in family struc-
ture (e.g., divorce, separation) (Moschis 2007b; Rindfleisch et al. 1997). In addition,
the life course paradigm suggests the relevance of the timing and duration of these
changes in the development of materialism (Moschis 2007a). It also contends that
family dislocation events (e.g., loss of a parent, divorce, separation) place the child
at a greater risk of experiencing additional stressful life events over time (e.g., relo-
cation, financial hardship, lengthy family discord; Elder et al. 1996), because such
adverse events tend to be interdependent and of various durations (George 1989,
1993; Wheaton 1990). Thus, future studies in this area should consider not only the
stressfulness of a family disruption event, as previously suggested (Rindfleisch
et al. 1997), but also the stress level and duration of the interdependent events that
surround family dislocation.
The human capital adaptation perspective links macro-systems (e.g., social class)
to proximal settings (e.g., family-rearing practices) responsible for the development
of skills and values. Based on Kasser et al.’ (1995) findings, Baker and associates
(2013) suggest that people in lower socioeconomic status (SES) families “are more
likely to have jobs and social roles that require conformity rather than self-direction,
and such roles and orientations, in turn, influence the values that parents transmit to
their offspring” (2013: 271). They contend that lower social position leads to a
greater emphasis on conformity (a characteristic of socio-orientation family com-
munication structure; e.g., Baker et al. 2013), which may encourage their children to
value the demands and strictures of others rather than their own true desires (Kasser
et al. 1995) and promote the importance of material possessions as means of obtain-
ing social rewards. Research studies in Western cultures support the expected nega-
tive relationship between SES and a socio-oriented family communication style
(e.g., Baker et al. 2013; Moschis 1987), which predicts materialistic values in vari-
ous cultural settings (e.g., Flouri 1999; Moschis et al. 2011; Weaver et al. 2011).
The life course paradigm also helps integrate contradictory views and explains
research findings on the timing of the onset and development of desires for material
possessions. Life course researchers suggest that such desires may develop earlier
among children who experience favorable SES conditions, by virtue of their social
location and social ties with parents and peers (Elder 1998; Elder and Caspi 1988;
Frytak et  al. 2003), but consumer researchers contend that a child’s relatively
­limited access to material resources may elevate the importance of ownership and
value of material possessions in early life (e.g., Ahuvia and Wong 2002; Chaplin
et  al. 2014). The results of cross-sectional studies do not conclusively support
either view (Ahuvia and Wong 2002; Chaplin and John 2007; Chaplin et al. 2014;
Moschis and Churchill 1979).
7.2  Family Life Cycle 137

The life course paradigm’s complementary adaptation perspectives on stress and

human capital (mechanistic) development suggest that duration in a deprived state,
whether real (e.g., low SES, income loss following divorce) or perceived (e.g., due to
exposures to mass and social media), creates disequilibria between desires and avail-
able resources (Hill et al. 2001). It entails the loss of personal control over life out-
comes, which Elder (1998) and Moen (2003) refer to as “control cycles” that provide
adaptation mechanisms that link a socioeconomically or emotionally deprived state
with certain behaviors (Elder and Caspi 1988). The prolonged deprivation of such
resources in youth, and the resulting inability to match desires with resources, may
lead to efforts to restore an equilibrium by adapting to the limited possibilities of
achieving a higher SES that would enable the person to acquire the wealth and pos-
sessions of higher-status consumers. Thus, in contrast with higher-­SES youths,
young people with lower SES may begin derogating material possessions that they
are not likely to possess during their adolescent years. Such a change in cognition
represents a strategy to cope with lost opportunities, according to substantial research
(Rothbaum et al. 1982). Moschis and Churchill’s (1979) finding of a cross-over inter-
action effect of age and social class on materialism supports this view and explains
the insignificant relationship between the early-life subjective experience of eco-
nomic deprivation and materialism reported by Ahuvia and Wong (2002).
However, this interpretation is not consistent with recent findings that show
stronger materialistic orientations with age in adolescent years (Chaplin et al. 2014).
The effects of the different measures used notwithstanding, differences in the results
of these studies may be due to period or cohort effects. Commercial environments
have significantly changed over the past 40 years, so it is possible that the differ-
ences in the findings reflect differences in the importance of types and meanings of
“material possessions” (e.g., latest fashion vs. newest technologies). Thus, future
studies should employ qualitative methods (e.g., Giele and Elder 1998) to assess the
meaning of material objects among cohorts; they should use methods that allow the
assessment of the effects of timing and duration, as well as the decomposition of the
effects of age, period, and cohort (e.g., Mayer and Tuma 1990; Yang 2008).

7.2  Family Life Cycle

7.2.1  General Conceptual Directions

The life course paradigm could help researchers explain differences in household
expenditures between stages as well as within any given stage in the family life
cycle (FLC). In addition to SES, which can serve as a contextual factor for explain-
ing a household’s expenditure levels, researchers should view household expendi-
tures at a given stage in the context of that family’s entire consumption trajectory,
both experienced and anticipated. For example, spending a low portion of house-
hold income on housing at a midlife stage might result from excessive spending on
housing at earlier stages in life. Similarly, expenditures on certain categories may
138 7  Contributions to Previous Efforts to Study Consumers over Their Life Span

not be at levels expected of a household occupying a particular stage in the life cycle
because of anticipated transitions into the next life stage, a notion suggested by
Wilkes’s (1995) analyses and supported empirically (Wagner and Hanna 1983).
Furthermore, within-stage differences in consumer behaviors at any given stage
could be attributed to two types of factors. The first reflects differences in transition
from the previous stage to the present stage. Some consumers may be better pre-
pared for the transition either because of their earlier timing of the onset of the
anticipated transition to the next stage, or because of their greater familiarity with
the next stage (e.g., familiarity with the “young married” stage due to an prior mar-
riage), or due to differences in the duration of the adaptation mechanisms that affect
continuity and changes in behaviors, with longer durations leading to more changes
(as suggested by Proposition 18, Chap. 4). Such differences in circumstances likely
lead to differences in consumption activities once consumers make the transition to
the next life stage.
The second set of factors that may account for within-stage differences in con-
sumer behaviors could be event-graded changes in consumer experiences, such as
abrupt changes in employment status, chronic impairment, or becoming a caregiver
to an older relative, as well as other factors suggested by theory and research pre-
sented in Chap. 4 in support of Propositions 1 through 4. Such factors likely affect
a person’s or family’s consumption patterns, and thus they could enhance the
explanatory and predictive power of traditional family life cycle models. In addi-
tion, research in this area should consider the changing contexts within which indi-
viduals and families are embedded at specific points in their lifetimes, as the family’s
experiences of various contexts likely affect its behavior (Oropesa 1993). Although
traditional family life cycle models do not account for period and cohort effects,
such factors are relevant in life course research (T–1, in Fig. 3.1), and so is the fam-
ily’s structure as a unit (see rationale for P20, Chap. 4).
The timing of a person’s transition into a stage also can affect his or her con-
sumer behaviors and so can the length of time (duration) spent at a given life stage.
Consumers likely exhibit increasingly fewer changes (i.e., greater stability) in their
consumption activities as they spend more time in (and adapt to) a life stage or role
(e.g., spouse, empty nester). Furthermore, because the life course paradigm’s
­principles of timing and duration have developmental implications, better predic-
tions of consumer needs can be made by incorporating variables that tap these prin-
ciples into family life cycle models. For example, upon making or anticipating a
transition into a new family life stage, people are likely to be at a liminal stage in
their transition process and, as a result, more prone to changing their behaviors
(Gentry et  al. 1995; Noble and Walker 1997); and they should be less likely to
change their consumption habits with increasing time (duration) at the new stage
(see rationale for P17, Chap. 4). Conversely, consumers are expected to be increas-
ingly more likely to change their consumption habits as they approach the anticipa-
tory transition into the new life stage, a notion in line with Proposition 3 (Chap. 4)
and research findings reported by Wagner and Hanna (1983) and Wilkes (1995).
These assumptions have received some empirical support in a life course study of
Thai consumers (Sthienrapapayut 2017).
7.2  Family Life Cycle 139

7.2.2  Illustration: A Family Life Cycle Study in Thailand

Inspired by the life course paradigm’s assumptions that suggest potential improve-
ment in the traditional family life cycle model, a recent study in Thailand identifies
several assumptions of this model that fail to live up to realities: (1) within-stage
homogeneity of consumers occupying each family life stage, (2) change in con-
sumption habits that occur only after change in family life stage, (3) time spent at a
given stage that is unrelated to consumption, (4) the timing of a transition from one
stage to the next that is irrelevant to consumption, (5) the sequential and unfolding
interstage transitions based on demographics (age, marital status, and children’s age)
that imply absence of loops, (6) the absence of the growing size of nontraditional
stages (e.g., older childless couples, cohabitation, gay couples), and (7) the assump-
tion of uniform or irrelevant cohort and period effects (Sthienrapapayut 2017). These
assumptions are challenged by results of previous studies (Wagner and Hanna 1983;
Wilkes 1995) and by the axioms and premises of the life course paradigm.
The Thai study is designed to assess the validity of some of these assumptions,
which apply to the traditional family life cycle model (Wells and Gubar 1966),
through the lenses of the life course paradigm. It proposes that factors such as the
timing of expected or programmed transitions into stages (roles) and time spent at a
given stage make a difference; and it proposes that within-stage heterogeneity in life
experiences in the form of life events account for within-stage individual differ-
ences in a family’s consumption habits. Thus, the study includes variables that
underscore the assumptions of the life course paradigm—i.e., the effects of timing
of transitions, of time or duration, and of life events experienced at a given stage. As
this study uses a cross-sectional research design, it cannot address the validity of
other assumptions of the traditional family life cycle model, nor can it address
period and cohort effects.
In this study, the effects of these variables are assessed sequentially. First, the
study assesses the effects of traditional family life stages. Next, the variables sug-
gested by the life course paradigm are added in the regression analyses. Effects of
these variables are examined with respect to several categories of consumer behav-
iors, both in terms of levels and changes of household expenditures used by previ-
ous FLC studies. This study’s results suggest that the predictive ability of traditional
FLC models can be improved in some consumption categories by adding variables
derived from the life course paradigm.
Despite merit in the limited findings of the Thai study, there are issues of mea-
surement of expenditure levels and anticipated transitions to the next stage in life
that researchers should be aware of, when contemplating future studies in this area
using the life course approach. Information about all the variables is obtained from
only one person in the household, raising questions about validity, as Thai culture is
collectivistic and traditional with respect to allocation of decisions and responsibili-
ties for day-to-day functioning. Thus, because of these limitations, the results of this
study should be viewed as exploratory. Yet, the study could serve as a blueprint for
future research.
140 7  Contributions to Previous Efforts to Study Consumers over Their Life Span

7.3  Developmental Models

7.3.1  General Conceptual Directions

Models that view a person’s behavior as the result of mental and emotional states,
either as processes or as stages of development and decline in resources and abilities
over the life span, have been used in several areas (Moschis 2000). Differences in
consumer behaviors due to sequential and unfolding developmental states are often
greater within than between age groups or states (Salthouse 2010); they underscore
the “plasticity” of the cognitive system (e.g., Baltes et  al. 1980) and have been
linked to early life experiences (Crosnoe and Elder 2002). Because such abilities
become evident in early life (e.g., John 1999; Stampfl et al. 1978), the study of con-
sumers’ abilities and skills (e.g., making effectual choices) at any stage in life should
consider the effects of the person’s earlier-in-life experiences with environments of
varying cognitive demands due to work, school, family, hobbies, or consumption
lifestyles (e.g., use of high-tech products) (Elder and Johnson 2002). Researchers
should consider the situations or contexts of such experiences, including experien-
tial, cohort, and period effects, which may account for differences (e.g., Alba and
Hutchinson 1987; Moschis 2012) and the length of the person’s experiences (dura-
tion) in settings that affect consumer skills (human capital) related to the task at
hand (Moschis 2012). Such an approach would be useful in understanding differ-
ences in various dimensions of consumer expertise (Alba and Hutchinson 1987) and
how they change over the life span.
Furthermore, the life course paradigm suggests that the development of con-
sumer skills be studied in a duration-dependent context. With respect to stage theo-
ries (e.g., Erikson 1950; Flavel 1970), for example, a transition from one stage to the
next could be studied as a duration-dependent event where changes or development
in consumer orientations and skills, such as adaptive decision skills (Gregan-Paxton
and John 1995)—i.e., nonadaptive (origination state) to fully adaptive (destination
state). Researchers could employ EHA using as covariates a number of events rel-
evant to the person’s stage in life that can facilitate or retard the development (e.g.,
Johnson and Bradlyn 1988), specific socialization practices (e.g., Moschis 1985,
1987), and contextual variables that moderate their effects and are defined at differ-
ent levels of aggregation (e.g., culture, SES, family structure). Because duration is
a necessary condition for any claim that a life-span developmental process is occur-
ring (e.g., Featherman and Lerner 1985), it is reasonable to expect such a condition
to also hold for developmental processes that apply to consumer behaviors.
Finally, the life course paradigm can serve as a framework for interpreting differ-
ences in consumer behavior from a developmental perspective. Because consumers
develop and change throughout their lives (Moschis 1987; Mortimer and Simmons
1978), consumer behavior at a given stage in life may be the result of different
developmental stages people may occupy as a result of previous life experiences
(events or changes) and developmental trajectories. Such an approach would require
researchers to acknowledge individual differences in consumer behavior as a result
7.3  Developmental Models 141

of differences in the person’s earlier-in-life experiences and the dynamics of ego

development (Brown and Lowis 2003). For example, the life course paradigm sug-
gests that identity development occurs throughout life and ego development is not a
linear progression. Although development generally entails a forward movement, it
contains nonlinear patterns and shifts in directions that are marked by pauses and
loops (Elder 1998). These notions receive support from recent consumer research
findings which show that ego development is a nonlinear progression that contains
looping trajectories and consumption enactments (Schau et al. 2009). Thus, differ-
ent consumption trajectories related to life transitions (e.g., retirement) can be stud-
ied from a life course perspective, as consumers develop and change their identities
over time.

7.3.2  Illustration: The Case of Age Identity

The concept of age identity, whether in the form of subjective age (e.g., young,
middle-aged, old) or in the form of age-group identity known as “cognitive age,” has
been of interest to consumer researchers for decades (Moschis 2012). Theories that
explain the meaning people attach to various ages or age groupings—whether, for
example, age 60 is viewed as middle age or old age—as well as the variance within
age decades, are in short supply (Amatulli et al. 2015; Moschis 2012; Wilkes 1992).
The life course paradigm can shed light on observed differences that might be linked
to the timing and contexts of the person’s life experiences. Retirement, empty nest-
ing, and grandparenthood are examples of life events that tend to be experienced at
later stages in life (e.g., Hughes et al. 1988; Schau et al. 2009; Wheaton 1990). Such
social markers make people aware of their transition into the old-age subculture
(Rapkin and Fischer 1992), with marketing and social communications contributing
to their group or status consciousness (Karp 1988) and shaping the aging person’s
age identity (Barnhart and Peñaloza 2013). A person of a certain age who experi-
ences an event (at T1 in Fig. 3.1) that signifies transition into old age and has already
experienced several old-age transition events (at T–1) may have already formed the
identity of an “older” person, because such experiences, when earlier than expected,
tend to “accelerate the pace of aging, including a sense of being old” (Elder and
Johnson 2002: 67). Thus, the timing and duration of a person’s transitions into old-
age roles, and other contexts of such experiences (e.g., Amatulli et al. 2015), might
account for the observed age-related differences in cognitive age between and within
age groups as well as for the increasing difference between cognitive and chrono-
logical age as people grow older in later life. Also, human agency’s engagement in
consumption activities (events) ascribed to older people likely contributes to old-age
identity development, because engaging in such behaviors increases the probability
of similar behaviors with decreasing durations between them (Eysenck 1983); and
each successive choice likely shapes the person’s old-age identity with cumulative,
albeit increasingly limited, impact (Elder et al. 1996; Pearlin and Skaff 1996).
142 7  Contributions to Previous Efforts to Study Consumers over Their Life Span

7.4  Summary

In Chap. 2, traditional models used to study consumer behavior over the life span
are presented. Their assumptions are delineated and compared to those of the life
course paradigm. After the reader is informed of the life course paradigm’s value in
the four chapters that follow, this chapter shows how the life course approach could
be employed to improve previous efforts to study consumers over the course of their
entire life span using the three popular models: socialization, family life cycle, and
developmental. For each of these models, this chapter offers recommendations for
further research in the form of conceptual directions derived from the life course
paradigm. These recommendations are followed by specific illustrations; and they
are followed by additional illustrations (in Chap. 8) of how to study additional top-
ics of interest to consumer researchers by employing the life course paradigm.

