The Changing American Society: Values and Gender Roles

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The Changing American Society Values and Gender
Roles

• Dr. John T. Drea
• Associate Professor of Marketing
• Western Illinois University

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Core American Values (Source Peter Olson,
Consumer Behavior, 1993)

• Individualism
• Freedom
• Mastery Control
• Change in Environmental Values
• Achievement Success
• Activity
• Progress
• Consumption/Materialism
• External Conformity
• Humanitarianism
• Youthfulness

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Changing American Values(Hawkins et. al. 2001)

• Changes in Values
• Risk-taking
• Gratification
• Nature/Environment

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Roles

• Ascribed role a role based on an attribute over
  which the individual has little/no control
• Achievement role an attribute based on
  performance which the individual has some control

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Gender Roles

• Traditional specialized roles
• Modern shared responsibility for major
  responsibilities

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Female Gender Roles

• Traditional Housewife
• stays at home, home/family centered, seeks
  satisfaction from household/volunteer
  activities, content with role
• Trapped Housewife
• wants to work, stays at home due to pressures,
  seeks satisfaction outside household
  responsibilities, doesnt enjoy household
  functions
• Trapped Working Woman
• wants to stay at home, works due to pressure,
  seeks satisfaction at home, experiences time
  pressures role conflict, enjoys household
  activities
• Career Working Woman
• wants to work and does, derives satisfaction at
  work, experiences time pressures, does not
  derive satisfaction from household
  responsibilities

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Questions

• In two roles, women feel trapped. What
  can/should a marketer draw from this?
• In two roles, women feel highly pressed for time.
  What can/should a marketer draw from this?
• In two roles, women derive satisfaction from
  household maintenance activities, while in two
  other roles they do not. What can/should a
  marketer draw from this?

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Rokeachs Value Scale Terminal Values

• A comfortable life
• An exciting life
• A sense of accomplishment
• A world of beauty
• Equality
• Family security
• Freedom

• Happiness
• Inner Harmony
• Pleasure
• Self-respect
• Social Recognition
• Wisdom

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Rokeachs Value Scale Instrumental Values

• Ambitious
• Broadminded
• Capable
• Cheerful
• Clean
• Imaginative

• Independent
• Intellectual
• Logical
• Responsible
• Self-control

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Materialism

• Instrumental materialism obtaining a material
  good in order to perform some activity
• Terminal materialism possession of a good as an
  end in itself
• Advertising themes suggest a rise in instrumental
  materialism in the US, and research indicates
  that most European cultures are just as
  materialistic as we are.
• What is the effect of terminal
  materialism on society?

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7 Step Process for Analyzing Consumer Behavior
1. Information Contact
2. Funds Access
3. Store Contact
4. Product Contact
5. Transaction
6. Consumption
7. Communication