1. Proposed Research
Program
Kerry Cunningham
Mapping the socio-functionality of consumer spending

2. Socio-functionality
Socio-functionality –
How do the things in
my life contribute to my
social goals?
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/socio-functional/view

3. Socio-functionality
Assumption: When people
spend discretionary
money to acquire
something, they do so
based on their goals and
the item’s affordances
Affordance = What can I get from having/ owning/
doing? e.g., My vacation afforded me the chance
to relax.

4. Socio-functionality
Assumption: When people
spend discretionary
money to acquire
something, they do so
based on their goals and
the item’s affordances
Affordance = What can I get from having/ owning/
doing? e.g., My vacation afforded me the chance
to relax.

5. Socio-functionality
Assumption: When people
spend discretionary
money to acquire
something, they do so
based on their goals and
the item’s affordances
Affordance = What can I get from having/ owning/
doing? e.g., My vacation afforded me the chance
to relax.

6. Theoretical Bases
Fundamental Motivations
• Based on a revision of Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs
Life History
• From biology – developmental trajectory:
fast v. slow life strategies

7. Research Questions
• Goal 1: To know what people think they are acquiring when
they spend money
• I.e., What are the perceived affordances of the things
people acquire?
• Goal 2: To predict/ retrodict the lives these acquisitions afford
• What do acquisitions allow us to know about the kind of
life a person is trying to have/ having?
• Goal 3: To understand how fundamental motives influence
perceived and realized affordances
• How do changes in life goals impact how one perceives
and experiences affordances?

8. What are fundamental motivations?
Fundamental motivations
Kenrick, D. T., Griskevicius, V., & , Neuberg, S., Schaller, M. (2010). Renovating the
pyramid of needs. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(3), 292-314.

9. Maslow’s Pyramid
Critique of the hierarchy:
Not universally applicable
Self-esteem & self-
actualization are western
cultural biases, not human
universals
Not applicable at all ages and
time
Ordered in a way life is not Hierarchy reflects prioritization
(always)

10. Revising the Pyramid
If a motivation is going to be
universal and make the new list, it
must have served our forebears’
inclusive fitness
From an evolutionary perspective,
motivations arise as solutions to
specific problems and may arise in
different parts of the brain/body A revised hierarchy must account for “life
history” - the developmental trajectory leading
and may be in conflict with one to successful transmission of genes to
successive generations
another (e.g., affiliation and status)

11. The Revised Pyramid
Kin Care
Mate Retention
Mate Acquisition
Status/ Self-esteem
Affiliation
Self-protection
Physiological Needs
Motivations at different levels may be in competition – e.g.,
nurturance of an infant v. mother’s physiological needs/ self-
protection

12. Life History Theory
• From biology
• Two developmental
strategies
• Fast: in face of People will respond to present
uncertain resources,
opportunities/ threats differently
short life expectancy depending upon their position
• Slow: in stable with respect to this dichotomy
environment People may be attracted to
different affordances depending
upon their LH strategy

13. Present Research
✴Consumer items as bundles of affordances
✴We already know that certain classes of consumer items
provide distinct sets of affordances
Life experience Material possession (car)
Motivations, life circumstances, & individual differences may
enable or prevent the realization of an item’s affordances

14. Affordance Profiling
Affordance profiling project
• Create affordance profiles for hundreds of common
consumer items
• Affordances include psychological needs, emotional
experiences, opportunities to attain status, mating
opportunities, manage reputation, and more
• Profiling can be extended to include religions, clubs,
civic organizations, neighborhoods, towns, cities, states,
mates – anything that involves a life choice

15. Affordance Profiling
Affordance profiling project
• Three profile dimensions:
• Normative = What is the common expectation for the
item?
• Retrospective = What was my experience of the item?
• Prospective = What do I think I will experience from
the item?

16. Present Research
What will I do with this information?
•Classify items by their affordance profiles
•
Expected v Experienced v Normed
•
Which items are more likely to provide expected affordances
and under what conditions?
•
How do fundamental motives & individual differences inform
these dimensions?

17. Present Research
What will I do with this information?
•Test whether spending is driven by fundamental motives
• Establish a database of items and their affordances to be used
as a DV
• Manipulation of motives followed by consumer choice/
valuation
• Mock online store

18. Present Research
What will I do with this information?
•The Life Inventory Project
•Collect life inventories
•Inventories of the affordances people have acquired/ attempted
to acquire
•Classify people according to the affordances they have acquired
•Test hypotheses about life outcomes based on acquired
affordance profiles

19. Affordance Profiling

20. Preliminary Results
We are finding variance in the rating of items that is
consistent with expectations
Note. Numbers indicate rankings among 200 consumer items. E.g., A high-end desktop
computer for gaming was rated as 3rd best among all products for providing “Flow”
experiences. A Rolex watch was number 1 for providing status. As we would expect,
experiences produce better ratings for flow, competence, belonging and connectedness;
material possessions produce more status.

21. Preliminary Results
We are finding variance in the rating of items that is
consistent with expectations
Flow Calm Connected Belonging Identity Competence Status Pleasure Experien
Item Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank ce Rank
iPad 46 56 9 27 22.5 43 18 12 72.5
Tablet computer
(not iPad) 85 114 29 61 76 51.5 47.5 76 97
Note. Numbers indicate rankings among 200 consumer items. E.g., A high-end desktop
computer for gaming was rated as 3rd best among all products for providing “Flow”
experiences. A Rolex watch was number 1 for providing status. As we would expect,
experiences produce better ratings for flow, competence, belonging and connectedness;
material possessions produce more status.

22. Preliminary Results
We are finding variance in the rating of items that is
consistent with expectations
Flow Calm Connected Belonging Identity Competence Status Pleasure Experien
Item Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank Rank ce Rank
iPad 46 56 9 27 22.5 43 18 12 72.5
Tablet computer
(not iPad) 85 114 29 61 76 51.5 47.5 76 97
Putting money in 159. 95 135 159 178 7 69 164 171
savings account 5
Pottery lessons 19.5 26 92.5 38 42 8.5 137 105 36
Drum set 15 142 122 38 6 8.5 124.5 59 48
Dancing lessons 21 125 98 40.5 47 10 83 73.5 52
Auto - Japanese 96.5 89 139 111 44 11 9 82 31
luxury Machine
Sewing 36 53 101 117.5 52 12 157.5 117.5 81
Desktop comuter - 3 66 37 16 33 13 35 9.5 101
high end/ gaming
Auto - American 96.5 77.5 113 100.5 31 14 12 69 76.5
luxurywatch
Rolex 166 137 120 89 5 15 1 126 24
Whitewater rafting 5 193 61 38 64.5 16 103 56 30
Note. Numbers indicate rankings among 200 100
Skydiving lessons 16 191 154.5 56 consumer 17
items. E.g., A high-end desktop
62 123 9.5
Snowcomputer for gaming was rated as29
skis/ 12.5 130 73.5 3rd best81.5
among all18
products for providing “Flow”
93 30 54
experiences. A Rolex watch was number 1 for providing status. As we would expect,
snowboard
Violin 41 59 111 110 10 19 51 107 4
experiences produce better ratings for flow, competence, belonging and connectedness;
material possessions produce more status.

23. Next Steps
✓ Gather more profile data
✓ Enhance list of sociofunctional
affordances
✓ Begin running consumer choice
experiments using the database of
sociofunctional affordances as a DV
✓ Collect data for the Life Inventory
Project