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Chapter 8
Applications to Select Areas of Consumer
Behavior: An Agenda for Future Research

The material presented in the previous chapters suggests that the life course para-
digm could be employed to study consumers over the course of their lives. Nearly
every form of consumer behavior that entails stability and change or development
over time and is influenced by previous life experiences and future expectations can
be studied within the life course framework. Thus, consumer behaviors that are
time- and context-dependent may be viewed as duration-dependent events where
the onset or development, stability, and change in cognitions and overt behaviors
can be considered with respect to the length of time a consumer has been in a par-
ticular state and has been embedded within certain contexts.
This chapter shows how researchers could improve their efforts to understand a
wide variety of consumer behaviors by studying consumption phenomena within
the context of the life course paradigm. It provides illustrations of the application of
life course concepts and perspectives to selected areas of likely interest to large
groups of consumer researchers. For each illustration, a brief description and assess-
ment of previous efforts to study a phenomenon are first presented, and, in turn, life
course concepts, theories, and methods are suggested to enrich understanding and
provide conceptual directions for future research. The consumption phenomena that
are used in this chapter as illustrations include (1) the value of consumer posses-
sions, (2) gift giving and transferring of possessions, (3) preferences for age-­
segmented stimuli, (4) cognitive declines in consumer information processing, (5)
consumer well-being, (6) individual and family decision-making, and (7) maladap-
tive consumer behaviors that have long-term physical and psychological adverse
effects of consumers and their families. These topics are chosen not only because
they are of interest to large groups of consumer researchers but also because they
serve to illustrate the diversity of consumption-related phenomena that could be
studied within the context of the life course paradigm.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 147

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_8
148 8  Applications to Select Areas of Consumer Behavior: An Agenda for Future Research

8.1  The Value of Possessions

The importance people attach to material possessions is a topic of great interest to

consumer researchers, and common approaches to explaining individual differences
tend to rely of consumer characteristics measured cross-sectionally (e.g., Baker
et  al. 2013b; Burroughs and Rindfleisch 2002; Chaplin et  al. 2014) or through
experimental manipulation (e.g., Chaplin and John 2007; O’Guinn and Shrum
1997). And while these and other researchers (e.g., Ahuvia and Wong 2002;
Rindfleisch et al. 1997) acknowledge the importance of early-in-life experiences in
understanding differences in the value consumers attach to their possessions, they
offer limited guidance on viable approaches for examining such influences.
The study of possessions from a life course perspective requires researchers to
examine consumers over their previous entire life and seek explanations for indi-
vidual differences in times and contexts in which they had been embedded. The
importance consumers attach to material possessions is not uniform during one’s
life (e.g., Belk 1988), and explanations for differences can be found in several theo-
retical perspectives within the life course paradigm, including socialization, stress,
and human capital adaptation perspectives.
The normative life course adaptation perspective underscores the importance of
the roles in which a person is embedded at a given point in time in his or her life for
understanding the value of possessions, especially those that have symbolic meaning.
Because a person’s self-definition in connection with a role is sensitive to the expecta-
tions of others, and people use possessions to create, enact, and preserve their identi-
ties (e.g., Belk 1988; Gentry et al. 1994), the importance of possessions might increase
as the person seeks to conform to the expectations of others in enacting socially desir-
able or acceptable roles. Stronger orientations toward symbolic consumption among
middle-aged consumers, as reported by Belk (1988), may relate to the larger number
of roles likely experienced by these consumers, in comparison to their older counter-
parts (Hughes et al. 1988). Wagner and Hanna’s (1983) findings regarding reduced
clothing expenditures in anticipation of retirement support this view. That is, changes
in the importance of material possessions may be due to changes in the person’s num-
ber and types of roles they enact throughout his or her life.
Previous research has already suggested stress-related explanations of the value
consumers attach to possessions in different sociocultural contexts (e.g., Baker et al.
2013b, c; Burroughs and Rindfleisch 2002; Moschis 2007b), with emphasis on the
effects of early-in-life experiences on the development of the value of material pos-
sessions (e.g., Moschis 2007a; Rindfleisch et al. 1997) that can be viewed within the
life course paradigm (see also “Consumer Socialization” in Chap. 7). Furthermore,
the adaptation perspectives of stress and human capital provide complementary
views that explain the declining importance of material possessions in later life.
Developmental (stage) theories such as those of Erikson and Tornstam point to the
psychosocial crises (events) that characterize development in later life and result in
emotional states associated with decreased interest in material possessions (e.g.,
Brown and Lowis 2003). These theories are viewed within the life course paradigm
8.2  Gift Giving and Transferring Possessions 149

(Pulkkinen and Caspi 2002); they can be viewed within the contextual view of
human capital that characterizes developmental stages. Consumption activities that
entail the acquisition and display of material possessions likely become increas-
ingly less effective strategies for helping aging persons cope with age-related loss of
control over their environment (Heckhausen and Schulz 1995) and the approaching
end of their lives (Belk 1988). As a result, aging persons may replace such behav-
ioral coping responses with emotion-focused coping strategies, such as religiosity
and spirituality (Lazarus and Folkman 1984). The increasing religious commitment
required to cope with these losses may also devalue the importance of material
objects that are obstacles to spiritual transcendence in many world religions, as sug-
gested by the conflicting values perspective that receives support in various cultural
and subcultural settings (Baker et  al. 2013b; Burroughs and Rindfleisch 2002).
Thus, the aging person’s sense of control over his or her environment likely explains
the decreasing value of material possessions that can be employed as coping strate-
gies (Moschis 2007b).
The life course paradigm could also help us understand changes in the value
consumers attach to specific possessions by studying such orientations in a duration-­
dependent context. Research by Strahilevitz and Loewenstein (1998) shows that the
value of specific possessions, including adaptation to ownership and loss, is
duration-­dependent; it increases with duration of ownership and decreases with
time elapsed since loss. However, the normative adaptation perspective of the life
course paradigm suggests that the latter finding may apply only to products that
have little symbolic meaning, as well as to people at earlier stages in life. Research
shows that older consumers value possessions that remind them of the past (Belk
1988). This may reflect efforts on the part of the aged person to keep in touch with
lost identities and roles they had assumed earlier in life. In later life, people experi-
ence several exits from roles they had occupied for extended periods of time (e.g.,
worker, spouse). To the extent that possessions were symbolic of successful enact-
ment of a given role (e.g., trophies and plaques representing past accomplishments
as a worker), they are likely to be valued. On the other hand, possessions that sym-
bolize failure in a given role (e.g., belongings of estranged former spouses) are
devalued (McAlexander et al. 1993). While certain possessions are valued because
they reflect one’s identity during enactment of social roles, the value of these pos-
sessions might increase as the person exits successfully enacted roles at any stage in
life (e.g., athlete, soldier, volunteer) or occupies fewer roles. Thus, we can speculate
that the value of possessions that remind consumers of their successful enactment of
a past role is duration-dependent, increasing with the passage of time since role exit.

8.2  Gift Giving and Transferring Possessions

Gift giving and transferring one’s possessions are also behaviors of interest to con-
sumer researchers (e.g., Belk 1988; Curasi et  al. 2004; Minowa and Belk 2018;
Minowa et  al. 2011; Price et  al. 2000). Although these behaviors show variation
150 8  Applications to Select Areas of Consumer Behavior: An Agenda for Future Research

over one’s life course (Belk 1988), theoretical explanations for the observed differ-
ence across the life span are in short supply and focus mainly on late stages in life
(Moschis 1992; Curasi et al. 2004). Theoretical and conceptual notions of the life
course paradigm could help explain the observed differences across life span.
Motivations for gift-giving, regardless of stage in life, have already been illumi-
nated as they may relate to the person’s need for control of others and enhancement
of one’s self-esteem (e.g., Belk 1988; Mathur 1996). And both control theory (e.g.,
Heckhausen and Schulz 1995) and exchange theory (e.g., Dowd 1975) might be
particularly relevant in understanding the person’s motivations for gift giving. These
theories are offered as explanations the aging person’s increasing propensity with
age to buy gifts for younger family members and their relatives, as suggested by
findings of CMCS studies (e.g., Mathur et  al. 1992; Moschis 1992; Smith et  al.
1990). Furthermore, as people age, they experience role relinquishment or events
that mark role exits that can adversely affect their self-esteem; and they increasingly
experience resource losses that are likely to affect their perceived control of envi-
ronment (i.e., events such as disabling impairment, reduced income, death of a
spouse, shrinking social networks) (Moschis 1992). In order to compensate for
these stressful losses of roles and resources that threaten their identities (Wheaton
1990), older people attempt to realign their personal relationships and regain control
over their environment in order to preserve their identities. By giving possessions to
loved ones, older persons gain a sense of power and prestige (hence control, in line
with the homeostatic view of stress) for their ability to preserve their identity.
Therefore, consumption for the purpose of extending one’s self beyond life, such as
gift giving and transferring of possessions (Belk 1988), would be expected to inten-
sify after the occurrence of events that mark role exit and, therefore, loss of resources
and contraction of one’s identity, as well as the person’s perceived life left.
Moreover, consumers who have a greater need for control should value relation-
ships with their loved ones and be more likely to transfer possessions earlier than
those with a lesser need, because the perceived negative consequences of not know-
ing whether such possessions will “live” to help preserve their identity beyond
death becomes more important than enjoying them until death. Such reasons for
valuing social relationships could complement socioemotional selectivity theory
(Lockenhoff and Carstensen 2004) and help explain the generalized exchange
nature of the product disposition process (Gentry et al. 1995; Price et al. 2000). For
example, persons with a short time horizon likely have lesser control of their envi-
ronments (Moschis 2012), which prompts them to place a greater emphasis on
social relationships; they may view younger family members as instrumental in
preserving their identities or ensuring the continuity of the family’s identity across
generations (Epp and Price 2008).
To summarize, in the context of the life course paradigm, gift giving and trans-
ferring possessions can be viewed as events; they have different meanings at differ-
ent stages in life (Gentry et al. 1994; Minowa and Belk 2018) and are engineered by
human agency to obtain psychosocial rewards. As control theory seems appropriate
for explaining individual differences at any stage in life (Heckhausen and Schulz
1995), the study of these behaviors over the person’s life in different sociocultural
8.3  Preferences for Age-Segmented Stimuli 151

contexts (e.g., Minowa et al. 2011) would require the examination of events that
signify the assumptions of new roles and the relinquishment of old ones and the
subsequent gain and/or loss of control, the perceived effects of these events on the
person’s identity and self-esteem, and one’s expected remainder life.

8.3  Preferences for Age-Segmented Stimuli

Over the past few decades, marketers have been targeting older consumers with
offerings exclusively designed to appeal to them, ranging from senior discounts to
retirement communities, but available knowledge on older consumers’ responses to
these offerings is all too sparse (e.g., Moschis 2003, 2012). To better understand the
older consumer market, researchers employ theories from several disciplines. The
theories and models used to study older consumers’ behavior in general, and their
responses to marketers’ offerings in particular, are either integral parts of broader
models developed to study human development (in the forms of personality and
cognition) over the life span (i.e., socialization and stage or developmental models)
or theories developed to study aging and the aged (e.g., Moschis 1992, 1994, 2000).
The shortcomings of the first type of models have already been presented in previ-
ous chapters, while the employment of theories in the second category leave much
to be desired in terms of their suitability and efficacy in explaining older consumers’
response for three main reasons. First, the theories which were developed to explain
the aging of the body, mind, and the self raise issues as to their suitability in explain-
ing the older person’s responses to marketing offerings (Moschis 2012). Second,
because evidence suggests that responses to offerings aimed at older consumers
(e.g., senior discounts) can be explained by more than one theory, such as labelling
(e.g., Tepper 1994) and self (e.g., Moschis and Mathur 2006), each theory by itself
provides less than satisfactory or complete explanation of older consumers’
response. Finally, results from studies that employ these theories lose much of their
value and credibility because of the many theoretical, conceptual, and methodologi-
cal issues that apply to them (Moschis 2000).
Explanations for between- and within-age-group differences in response to prod-
ucts and services offered exclusively to older people that were reported in previous
studies (e.g., Moschis and Mathur 2006; Moschis et al. 1993; Tepper 1994) may
reflect different levels of adaptation to old age. Because duration in a given state has
developmental consequences (Featherman and Lerner 1985), the longer a person
has been in or anticipates transition into old-age-related roles, the greater the likeli-
hood of his or her assumption and enactment of such roles. Therefore, upon
­eligibility, such as reaching a certain age, consumers are likely to be more inclined
to prefer age-segmented offerings when they have experienced or expect to experi-
ence a greater number of old-age role transition events, have spent longer periods
(durations) in old-age-related roles and in anticipating these roles, and have experi-
enced such transitions earlier rather than later in life.
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In contrast, an unexpected transition into old-age roles experienced earlier than

expected in life (“off-time”) may delay or deter positive response, with the stress per-
spective offering a complementary explanation (e.g., Elder et  al. 1996). Events that
signify transition into old age, when experienced or anticipated earlier in life, may be
more stressful due to their threats to a younger age identity, compared with the same
events when they are experienced later in life (Thoits 1983; Wheaton 1990). As a result,
consumers experiencing such events may seek to protect their self-concepts by employ-
ing various self-protecting (coping) mechanisms, which may include avoiding the
assumption and enactment of new roles, to minimize the negative consequences of these
events for self-efficacy (Gecas 2003). Such consumers, compared with those experienc-
ing old-age transition events later in life, likely delay the purchase or use of products and
services aimed at older people in their effort to preserve the more positive identity they
experienced prior to the occurrence of old-age transition events (Moschis 2012).

8.4  Cognitive Declines

Recent essays that summarize current knowledge on older consumers’ information

processing and decision-making collectively highlight more difficulties in studying
older adults rather than suggest approaches to overcoming them in future studies
(e.g., Healy and Hasher 2009; Moschis 2012; Sternthal and Bonezzi 2009; Yoon
et  al. 2009). Because nearly all studies on older consumers’ cognitive responses
focus on explaining the inferred changes in cognition that occur with age based on
observed differences in responses, their authors often acknowledge that the observed
differences may also represent the effects of time and cohort experiences; and they
may not account for the development of possible compensatory strategies to over-
come cognitive deficits (Moschis 2012; Moschis et al. 2011).
Unlike previous efforts that focus on group differences to explain mental changes,
the life course paradigm acknowledges within-group individual differences due to
differences in the person’s earlier-in-life experiences; it suggests that life events and
circumstances a person encountered in earlier life may influence one’s cognition,
helping us understand differences in the cognitive system’s ability to adapt to envi-
ronmental demands, a phenomenon often referred to as “plasticity” of the cognitive
system (e.g., Baltes et al. 1980; Perlmutter 1988). For example, Hetherington and
Baltes (1988) link specific compensatory skills or strategies adopted by the elderly
to deal with new tasks to the individual’s “past life conditions” (1988: 7). Thus, the
study of cognitive declines within the life course paradigm should consider the
effects of an older person’s experience in performing certain activities related to his
or her occupation, hobbies, or lifestyles (e.g., investing), the situations or contexts
of such experiences, and the person’s length of experience (i.e., duration) in such
settings that promote the development of skills (human capital). While longitudinal
designs appear to be most appropriate for valid and reliable measures (e.g., Henry
et al. 1994), the study of within-group differences using retrospective measures of
such experiences also appears to be an effective strategy (Salthouse 1999, 2010).
8.5  Consumer Well-Being 153

8.5  Consumer Well-Being

Several recent essays (see Mick et al. 2011) call for more research on the factors that
enhance individual and collective consumer well-being, often defined in reference
to the person’s satisfaction with his or her economic, health, emotional, and social
conditions (e.g., George 2010; Moen et al. 1992). While many of these essays assert
that well-being can be promoted by transformative research that focuses on study-
ing consumers at their present stage in life, longitudinal studies on life satisfaction
and well-being using the life course paradigm suggest the important role of life
experiences at previous life stages in promoting well-being later in life (e.g., George
2010; Moen et al. 1992). However, the role of early-in-life consumer behaviors on
well-being in later life remains relatively unexplored.
The life course paradigm could be employed as a conceptual framework for
studying the effects of early-in-life consumption experiences on the person’s well-­
being, in much the same way researchers in other disciplines assess the effects of a
person’s early-life experiences. A life course approach to the study of well-being
entails a change in philosophy and method of doing research. Rather than studying
consumers as they are at their present stage in life, researchers should study the
behaviors of consumers and their environments at earlier and anticipated stages in
life. In line with this notion, Pettigrew and Moschis (2011) offer the life course
paradigm as a framework for enhancing older consumer well-being. They suggest
the need for research that links one’s early-in-life experiences and their duration,
such as financial lifestyles and purchasing habits, to the older person’s well-being.
This premise for well-being in later life places more emphasis on consumers as
active participants and contributors to their own welfare, in line with the life course
paradigm’s principle of “human agency” (Elder 1998); it promotes consumer
empowerment by suggesting that people can develop and adopt habits at earlier
stages in life that enhance life satisfaction in later life. The life course approach to
enhancing consumer well-being places emphasis on the need to understand the fac-
tors that promote certain behaviors in early life; it places more emphasis on study-
ing younger (rather than older) consumers and their development, underscoring
consumers’ responsibility for their own well-being in later life. Such research would
be particularly helpful in designing educational programs to better prepare younger
age groups and make them less vulnerable in later life.
The view of consumers as potentially active participants in their own transforma-
tion implicitly assumes the need to instill certain consumption habits in people that
promote well-being in later life, either by socializing them in early life or by trans-
forming them during adulthood years (Pettigrew and Moschis 2011). This notion is
consistent with the successful aging perspective (SAP) advanced by gerontologists
(e.g., Rowe and Kahn 1998). The SAP broadens the concept and field of consumer
behavior and shifts the responsibility for subjective well-being to consumers. It sug-
gests that one can enhance the quality of life in his or her old age by planning and
making wise decisions in earlier adulthood years, with financial and health planning
decisions at different stages in life becoming important for well-being in later life
154 8  Applications to Select Areas of Consumer Behavior: An Agenda for Future Research

(e.g., Hershey et al. 2001). These notions are congenial to the life course research
because the life course paradigm provides the conceptual framework that enables
researchers to study consumers in time and context.

