summer exam Flashcards
(26 cards)
What are the three components of a cultural system?
Ecology (habitat and adaptation), Social Structure (order and roles), and Ideology (worldview and values).
What is the culture production process?
It refers to the system through which culture is created, marketed, and consumed, involving a culture production system with a creative subsystem, managerial subsystem, and communications subsystem.
Who are gatekeepers in the culture production system?
Individuals like editors, reviewers, or influencers who filter and select cultural content for wider dissemination
What are the functions of advertising in the culture production system?
Advertising acts as a distribution system that connects cultural content with audiences, helps create meaning, and shapes cultural values
What is the difference between high culture and popular culture?
High culture is traditionally associated with elite institutions (e.g., opera), while popular culture is mass-produced and widely consumed.
What role do myths play in culture?
Myths offer symbolic narratives that express cultural ideals, resolve social contradictions, and teach moral lessons.
What is a myth in consumer culture?
A myth is a symbolic story that serves as a cultural narrative and provides a shared worldview or moral guide.
What are the four functions of myths?
Metaphysical (explaining origins), Cosmological (explaining the universe), Sociological (social order), and Psychological (identity and personal development).
What is the Hero’s Journey (Monomyth)?
A universal narrative pattern where a hero ventures into the unknown, faces trials, achieves victory, and returns transformed
Name three key stages of the Hero’s Journey.
Call to adventure, Ordeal (supreme challenge), and Return with the elixir
How is the Hero’s Journey used in marketing?
Brands position consumers as heroes overcoming challenges through their products/services, enhancing emotional engagement
What is a brand myth?
A symbolic narrative surrounding a brand that provides cultural meaning and emotional resonance for consumers
Why is reclaiming the body in consumer research important?
Because 95% of embodied thought is non-cognitive, yet consumer research has historically focused on cognition (Thrift, 2000)
What is embodied consumption?
Consumption practices that engage the body physically, emotionally, and socially.
Give examples of embodied experiences in research
Art appreciation (Joy & Sherry, 2003)
Memory in salsa dancing (Hewer & Hamilton, 2010)
Emotional pleasure in clubbing (Goulding et al., 2009)
How are people reclaiming their bodies through consumption?
Through expressive acts like tattooing (Roux & Belk, 2019), body modification, fitness cultures, and resistance to normative beauty standards.
What are the risks associated with body image in consumer culture?
Pressure from idealised imagery can lead to body dissatisfaction, anxiety, self-harm, and cosmetic surgery considerations.
How does social media affect body perception?
It normalises aesthetic ideals and influences consumption of cosmetic services and body-related products (Rodner et al., 2022).
What is the ‘body as a project’ perspective?
The view that individuals actively work on their bodies as a reflection of identity and social capital.
What are Pine & Gilmore’s five key experience design principles?
- Theme the experience
- Harmonise with positive cues
- Eliminate negative cues
- Mix in memorabilia
- Engage all five senses
What is experiential consumption?
Consumption focused on immersive, emotional, sensory, and memorable experiences rather than purely utilitarian value.
What is the Experience Economy?
An economy where businesses differentiate by delivering engaging and memorable consumer experiences (Pine & Gilmore, 1998)
How does social media support experiential consumption?
By allowing consumers to share, perform, and document their experiences, enhancing symbolic and social value
How does augmented reality influence consumer experience?
AR enhances escapism, interactivity, and emotional immersion, allowing deeper engagement with brands (Preece & Skandalis, 2024).
