Personal Consumption Analysis: Reflecting on Consumer Behavior

This essay provides a detailed reflection on a student's personal consumption behavior, specifically focusing on shopping for clothes over a four-week period. The student kept a personal journal documenting their shopping experiences, including the occasions, companions, locations, purchases, and emotional responses. The essay analyzes these experiences through the lens of Saad's four Darwinian Meta drives: survival, reproduction, kin selection, and reciprocal altruism. The student explores how these evolutionary drives influence their buying decisions, considering psychological factors and the impact of social norms. The analysis includes reflections on different shopping episodes, such as casual shopping with friends, budget constraints, and pre-Christmas shopping with family and friends. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of survival and kin selection, while also acknowledging the importance of reproduction and reciprocity in shaping consumer behavior. The student highlights the interplay of psychological and cultural factors in their choices and the value of applying Saad's theory to understand their own behavior.

Running head: REFLECTION ON PERSONAL CONSUMPTION
REFLECTION ON PERSONAL CONSUMPTION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The following essay is a reflection of my personal consumption behavior over a course of
four weeks. The theme that I have chosen for the essay is shopping for clothes. I went shopping
for clothes at different times during a period of four weeks. The essay is an analysis of the
consumption behavior that I engaged in these weeks. I analyze my own behavior that I
documented in my personal journal. The analysis is further enhanced through the application of
Saad’s four Darwinian Meta to understand my behavior profoundly. The theory of Saad proposes
that the evolutionary biological phenomenon have shaped the minds of the consumers. The four
important Meta drives that can help to map consumer behavior are survival, reproduction, kin
selection and reciprocal altruism. This theory would be utilized for understanding my own
consumption when it comes to buying clothes through shopping. The four weeks have been
important for me in understanding why I buy and what actually affects my desire to buy.
Individual buying behavior can be affected by a number of factors. This factors are greatly
psychological in nature. Understanding my own buying behavior can help me to understand the
buying behaviors of others in the future. It would also help me to know myself better through the
deep analysis of my own behaviors. I reflect on the materials that I have collected in my journal
and apply the concepts to the analysis of my buying behavior. The essay is important in
developing my personal experiences as a means of describing the psychological aspects that
guide buying behaviors.
Reflection on material collected in personal journal
The journal I kept for the entire duration of the four weeks helped me to understand
consumer behavior in a better way. Shopping for clothes is very important for me as I believe
that the clothes I wear reflects my personality. Hence, buying clothes are an important aspect of
my shopping behavior. The journal was important as it helped me to track many of my buying
behaviors that I might not have noticed otherwise. In the first week I went for casual shopping
with my friends. Going on shopping with friends helped me to connect with then and buy clothes
after consultation with them. This was a very good initial experience in the initial phases of the
documentation process. We went to the local shopping mall primarily to buy clothes. This mall
was very close to my house and it sold clothing that I always admired. I bought two set of
trousers for myself. I felt very good as I believed that the new set of trousers suited my personal