8.6  Decision-Making

Individual decision-making is often conceptualized and studied as hierarchies of

stages that consumers go through when buying a new or an existing product. While
much attention is focused to explaining behavior at each stage (e.g., information
seeking and processing, product evaluation), much less attention is paid to the fac-
tors that prompt consumers to move from one stage to the next. The circumstances
that facilitate or impede between-stage transitions are rarely addressed. Similarly,
although it is often acknowledged that family decision-making is characterized by
similar stages and dynamic processes, such as role specialization and conflict reso-
lution, the factors that prompt transition between stages are seldom examined. And
while it has long been acknowledged that both individual and family decision-­
making styles (e.g., egalitarian, gender-dominant) develop and change over the life
course (e.g., Hill 1965; Moschis and Moore 1979), consumer researchers show little
interest in understanding how individual and family development affects decision-­
making patterns.
Because the life course paradigm provides a framework for a multilevel study of
behavior, especially for understanding how and why the relationships between indi-
vidual and family decision-making change over time, it can serve as a framework
for studying various aspects of the individual and family decision-making process.
Decision-making processes that entail successive stages may be viewed as transi-
tions (or mini-transitions) from one stage to the next, such as stages in the new
product adoption process (awareness to adoption). When using EHA, for example,
these transitions can be modeled as a function (hazard rate) of consumer’s duration
at the present stage and a number of covariates related to market conditions, product
attributes, and consumer characteristics which facilitate (or delay) the adoption pro-
cess (e.g., Helsen and Schmittlein 1993). Thus, explanations for differences or
changes in patterns decision-making could derive from life course perspectives and
contextual factors related to agency and structural variables (e.g., family character-
istics, commercial factors), as suggested in Fig. 3.1 (Chap. 3).
To illustrate changes in patterns of decision-making over the life course,
Heckhausen and Schulz (1995) provide a life-span developmental explanation for
the aging person’s observed lack of motivation to make optimal or rational decisions
that can be viewed within the life course paradigm’s stress perspective as an alterna-
tive explanation to the one proposed by socioemotional selectivity theory (SST)
(Lockenhoff and Carstensen 2004). They suggest that the elderly’s efforts to do well
in one domain of life, such as maintaining competencies in making choices, compete
for resource investment in other domains of life with fewer chances for failures and,
8.6 Decision-Making 155

therefore, potential adverse effects on an aging person’s self-esteem. Heckhausen

and Schulz base their assertions on premises suggested by control theory. They con-
tend that when people are at earlier stages in life they have a longer time horizon and
they may see that they can have a greater control of their environment; and as a
result, objective information might be more relevant in planning as a problem-
focused coping response to a stressful situation (e.g., making a major decision). But
when time is short, older people may be less inclined to use problem-­focused strate-
gies and more inclined to use emotion-focused strategies (Lazarus and Folkman
1984), because the outcome of their decisions may have negative consequences on
their self-esteem. While this explanation may be viewed as a competing one to SST,
the two theoretical perspectives may be complementary as is the case with life course
theoretical perspectives (Sherrod and Brim 1986). Thus, the life course paradigm
could serve as an overarching multi-theoretical framework in studying the influence
of a person’s future time horizon on his or her consumption activities such as savings
habits (Jacobs-Lawson and Hershey 2005) and responses to emotional and rational
appeals (Williams and Drolet 2005).
Similarly, aspects of family consumer decision processes, such as role special-
ization and conflict resolution, can be studied in a developmental (duration-­
dependent) context, because there is evidence to suggest that these aspects of
consumer behavior are time-dependent (Hill 1965; Moschis 1987). With few excep-
tions (e.g., Hill 1965), studies of family decision-making processes have not consid-
ered the family’s developmental stage. Parke (1988) presents data that suggest the
value of examining the family dynamics, including its developmental and historical
contexts, while research by Harrison et al. (2011) points to the importance of study-
ing family development consumption activities in a dynamic and dialectical context.
Differences and changes in decision-making processes could be studied using
EHA.  Vuchinich et  al. (1991), for example, apply hazard models to examine the
transition of family members from an original state of family conflict (disagree-
ment) to being in a destination state of non-conflict (agreement). Similar methods
can be used to study other changes in stages and patterns of family decision-making
over time.
Further, Pearlin (1982) suggests that life course notions can be applied to family
development, pointing to events and transitions that may be used as a “family affair”
as well as to relationships between individual and family. Similarly, Hagestad and
Neugarten (1985) suggest the importance of studying lives not as monads or single
entities but as co-biographies—i.e., how the life course choices of family members
influence the life course of others, a notion known in life course research as the
principle of “linked lives” (Elder 1998). The interdependence of role transitions of
individual family members has also implications for consumer behavior, as these
may affect family decision-making. For example, a man whose life is interwoven
with those of others around him must assume roles (e.g., breadwinner, father, care-
giver to an older relative) that affect not only his consumption needs for products
and services but also his role and influence in family decisions.
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8.7  Maladaptive Consumer Behaviors

Behaviors that deviate from social norms and are likely to have negative conse-
quences on the person and his or her family or society in general are referred to as
“maladaptive” or “antisocial” behaviors (e.g., McLeod and Almazan 2003; Simons
et al. 1998, 2002). In the consumer field, maladaptive behaviors include addictions
to products (e.g., alcohol, drugs, cigarettes), various forms of risky and antisocial
activities (e.g., binge eating, shoplifting, drunken driving), and several forms of
compulsive behaviors (e.g., shopping, gambling, overspending) (e.g., Cox et  al.
1990; Hirschman 1992; Moschis 1987; Simons et al. 1998). Because maladaptive
behaviors in general are believed to have their origins in early childhood experi-
ences (McLeod and Almazan 2003), they can be studied within the context of the
life course paradigm. For example, Simons et al. (1998, 2002) show how the life
course paradigm can serve as a framework for studying the effects of childhood
experiences on adults’ criminal activities. Despite interest in understanding the
development of such behaviors, the results from the many studies over the past sev-
eral decades have been described as inconclusive and contradictory (Moschis 2017).
Because maladaptive forms of behaviors may gradually develop over time and
are believed to be the result of changes in biological states (i.e., events), effort to
relieve stress due to experience of life events, or learning from one’s environment
(e.g., Faber et al. 1987; Hirschman 1992; Litt et al. 2011), their study using the life
course approach would view such behaviors as duration-dependent phenomena—
certain people are at risk for developing such consumption orientations because of
their background or social circumstances they face (Hirschman 1992; Litt et  al.
2011). For example, smoking initiation can be considered a duration-dependent
event during adolescence, a period during which nearly all smokers develop this
habit (i.e., are “at risk”) (Lewit et al. 1981; Pechman et al. 2005). The sections that
follow show how the life course approach can be employed to help improve efforts
to study the ordinary and necessary activities of buying and consuming (eating) that
have the potential of development into the maladaptive behaviors of compulsive
buying and binge eating that lead to obesity, respectively, and adversely affect the
well-being of consumers and their families (e.g., Moschis 2017; Moore et al. 2017).

8.7.1  Compulsive Buying

The life course paradigm can be employed to study the development of compulsive
behaviors, because theories of compulsive behavior, whether biological, psycho-
logical, or sociological, blend well within the life course paradigm (Moschis 2007a).
Previous studies that infer the development of compulsive behaviors from the per-
son’s experience of family disruption events (e.g., divorce and separation of par-
ents) during adolescent years (e.g., Rindfleisch et al. 1997; Roberts et al. 2003) do
not explicitly use the life course paradigm. They link changes in family structure to
compulsive behavior indirectly via family stressors of divorce or separation.
8.7  Maladaptive Consumer Behaviors 157

In contrast, more recent studies of compulsive buying employ the life course par-
adigm as a conceptual framework and develop or apply propositions on this topic
derived from this paradigm (Moschis 2007a). Specifically, studies by Baker et al.
(2011, 2013a, c, 2016) show that the life course approach can provide an overarching
framework that encompasses theoretical notions of not only stress but also those of
socialization and human capital; and they can holistically explain the development of
compulsive buying tendencies. In addition, the life course paradigm suggests the
relevance of timing (age at which family disruption events are experienced) and
duration in the development of this form of maladaptive behavior (Moschis 2007a).
Shopping and buying products have been viewed as self-indulging coping
responses to stress (e.g., O’Guinn and Faber 1989). According to the stress perspec-
tive of the life course paradigm, prolonged exposure to (i.e., duration of) adverse
family events and experience of persistent stress during childhood years may lead to
the development of these activities as uncontrollable forms of behavior—hence
excessive and compulsive (Faber et al. 1995). The stress perspective also contends
that family dislocation events (e.g., loss of a parent, divorce, separation) place the
child at a greater risk of experiencing additional life events over time (e.g., lengthy
family discord, financial hardship, relocation; Elder et  al. 1996), because such
adverse events tend to be interdependent—i.e., transactional (Fig. 3.1) and of vari-
ous durations. The experience of interdependent stressful events over time may
heighten chronic stress (Mathur et  al. 2008) and the development of compulsive
behaviors, as suggested by studies which show that cumulative life event stress
represents a strong predictor of compulsive disorders, such as binge eating, among
children and adolescents (e.g., Johnson and Bradlyn 1988).
Thus, as in the case of materialistic values (Chap. 7), future research on the
development of compulsive buying tendencies should take into consideration not
only the stressfulness of a family disruption event but also the stress level and dura-
tion of all interdependent events that surround family dislocation. Future research
on this topic should also consider the timing of stressful events. Previous research
suggests that the early timing and longer durations of these experiences collectively
may promote the development of compulsive buying indirectly by having adverse
effects on the young person’s emotional states in the form of impaired self-esteem
and intangible family support (Baker et al. 2013a, 2016; Moschis 2007a).
The normative perspective views adult supervision and monitoring of children’s
behavior as important means by which children are socialized to socially desirable
norms and are kept from engaging in socially undesirable behaviors (Baker et  al.
2013a, 2016). Prolonged experience of disruptive family events (e.g., loss of a parent,
divorce) interferes with effective socialization and weakens parent-child bonds (Hill
et al. 2001). Such experiences have negative direct effects on the level of intangible
family resources the young person receives in the form of lessened parental warmth,
understanding, and caring responses by parents (Baker et al. 2016; Hill et al. 2001).
Socialization theory and research further suggest that young people who receive
inadequate emotional support from their parents tend to gravitate toward non-familial
socialization agents, especially peers (Uhlenberg and Mueller 2003). And interaction
with peers, including discussions about consumption matters, has been linked to
158 8  Applications to Select Areas of Consumer Behavior: An Agenda for Future Research

compulsive buying (Baker et al. 2013a, 2016). Thus, the timing of the onset of par-
enting strategies and their duration due to family disruption events likely affect the
child’s emotional states and, indirectly via communications with peers, may lead to
the development of compulsive buying tendencies.
The human capital perspective suggests that the development of maladaptive
antisocial or deviant forms of behaviors is attributed to impaired or inadequate
development of human capital (e.g., Hill et al. 2001; Uhlenberg and Mueller 2003);
and delayed development in cognitive skills, in turn, is associated with susceptibil-
ity to impulsive choices (Simons et  al. 1998) that are precursors to compulsive
behaviors (e.g., Pechman et al. 2005; Uhlenberg and Mueller 2003). Although life
course researchers provide theories that link family disruptions to various forms of
maladaptive or problem behaviors (e.g., Hill et al. 2001; Simons et al. 1998), they
are less explicit as to the mechanisms that link these changes to impaired or inade-
quate human capital development and subsequent maladaptive outcomes (Bolger
et al. 1988; McLeod and Almazan 2003).
It has been asserted that family-rearing practices which have aversive conse-
quences on the child’s emotional security and self-esteem (Hill et al. 2001) impair
development, which leads to ineffective inhibition of impulsive and antisocial
behaviors (Conger et al. 1994; Uhlenberg and Mueller 2003). Specifically, research
findings show that controlling family environments are likely to rear children that
lack adequate self-control and are oriented toward hedonically gratifying behaviors
(Conger et al. 1994; Kasser et al. 1995), all of which may be due to impaired or
inadequate development of human capital. Family disruption events, such as divorce
or loss of a parent, lead to reduction of income that forces parents in economically
deprived families to exercising greater control over their child’s activities and the
use limited resources (Hill et al. 2001).
Thus, earlier research has been hampered by a lack of theoretical frameworks
that consider the many factors and processes that underscore the development of
compulsive buying. Findings of recent studies suggest that the life course paradigm
can serve as an overarching framework for integrating diverse theoretical perspec-
tives for studying the development of compulsive buying tendencies (Baker et al.
2013a, 2016). These studies suggest that the effects of disruptive family events in
early life may not directly contribute to the development of compulsive buying
­tendencies. Rather, the effects of such stressful experiences may be indirect, medi-
ated through changes in parent-child relations and interactions with peers. These
studies provide additional insights by suggesting that it is not the mere experience
of stressful family disruptions that has a bearing on the child’s relations with his or
her parents and friends; rather, it is the reduction in intangible resources associated
with family disruptions that impact the way the child interacts with his or her par-
ents and peers, which in turn may constitute the vehicle for the development of
compulsive buying. And they further suggest that it is primarily the change in the
family structure rather than duration of living in a disruptive family that leads to
problem behavior, a finding in line with the previous life course research (Hill et al.
2001). Thus, future research employing the life course paradigm should consider
the timing (i.e., age) of family adversities experienced during one’s formative years,
8.7  Maladaptive Consumer Behaviors 159

not merely as stressful events (Rindfleisch et al. 1997), but also for their effects on
social processes that may promote or deter the development of compulsive buying
tendencies.

