IFREE-Sponsored Lecture Series at ESI

Gad Saad, Ph.D.
Concordia University Research Chair Tier 2 in Marketing, Department of Marketing Ph.D (Cornell Univeristy). John Molson School of Business, Concordia University.
Sept. 1st, 2011

Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption

"The consumer is at the root of most economic activities. Historically, economists have assumed that consumer desires, preferences, and choices, are manifestations of utility maximization without offering the genesis of such a process. I explore the evolutionary and biological roots of our consummatory nature. In other words, I seek to explain the Darwinian forces that have shaped universal patterns of consumption, as these unite the global consumer under a common biological heritage. I describe my quest to Darwinize the study of consumer behavior in my 2007 academic book (The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption), as well as in my 2011 trade book (The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature). This last book was the focus of my talk at ESI.

Experimental studies constitute a key methodological approach of my research program. I have used experiments to explore sex differences in the ultimatum and dictator games using evolutionary psychology as the theoretical framework. That said, my research program utilizes a plurality of methodologies including physiological measures (to gauge the effect of conspicuous consumption on men’s testosterone levels), morphological measurements (to link the digit ratio to men’s penchant for risk-taking), computer process-tracing interfaces (to compare the decision-making styles of identical and fraternal twins, and to explore information search patterns), content analyses of products of popular culture (e.g., song lyrics), surveys (e.g., to investigate how consumers allocate their gift-giving budgets as a function of genetic relatedness between givers and recipients), panels (to track women’s consumption across their menstrual cycles), and secondary data (to assess the correlation between global patterns of suicide and economic conditions). My work is defined by a deep commitment to interdisciplinarity. "

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