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needs very effectively. As I have mentioned in the journal, this episode was a great success. I got
to interact with my friends and bonded with them through the shopping and buying exercise.
This is one of the reasons why I engage in shopping behavior quite a number of times.
The next shopping for clothes that I went on was in the second week. This time I went
shopping more for some casual and home wear. This time I was with only another friend of
mine. I went to the local market that was close to my house as this market sold quality goods at a
very low price. It was an important exercise for me as casual wear is closer to me as most of the
time of the day is spent by me wearing casual wear. I bought two casual t-shirts and three three-
quarter casual pants. I felt reasonably good however, I had some budget constraints that stopped
me from buying more clothes despite the fact that I wanted to. Thus, I was feeling somewhat
unsatisfied with the purchase. This consumption episode was only mildly successful as I still
wanted to buy more. As I documented the shopping exercises I got to know that every time there
was a possibility for a different experience when one goes shopping. This actually helped me to
understand that the shopping or buying behaviors are very much regulated by experience and
psychological factors. The material that I collected for this particular shopping exercise was
important in determining the value of the self-experiment that I was undertaking.
The third material collected was in regards to the next and final shopping that I went for.
This time the occasion was bigger. This was in the second day of the fourth week. This was an
important exercise for me as this time I spent the entire day not only buying clothes for me but
for others as well. The occasion was pre-Christmas shopping. This time I went with two of my
close friends and one family member. This shopping activity took place in a much larger clothing
market that was somewhat far away from my home. This was a much larger market place with
many shops. Thus, the competition was much more. There were quality clothing goods, however,
there were also chances of getting low quality clothes as this was a much larger shopping area
compared to the previous two shopping activities that I went for. This time it was very difficult
for me to check the best quality products and the best product deals. Hence, we decided to split
and look for better options and communicate the same with the others. Communicating became
quite difficult for there was a huge crown and going from one end of the market to the other end
was very difficult. Hence, this became a problematic issue for all the people that were involved.
However, we were able to buy six pair of trousers, five shirts and seven t-shirts. I can say that it

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felt very good as me and my family and friends were able to cover the entire area of the market
to get the best possible deals we were aware of. It was an important lesson for me as I got to
know how difficult shopping can be at times. It is important to mention at this time that the
buying behavior in which I engaged was greatly influenced by the norms of buying clothes that
exists in society. However, this was not the only influence as the opinion of my peers and my
personal preferences were also very much important in determining my choices. It is important
to understand that the buying behavior was greatly understood through the material that I
collected. Hence, I can say that that I was very satisfied with the way I documented my buying
behavior concerning shopping for clothes over the course of these 4 weeks.
Analysis in the context of Saad’s four Darwinian Meta
According to Saad’s four Darwinian Meta, four important Meta drives that can help to
map consumer behavior are survival, reproduction, kin selection and reciprocal altruism (Garcia
and Saad 2008). These are intrinsically related to the buying behaviors that are displayed by
different people in choosing what and why they want to buy. It is important to analyze my
experiences in accordance with these Meta drives. Saad took consumerism and evaluated it on
the basis of the Homo consumericus. This means the humans beings that engage in consumerism.
Here, the Meta drive for survival is incline towards avoiding predators and finding food.
Concerning reproduction, the issue is competing for mates to develop sexual relationships with
the desired member of the species (Saad 2019). Kin selection is the part where family members
come first and they are invested in for better returns. Reciprocity is the act of making friendships
and symbiotic relationships that can be mutually helpful. These aspects can greatly determine the
consumption behaviors of people as they tend to engage in buying behaviors.
The behaviors that I documented in the four weeks can be greatly attributed to the Meta
drives that have been mentioned. Firstly, the Meta drive for survival becomes very important in
determining buying behavior that I displayed. In this case I selected the clothes that ensured my
social survival. Here, the main aim is to find clothes that would define my personality in such a
way that can determine my social acceptability (Stephen 2016). At the same time I believe that
wearing clothes that provide me with a certain level of confidence can help me to survive the
various situational aspects of daily life. Here, it is important that in the first instance I went for
casual shopping for clothes and bought two trousers. This was very much related to my survival