8.7.2  Binge Eating and Obesity

Researchers have long recognized the impact of consumption activities that have
adverse consequences on consumer well-being, including food consumption and
lifestyles that lead to or prevent the onset of obesity (e.g., Moore et  al. 2017).
Because binge eating is viewed as a form of compulsive behavior (e.g., Faber et al.
1995), much of the information relevant to compulsive buying also applies to the
compulsive behavior of binge eating. Therefore, this section focuses on the possible
consequence of binge eating as well as other factors that lead to the undesirable state
of obesity, considering obesity a phenomenon that could be studied within the life
course paradigm. The notion that the employment of the life course conceptual
framework is a viable approach to the study of development of obesity concurs with
observations and suggestions of other authorities on this topic (e.g., Hayward and
Sheehan 2016; Macmillan and Furstenberg 2016; Shanahan et  al. 2016). As
Macmillan and Furstenberg conclude, “understanding the developmental features of
obesity is crucial to contemporary public health and a life course perspective offers
a uniquely powerful framework for understanding its epidemiology” (2016: 542).
Subscribing to the conventional wisdom that maladaptive behaviors which lead
to obesity are established in early childhood and persist throughout life, Moore et al.
(2017) present a family socialization model of onset of obesity in childhood and
adolescent years to help guide future research. Although such a comprehensive
model is very useful and rich in ideas relevant to the study of the onset of obesity in
early life, it leaves much to be desired when it is assessed beyond factors relevant to
formative years, such as biological and family influences. Because in recent decades
socialization research in other disciplines has become embedded within the life
course paradigm, focusing on dynamic, reciprocal, and unfolding processes between
the person and his or her environment (cf. Elder 1994), consumer research on obe-
sity could benefit by integrating Moore et al.’ socialization model into the life course
paradigm. The life course paradigm could offer additional insights into the study of
obesity-related consumption activities not only in early stages in life but also in
middle and later life.
Elements of the Moore et al.’s (2017) consumer socialization model could be re-­
casted into the life course research framework to represent elements and assump-
tions of the life course paradigm (Fig. 3.1 in Chap. 3). The life course conceptual
framework suggests that during a particular period (T1–T2 or childhood years in the
Moore et  al.’s model) all children are “at risk” of becoming obese. Factors that
increase or decrease the likelihood of obesity can be derived from the life course
adaptation mechanisms as well as from events experienced during childhood years
and other contextual variables. These authors’ assertion that various consumption
160 8  Applications to Select Areas of Consumer Behavior: An Agenda for Future Research

episodes promote the development of obesity can be studied in the form of “events”
that have direct and indirect effects on obesity. Life events that signify transitions
(referred to as “family instability” in the Moore et al.’s model) can also be viewed
as events experienced at T1 (Fig. 3.1). Child-related factors such as heredity/genetic
and physiological predispositions in the Moore et al.’s model can be conceptualized
in the life course model (Fig. 3.1) as contextual variables (agency-related, such as
historical, individual attributes—Ps) and family environment variables (e.g., family
structure, parents’ weight) as structural (proximal) variables (Ss). As culture may
play a role (Moore et al. 2017), distal variables such as cultural values, norms, and
country-related factors (economic, commercial) relevant to a particular time frame
could be added to their model to account for cohort and period effects.
Family socialization practices are main elements of the Moore et  al.’s model.
These authors acknowledge that such practices evolve or change over time, but they
provide little information about the specific changes, how they change and why; and
their timing of their onset as well as their duration is absent from this model.
Furthermore, although the cumulative impact of family transition events is implic-
itly acknowledged as an important factor of childhood obesity by affecting family
socialization practices and stress processes, these authors are less explicit about the
effects of these mechanisms on obesity. While the family indisputably plays impor-
tant role in the socialization of children, the effects of other socialization agents
cannot be ignored, especially those of peers and commercial sources during adoles-
cent years (Moschis 1987). The effects of such forces are downplayed in the family
socialization model of obesity by placing emphasis on the mediating role of parents
acting as gatekeepers of marketing messages that promote unhealthy eating habits,
to the exclusion of television programming effects (e.g., celebrities) (e.g., Harrison
and Kantor 1997).
The life course paradigm’s assumptions could help improve the Moore and asso-
ciates’ model of childhood obesity in several ways. First, it could help contextualize
the effects of timing and time (duration). Although time is recognized in the Moore
et al.’s model, the effects of time are not explicit, other than to suggest that socializa-
tion continues and evolves throughout childhood and adolescence and that family
structures change with time. Incorporating timing and duration—i.e., age at which
children are exposed to certain socialization practices and length of such practices
(in years)—could provide useful insights into the effects of specific socialization
processes on children’s consumer behavior.
Second, the life course paradigm suggests additional adaptation mechanisms that
link life conditions to obesity. For example, stressful experiences of family transi-
tions may elevate food consumption habits, as eating tasty (but not necessarily
healthy) food products is a form of coping with stress (Moschis 2007b). Furthermore,
certain parenting styles as a consequences of changing family structures, such as
controlling and authoritarian, have aversive consequences on the child’s emotional
security and self-esteem (Hill et al. 2001); they impair the development of human
capital, which leads to ineffective inhibition of impulsive tendencies (Conger et al.
1994; Uhlenberg and Mueller 2003) and orientations toward hedonically gratifying
behaviors (Conger et al. 1994; Kasser et al.1995).
8.7  Maladaptive Consumer Behaviors 161

Third, understanding the factors that lead to or prevent obesity is perhaps of

greatest concern to consumers during adulthood years for social and health reasons,
as evidenced by the dietary products and messages that target adult consumers.
Obesity rates in the United States, for example, that have doubled in the past few
decades (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2017) cannot be merely attributed to
changes in family socialization environments or heredity. They suggest the need to
understand the factors that increase obesity during adulthood years as well as those
that deter obesity, making the life paradigm a more relevant conceptual research
framework for posing empirical and theoretical questions. Thus, consumers are “at
risk” of becoming obese almost at any stage in life, not just childhood. The onset of
obesity can be viewed as an “event,” that is, a transition from overweight to obese
status (as defined medically—i.e., body mass index of 30+ kg). Repetitive actions
or routines enacted across linear time in the Moore et al.’s model can be viewed as
duration at a given state (e.g., the state of being “overweight’) that has developmen-
tal implications (Featherman and Lerner 1985). Binge eating, as a compulsive dis-
order that could be studied independently using EHA, could also be added as a
covariate in the obesity hazard model.
An effective approach to the study of obesity that has been suggested by authori-
ties on this topic is to examine it in the context of the person’s overall health using
the so-called health portfolio approach, as health is multifaceted and changes over
the course of a person’s life (for sources, see Shanahan et  al. 2016). It could be
studied as a trajectory that is part of the person’s entire health trajectory which con-
sists of other health-related trajectories, such as disease states and chronic condi-
tions. Drawing upon the work of Hayward and Sheehan (2016), Shanahan et  al.
(2016) make this assertion that is congenial to the premises of life course paradigm
by stating that:
Trajectories of health must be described and explained in terms of origins, change, and the
initiation and rate of change. At different points in the trajectory, different experiences may
become more or less salient, and the balance of childhood and adult influences may change.
(Shanahan et al. 2016: 15).

By placing relevant variables within the life course paradigm, researchers can
begin to explicate the factors responsible for the increase in obesity rates. Following
Elder’s suggestion, obesity could be studied as a process involving successions of
mini-transitions, such as a transition from normal to overweight state and from
overweight to obese state, where “different causal factors may operate at each phase
of the process” (1998: 958). With respect to the effects of life events and transitions,
for example, it has been suggested that these effects might be indirect via the adap-
tation mechanism of stress and coping. The effects of life event-induced stress on
obesity may be explained in the context of theories of activation (e.g., sensation-­
seeking) and avoidance (e.g., escape) (Moschis 2007b). According to escape theory,
for example, when people experience stressful events, they may consume products
that help them become less self-aware of the consequences of such events; and they
may overconsume products such alcohol and food to avoid awareness (Heatherton
and Baumeister 1991). This theory should predict that prolonged experience of
162 8  Applications to Select Areas of Consumer Behavior: An Agenda for Future Research

stressful events and their cumulative impacts lead to excessive consumption of

products over longer periods that can lead to obesity. Thus, besides considering
earlier-in-life experiences, such as those in the Moore et al.’ (2017) model, the tim-
ing and duration of stressful life events could be used as covariates in EHA to
explain the onset of obesity (event at T2 in Fig. 3.1) at any given period of time of
the person’s life span (T1–T2).
Finally, the onset of obesity may be viewed as a life event in itself (at T1 in
Fig. 3.1) that can set in motion the adaptation processes of socialization (e.g.,
exposure to sources of health-related information, changes in the self), stress and
coping (such as dieting and exercising to lose weight), and changes in human
capital (e.g., increase in knowledge about nutrition). Similar mechanisms could
be set in motion when persons experience the onset of a chronic condition such
as diabetes. They can be socialized (e.g., by healthcare professionals) into the
role of a “diabetic”; attempt to cope with this life transition by, for example,
changing their eating habits; and increase their knowledge (human capital) about
the disease.
In sum, proposed models of maladaptive consumption activities (e.g., Moore
et al. 2017; Rindfleisch et al. 1997) have provided important foundations for study-
ing consumer at certain stages in their lives. They can be re-casted within the life
course conceptual framework, complemented with factors suggested by the life
course paradigm and expanded across additional life stages to provide a better under-
standing of the development of these consumption patterns at different stages in life.

8.8  General Comments

This chapter shows how researchers could apply the life course paradigm to study a
wide variety of consumption-related phenomena. While this conceptual research
framework is broad enough to allow its application to the study of nearly every topic
in the field of consumer behavior, the chapter offers herein only a sample of topics
that are of interest to consumer researchers. It does not address every potential area
or topic of consumer behavior that might be approached from the perspective of
consumer adaptations over the life course, nor does it provide an exhaustive exami-
nation of issues within each specific topic addressed. For example, this chapter, and
the entire book for that matter, does not cover other forms of adaptation to various
types of changes that people experience, such as psychological (e.g., Strahilevitz
and Loewenstein 1998), interpersonal (Gierveld and Dykstra 1993), and biological
(Solomon 1980).
Although the discussion of these topics explicitly or implicitly suggests an
agenda for future research using the life course paradigm, applications of the life
course approach to additional areas of interest to consumer researchers are sug-
gested by scholars in other disciplines. For example, Shanahan et al. (2016) point to
a wealth of health and financial issues related to consumer well-being where the life
course paradigm could be employed as a viable framework. Furthermore, the dis-
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across consumers possessing different characteristics. Therefore, to explore how
different, latent, subgroups may exhibit different sensitivities to life course events,
estimation of a latent variable mixture model would be required to account for such
latent subgroups, making contextual variables in the life course conceptual frame-
work even more relevant factors for theory and analysis.

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Chapter 9
Implications for Practitioners

Although the life course paradigm has been largely ignored by researchers, as a mul-
tidisciplinary integrative research framework, it has the potential of helping them
address areas and issues of interest to marketers and public policymakers in an inno-
vative way. It can address research questions particularly relevant to marketing strat-
egy, such as market segmentation and market targeting as well as issues regarding
customer relationship management (CRM). This chapter offers implications for action
in the areas of marketing and public policy with illustrations of applications of life
course notions to research questions in select areas of corporate and public policy.

9.1  Developing Marketing Strategies and Programs

The use of the life course paradigm in marketing requires a change in the way
researchers study consumers and practitioners look at their customers. As the author
of this book has asserted in an earlier article, “A person’s consumption activity must
be viewed not just as a behavior at a given point in time but as a part of the person’s
consumption history, so that the analysis is directed toward causal pathways of con-
sumption activities and their determinants across the entire life span” (Moschis
2007a: 305). This way of thinking blends rather well with marketers’ increasing
awareness of the importance of previous consumer experiences and future expecta-
tions in understanding market behavior. As Judith Langer points out, marketers tra-
ditionally have looked at consumers in a static way, ignoring the fact that people are
“a combination of what they have been, what they are, and what they will become”
(cited in Mergenhagen 1995: 7). Recently, however, marketers have begun to show
interest in targeting consumers on the basis of not only their present status but also
their earlier life experiences (e.g., Kumar and Rajan 2009; Rice 1995; Schewe et al.
2000). Such efforts can be seen in the development of strategies and marketing pro-
grams in the areas of market segmentation, market targeting, and customized mar-
keting, as described in the sections that follow.

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 169

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_9
170 9  Implications for Practitioners

9.1.1  Forming Consumer Segments

Market segmentation is one of the most important strategic decisions, and several
bases for market segmentation have been proposed over the years (Kotler 1992).
Generally speaking, subjective bases, such as benefits sought, help understand mar-
ket behavior but present problems in measuring and locating market segments. In
contrast, objective measures of segments, such as geo-demographics, enable mar-
keters to locate segments but present problems in understanding the behaviors of
their segmented customers. Yet, many practitioners use objective measures, and
they implicitly assume that demographic factors explain differences in market
behavior. For example, they assume that different age groups behave differently
because of their earlier-in-life experiences they collectively share, as they often
refer to age groups or cohorts such as baby boomers and millennials (e.g., Noble
and Schewe 2003; Schewe et al. 2000). When people are exposed to factors in phys-
ical and social environments for a relatively long time, it is assumed that these fac-
tors exert “period effects” on their behaviors and values. And when influences are
shared by people growing up in a particular time period that persist as they age,
these influences are referred to as “cohort effects” (Giele and Elder 1998).
Period- and cohort-related factors likely influence the mindsets of consumers
and trigger specific needs. However, the effects of these factors on consumption
patterns cannot be easily assessed, in part because of the stringent longitudinal data
requirements and a lack of data analysis methods that would allow researchers to
disentangle period and cohort effects from the effects of aging and other factors
associated with aging. When such effects are addressed, they tend to be inferred
from age differences among large groups of consumers, assuming that all people in
the same group are equally affected (e.g., Rentz and Reynolds 1983), a rather invalid
assumption (Passuth and Bengtson 1988). For example, the Great Depression years
did not have the same effects on people in different social classes (Elder 1974). It is
perhaps for this reason that cohort and period effects are often acknowledged by
consumer researchers but infrequently studied and are often mentioned as caveats to
interpretations of age-related differences in consumer responses (e.g., Cole and
Gaeth 1990; Williams and Drolet 2005; Yoon et al. 2009). The study of cohort (gen-
erational) and period effects is congenial to theories and methods used to study
time- and context-dependent influences in the life course paradigm. Longitudinal
data allow researchers to decompose period and cohort effects on behavior using
hazard models (see discussion of EHA in Chap. 6).
Despite merit in segmenting and marketing to consumers on the basis of cohorts
(Noble and Schewe 2003; Schewe et al. 2000), a practice commonly referred to as
“generational marketing” (Rice 1995), this approach leaves much to be desired.
Some cohorts are quite large (e.g., baby boomers) and heterogeneous (Moschis and
Mathur 2007), suggesting the need for further segmentation. Furthermore, there is a
lack of theories to explain within-cohort heterogeneity (e.g., younger vs. older baby
boomers). Chronological age offers the flexibility of forming any number of seg-
ments and examines differences across them. However, age per se has little, if any,
9.1  Developing Marketing Strategies and Programs 171

explanatory value other than defining eligibility for the consumption of some prod-
ucts and offerings (e.g., alcoholic beverages, senior discounts). Because it merely
measures the passage of time and serves as a surrogate measure of the factors likely
to influence behavior, it has been labeled as “worthless” and “empty” variable
(Rutter 1996; Settersten and Mayer 1997).

9.1.2  Event-Based Segmentation

The dilemma facing marketers is whether to use segments based on subjective mea-
sures, which make segment identification and measurement difficult, or develop
objective-based segments that are easier to identify but harder to understand. In view
of this dilemma, researchers have proposed segmenting the consumer market using
measures that can be relatively easy to obtain (e.g., online behaviors) and helpful in
understanding differences in consumer behaviors across these segments (e.g., Kumar
and Rajan 2009). One such an approach is based on life events consumers experi-
ence, known as “event-based segmentation” (Mathur et al. 2002, 2006).
Rationale  Event-based segmentation is grounded on the testable proposition that
consumers who have experienced or anticipate to experience similar life events and
circumstances in their lives show similar consumption patterns and responses to
marketing stimuli. This assumption is the central premise of the life course para-
digm, which views a person’s behavior at any given point in time as a product of
responses to changing life conditions and circumstances and the way he or she has
adapted to them (Mayer and Tuma 1990). Thus, within the life course paradigm, this
approach to market segmentation assumes that consumption patterns are manifesta-
tions of responses and adjustments to stressful events, enactment of newly acquired
roles and relinquishment old ones, and increase or change in mental resources to
deal with life’s new challenges.

An illustration  The study by Mathur et al. (2006) can be used as an illustration of

this approach to market segmentation. Their study involves a national mail survey
of 866 consumers ages 21–84. The survey asks participants to indicate if they had
experienced 25 life events that are used in previous studies “in the previous 6
months,” “in the previous 6–12 months,” or “more than 12 months ago.” The survey
also asks respondents to indicate if they expect to experience 14 life events “in the
next 6 months” or “in the next few years.” The timing of each experienced life event
and the timing of each anticipated event are also used separately as measures of
duration of experienced and anticipated events, respectively. Each of these variables
is separately included in a hierarchical cluster analysis because theory and research
suggest that each variable might have a different effect on the person’s behavior
than the anticipation of the same event (Pearlin 1982) and so might be the timing of
an event (Elder and Johnson 2002; Moschis et al. 2015). The same study asks par-
ticipants to indicate if they had engaged in 24 consumption-related activities “in the
172 9  Implications for Practitioners

previous 6 months,” “6–12 months ago,” and “more than 12 months ago” or to indi-
cate if they had “never experienced or done” the activity.
The authors’ analysis reveals four event-based clusters that give the maximum
separation among other cluster number options. These investigators also form 5 clus-
ters based on age (under 35, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, and 65 and over) and another 5
clusters based on cohorts (GI generation, depression generation, war babies, baby
boomers, and generation Xs) into which all 866 participants were placed. These sets
of clusters are then subjected to comparative analyses similar to those used in previ-
ous studies to address model superiority (Kamakura and Novak 1992; Novak and
MacEvoy 1990). The results of this study suggest the value of event-based segmenta-
tion. When event-based segments are combined separately with the age-based and
cohort-based segments, there is significant incremental improvement in predicting
various types of consumption activities beyond the power of age-based and cohort-­
based clusters, respectively. The study generally suggests the value of employing con-
sumers’ experiences of life events and the life course notions of timing and duration
of such experiences for understanding the consumption behaviors of consumers.

