Warm Gun: Evolution & The Central 6 Traits that Make Consumers Tick (and CLICK!)

Evolution and Consumption
Geoffrey Miller
Evolutionary Psychology
University of New Mexico
gfmiller@unm.edu

Conspicuous consumption: Display elite wealth & taste?

But no elites in prehistory …

Evolutionary consumer psychology

Products
Practical: survival commodities
Pleasure premium: private vices
Display premium: everything else

‘Consumption’ ‘Display’

Displays to:
Attract mates
Deter rivals
Impress parents

Display principles
Conspicuous:
cost (size, materials, energy, time)
precision (typicality, symmetry, repetition, fit, finish)
creativity (novelty, utility, symbolism)
reputation (status, fame, brand)

Central Six mental traits
Intelligence
Openness
Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Stability
Extraversion
All are:
Ancient across species
Genetically heritable
Stable across life & cultures
Attractive to mates, friends, kin
Judged & measured accurately

Intelligence
Verbal, spatial, social, emotional
Bumper stickers:
+ A PBS mind in a Fox news world
+ Sane, paululumlinguaeLatinaedico
TV is gooder than books
Mommy says I’m special

Openness
Novelty, fantasy, aesthetics, liberalism, globalism
Bumper stickers:
+I like it sloppy and weird
+ Legalize freedom
If God didn’t want us to eat animals, he wouldn’t have made them out of meat.
Gun control means using both hands

Conscientiousness
Discipline, planning, ambition, order
Bumper stickers
+ Today is the tomorrow you forgot to plan for yesterday
+ Jesus would have used his turn signals
Oral sex is always a great last minute gift idea
- Drive it like you stole it

Agreeableness
Kindness, honesty, modesty, tenderness
Bumper stickers
+ Commit random acts of kindness and senseless beauty
+ Who would Jesus bomb?
- You suck and that’s sad
If you can read this, you’re in my kill zone

Genetic quality
Intelligence
Educational credentials
Skilled employment
Facebook, chat
Income
Conspicuous consumption
Mates, Friends

Consumerist capitalism = ?
Conservatives: rationality + free markets
Radicals: blank slate + oppression + ideology
Darwinians: display instincts + display norms
(+ markets, oppression, ideology, media, technology, governments, corporations, lobbyists, historical accident, cultural inertia,)

21st century trait-display?
Shanghai
Dongtan

Questions?

Warm Gun: Evolution & The Central 6 Traits that Make Consumers Tick (and CLICK!)

by Warm Gun: Designing Happiness conference on Oct 08, 2010

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