Gad Saad

Gender differences in information search strategies for a Christmas gift

Examines the underlying determinants of in‐store information search for a Christmas clothing gift, specifically focusing on gender differences. Two non‐personal (general and specific) and one personal (sales clerk assistance) in‐store information search domains were obtained from the results of a survey of actual consumers carried out shortly after the Christmas season. Consistent with the predictions of the selectivity model, females appeared to comprehensively acquire in‐store information, whereas males appeared to heuristically limit their search to a smaller subset of in‐store information. More specifically, females scored significantly higher than males on indices of both general and specific information search. Females, compared to males, were also found to start Christmas shopping much earlier, purchase more gifts, and embark on a greater number of shopping trips. Other observed gender differences are discussed.

Applications of Evolutionary Psychology in Marketing

Evolutionary psychology is an emerging paradigm in psychological science. The current article introduces this framework to marketing scholars and presents evidence for its increasing acceptance within the social science community. As a result, a case is made for the application of evolutionary psychology to marketing, and especially consumer behavior. Application of the evolutionary framework in studying gender-related consumption behavior is illustrated by comparing the evolutionary predictions with results obtained from previous studies, by supporting these predictions with market-level consumption data, and by proposing new hypotheses based on this framework. Also discussed are the potential applications of evolutionary psychology to other consumption-related phenomena like evaluation of endorser attractiveness in advertising, biologically driven consumption choices among women, consumer-experienced emotions in service encounters, and consumption choices as inclusive fitness maximization rather than utility maximization. 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Sex Differences in the Ultimatum Game: An Evolutionary Psychology Perspective

In the two-person ultimatum game, an allocator is required to split a given sum of money with a recipient. Subsequently the recipient can either accept or reject the offer. If it is accepted, both players receive their respective splits, while if it is rejected neither of them get anything. Using evolutionary psychology as the theoretical framework, we predicted and found that males made more generous offers when pitted against a female as opposed to a male. While females made equal offers independently of the sex of the recipient. That male allocators are altruistic towards female recipients and competitive with male recipients is construed as a manifestation of social rules, which evolve from the male pre-disposition to use resources for attracting mates. In contrast, females have not evolved such a pre-disposition, and thus, female allocators are more concerned about fairness when making offers to recipients. Several alternate explanations of the above findings are discussed and the evolutionary explanation is concluded as the most parsimonious one. Other potential moderators that are amenable to evolutionary explanations, namely, physical attractiveness, age and ethnicity of participants, are also discussed in this context.

A Cross-Cultural Study of In-Store Information Search Strategies for a Christmas Gift

Abstract This study investigates usage of in-store information sources by Anglo and Franco-Canadians while Christmas shopping. A literature review revealed a number of situational, personal, and demographic variables that may influence search behavior for a Christmas gift. A survey was conducted soon after the Christmas season to explore the effects of the identified moderators on the extent of search as pertaining to a clothing gift. Three dimensions of in-store search were found: general information (e.g., displays), specific information (e.g., brand), and assistance of salesclerks. Each of the three search indices was regressed on the identified variables. Directional hypotheses were posited linking each of the moderators of search to extent of search. The models faired well both in terms of fit and in their rate of support for the hypotheses. Distinct patterns of in-store search behavior were found for each cultural group, some consistent with current knowledge, others providing new findings.

Evolutionary psychology in the business sciences

Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Science , Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Science , کتابخانه دیجیتال جندی شاپور اهواز

The collective amnesia of marketing scholars regarding consumers' biological and evolutionary roots

Despite the extraordinary advances in biology in the 20th century, along with the infusion of Darwinian theory across countless domains of human import, marketing and consumer scholars have doggedly forgotten, rejected, or ignored that consumers are biological beings shaped by a common set of evolutionary forces. Accordingly, this collective amnesia has yielded disciplines that largely focus on the disjointed and incoherent cataloguing of empirical findings, all of which operate at the proximate level. A complete and accurate understanding of any biological organism requires that it be studied at both the proximate and ultimate (in the Darwinian adaptive sense of the term) levels. Hence, at best, marketing and consumer scholars generate incomplete accounts of Homo consumericus and at worst they provide erroneous theories that eventually fall by the epistemological wayside. Should the collective amnesia persist, marketing and consumer scholars will further contribute to the sinking of our discipline into the abyss of irrelevant sciences, disconnected from the revolutionary work that is being conducted within the natural sciences.

The effects of a recipient's gender in a modified dictator game

In the two-person dictator game, player A (allocator) chooses how to split a given sum of money with player B (recipient). Player B has no power in terms of either accepting or rejecting payer As offer. This paper investigates the gender dynamics within the four possible dyads in a modified Dictator game. Both men and women gave more money to women. In other words, contrary to other studies that have investigated dictator game behaviour, the current study finds a main effect for the recipients gender (rather than for the allocators gender).

Online Hunting and Gathering: An Evolutionary Perspective on Sex Differences in Website Preferences and Navigation

Despite numerous sex differences found in spatial navigation, perception, and verbal abilities, the manner in which these differences manifest themselves in terms of online navigation has yet to be explored. We propose a unified framework based on evolutionary psychology and supported by recent findings in cognitive neuroscience for understanding sex differences in cognition and how they relate to online navigation and website preferences. The literature on sex differences in navigation, object location, spatial rotation, the perception of color, form, and movement, and verbal fluency is reviewed within the context of their evolutionary underpinnings. Based on these findings, specific website design recommendations are proposed. Results of a pilot study examining sex differences in web navigation provide evidence that utilizing an evolutionary approach can engender findings with significant implications for e-communication researchers and practitioners alike.

Advertised Waist-to-Hip Ratios of Online Female Escorts: An Evolutionary Perspective

The Web’s global reach provides evolutionary behavioral scientists unique opportunities to investigate human universals steeped in a common and evolved human nature. In the current article, it is argued that many forms of online sexual communication are indicative of our evolved mating minds, including the manner by which female escorts are “advertised†online. It is demonstrated that online advertisers provide a restricted set of morphological cues whilst advertising female escorts, these being congruent with men’s evolved aesthetic preferences. Specifically, it is shown that irrespective of cultural setting, online escorts advertise waist-to-hip ratios (WHR) that are in line with the near-universal male preference for women that possess WHRs of 0.70.

Applying the h-index in exploring bibliometric properties of elite marketing scholars

The h-index is a recent metric that captures a scholar’s influence. In the current work, it is used to: (1) obtain the h-index scores of the most productive scholars in the Journal of Consumer Research (JCR), and compare these to other elite scholars (including those of the other three premier marketing journals); (2) demonstrate the relationship between the h-indices and total number of citations of the top JCR producers; (3) examine the h-indices of Ferber winners (best interdisciplinary paper based on a doctoral dissertation published in JCR in a given year) and those having received honorable mentions; (4) explore the relationship between a marketing journal’s prestige and the corresponding h-index score of its editor. These varied analyses demonstrate the multitudinous ways in which the h-index can be used when investigating bibliometric phenomena within a given discipline.