9.1.3  Understanding Within-Segment Differences

The practice of choosing among segments and targeting segments based on life
events, or targeting segments based on demographics and life events, assumes that
all consumers in a particular segment are homogeneous. Although consumers may
be similar in terms of events experienced, they may differ in the way they respond
to marketing stimuli. This is in part because not all consumers respond to events the
same way, despite the fact that they all experience similar events. For example, the
experience of a divorce is stressful to half of the people who experience it; but it is
a pleasant experience to the remaining half (Elder et  al. 1996). Similarly, many
people who experience events that signify transitions to old-age status (e.g., retire-
ment, grandparenthood, empty nest) defy their newly acquired roles and self-­
conceptions, while others accept their old-age status; and, in turn, they respond
differently to marketing stimuli, such as those aimed at age-segmented consumers
(Moschis and Mathur 2006). This calls for the need to further understand the spe-
cific segments chosen by examining differences within segments.
By examining consumers’ responses to specific life events that they experience
or anticipate experiencing, marketers can gain greater insights into their motives
and needs. Thus, while event-based segmentation can be performed without
­reference to the types of events, assuming that all those experiencing or anticipate
experiencing the same events are homogeneous, within-segment analysis considers
the types of events experienced or anticipated. This procedure is illustrated by
choosing to analyze the event-based segment in the earlier example that contains the
oldest consumers (average age = 63). Because the procedure of analyzing this older
consumer segment has been employed in previous studies of older consumers’
9.1  Developing Marketing Strategies and Programs 173

behaviors and is known as “gerontographics” (Moschis 1993, 1996), the sections

that follow first describe the rationale for using this approach to understanding
within-­segment variance in consumer behaviors, and, in turn, they illustrate the
within-­segment responses to marketing offerings.
Rationale  The concept of “gerontographics” was coined by the author of this book
three decades ago to convey the well-established fact that people become increas-
ingly heterogeneous with age in later life due to differences in aging processes (e.g.,
Moschis 1993, 1996). It refers to “the multi-dimensional aging processes that are
relatively independent of age and neither uniform nor invariant” (Sthienrapapayut
et al. 2018: 318). Gerontographics is based on theories of aging that can be sub-
sumed under the life course paradigm (e.g., Elder and Johnson 2002; Moschis 1992,
2012) to explain individual differences in the aging processes, which are multidi-
mensional—i.e., people age biologically, psychologically, and socially (e.g., Moody
1988; Moschis 2012).
In viewing aging through the lenses of the life course paradigm, it is assumed
that certain life events that people experience affect the rate of aging and cause vari-
ability in these aging processes (Elder and Johnson 2002). The variability that marks
the timing and circumstances of these events is offered as the reason for individual
differences in the aging processes that tend to be interdependent (Moschis 1992).
For example, the early timing of experience of events common to people in late life
in the form of biological changes (e.g., menopause) and chronic conditions (e.g.,
hearing loss, arthritis) and events that signify transition into old-age status (e.g.,
grandparenthood, retirement) tend to accelerate the pace of aging (Elder and
Johnson 2002); and they affect a person’s age identity (Atchley 1987; Rapkin and
Fischer 1992) and produce an older cognitive age (Mathur and Moschis 2005) and
“a sense of being old” (Elder and Johnson 2002: 67).
Whether in the form of biological changes (e.g., onset of chronic conditions) or of
transitions into social roles (e.g., retirement, grandparenthood), such life events create
emotional demands (e.g., stress) to which people must adapt (Moschis 2012; Wheaton
1990). In line with the basic premise of the life course paradigm, changes in behaviors
are the results of adaptation and adjustments to life changes. Moreover, although
several age-related changes may occur over time, they are “relatively age-­irrelevant
because they may begin at any age in later life, or may never be experienced” (Moschis
1996: 59), such as hearing impairment, retirement, and widowhood.
Aging processes triggered by events that mark aging in later life produce two
main dimensions of aging in cross-sectional studies (e.g., Moschis 1996;
Sthienrapapayut et al. 2018): a biophysical dimension, which is the result of events
that create changes in the person’s physical condition and are signs of deteriorating
health, and a psychosocial dimension, which reflects changes in the person’s mind-
set due to events that mark transitions into old-age-related roles. These two dimen-
sions are used to classify people into four gerontographic groups, depending upon
the type(s) of events they have experienced that define specific aging processes. The
first group, called “healthy indulgers,” has yet to experience any major aging-related
events or either one of these two types of aging; the second group has experienced
174 9  Implications for Practitioners

mostly events that denote psychosocial aging and is called “healthy hermits”; the
third group, “ailing outgoers,” has experienced only biophysical aging; and the last
group, the so-called frail recluses, has experienced both types of aging. The person’s
experience of one or both of these aging processes, or neither one of them, define
his or her gerontographic characteristics which are designed to capture the aging
processes that tend to occur with time in late life; and they define the four life stages
of older consumers, as they are graphically shown in Fig. 9.1.
The gerontographics approach to understanding consumer behavior in later life
is based on the testable proposition that differences in consumer behaviors reflect
differences in the aging process. To the extent that consumer behaviors are a mani-
festation of the person’s experiences of the aging processes and the result of wide
variability in these aging processes, consumption activities and responses to mar-
keting stimuli should also differ on the basis of the type(s) of aging process(es)
experienced.
Illustration  Gerontographics research is based on the premise that the type(s) of
aging process(es) people experience explain(s) differences in the behaviors in gen-
eral and consumer behaviors in particular, as such aging-related life experiences
likely affect consumers’ mindsets and priorities in life. It is based on the testable
proposition that within-group variations in consumer behaviors reflect differences
in these life experiences—that is, people with similar aging-related life experiences

Time

Ailing
outgoers

Healthy Frail
indulgers reclusess

Healthy
hermits

Fig. 9.1  Life course stages of aging consumers based on gerontographics. Note: Arrows indicate
that with time people may move to the next stage in life due to physiological, psychological, and
social aging. Arrows pointing downward denote psychosocial aging, and arrows pointing upward
denote biophysical aging
9.1  Developing Marketing Strategies and Programs 175

exhibit similar consumption patterns, which differ from those of other consumers
with different types of life experiences. These assumptions have received support in
studies conducted in various cultural settings and across different types of industries
over a period of three decades (e.g., Correia and Elliott 2006; Gonzalez and Paliwoda
2006; Marketing Communications 1988; Moschis 1992, 1993, 1996; Nimrod 2013;
Sthienrapapayut et al. 2018).
Table 9.1 summarizes the results of a study of approximately 3200 consumers
over the age of 55 who responded to a large-scale national survey. Based on partici-
pants’ responses to the two measures of aging dimensions, they are classified into
four gerontographic groups, which are cross-tabulated with their responses to a
wide variety of questions, many of which relate to marketer-controlled factors that
range from types of products to types of promotions and methods of delivery. To
compare the efficacy of the gerontographics approach in explaining within-segment
differences, responses given to marketing factors by these 55 and older consumers
are also cross-tabulated by age group (55–64, 65–74, and 75+) and cognitive age
group (under 50s, 50s, 60s, and 70s or older). These comparisons confirm the supe-
riority of gerontographics in explaining variations in consumer responses of the 55
and older consumer segment, as do results of other studies.
The employment of the gerontographics model can be seen in many studies,
predominantly in the fields of marketing and consumer behavior. For example, this
segmentation approach is used to examine the preferences of older consumers with
regard to housing and retirement communities, healthcare products and services,
travel and leisure services, financial services, long-term care insurance, restaurants,
food and grocery stores, apparel and footwear brands, department stores, home fire
safety services, and use of the Internet (e.g., Bird and Tapp 2011; Correia and Elliott
2006; Gonzalez and Paliwoda 2006; Moschis et al. 1997; Nimrod 2013). Results of
these studies are reported by the author of this book and his colleagues based on
surveys conducted in the United States (e.g., Moschis 1996; Moschis and Mathur
1992; Moschis et al. 1997, 2000), and a small number of them are based on con-
sumer samples from other countries (e.g., Nimrod 2013; Sthienrapapayut et  al.
2018). The results of all these and other studies generally concur that gerontographic
characteristics are better predictors than age in predicting responses to marketing
stimuli.

9.1.4  Toward Customized Marketing

While the number of life events experienced or anticipated can be used as bases for
segmentation, and certain types of events can help understand within-segment dif-
ferences in consumption patterns, information on consumers’ experience or antici-
pation of events would be of greatest value to marketers. Such information provides
opportunities for customized marketing that would have the potential of creating
the most favorable consumer response and subsequently customer satisfaction.
176 9  Implications for Practitioners

Table 9.1  Responses to select marketing offerings by gerontographic groups

Gerontographics groups
Healthy Healthy Ailing Frail
Marketing offerings indulgers hermits outgoers recluses
Products and services
  Financial services X X
   Travel and leisure services X X
   Apparel and footwear X X
  Pharmaceutical products X
   Dietary food products X X
   Apartments, townhomes, and X
condominiums
  Retirement homes/communities X
   High-tech products (appliances) X X
  Information/telecommunication X
services
  Magazines X
   Healthcare products and services
   Insurance services (vary by type) X X X
  Home-care services X
Motivations for vendor/brand selection
  Price X X
  Brand/name X
  Locational convenience X X
   Relationship with representative X X
  Sales promotions X X
  Product/service assortment X X
  Direct/online buying X X
   Ease of returns/cancellation X X
  Senior discounts/days X X
Note: “X” indicates strong preference

This potential contribution is based on Andreasen’s (1984) landmark study and is

reflected in a suggestion made by Kotler (1992): “A company can consider critical
events that can mark life’s passage to see whether they are accompanied by certain
needs that can be met by product or service bundles” (1992: 75). Marketers already
use very crude criteria that define life cycle changes, which are related to changes
in household spending on a variety of products and services (Wilkes 1995), but
there is room for considering several other life events and transitions that create
consumption needs (Mergenhagen 1995), as well as the timing and duration of
these changes that can affect consumer behavior.
Rationale  The life course paradigm’s assumptions about the development, stabil-
ity, and change in behavior provide the foundations for justifying the use of specific
life events that consumers experience or anticipate to experience as bases for devel-
oping marketing strategies and tactics. The marketing opportunities stemming from
9.1  Developing Marketing Strategies and Programs 177

this approach can be justified on the bases of the life course paradigm’s principles,
assumptions, and theoretical perspectives presented earlier in this book. They per-
tain to the life course paradigm’s concepts of timing, duration, and interdependence
of consumer behaviors (viewed as events).
Consumer needs for products differ on the basis of the timing of a life event, both
in terms of event occurrence in the person’s life (i.e., age) and with respect to the
event itself. Unexpected (non-programmed) events create more stress and need for
readjustment than expected (programmed) events, even when these events signify
transitions into new roles (cf. Moschis 2007b). Consumers who anticipate a life
event or transition, such as retirement, have more time to plan for it and even engage
in consumption activities that help alleviate stress and define the new self (through
anticipatory socialization) in the context of the expected role (e.g., George 1993;
Wagner and Hanna 1983). In contrast, unexpected events are more stressful in part
because they allow less time for preparation and redefinition of the self in the new
role (Balkwell 1985; Wheaton 1990) and in part because of a lack of necessary
resources (human capital) to adapt to change (e.g., George 1993; O’Bryant and
Morgan 1989). Consumers who experience an unexpected event, such as death of a
family member, are prone to making ineffectual decisions not only because stress
impairs optimum cognitive performance and judgment (Moschis 2007b) but also
due to new role ambiguity or a lack of information and guidance concerning the
enactment of the new role (Balkwell 1985; Gentry et al. 1995).
These notions appear to also apply to events that people experience “off-time”
because of social clocks, such as becoming a grandparent at a relatively young age
(Elder and Johnson 2002). They are consistent not only with life course assump-
tions but also with other theories, empirical findings, and conventional wisdom. For
example, according to Gennep’s (1960) theory, a role transition consists of three
stages: the first, known as separation, involves detachment from the previous role;
the second, known as liminal period, involves the transition process; and the third,
known as aggregation, involves passage into a new role and relative stability in that
role. Consumers at the middle stage of this process are in greatest need for products
and information that would help them define their new selves and make the transi-
tion, and, because of new role ambiguity and a lack of information, they are also
most open to change and vulnerable to outside influences (e.g., Gentry et al. 1995;
Moschis 1992; Moschis et al. 2011). These notions are in line with conventional
main street beliefs that people should restrain from making important consumer
decisions during stressful times (e.g., sale of one’s home immediately following
death of a spouse); and they are in line with the results of the study of hearing aids,
which is described in greater detail in Chap. 6. Using hazard models, which esti-
mate probability of purchase of a hearing aid with respect to time, this study finds
that the greatest likelihood of hearing aid purchase is at the time of diagnosis of
hearing impairment at the doctor’s office—i.e., most stressful time of occurrence of
this unexpected event. With time from the date or age of diagnosis elapsing, hearing-­
impaired individuals are increasingly less likely to purchase a hearing aid, suggest-
ing that with time they become increasingly comfortable with their role as hearing
impaired without the use of a hearing aid (Moschis et al. 2015).
178 9  Implications for Practitioners

While the timing of events suggests points in time when consumers are very
likely to make a new purchase or change their brand and product preferences, the
notion of duration is important in understanding the periods during which consum-
ers are likely to be most or least resistant to change. Longer durations in product use
promote stability in product and brand repurchase rates. A stable life trajectory and
lifestyle likely are associated with a stable consumption trajectory. Such a stability
in consumption also provides opportunities for selling consumers products that fit
their existing trajectories. For example, a consumer’s entertainment trajectory that
entails reading novels that he or she downloads from the Internet provides opportu-
nities for showing to the same customer other novels similar to those he or she has
already downloaded. Such practices are already becoming widely spread in several
industries, underscoring the importance of marketing to consumers not on a product-­
by-­product basis but in the context of their entire consumption trajectories.
The life course paradigm underscores the interdependence of events and transi-
tions. Changing life conditions not only trigger additional events and adaptation
processes that lead to changes in consumer behaviors, but they can also disrupt an
existing “equilibrium” of consumption activities, leading to additional changes and
adjustments in consumer behaviors, in much the same way life events trigger addi-
tional life events. This view is consistent with that of researchers who subscribe to
the interdependence of consumer behaviors (e.g., Gould et al. 1993; Wells 1993).
Certain “life-altering” decisions (e.g., college education, purchase of a new home)
can set in motion a chain of sequential and time-dependent (but decreasing in
importance) decisions (Wells 1993). Important decisions are related to decisions of
lesser importance in a hierarchical fashion, such as generic decisions affecting
selective decisions. Gould et al.’ (1993) research findings among allergy sufferers
exemplify this point, while other researchers show how changes in consumption
styles can lead to changes in selective preferences for products, brands, and vendors
(Andreasen 1984; Mathur et al. 2008). When such changes are temporary, they may
be viewed as short-term “adjustments” that have few or no developmental conse-
quences. However, to the extent these changes are long-lasting, they have develop-
mental implications, because duration in a given state can lead to mental and
behavioral adaptations (Featherman and Lerner 1985; Hetherington and Baltes
1988). Thus, major consumer decisions are interdependent choices (events), each
signifying a transition into a consumption state whose duration or recurrence affects
the development, stability, and changes in consumer preferences. These notions
could help replace macro-marketing strategies—i.e., marketing to masses and large
segments of consumers (e.g., generations, stages in the family life cycle) with
micro-marketing or customized marketing strategies.
Illustrations  The adoption of life course approach to the development of market-
ing strategies could provide additional guidance to marketers who already use life
events associated with role transitions as bases for their strategies. It could provide
insights into the development, stability, and changes of consumption habits by
suggesting the specific needs that are created as a result of the types of events or
life changes experienced and anticipated. Research suggests that both consumers’
9.1  Developing Marketing Strategies and Programs 179

previous experiences and their anticipation of life changes and role transitions
may create needs for products and services, leading to changes in patterns of con-
sumer behavior (Lee et al. 2001). Similarly, Mergenhagen (1995) cites anecdotal
evidence of companies that market selected products to those consumers who
anticipate major life transitions (e.g., retirement, relocation). In support of this
view, Schewe and Meredith (1994) discuss life events and life stage changes that
give rise to marketing opportunities. As an illustration of how specific life events
can create opportunities for increase a company’s customer base, these investiga-
tors cite a prior study which shows that 40% of households that changed their
address also changed their brand of toothpaste.
Thus, the practice of using very crude criteria that define family life cycle
changes (e.g., marriage, retirement), which are related to changes in household
spending on a variety of products and services (Wilkes 1995), leaves room for con-
sidering several other life events and transitions that create consumption needs at
each specific stage of the family life cycle (Mergenhagen 1995). Recent technologi-
cal developments have facilitated data collection on consumers’ lifestyles and
behaviors, making it easier than ever before to predict behavior from life events and
their interdependence. For example, marriage and change in residence are interde-
pendent events, each associated with new consumption needs for products and ser-
vices (e.g., purchase of insurance, house, furniture). Information on one event can
predict another upcoming event; and EHA could help predict those consumers who
may be at risk (i.e., potential candidates) of making another life transition or pur-
chase, giving marketers useful information not only for targeting consumers but
also for positioning their products in the context of events and transitions that con-
sumers have experienced or anticipate.
Furthermore, because the life course paradigm’s principles of timing and dura-
tion have developmental implications, marketers could make better predictions of
consumer needs by incorporating these principles into family life cycle models. For
example, a qualitative study suggests that upon making or anticipating a transition
into a new family life stage, people are likely to be at a liminal stage in their transi-
tion process and, as a result, more prone to changing their behaviors; and they are
less likely to change their consumption habits with increasing time (duration) at the
new stage (e.g., Gentry et al. 1995). By the same token, anecdotal evidence suggests
that consumers are increasingly more likely to change their consumption habits as
they approach the anticipatory transition into a new life stage (e.g., Mergenhagen
1995). These notions receive some empirical support in a recent life course study of
Thai consumers (Sthienrapapayut 2017).
In sum, rather than using crude criteria that define FLC stages and changes,
which are related to changes in household spending on a variety of products and
services (e.g., Wells and Gubar 1966; Wilkes 1995), marketers could use specific
life events that define relevant role transitions and corresponding consumption
needs (Kotler 1992; Mergenhagen 1995). In doing so, they would be able to identify
consumers who are potential candidates for purchasing new products or switching
brands.
180 9  Implications for Practitioners

