110 of 117 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
safe for consumption, May 18, 2009
This review is from: Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (Hardcover)
True to the spirit of this book, I purchased a flawless copy of it at a library book sale for $5 (I believe it was an unread review copy). As an insatiable reader of Evolutionary Psychology books, I immediately read it, even though I have several thousand other books previously purchased from library sales waiting in my queue. This is one of the most entertaining books I have read, both in terms of its academic content and the writing style (the author has a great sense of humor). The book does not assume background knowledge, though I found that it tied together ideas I had previously encountered in books such as "The Moral Animal", The Third Chimpanzee", "The Red Queen", "The Origins of Virtue", "The Economic Naturalist", etc. (all of which I also highly recommend). The description of consumers as narcissists (great spelling bee word, I hope I got it right) and the various discussions of the central six personality traits are quite thought-provoking. The author isn't afraid to discuss issues backed by evidence that are, however, "politically incorrect", such as the negative effects of the dearth of shared norms in culturally diverse communities. The book also stays consistently well-written and informative throughout (i.e. it shows no evidence of the last third of the book being rushed to meet a deadline or padded to meet a length requirement). The section toward the end about consumption taxes and negative/positive externalities should be required reading for everyone.
One final thing I admire about the book. Concerned parties (author, publisher, editor, etc.) didn't submit a fake 5-star first review posted by someone who has only reviewed one book and writes in an obviously promotional style. I think this book will receive great reviews based on merit. I actually read the book and highly recommend it.
Oh, one other thing. The jacket design is superb. The picture reminds me of myself hunting/gathering at Trader Joe's.
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49 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I buy, therefore I am, May 21, 2009
This review is from: Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (Hardcover)
My husband and I play a game when we drive: he points out a car and I tell him what I think that driver thinks other people think of his choice of car. Then I say what I think it really reveals. A Hummer? The driver is a primal hunter-gatherer, powerful and dripping in testosterone. There are very different stories about the Jeep with no doors, the yellow Beetle, the big slow Cadillac.
Spent is all about the prehistoric origins behind the decisions to buy these cars, and every other product, as well. The science of human nature, called evolutionary psychology, teaches us that people decide to buy stuff to advertise "our biological potential as mates and friends." Understanding the reasons behind these decisions can help us become better consumers, and more aware of why people act the way they do.
It's a fascinating read! The idea that you can use the Info section on Facebook to accurately sum up a person is right on target. And I loved the quiz identifying the Central 6 human characteristics: General intelligence, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, stability and extraversion. Apparently I'm very open and pretty extraverted; I'll have to work on my stability!
Here's the chapter list:
1. Darwin Goes to the Mall
2. The Genius of Marketing
3. Why Marketing is Central to Culture
4. This Is Your Brain on Money
5. The Fundamental Consumerist Delusion
6. Flaunting Fitness
7. Conspicuous Waste, Precision and Reputation
8. Self-Branding Bodies, Self-Marketing Minds
9. The Central Six
10. Traits That Consumers Flaunt and Marketers Ignore
11. General Intelligence
12. Openness
13. Conscientiousness
14. Agreeableness
15. The Centrifugal Soul
16. The Will to Display
17. Legalizing Freedom
Exercises for the Reader
Further Reading and Viewing
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35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
fascinating, frustrating, September 14, 2009
This review is from: Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (Hardcover)
This book is an evolutionary psychology (EP) look at consumerism. If you're not familiar with EP, this is probably not the best introduction (try Buss, Dawkins, or Ridley instead). If you are, this is definitely worth a read.
Miller focuses on trait display (how we show others we are worth mating with) as expressed through purchases. He concentrates a lot on the OCEAN personality inventory (also known as the Big 5), plus intelligence. OCEAN means openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. It's an inventory that has a lot more validity and serious research behind it than, say, something like Myers-Briggs (see
Personality: What Makes You the Way You Are for more).
On the plus side, Miller has some fascinating insights. He also has a good writing style and a wicked sense of humor.
On the negative ... well, there's quite a bit. The first problem I saw was his having a really hard time simply getting to the point. It takes until chapter 3 before he really gets into it.
What does he spend the first two chapters doing? One is talking about himself. In fact, he's rather enamored and engages in quite a bit of trait signaling on his own. Take the section called About This Author. On the surface, he's letting you know his particular biases. A little reading, though, and it seems more like a personals ad: listens to Tori Amos and Ani DeFranco, drives a Land Cruiser, is a feminist and environmentalist, has lived abroad, has some impressive academic credentials, reads cool books, watches hip movies.
Another is going off on diversions. As an example, one particluar favorite is attacking anyone who might be considered a rival - marketing, Stephen Gould, Ivy League universities (even the Educational Testing Services) ... To return to EP again, all of this aggressiveness struck me rather as a young bull trying to take on some of the old patriarchs so he could get a harem of his own.
How much better if he had taken some time to explain EP a little more. He does a pretty good job of that with OCEAN.
Speaking of OCEAN, I'd really like to know why he doesn't cover extroversion and neuroticism. He dismisses them rather out of hand. Also, the openness chapter talks very little about consumerism.
One final thing that might drive you to distraction is the wicked sense of humor I mentioned above. Sometimes he is quite funny, but a lot of the time he simply sounds pissy and cranky. Here's his take on "kids these days":
"Kids told fifty times a day that they have `done awesome,' regardless of their talents and virtues, seem likely to acquire a grandiose sense of entitlement and a penchant for egotistical self-indulgence - not to mention an inability to use adverbs properly."
Huh? Here he is on "New Age" types:
"Likewise, there are plenty of open-minded novelty seekers who love strange ideas and experiences, but who are not very bright. They constitute the market for fantasy novels, self-help books, nutraceuticals, facial piercings, music by Enya, degrees in non-evolutionary psychology, and every product labeled `homeopathic.' Indeed, their combination of neophilia and inanity make them an extremely profitable market segment."
And here is on anti-consumerist, anti-materialist types:
"Since this type of self-deception looks naive and witless to those who understand the evolutionary origins and functions of self-display - including my dear readers by now - the renunciation strategy itself ends up looking stupid and childish."
He spends a lot of time trying to defend himself and EP as sufficiently liberal and open-minded, but name-calling and snarkiness like this doesn't really help much. There's a real contrast between him and a lot of the other EP writers out there in this regard.
Another difference between him and the other writers is what I'd have to call his rampant speculation. Yes, he does say he was trying to write something a little lighter, a little more fun.
However, all this is exactly what EP doesn't need at this point. The ideas of EP are ground-breaking and revolutionary enough that responsible EPers need to simply focus on making claims that they can legitimately - and dispassionately - back up. Bad boy behavior, even though it may look impressive to undergraduate coeds, does very little to advance the discipline.
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