Association for Behavior Analysis International

Consumer behavior analysis employs explanatory variables honed in experimental analyses to understand complex human socio-economic behaviors that are not amenable to laboratory investigation. A synthesis of behavior analysis and consumer science, it involves both the behavioral economics of choice in the market place and--the subject of this talk--the interpretation of consumer behavior in natural settings that suggests solutions to pressing cultural concerns such as environmental despoliation through consumption. The paper examines three aspects of this problem: the nature of consumer behavior as a set of contingent activities, the nature of marketing response, and the opportunities for remedial action that follow from the interaction of consumer choice and the marketing firm. Translating what we have discovered through the experimental analysis of behavior into applicable solutions to social and economic problems requires a willingness to adapt our science to the demands of social technology, to recognize the complexities inherent in the reinforcement of complex behavior, and to make our unique approach to behavior--in this case, consumer behavior and marketing response--available to a broader community. The paper deals therefore with the pattern of reinforcement (consisting of both utilitarian and informational reward) that shapes consumer choice, the bilateral contingencies which integrate consumer and corporate behaviors, and the particular requirements of any program that seeks to redress the effects of over-consumption on the physical and social environment. An important subtheme will address what this kind of response to social and environmental concerns requires of behavior analysts.

Psychologists, behavior analysts, graduate students, and anyone interested in learning more about human soci-economic behaviors outside the laboratory