9.1.5  Consumer Relationship Management

The life course approach could further contribute to marketing practice by helping
managers better understand the factors that underscore profitable customer relation-
ships. Because existing models of brand loyalty and brand switching behavior are
often integrated with concepts of customer relationship management (CRM) (e.g.,
Kumar and Rajan 2009; Reinartz and Kumar 2003), understanding the reasons for
stability and change in brand preferences would be essential in understanding the
most and the least profitable customers. While models for studying customer-firm
relationships in a dynamic context over certain time intervals in the customer’s life
course using customer “survival” analyses have already begun to appear in the mar-
keting literature (e.g., Reinartz and Kumar 2003), such models are largely atheoreti-
cal; they tend to be data-driven and focus on outcomes (changes in behaviors as
“events”) rather than the underlying processes that bring about changes in consumer
behavior over time. And although these models often include some marketing activ-
ities of the firm as predictors, their builders point out that they tend to ignore attitu-
dinal, motivational, and emotional factors that could affect behavior (e.g., Reinartz
and Kumar 2003). Consumer variables used as covariates in these models tend to be
of a limited nature and theoretical justification; they are usually basic demographic
factors such as age and income that turn out to be poor predictors of behavior (e.g.,
Reinartz and Kumar 2003).
The theoretical explanations and variables derived from the life course para-
digm could help enrich models of customer retention and defection (i.e., stability
and change in behavior) by offering guidance about the most relevant antecedents
(e.g., earlier behaviors viewed as events), processes, and contextual (moderating)
variables that could supplement the variables presently used to better explain cus-
tomer response. These modified models would view customer loyalty as a
duration-­dependent phenomenon in the context of the customer’s purchasing tra-
jectories, with events such as marketing activities and other contextual activities
(e.g., competitors’ activities) serving as covariates. Such analyses could help bet-
ter explain consumer response to marketing activities of the firm among different
types of consumers, such as low- and high-cost customers, and help to determine
the desirability of retaining such segments of customers (Kumar and Rajan 2009).
For example, customers whose product trajectories consist of frequent brand
switching in response to contextual factors could be less profitable in the long run
and would not justify efforts to appease them (Kumar and Rajan 2009). The influ-
ence of various commercial activities of the firm and its competitors over time
(viewed as events and contextual variables), especially those of marketers as
(socialization) agents of change and creators of consumer knowledge (human
capital), as well as the duration of consumers’ exposure to such activities, are
implicit in previous efforts but less than rigorously examined (e.g., Andreasen
1984; Mathur et  al. 2008; Reinartz and Kumar 2003). For example, the antici-
pated initiation and duration of a marketing event, such as a new product intro-
duction with a special promotional offer, is likely to have different effects on
9.2  Public Policy, Education, and Intervention 181

consumer choices depending on its magnitude, timing (initiation), and expiration

(i.e., duration) (Nagel and Holden 2002). Such previous disjointed premises and
speculations could be placed and more systematically examined within the multi-
theoretical life course paradigm.

9.2  Public Policy, Education, and Intervention

The life course approach should also be of interest to public policymakers who
wish to identify consumer groups at risk of (1) developing socially undesirable
consumer behaviors and (2) becoming vulnerable to persuasive communications
and fraudulent activities (Moschis 2007a). Consumers in the process of adjusting
to new roles due to stressful events or transitions are often uninformed, disori-
ented, and vulnerable to outside influences and persuasive communications, as in
the case of single fathers adjusting to their new parental role (Harrison and Gentry
2007). In fact, some of the most common cases of elderly consumer fraud are
believed to take place during highly stressful times such as death of a spouse
(Moschis 1992). Public policymakers should be particularly interested in under-
standing the stressful events that make consumers most vulnerable to online mar-
keting, telemarketing, and personal selling. Such information could be used in
designing community education assistance and outreach programs through local
social agencies (e.g., Parke 1988).
Finally, several other contemporary issues of interest to policymakers could be
addressed in the context of the life course paradigm, such as the role of mass media
in the development of antisocial behaviors. The onset of undesirable behaviors such
as cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse in particular (Pechman et al. 2005) could be
studied using the life course approach. For example, smoking initiation can be con-
sidered a duration-dependent behavior during adolescence, a period during which
nearly all smokers pick up this habit (i.e., are “at risk”) (Lewit et al. 1981); and a
number of possible determinants of the onset of this habit, such as exposure to ciga-
rette promotions, antismoking warnings, and social factors (e.g., Moschis 1989;
Yang and Netemeyer 2015), could serve as covariates. This book has presented
evidence which suggests that family disruptions during adolescent years (i.e.,
divorce, absence of parents, economic losses) may lead to ineffective parenting
(socialization), increasing the risk that children develop problem behavior, such as
shoplifting, gambling, and drunk-driving (e.g., Cox et al. 1990; Elder et al. 1996;
Moschis 1987), or behaviors that have negative consequences on the person’s health,
such as smoking (Moen et al. 1992). Young people growing up in dislocated fami-
lies might be at greater risk of developing such antisocial behaviors; and they could
also be more susceptible to marketing communications. Thus, information about
changing family contexts and segments of youths facing such potential risks could
be used to design legislation and community education assistance and outreach
intervention programs.
182 9  Implications for Practitioners

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Chapter 10
Summary, Opportunities, Challenges,
and Recommendations

Researchers have long recognized the need to study consumers over the course of
their lives and to identify the factors responsible for changes in consumer behaviors
over time, but they have had inadequate theories and methods for accomplishing
such objectives. This book has argued for the employment of the life course para-
digm as a research framework to help study and understand consumers over their
life span. The present chapter summarizes previous efforts to study consumers over
the course of their lives and the main issues related to these efforts. Next, it high-
lights the merits of using the life course paradigm as a research framework and how
its employment could help overcome shortcomings inherent in previous efforts.
Furthermore, the chapter illuminates the life course paradigm’s potential contribu-
tions to the field of consumer behavior and points out challenges for researchers
who employ the life course approach. Lastly, it offers recommendations to research-
ers who wish to study consumers over certain periods of their lives.

10.1  Summary of Previous Approaches and Issues

Previous efforts to understand the behavior of consumers over the course of their
lives have relied on both empirical and humanistic approaches. The vast majority of
efforts are based on cross-sectional and experimental studies that are either atheo-
retical or rely on factors that are usually derived from a single theoretical (primarily
psychological) perspective. They focus either on consumers in various age groups
or stages in life, attempting to explain the implied changes in their behaviors from
the observed age or stage differences in such behaviors, or upon differences among
consumers in specific age groups or stages in life by attributing within-age or
within-stage individual differences to earlier in life experiences. Studies in the first
category have been more successful in describing the observed differences than in
explaining the inferred changes. Such studies ignore the effects of earlier-in-life
experiences, the mechanisms responsible for changes in their behaviors as well as

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 187

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5_10
188 10  Summary, Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations

the contexts of such changes, especially cohort and period effects. They tend to
focus on examining differences between age groups or stages, largely ignoring dif-
ferences within age groups or stages, assuming within-age or within-stage homoge-
neity in consumer behaviors.
In contrast, studies that attempt to explain individual differences and understand
the behavior of consumers in specific age groups or stages in life by considering
earlier-in-life experiences tend to infer the influence of such experiences from retro-
spective measures of the person’s circumstances or life conditions earlier in his or
her life. These studies tend to ignore the contexts of such experiences, assuming that
the influence of contexts on consumers is the same regardless of their age, stage in
life, or periods of time. And they tend to ignore the change mechanisms that account
for individual differences among consumers in different age groups or stages in life,
inferring the specific mechanisms from empirical links between behaviors and
earlier-­in-life experiences.
Humanistic studies, on the other hand, have attempted to explain consumer
behaviors over the course of one’s life by focusing on context. Although these stud-
ies and methods are useful in helping researchers understand consumption phenom-
ena that are context-dependent, they provide limited generalizations, especially
time-dependent explanations of consumer behavior. Context-dependent explana-
tions also leave much to be desired in both theory and method, despite useful
insights into human behavior that can be derived from the symbolic interaction and
phenomenological perspectives based on individual interpretations rather than some
objectively defined reality that are the basis for behavior and social interaction
(Breytspraak 1984; Neugarten 1984). Context-dependent studies based on the inter-
pretive science perspective tend to deviate from rigidity, creating problems when it
comes to theory development (Moody 1988) in that they tend to view behavior as
the result of dynamic interplay between people and their environments that are sub-
ject to constant change (e.g., Herzog and Markus 1999).
Thus, while both empirical and humanistic studies acknowledge the importance
of early-in-life experiences, previous efforts to account for the inferred links
between earlier-in-life factors and patterns of consumer thoughts and actions leave
much to be desired. The study of mechanisms responsible for the development and
changes in behaviors are rarely assessed or verified, because such investigations
require the study of consumers over time and in specific contexts and periods using
stringent longitudinal research designs.
The information presented in this book also shows that consumers’ behavior can
be influenced by earlier-in-life experiences unique to each person as well as experi-
ences common to large groups of people that they belong to; and individuals differ
with respect to the length of time they experience various factors or circumstances.
The materials presented also suggest that in order to advance knowledge in the con-
sumer field researchers should develop theories that consider the diversity of factors
that influence consumer choices. They should employ variables derived from several
theories and attempt to study consumers within broad or overarching multi-­
theoretical frameworks. Such multi-theoretical frameworks should explain con-
sumer behavior in context and time.
10.3  Potential Contributions to Consumer Research 189

Finally, this book suggests the need for researchers to employ methodologies that
can overcome weaknesses inherent in methods previously used to study people in time
and context. Methods of data analysis that are employed to study consumers in time
and context should be capable of disentangling the effects of theory-based variables
that explain individual-related changes from cohort- and period-related influences. And
because a theory may lend itself to one or multiple methods of analysis, the employ-
ment of multiple methods can help cross-validate results obtained from a single method.

10.2  The Life Course Paradigm as Research Framework

In view of the needs for advancing knowledge in the field of consumer behavior and
limitations as well as issues surrounding previous efforts to study consumers over
the course of their lives, this book advocates for the use of the life course paradigm
as a conceptual framework for overcoming limitations and issues inherent in previ-
ous approaches. The development of this paradigm has been the result of recent
trends in social sciences and recent methodological developments that have enabled
scientists to integration of various theories into multi-theoretical frameworks and
study people over their entire life using both positivistic and humanistic methods.
As discussed in this book, the life course paradigm incorporates both growth and
stage models of cognitive development and personality development, as well as life-­
span models (Elder and Johnson 2002); and it makes time and context silent dimen-
sions of theory and analysis (Elder 1998a, b; George 2003), creating opportunities
for dealing with the confounded effects of age, period, and cohort, as well as with
the reciprocity and dialectic of individual and social change. These features have
helped advance the life course approach to one of the leading theoretical frame-
works (Elder et al. 2003; Mortimer and Shanahan 2003) and one of the most impor-
tant recent achievements in social and behavioral sciences (Colby 1998).
During recent decades, the life course approach has developed gradually into an
interdisciplinary program for studying various forms of behavior. It is found in
recent theoretical formulations of scientists in dozens of disciplines of behavioral
and social sciences (for studies and citations, see, e.g., Mortimer and Shanahan
2003, Shanahan et al. 2016). Although the life course approach to research has long
been viewed by developmental psychologists as potentially useful for understand-
ing consumer behavior (e.g., Baltes et al. 1980; Guest 1964), its use as a conceptual
framework has been largely ignored by consumer researchers.

10.3  Potential Contributions to Consumer Research

As a research approach, the life course paradigm appears to have the potential to
address a host of theoretical and substantive issues of interest to researchers and
practitioners. It can contribute to the study of consumer behavior by (1) explaining
190 10  Summary, Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations

the formation and change in consumption patterns that are time- and context-­
dependent, (2) serving as a framework for integrating existing theories and investi-
gating the efficacy of relatively unexplored ideas that could derive from this
integration, and (3) helping construct a developmental theory of consumer behavior.

10.3.1  F
 ormation, Stability, and Changes in Consumer
Behaviors

The development, stability, and changes in consumer behaviors could be studied

within the life course paradigm in relation to earlier life stages, according to histori-
cal and cultural contexts, and by examining the processes that link time and context
to change. Wells (1993) points out that all consumer behaviors of interest to
researchers relate to stages of the decision process and the importance of the deci-
sion. He suggests the need to focus more on “life-altering” decisions (e.g., college
education, purchase of a new home), which set in motion a chain of sequential and
time-dependent (but decreasing in importance) decisions, as well as the need to
focus more on the consumption and post-consumption stages of the decision pro-
cess. Such ideas are congenial to the life course paradigm and methods of analysis.
Using Wells’ (1993) example, the decision to buy new furniture instead of a vaca-
tion trip can be viewed as a time-dependent decision in the context of the earlier
life-altering decision to buy a new house. Similarly, stages of the decision process
would be viewed as duration-dependent mini-transitions or choice points from one
state to the next, such that different causal factors could explain behavior at each
stage and the likelihood or risk of transition into the next stage (Elder 1998a).
Because life-altering consumption events, such as education, affect the likeli-
hood of other important life events and determine people’s life trajectories (e.g.,
occupational success) (Elder 1998a), consumption could be viewed in a broader
context by examining how consumer actions affect the person’s life pathways, as
well as how nonconsumption events affect consumer actions over the course of
one’s life. Such thinking is not novel, as previous researchers have recognized the
interdependence of consumption and nonconsumption activities (e.g., Andreasen
1984; Gentry et  al. 1995; Gould et  al. 1993) and used various methods to study
consumers over time (e.g., Gould 1991; Rentz and Reynolds 1983; Smith and Lux
1993). However, the life course paradigm provides a conceptual framework for
studying the development, stability, and change of a wide variety of consumption
phenomena in a systematic way; and it offers researchers a multi-theoretical
­framework within which previous efforts to study consumers over time can be
casted and studied using a wide variety of theories and methods. Because it focuses
on time, timing, contexts, and patterns of stability and change, it is capable of
addressing a broad range of theoretical and substantive issues that still plaque the
field of consumer research, as it has in other fields of behavioral and social sciences
(George 2003).
10.3  Potential Contributions to Consumer Research 191

Finally, the life course paradigm enables researchers to study the development of
consumer behavior as a person-population process, where development and social
structure are products of interaction between individual and social structure across
specific sociohistorical circumstances (Featherman and Lerner 1985). For example,
the Great Depression did not only affect the rate of the development of certain
cohorts (i.e., affected their behaviors in later life), but the “depression” generation
also brought about changes in the social structure in the form of a stronger version
of the welfare state, which has further affected the developmental context of younger
cohorts (Campbell and O’Rand 1988). As Elder (1987) observes: “The life course
perspective emerged in part from the recognition that individual and historical
changes are intertwined. Social change occurs in part through change in people and
cohorts, whereas both individual and family changes result from transformations of
the larger environment” (1987: 196). According to Campbell and O’Rand (1988),
these processes are duration-dependent, and EHA has made their study possible.
The study of person-population processes has implications for consumer behavior
because such processes can address bidirectional influences between pairs of col-
lectivities (consumers, marketers, public policymakers) over time, such as the
effects of marketing activities on consumers, consumer influences on legislation,
and subsequent effects on marketing practice.

