The Continuum of Consumer Choice

Human consumption is multi- faceted and so requires inter- disciplinary exploration in order to explain a spectrum of experiences that is at once particular and allpervading. Consumer choice is a microcosm of human activity which transcends the purview of the archetypal marketing or consumer psychology textbook. Its perspective is that of social science itself. This book understands the study of consumer choice as a paradigm of human socio- economic activity and seeks further understanding of its socio- economic and philosophical bases.

The Continuum of Consumer Choice provides a novel view of consumer choice based on the temporal horizon of the consumer, giving rise to a spectrum of consumption styles from the everyday to the extreme. The focus is on explaining this continuum in behavioral, cognitive, and neurophysiological terms, affording the reader a unique perspective on the intellectual basis of consumer psychology and marketing. The reader gains insight into a critical combination of economic psychology, neurophysiology, and philosophy, which contributes to establishing marketing and consumer research as scholarly academic pursuits. The book’s particular focus is the proper place and form of an intentional (cognitive and perceptual) explanation of consumer choice.

This is an essential monograph for advanced students in consumer psychology and marketing as well as for researchers in these areas. It is particularly relevant to marketing and consumer theory, providing appreciation of their scholarly foundations. It also appeals to students, lecturers, and researchers in social science generally who are alert to the intellectual potential of consumer psychology and marketing as contributors to a full understanding of human behavior and experience.

Gordon R. Foxall is Distinguished Research Professor at Cardiff Business School and Visiting Research Professor of Economic Psychology at Reykjavik University. He holds a PhD in industrial economics and business studies (University of Birmingham), a PhD in psychology (Strathclyde University), and a higher doctorate (Doctor of Social Science (DSocSc)) also from the University of Birmingham. He is the author of 350 refereed papers and chapters and 35 books, and has held visiting positions at the Universities of Oxford, Michigan, Guelph, South Australia, and Durham. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, the British Psychological Society, and the British Academy of Management. His most recent books are Intentional Behaviorism and The Theory of the Marketing Firm.