The Family and Its Social Class Standing

CHAPTER TEN

Learning Objectives

1. To Understand the Changing Nature of U.S. Families, Including Their Composition and Spending Patterns.

2. To Understand the Socialization Process and Other Roles of the Family.

3. To Understand the Dynamics of Husband-Wife Decision Making, as Well as the Influence of Children in Family Consumption Decision Making.

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Learning Objectives (continued)

4. To Understand How Traditional and Nontraditional Family Life Cycles Impact Consumer Behavior.

5. To Understand What Social Class Is and How It Relates to Consumer Behavior.

6. To Understand the Various Measures of Social Class and Their Role in Consumer Behavior.

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Learning Objectives (continued)

7. To Appreciate the Distinctive Profiles of Specific Social Class Groupings.

8. To Understand the “Ups and Downs” of Social Class Mobility.

9. To Understand the Relationship Between Social Class and Geodemographic Clusters.

10. To Understand the Affluent Consumer.

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Learning Objectives (continued)

11. To Understand the Middle-Class Consumer.

12. To Understand the Working Class and Other Nonaffulent Consumers.

13. To Understand the Nature and Influence of the “Techno-Class.”

14. To Understand How Social Class Is Used in Consumer Research Studies.

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The Changing U.S. Family

• Types of families

– Nuclear

– Extended

– Single-parent

• Changes in household spending patterns

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The Changing U.S. Family

• Family • Two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or

adoption who reside together.

• Types of familiy: • Nuclear Family

• A household consisting of a husband and wife and at least one offspring.

• Extended Family – A household consisting of a husband, wife, offspring, and

at least one other blood relative

• Single-Parent Family • Households consisting of one parent and at least one child,

because of divorce, separation, or not married

Evidence of the Dynamic

Nature of U.S. Households - Figure 10-2

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Consumer

Socialization

The process by which

children acquire the

skills, knowledge, and

attitudes necessary to

function as consumers.

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What Is the Name and Definition of the Process Depicted in This Ad?

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Consumer Socialization - the Process by Which Children Acquire the Skills, Knowledge, Attitudes, and

Experiences Necessary to Function as Consumers

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A Simple Model of the

Socialization Process - Figure 10.4

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Other Functions of the Family

• Economic well-being

• Emotional support

• Suitable family lifestyles

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Family Decision Making

• Dynamics of Husband-Wife Decision Making – Husband-Dominated

– Wife-Dominated

• Expanding Role of Children In Family Decision Making – Choosing restaurants and items in supermarkets

– Teen Internet mavens

– Pester power

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The Family Life Cycle

• Traditional Family Life Cycle

– Stage I: Bachelorhood

– Stage II: Honeymooners

– Stage III: Parenthood

– Stage IV: Postparenthood

– Stage V: Dissolution

• Modifications - the Nontraditional FLC

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Nontraditional FLC Family Stages

Alternative FLC Stage Definition/Commentary

Childless couples Increasingly acceptable with more career-oriented married women and delayed marriages

Couples who marry later in life Likely to have fewer or no children

Couples with first child in late 30’s or later Likely to have fewer children. Want the best and live quality lifestyle

Single parents I High divorce rate - about 50% lead to this

Single parents II Child out of wedlock

Single parents III Single person who adopts

Extended family Adult children return home. Divorced adult returns home. Elderly move in with children. Newlyweds live with in-laws.

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Copyright 2007 by Prentice Hall

Figure 10.13 An Extended Family life Cycle Middle-Aged

Divorced without

Children

Middle-Aged

Married without

Children

Young

Divorced without

Children

Young

Single*

Young

Married

without

Children*

Young

Married

with

Children*

Middle-

Aged

Married

with

Children*

Middle-

Aged

Married

without

Dependent

Children*

Older

Married*

Older

Unmarried*

Middle-

Aged

Divorced

with

Children

Middle-

Aged

Divorced

without

Children

Young

Divorced

with

Children* * Traditional Family Flow

Recycled Flow

Usual Flow

Social Class

The division of

members of a society

into a hierarchy of

distinct status classes,

so that members of

each class have either

higher or lower status

than members of other

classes.

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Social Class Measure and Distribution Table 10.8

SOCIAL CLASSES and PERCENTAGE

Upper 4.3%

Upper-middle 13.8%

Middle 32.8%

Working 32.3%

Lower 16.8%

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Social Class Measurement

• Subjective Measures

– individuals are asked to estimate their own social-class positions

• Objective Measures

– individuals answer specific socioeconomic questions and then are categorized according to answers

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Objective Measures

Single-variable indexes

• Occupation

• Education

• Income

Composite-variable indexes

• Index of Status Characteristics

• Socioeconomic Status Score

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Social Class Mobility

• Upward mobility

• Downward mobility

• Rags to riches?

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Geodemographic

Clusters

A composite

segmentation

strategy that uses

both geographic

variables (zip codes,

neighborhoods) and

demographic

variables (e.g.,

income, occupation)

to identify target

markets.

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Prizm Clusters Figure 10.10a, b

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The Affluent Consumer

• Growing number of households can be classified as “mass affluent” with incomes of at least $75,000

• Some researchers are defining affluent to include lifestyle and psychographic factors in addition to income

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The Affluent Consumer

Three Segments of Affluent Customers’ Average Household Expenditures - Figure 10.12

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What Is the Middle Class?

• The “middle” 50 percent of household incomes - households earning between $25,000 and $85,000

• The emerging Chinese middle class

• Moving up to more “near luxuries”

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The Working Class?

• Households earning $40,000 or less control more than 30 percent of the total income in the U.S.

• These consumers tend to be more brand loyal than wealthier consumers.

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The Techno Class

• Having competency with technology

• Those without are referred to as “technologically underclassed”

• Parents are seeking computer exposure for their children

• Geeks now viewed as friendly and fun

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In What Ways Have the Prestige and Status of Geeks Been Changing?

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The Change is Due to the Importance of Computers.

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Consumer Behavior and Social Class

• Clothing, Fashion, and Shopping

• The Pursuit of Leisure

• Saving, Spending, and Credit

• Social Class and Communication

32 Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall Chapter Ten Slide