10.3.2  Integrative Multi-Theoretical Framework

Sherrod and Brim (1986) note that the various disciplinary approaches to life course
research are neither conflicting nor mutually exclusive; rather, they are complemen-
tary. The integration of the main life course perspectives into a multi-theoretical con-
ceptual framework is consistent with recent efforts of life course researchers to
combine variables derived from diverse theories (e.g., Elder et al. 1996; Mortimer
and Shanahan 2003; Pearlin and Skaff 1996). For example, Crosnoe and Elder (2002)
show how diverse life course perspectives can be integrated into a life course frame-
work to study successful aging by deriving variables from the stress perspective
(experience of stressful events), normative perspective (e.g., marital, occupational,
civic roles), and human capital perspective (e.g., education, occupational success).
During much of the earlier part of the last century, major obstacles to the develop-
ment of multi-theoretical models were the different assumptions in the various theo-
ries regarding units of analysis (Passuth and Bengtson 1988) and a lack of methods
that would overcome these obstacles. However, the development of methodologies,
especially EHA, during the last few decades of the twentieth century enables
researchers to incorporate into their models variables derived from different levels of
aggregation (e.g., Helsen and Schmittlein 1993). As illustrated throughout this book,
time-dependent and time-independent covariates could be derived from the life
course paradigm (e.g., stressful events, socialization processes, duration in roles),
and contextual variables defined at different levels of aggregation (e.g., individual
and group characteristics, culture, cohort) could be included in EHA models.
192 10  Summary, Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations

Because the life course framework includes complementary theoretical perspec-

tives, it enables researchers to study the effects of theoretically relevant variables on
consumer behavior in the context of more than one perspective. For example, the
effects of an event such as divorce can be examined as a stressful experience that
leads to consumption changes (i.e., coping responses), a transition into the role of a
divorcee that entails the development of a new identity and patterns of consumption
(role enactment), and a source of intellectual growth or human capital (new decision-­
making skills) that emerge from the crises and demands of this new role (e.g.,
Abeles et al. 1980; Elder et al. 1996; McAlexander et al. 1993).
Furthermore, the life course paradigm has the potential of serving as a frame-
work that could help researchers integrate several disjointed theoretical perspec-
tives. Several displaced theories, such as control theory, prospect theory,
socioemotional selectivity theory, and learning theories, are among many others that
have already been presented within the life course paradigm throughout this book;
and several more could be integrated within this paradigm. Adaptation to life condi-
tions created by life events and circumstances, whether adjusting to a new role,
coping with stress, or developing knowledge, appears to be the underlying theme of
many theories used by consumer researchers. For example, adaptation is a core
assumption of cognitive consistency (balance) theories (e.g., Heider 1958), often
seen as a process that helps researchers understand learning due to changing envi-
ronmental circumstances (events) (Shimp 1991). Life course adaptation perspec-
tives and principles can be extended to other types of psychological disequilibria
(e.g., cognitive imbalance, depression, boredom) that compel adjustments in con-
sumption patterns, as well as to other heterostatic behaviors (e.g., curiosity, attrac-
tion to novel stimuli, need for variety; e.g., O’Guinn and Faber 1991) that constitute
affective responses to stimuli that decay over time (Reich and Zautra 1988).
Similarly, other adaptation theories found in various research streams (e.g.,
Strahilevitz and Loewenstein 1998) could be integrated with life course principles,
using the life course paradigm as an overarching theoretical framework in much the
same way it presently serves as a framework for integrating theories and their
research streams such as stress (Pearlin and Skaff 1996), socialization (Elder 1994),
and human capital (Crosnoe and Elder 2002). For example, using notions of adap-
tivity derived from theories by Darwin and Arnold, Cohen and Areni (1991) discuss
how affective responses serve adaptive purposes in helping a person deal with a
changing environment, using cognitions, affect, and emotions as the intervening
variables between events and responses to them. In the same vein, acculturation
may be viewed in the context of duration-dependent adaptation to the new culture
(human capital development) or learning from the environment (socialization).
Furthermore, the reader can see in this book how other models previously used to
study the development and changes in consumer behaviors, such as consumer social-
ization and models of knowledge development and change used to study consumption-­
related patterns of behavior in various areas relevant to consumer’s well-being (e.g.,
financial, healthcare, maladaptive) (e.g., Hershey et  al. 2010; Moore et  al. 2017;
Yingwattanakul and Moschis 2017), could be placed within the broader life course
paradigm. Such notions about the paradigm’s potential contributions are in line with
10.3  Potential Contributions to Consumer Research 193

recent trends in social sciences. As George (2003) notes, the integration of life course
principles with other themes and research traditions not only reflects recent trends in
social sciences but also appears likely to be “the most dominant form of life course
research in the future” (2003: 673).

10.3.3  Toward a Developmental Theory of Consumer Behavior

The life course paradigm provides a broad framework within which a developmen-
tal theory of consumer behavior can be constructed on the basis of consumption-­
related needs and processes that are triggered by life events and role transitions
experienced over the course of a person’s life in changing sociocultural contexts.
Such a theory would view a person’s consumption activities at a given point in time
not in isolation from previously experienced and anticipated life events but as a
part of a dynamic, unfolding life trajectory. Rather than seeking explanations for
differences in consumer behaviors in variables measured at a specific time in con-
sumers’ life, the emphasis would shift to the study of consumers in the time and
contexts in which they have been embedded, including their previous life and con-
sumption experiences and future expectations. Consumers would be studied not in
a vacuum or in isolation but as a part of interdependent consumption and noncon-
sumption events in time and context. They would be viewed as active participants
in their own development and transformation (in line with the principle of human
agency), where developments and changes of patterns of thought and action result
from consumer adaptations to changing life conditions, including their previous
consumption choices.
Such notions receive support from researchers who interpret findings of con-
sumer studies in the context of changes people experience during the course of their
lives. O’ Guinn and Faber (1991), for example, observe that Andreasen’s (1984)
findings about changes in consumption lifestyles due to life status changes may
reflect a selective demand for information, products, and services that emerges from
the creation of needs that are relevant to enactment of new roles. Along these lines,
Mathur et al. (2008) assert that these changes also might reflect coping responses,
as consumers attempt to adapt to changing conditions. These researchers provide
findings in support of their view, and they implicitly suggest that changes in con-
sumer preferences also may be the result of new knowledge consumers have
acquired (increased human capital) as a result of challenges created by changes in
their life conditions.
Such interpretations are also in line with recent views on human development
over the life course that propose an “event-centered” approach to human develop-
ment over the life course. According to this approach, thoughts and actions are
organized around one’s experiences of major events and turning points in life, such
as retirement, as bases for understanding individual differences in developmental
patterns of thought and action. For example, Alwin et al. (2016) propose an event-­
centered growth model, different from traditional models of cognitive development
194 10  Summary, Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations

that focus on age-graded changes. This is a latent difference score model that can
reveal changes up to and subsequent to the event. Their model is an effort to move
away from age-graded changes and make development over the life course less
abstract by focusing on “the ways in which life course events, transitions, and tra-
jectories actually impinge on and are affected by developmental outcomes over the
life span” (2016: 51). As Shanahan and associates further note, an event-centered
approach “meshes well with Avison’s call for research on turning points in trajecto-
ries of well-being and Dannefer’s interest in moving away from the ‘functional-­
developmental’ paradigm” (2016: 18). Such views underscore the life course
paradigm’s main premise regarding the effects of changes on the person’s develop-
ment over his or her life span; and they provide bases for a life-span developmental
theory of consumer behavior. Such a theory would explain stability and changes in
consumer behaviors as outcomes of major events and adaptation processes in vari-
ous contexts; and it would consider the trajectories of interdependent consumer
choices as outcomes of major life events or turning points that consumers both plan
for and adapt to over the course of their lives. The efficacy of such an approach to
the study of consumer behavior receives support from data presented by Harrison
et al. (2011) that provide insights into how a family’s meals are structured around
major life events.

10.4  Recommendations

The information presented in the previous chapters suggests that future research
could benefit from adopting the life course approach to consumer research.
Consumer actions and response patterns should be studied by taking into consider-
ation not only the person’s present characteristics, circumstances, and life condi-
tions but also earlier-in-life experiences and behaviors, as well as his or her future
expectations. From a theoretical point of view, this book points to the importance of
employing multi-theoretical models, such as the life course paradigm, rather than
relying on a specific theory. This approach calls for a shift in how investigators
approach research questions. Specifically, rather than employing a single theory or
a theoretical orientation (e.g., psychological or sociological theories) as the basis
for hypothesis formulation or interpretation of their observations, the new approach
encourages researchers to seek overarching multi-theoretical frameworks, as illus-
trated by the life course paradigm, which encompass a wide variety of theoretical
orientations to help them better study and understand a specific consumption
phenomenon.
With respect to research design, researchers should embrace multiple methods,
both in design and analysis. The value of different methods of scientific inquiry has
already been suggested (e.g., Mayer and Tuma 1990; Schau et al. 2009; Yoon et al.
2009), and the use of new data analysis strategies and techniques should bring
fruit. For example, in studying older adults’ consumption habits, researchers could
employ specific measures of biological aging (e.g., Dean 1988) and psychometric
10.4 Recommendations 195

measures that are directly relevant to the older person’s stage in life, since those
commonly used are designed to measure optimal performances that are not neces-
sary for the elderly’s day-to-day functioning and effectual decision-making (Schaie
1987); and they are likely to produce different results, depending on the specific
measure used (Moschis 2000). Furthermore, the study of changes in consumer
behaviors should employ proper research designs, preferably longitudinal, rather
than studying age-group differences to infer changes. While experimental studies
have merit, researchers should focus more attention on examining within-age-
group differences, as such a strategy can be effective in controlling for cohort and
period effects (Salthouse 1999, 2010). For example, when studying older consum-
ers, researchers should employ measures of the older person’s life experiences that
can be obtained accurately (Henry et al. 1994) and are not likely to be affected by
his or her age, as in the case of one’s experience of important life events (Herbert
and Cohen 1996; Rodgers and Hertzog 1987), and use such measures as covariates
in EHA models. Time-dependent and time-independent covariates could be derived
from life course adaptation perspectives (i.e., measures of stress and coping,
socialization processes, and human capital) and can include contextual variables
defined at different levels of aggregation (e.g., individual and group characteris-
tics, culture, cohort).
Because the employment of the life course paradigm as a research approach
requires measures of consumer states, experiences, and contexts over time, research-
ers face major measurement challenges. The construction of trajectories requires the
study of transitions and mini-transitions, and the development of consumption tra-
jectories would need to be based on consumption events and changes in consumer
preferences and habits. Such a task requires data collection from the same subjects
over relatively frequent periods of time for accurate recall of events and changes.
Despite improvement in procedures in recent years that increase the accuracy of
retrospective measures, longitudinal research designs with measures of the same
consumer samples are required over relatively short time frames. Available com-
mercial data collection panels (e.g., Qualtrics) enable researchers to take repeated
measures as frequently as they wish over short time intervals of no more than a few
months, as these panels suffer from high attrition rates when measures are taken
over longer time intervals. However, even the use of short time intervals is not likely
to enable researchers to accurately measures insignificant consumption events ret-
rospectively. In contrast, researchers could be more successful in measuring the
timing of person’s experience of major live events (birth of a child, retirement) and
major changes in consumption preferences (e.g., setting up of an IRA account,
home or car purchase).
Thus, to measure consumers’ behaviors and develop consumption trajectories
over long periods of time, researchers must build their own databases (e.g., Lee et al.
2012; Moschis and Moore 1982) or work closely with corporations that maintain
databases of their customers or users of “free” services (e.g., Facebook, Yahoo,
Google). The requirements and demands for such panels are likely to differ based on
research objectives. For example, while it is relatively easy to reach students of a
university by using their designated email addresses over the years they are enrolled
196 10  Summary, Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations

in classes, it is more difficult to build longitudinal database of average consumers

and offer incentives for their participation. And the more rigorous analytic methods
(e.g. EHA, growth models) could be applied only to data that are easily accessible
and to variables accurately measured, whereas the development of consumption tra-
jectories would be limited to select groups of consumers, select products, and avail-
able databases from commercial sources, such as Amazon.com.
However, accurate measurement of behaviors does not provide insights into the
mechanisms responsible for behavior, and additional or different methods are neces-
sary to understand and explain the development or changes in consumer behaviors.
And different research designs are appropriate for assessing adaptation mechanisms
in life course models. For example, socialization for retirement, which is likely to
begin several years before the actual retirement year and entails adjustment to the
new role several years after experiencing the event (Moschis 2000), requires assess-
ment over longer periods of time and thus longitudinal research designs. In contrast,
transition and socialization to a new role, such as from the role of student to worker,
could take place over a relatively shorter period of time, and, therefore, cross-sec-
tional designs with retrospective measures of adaptation (socialization) mechanisms
could be appropriate. Conversely, the mechanisms of stress and coping as well
human capital development in response to a life event would not be accurately
assessed longitudinally, as retrospective measures of psychological states beyond
2 years into the past tend to be unreliable and invalid (Henry et al. 1994). The study
of such mechanisms can be addressed via experimentation.
Continuous improvements in technologies are likely to facilitate data collection
via commercial platforms, and recently developed methods allow researchers to use
more sophisticated ways of working with longitudinal data to determine the effects
of variables that have previously hampered interpretations of finding such as those
of aging, cohort, and period effects (Blossfeld and Rohwer 1995; Gaeth and Heath
1987; Moschis 2012; Rentz and Reynolds 1983). And because the life course para-
digm lends itself to main methods of seeking knowledge—quantitative, humanistic,
and historical (Alford 1998)—the author of this book encourages future life course
researchers to employ different methods and approaches to knowledge creation.

10.5  Conclusion

This book advocates for the value of studying consumer behavior using principles
and perspectives of the life course paradigm. Despite convincing evidence that this
paradigm is widely adopted by researchers in dozens of disciplines as a scientific
idea, theoretical orientation, research approach, and interdisciplinary field, it has
received little attention in the consumer field. Articles adopting a life course
approach have started to appear in the marketing literature, but they have been lim-
ited in their purpose, populations studied, and application of life course concepts
and principles. They also have largely relied on methods that are not the most appro-
priate for life course research. The material presented in this book suggests that the
References 197

study of a wide variety of consumer behaviors could be enhanced by adopting the

life course paradigm as a conceptual framework as well as the suggested methods
and conceptual directions presented in this book. Although the proposed research
agenda focuses on selected areas of consumer behavior, the application of this
approach could be extended to several other areas of consumer research; and as
George (2003) observes, “there are literally hundreds of research topics” (2003:
673) for which researchers could examine long-term patterns of change and stabil-
ity in the context of the life course. This multi-theoretical paradigm should make a
useful contribution to the field of consumer behavior; it should be of interest to
marketers, consumer researchers, and public policymakers because it has the poten-
tial of helping them address areas and issues of interest in an innovative way.

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Index

A Agency-related contextual factors

Adaptation directs effects, 48
cycles of control, and, 41, 78, 102 earlier-in-life experiences, 48
definition, 43, 54 effects on individual choices, 48, 49
forms, 37, 38, 73, 162 effects on life events, 49
measures, 91, 196 effects on responses to events, 49
models, 47, 93, 196 individual characteristics, 49
perspectives, 6, 67, 135–137, 148, 149, moderating effects of, 48
192, 195 Age-segmented stimuli, preferences for
strategies, 41, 78, 102 by age groups, 151
theories, 192 within age groups, 151
Adaptation, effects on effectiveness, 152
consumer behavior stability, 63, 76, 101, 194 explanations, 151, 152
onset of consumer behaviors, 31 and role transitions, 151
Adaptation processes Aging
adjusting to change, 14 inference of effects, 21, 117
coping with stress/insecurity, 99 measures of, 2, 93
human development, growth & decline, models of cognitive aging, 47
72–74 processes, 173, 174
interdependence of, 74, 99 study of, 9, 151, 191
role acquisition and enactment, 70 theories of, 47, 150
Adult education, 77 Anticipated life events and role transitions,
Age effects on
chronological age, 24, 141, 170 adaptation processes, 92
cognitive age, 141, 173, 175 consumer behavior, 51, 66
effects on materialistic values, 29 occurrence of life events, 51
as explanatory variable, 114 Antisocial behaviors, 73, 158, 181
measures of, 93, 175, 194
social age, 6, 22, 23, 43, 70, 114, 137
Age- and cohort-related differences in B
brand preferences, 29 Binge eating, 156, 157, 159–162
brand relations, 29 Brand preferences
information processing, 29 changes in, 28, 51, 76, 180
materialistic values, 29 development of, 19
values and lifestyles, 29 novelty seeking, and, 77

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 201

G. P. Moschis, Consumer Behavior over the Life Course,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05008-5
202 Index