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instincts as this game me the satisfaction of wearing something that would give me a lot of
confidence. At the same time reproduction was also a very important aspect. This is mainly
because I choose something that would be more valuable for me in terms of reproduction. As I
wanted my personality to create better chances for reproduction in the future.
Another important factor that helped me in my consumer behavior was Kin selection. In
all the three shopping activities for buying clothes I went with one or more of my friends. This
helped me in selecting the goods as well as develop better bonding with my kin. Here, the kin
were my family members and friends that helped me in my buying behaviors. Their influence
was important in the choices that I made as I went shopping. In the last shopping, the pre-
Christmas shopping the kin selection Meta drive became very important. In this case all the ‘Kin’
communicated effectively in order to help each other in selecting the best possible goods. The
psychological aspect that I found through the shopping endeavors is that the personal choices are
essentially affected by these four Meta drives. This happens either consciously or unconsciously.
It is important to bring forward that the most important Meta drives that affected me according to
me are, survival and kin selection. However, it is undeniable that reproduction and reciprocity
drives were also very important.
It is important in this case to mention that in the second outing for shopping was not
much of a success as there was not enough reciprocity. I only went with a friend for buying
clothes but I was unable to buy much as I was short on budget. Hence, the reciprocity was less as
there was not much room for helping out. However, the last outing was important as it was high
in reciprocity. In this case all the members were engaged in the process of buying as it provided
them all with a chance to help the other members. In this case each one communicated with the
others including me to bring forward a successful consumption. It is important to understand that
the value of engagement very effectively determined the outcome of the shopping. It is important
to understand that the engagement of reproduction was seen in my choices for clothes. I wanted
clothes that can determine my personality. This is indirectly related to the meta drive for
reproduction. I want to provide the information about my personality to suitable people around
me who can determine the value of my personality and judge whether they can be potential
mates (Valaei and Nikhashemi, 2017). Clothing is very important in determining the level of

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attraction that is created. This is very much related to the reflection of the personality of the
person that wears the clothes.
The Meta drives have been very important in describing the buying behavior while I went
shopping for clothes. It was an important aspect in determining the value of the psychological
factor that affected my buying functions. However, there are some cultural factors that the meta
drives were not able to explain. This was definitely seen when I do not buy clothes that are not
recommended by the people that are engaged with me. The value of friends in determining
choices depend on different cultures. Hence, this is a phenomenon that cannot be completely
covered by the analysis of the meta drives. Meta drives however are very much important in
determining human behavior to a significant extent. In regards to the same the meta drives can be
direct or indirect (Kahle and Xie 2018). However, I believe that the meta drives are present more
in the subconscious state as it has attained an evolutionary trend. It is important to note that my
behaviors were greatly related to the four meta-drives. These drives were important in
determining the way in which I perceived buying and engaged in buying behaviors. It is
important to understand that the buying behavior actually helped me to develop my attitude
towards buying. Now that I have understood about the factors that have affected my buying
behaviors it has enabled me to understand my own self in better ways. It is important that my
behavior helps me to create a strong personality and develop myself as a rational buyer (Mandel
et al. 2017). Reciprocity helps me to ensure better communication with the shopkeepers. In this
case the shopkeepers help me with a quality item and in return I provide the shopkeeper with
money. The variety that was present in product offerings affected me. That is why I went to
places that can provide me with wide range of products to choose from. This provides me with
greater freedom and enhances the prospect for all four of the Meta drives. It is important to note
that the cultural aspect also drives my buying behavior in this case. This is much evident from
the fact that I believe in going out with friends and family while I go for shopping. This is mainly
because the culture of collectiveness is more proximate to me rather than individualism
(Oyserman and Schwarz 2017). While I do give much importance to individual values and
personality, I am very much aware of the four meta drives that are met as I interact with the
different people. Saad took consumerism and evaluated it on the basis of the Homo
consumericus. As a homo consumericus I am happy with the kind of buying behavior I engage
in. This helps me to maintain my personal needs attached with buying.

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Conclusion
The implications of the study pointed out that I took part in three different type of
purchase behaviors. At the same time the analysis of my self-buying behavior has brought
forward the fact that buying behavior are actually affected by a number of factors. The four
weeks have been important in determining the level and types of behavior that I engage in while
buying clothes. It is important to understand that this type of behavior can be traced due to the
documentation of behavior that I did in the four weeks. In accordance of Saad’s four Darwinian
Meta, four important Meta drives that can help to map consumer behavior are survival,
reproduction, kin selection and reciprocal altruism. I found that all four of these aspects affected
the behavior that I exhibited while buying. These aspects determined the way in which I
interacted with the people with whom I went shopping. At the same time it helped me to
understand the values that are associated with the psychology behind consumer behavior. This
has been altogether an experience of great learning and development.

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