C Consumption
Center for Mature Consumer Studies (CMCS), among middle-aged, 148
30, 120, 150 categories, 29, 62, 139
Cognitive declines expenditures, 62, 137, 139
age-related, 3, 27, 141, 152 over the life course, 29
and earlier-in-life experiences, 152 symbolic, 148
cohort effects, 152 Consumption continuity and change,
information processing, 11, 147, 152 63, 88
within age groups, 141 Consumption events, effects on
Cognitive development adaptation, 66
cohort effects on, 22 life events, 62, 66, 190
and consumption, 61 Consumption states, 61–63, 76, 77, 88,
contextual effects on (see Trajectories) 119, 178
effects of early-in-life experiences, 148 Consumption trajectories, 61, 67, 137, 141,
duration in developmental stage, 25 178, 195
period effects on, 87 Covariates, types of, see Event history
stage differences in, 25 analysis
theories, 5, 22, 46, 73 Cox regression, 30, 115, 117, 118
within-stage differences, 24 See also Event history analysis
Cohorts
baby boomers, 26, 170, 172
definitions, 29 D
effects, 52, 137–139, 170 Death of a spouse or loved one
marketing to, 170 as anticipated event, 44
as market segments, 170 effects on consumer behavior, 68
millennials, 26, 170 as unexpected event, 177
Compulsive buying Debt proneness, 67
changes in family structure, Decision-making
156, 158 and aging, 154, 155
and family rearing practices, 158 changes in, 154, 155
human capital explanations, 157 conflict resolution, 154, 155
life course explanations, 31, 156 and control, 155
psychological explanations, 156 coping with the stressfulness of, 155
in response to stress, 157 family decision-making, 154, 155
socialization explanations, 157 and hazard models, 154, 155
Consumer behaviors as events hierarchy of, 154
choices, 61 individual, 154, 155
consumer choices, 76 life altering, 65, 76, 178
habits, 66 lifespan development of, 154
response, 61 new product adoption, 154
Consumer choices optimal, 154
as consumption trajectories, 61 processes, 154, 155
interdependence of, 65 and self-esteem, 155
“life altering”, 76 and socioemotional selectivity theory
Consumer Life-course Studies Group (SST), 154, 155
(CLSG), 31 styles, 154
Consumer well-being Deficits
and earlier-in-life behaviors, 153 age-related, 3
emotional, 153 cognitive, 152
financial, 153, 162 models, 24
in later life, 153 (see also Successful aging Divorce
perspective) adjustment to, 75
physical (see also Life satisfaction; effects on consumer behavior, 74
Well-being) transition into role, 45, 50
Index 203

Duration, effects of diversity of, 63, 79, 105

on adaptation mechanisms, 51, 63, 77, 138 effects of family dislocation events, 28,
in consumption states, 76, 77, 178 73, 157
in life styles, 153 intangible, 63, 73, 79, 105, 157, 158
in roles, 101, 118, 191 tangible, 63, 79, 105
See also Time Family structures
changes in, 135, 136, 156, 160
dislocation of, 28, 73, 136, 157
E duration in, 158
Effectual financial behaviors effects of, 94
continuity, 100, 101 Financial
onset of, 100 advice, 43, 98
stability, 101 decisions, 96, 99, 103
Event-centered approach family resources, 104
as consumer behavior theory, 194 fears, 91
event-centered growth model, 193 goals, 91, 92
Event history analysis (EHA) literacy/knowledge, 89
advantages, 113, 114 preparedness for retirement, 94
vs. conventional methods, 112 satisfaction, 90, 100
definition, 112 solvency, 32, 85, 91, 98
estimation procedures, 113 strategies, 99
an illustration, 115 threats, 99
limitations, 115 Financial behaviors
requirements for, 112 age-related, 87
risk period, 113, 117 changes in, 86, 92, 96, 98
statistical test, 117 continuity of, 97, 101
types of covariates, 112 disorderly, 103
Explanations of consumer behavior, 11, 22, financial socialization, 86, 98
125, 134, 188 gender-related, 103
(in) effectual, 92, 101
in life course context, 88–94
F models of, 85–88, 94
Family motivations for, 89, 91, 92, 96, 101
consumption decision (see also Decision responsible, 90
making) saving, 88, 90–92, 98
and life transitions, 22 spending, 88, 90, 94, 98
and linked lives, 52, 79, 105, 155
Family adaptability, 79, 105
Family identity G
change in, 79 Gerontographics
continuity in, 79, 150 and aging processes, 173
Family life cycle (FLC) applications to marketing, 173
assumptions, 138, 139 and consumer responses to marketing
cohort effects on, 138 offerings, 176
and consumption, 137–139 definition, 173
differences between stages, 137 segments, 172, 175
differences within stages, 138 studies of, 175
duration in FLC stages, 138 Gift-giving
limitations, 139 as event, 150, 151
models, 138, 139 gendered, 123
period effects on, 138, 139 in later life, 30
stages of, 137–139 motivations for, 150
Family resources and need for control, 150
changes in, 63 and resource losses, 150
204 Index

Gift-giving (cont.) definition, 8, 26, 37

romantic, 30, 125 elements, 13, 79, 85
and self-esteem, 150, 151 emergence, 4–12
in sociocultural contexts, 151 as an integrative multi-theoretical
framework, 191–193
potential contributions to consumer
H behavior, 13
Hazard rate, function, 112, see Event history premises and assumptions, 49–54
analysis vs. stage models, 23–27
Human capital Life course potential applications to the study of
development, growth, & decline, 72–74 cognitive declines, 152
effects on consumer behavior, 50, 66, 74, 140 consumer well-being, 153–154
effects on coping strategies, 51 decision-making, 154–155
effects on socialization, 73, 74 gift giving and transferring of possessions,
theories, 41, 69, 73 147, 149–151
Humanistic methods, see Qualitative methods maladaptive behaviors, 156–162
preferences for age-segmented stimuli,
151–152
I value of possessions, 148–149
Impulsive buying, 77 Life course research
See also Maladaptive consumer behaviors development, 7, 76
Information processing, 147 diffusion, 127
Interpretive methods, see Qualitative methods in behavioral and social sciences, 85, 189
Investments and investing use of, 12, 120, 169, 189
changes in, 66, 96 usefulness, 8, 12, 140
knowledge of, 99 Life course research framework’s illustrative
motivations for, 91, 92, 94, 97 applications
preferences for types, 88 age-identity, 141
cognitive skill development & decline, 90
compulsive buying, 89, 156–159
L consumer socialization, 134–137, 159
Life adjustments, see Adaptation processes development of materialism, 135–137
Life altering consumer decisions, 65, 76 family life cycle, 22–23, 138–139
Life course financial behaviors, 85
definitions, 4 gift giving, 149–151
studies of, 27–32 hearing aid purchase, 113, 115
Life course approach, the Life course studies of
its development, 155 brand preferences, 11, 19, 28, 29, 51, 76, 180
as an interdisciplinary program, 8, 189 compulsive buying, 156–159
origins, 7–9 gift giving, 149–151
in other disciplines, 153, 159 hearing aid purchase, 115, 116, 118,
potential contributions to consumer 119, 177
research, 13, 189–194 life satisfaction, 153
Life course axioms/principles materialism, 1, 135–137
human agency, 52 old-age-related consumer behaviors, 29
life-span development, 52 personal finance habits, 94–105
(see also Adaptation) preventive healthcare behaviors, 32
linked lives, 52 Life course theoretical perspectives
time and place, 52 (see also Time; Period; adaptation, 41, 46, 148
Cohort) event-centered, 177
timing of events, 52 (see also Timing) human capital, 41, 46, 148
Life course paradigm normative (see Socialization)
applications, 12, 85, 88, 105, 115, 162 socialization, 28, 148
conceptual model, 31, 79, 86, 88, 95 stress and coping, 43, 70–72, 195
Index 205

Life course trajectories, 53, 61 Market segmentation

Life domains age-based, 171, 172
changes, 61 cohort-based, 172
continuity, 61 event-based, 171, 172
types, 61 gerontographics (see Gerontographics)
Life events within-segment differences, 172–175
anticipatory, 65 Materialistic orientations
as consumer choices or decisions, 61, 78, age- and cohort-related differences, 29
102, 194 attitudes, 135
effects of, 41, 50, 66, 95–97, 105, 161, 163 and compulsive buying, 28
expected, planned, or programmed, 177 development of, 135, 136
interdependence of, 50–51, 64, 65, explanations for, 28
178, 179 over the life course, 29
meaning of, 40, 123, 124 and roles, 148
previously experienced, 37, 38, 77, 193 and socioeconomic status, 137
transactional, 38, 45, 65, 97 values, 28, 29, 31, 136, 157
(un)controllable, 46, 72 Methodological issues
(un)expected/unplanned, 4, 44, 45, 64, 67, measurement, 119–121
76, 92, 177 method of analysis, 121–123
(un)pleasant, 41, 54 in qualitative research, 119, 120
Life events, effects on sampling, 127
adaptation processes, 41–48, 50, 69–74, Methods of life course research
91–92 common method bias, 3, 120
consumer behaviors, 51, 64, 97 historical, 112–115
consumption events, 62, 66, 76, humanistic, 111, 123
190, 195 introspective, 123
nonconsumption events, 190, 193 life grid, 120, 124
Life experiences multiple, 111, 114, 115
earlier in life, 27, 32, 100 qualitative, 123–126
effects of, 27, 121, 134, 148 quantitative, 111–123
Life goals, 75, 90, 92, 96 Models
Life stages contextual, 47
assumptions of models, 19, 23 dialectic, 5
definition, 20 economic, 19
effects on consumer behaviors, 3, 10, 20, growth, 4, 5, 193
27–32 human development, 21–22
vs. life course paradigm, 23–27 life cycle (see Family life cycle)
models of, 5, 23, 133 multi-theoretical, 2, 5, 191, 194
Life status, see States organismic, 46, 98
Longitudinal research socialization, 20–21, 159, 160
empirical studies, 7, 138 stage, 5, 19, 21–27, 133, 189
qualitative studies, 125

N
M NEETS, 53
Maladaptive consumer behaviors Novelty seeking, 77
addictions to products, 156
binge-eating, 156, 157, 159–162
compulsive behaviors, 156–159 O
definitions, 156 Obesity
development of, 156–160 consumer at risk, 161
duration-dependent, 156 duration in obese state, 161
origins of, 156, 161 during adulthood, 161
types of, 162 during childhood and adolescence, 160
206 Index

Obesity (cont.) Q
life course explanations, 159, 161, 162 Qualitative methods and procedures
onset as an event, 159, 161, 162 autobiography, 124
rates of, 161 co-biography, 124
Old-age role introspective, 123
duration of transition into, 118, 141 life grid, 124
old-age-related events, 118, 151 life histories, 124–125
timing of transition, 118, 141 life reviews, 124–125
transitions into role, 118, 151 life stories, 124–125
Overconsumption, 72, 103 limitations of, 127
See also Spending proneness personal document approach, 124
social autobiography, 124
social phenomenological approach, 124
P See also Humanistic
Parenting styles Qualtrics, 32, 195
coercive, 135 Quantitative methods
controlling, 73 event history analysis (EHA) models,
in economically-deprived families, 135 112–115
family communication patterns, 134 experiments, 120
and socioeconomic status, 136 growth curve models, 126
Pension systems, 104 hazard models, 111, 113, 117, 118
Period issues, 119–123
definition, 100 longitudinal studies, 120
effects, 12, 22, 52, 87, 137–140, 160, 170, surveys, 114, 116, 120
188, 189, 195, 196
method of assessing, 137
Personal finance R
model of, 94–105 Recreational shopping, 77
propositional inventory, Research design
94–105 cross-sectional, 119, 139, 196
Personality factors, effects of data collection, 1
“fresh start mindset”, 78 experimental, 119
future time perspective, 93, 102 historical, 9
locus of control, 78 interpretive studies, 8
optimism, 78 longitudinal, 188, 195, 196
risk aversion/tolerance, 93, 102 Retirement
self-efficacy, 78 anticipation of, 65, 66, 96, 148
Possessions planning for, 90, 93–95, 103
disposition of, 150 preparedness for, 94
and loss of resources, 150 savings program/plan, 89, 90, 94,
and personal relationships, 150 95, 102
and self-identity, 11, 149 transition into, 23, 42
and socioemotional selectivity Retirement communities, 151, 175
theory, 150 Risk period, see Event history analysis
transferring, 147, 149, 150 Risk tolerance/aversion, 89, 93, 94, 102, 103
See also Gift-giving Role configurations, 53
Propositions suggested by the life course Roles as states
paradigm, 62, 63 anticipatory, 66
Purchase of assumption over the life course, 23, 24, 26,
financial services, 98 48, 53, 61, 100
furniture, 179 changes in, 30, 42, 53, 64
hearing air, 31, 113, 115–118, 177 effects on consumption, 4, 25, 53, 76, 77,
house, 66, 179 88, 133, 178
insurance, 98, 102, 179 effects on identity, 42, 50
Index 207

enactment of, 8, 68–70, 74, 89, 92, 95–99, Socioeconomic status (SES) effects on
101, 104, 105, 192 control cycles, 137
role transition events, 62, 68, 70, 75, 91, development of materialism, 93, 137
118, 151, 152, 160 family communication patterns, 136
as stressor, 40, 92 human capital, 104
transitions into/out of, 48, 51, 64–66, 68, parental styles
75, 76, 86, 92, 96, 100, 116, 121, 139, Spending proneness, 89, 93, 103
141, 173, 177 See also Over-consumption
(un)expected, 44, 64, 65, 152 States
Roles, major types definition, 23
caregiver, 51 as life conditions, 48
divorced, 26 as roles, 4, 23, 24, 26
empty nester, 138 vs. stages, 23–27
grandparent, 68 Strategies of adaptation over the life course, 78
old-age relate, 116, 151, 173 Stress and coping
parent, 8, 42, 44, 47, 68, 97 effects on human capital, 72–74
retiree, 24, 42, 65, 68, 97, 99 effects on socialization, 73
spousal, 8, 44, 97 long-term effects on consumer behaviors, 71
widow(er), 74, 99 short-term effects on consumer behaviors, 71
worker, 44, 47, 51, 64, 65, 97, 196 strategies, 71
Romantic gift-giving, 30, 125, 126 Successful aging perspective (SAP), 153
See also Well-being
Surveys
S cross-sectional, 30
Savings longitudinal, 114, 120
child(rens)’ education, 68, 93, panels, 32
100, 102 prospective measures, 119, 124
and employment status, 104 retrospective measures, 28, 30
and gender, 103 Survival, 111, 113, 114, 117, 118, 180
motivations, 91, 92, 96–99, 103–105 analysis, 117
propensity, 100 function, 113, 118
retirement, 89, 92, 100, 104 models, 111, see Event history analysis
and socioeconomic status, 104
Senior discounts, 151, 171, 176
Sensation seeking, 40, 77 T
Smoking, 73, 113, 156, 181 Theories
initiation as event, 113, 156, 181 activation, 40, 77
risk period of onset, 181 aging, 2
See also Maladaptive consumer cognitive, 40
behaviors cognitive consistency, 192
Social security, 104 contextual, 46, 73
Socialization control, 41, 44, 49, 91, 96, 102, 150,
agents of, 20, 21, 42, 43, 62, 68–70, 74, 155, 192
102, 104 crisis, 47, 69
anticipatory, 42, 66, 68, 92, 97, 177 drive reduction, 40
effects on consumer behavior, 74 Erikson’s, 22
effects on coping, 31, 101, 195 escape, 161
effects on human capital, 69 Gennep’s, 177
financial, 86, 87, 98, 102 homeostatic, 40, 44
gendered financial, 103 labelling, 151
reciprocal, 20, 43, 62, 66 mechanistic, 73
reverse, 134 organismic, 46, 73
theories, 42, 43, 102, 157 personality, 2, 5, 11
Socialization agents, 113, 134, 157, 160, 180 prospect, 41, 78, 102, 192
208 Index

Theories (cont.) Transition process

self, 177, 181 and changes in consumer behaviors, 50,
socioemotional selectivity, 150, 154, 192 64, 68, 96
transformation, 47 exit from roles, 25
Time into roles, 48, 97
and adaptation, 6, 10, 37, 43, 46, 48–53, stages, 154
65, 70–72, 75–77, 91, 92, 98, 100, 136, and vulnerability, 3
148, 149, 173 Transitions
dependencies, 3 age-graded, 193 (see also Timing)
effects on consumption, 29 as base for marketing strategy, 176
and human development, 6 and consumer needs, 138, 177
and likelihood of change, 26, 62, 65 definition, 53
in roles, 3, 8, 26, 42, 43, 51, 53, 65, 67, duration of, 42, 141
69, 74 interdependence of, 51, 65, 155, 178
measures of, 93, 95 (see Life events)
Time-dependent into/out of roles, 90
covariate (see Event history analysis) mini transitions, 54, 113, 114, 154, 161,
events, 114 (see Time) 190, 195 (see also Choice points)
Timing “on-time” and “off-time”, 43, 48, 177
effects of, 117, 137, 139, 152, 160 order of, 5, 42
measure of, 95 spacing of, 42
of events, 38, 48, 52, 75, 100, 178 Turning points
“off-time”, 43, 48, 152, 177 definition, 54
“on-time”, 48 examples, 54
of role transitions, 42
social clocks, 100, 177
Trajectories W
consumption, 61, 67, 137, 141, Well-being, 31, 67, 85, 86, 88, 90–93, 95, 98,
178, 195 103, 104, 147, 153–154, 156, 159, 162,
definition, 53 192, 194
examples of, 53 financial, 88, 91–93, 98, 103, 104
health trajectories, 161 physical, 147
life, 47, 53, 178, 190, 193 See also Consumer well-being
normative and deviant, 53 Widowhood
(see also Role configurations) financial planning for, 66, 96
types of, 24 transition into, 43, 44, 50, 65, 66, 95, 96