Eyes on the account size: Interactions between attention and budget in consumer choice

The context surrounding a consumer decision, such as one’s overall budget available for purchases, can exert a strong effect on the subjective value of a product. Across three eye-tracking studies, we explore the attentional processes through which budget size influences consumers’ purchasing behavior. Higher budgets increased and sped up purchasing even when items were affordable at all budget sizes. Moreover, attention interacted with budget size to promote purchasing at higher budgets. Finally, individual differences in the magnitude of the budget effect related to attentional patterns: those whose decisions depended more on budget exhibited more budget-price transitions and less variability in search patterns compared to those whose decisions were less dependent on budget. These findings indicate that attention moderates the effect of budgets on purchasing decisions, allowing low budgets to serve as self-control devices and large budgets to generate impulse purchases.     

‘Who was the best?’: Power,knowledge and rationality in bilingual girls’ code choices1

This paper examines how pre‐adolescent bilingual girls employ linguistic choices to construct relations of dominance and subordination in a competitive exchange of knowledge and expertise in a pretend‐school activity. Quantitative and qualitative analyses demonstrate that code choices used by the girls to constitute and exploit different sources of power are systematically related to the construction of currently salient identities, prevailing structural constraints, and individual goals and desires. It is argued that even young children act as rational, social actors who actively make strategic and meaningful linguistic choices with the overall aim to achieve optimal outcomes in a given interaction.     

Modeling the mental health service utilization decisions of university undergraduates: A discrete choice conjoint experiment

Objective: We modeled design factors influencing the intent to use a university mental health service. Participants: Between November 2012 and October 2014, 909 undergraduates participated. Method: Using a discrete choice experiment, participants chose between hypothetical campus mental health services. Results: Latent class analysis identified three segments. A Psychological/Psychiatric Service segment (45.5%) was most likely to contact campus health services delivered by psychologists or psychiatrists. An Alternative Service segment (39.3%) preferred to talk to peer-counselors who had experienced mental health problems. A Hesitant segment (15.2%) reported greater distress but seemed less intent on seeking help. They preferred services delivered by psychologists or psychiatrists. Simulations predicted that, rather than waiting for standard counseling, the Alternative Service segment would prefer immediate access to E-Mental health. The Usual Care and Hesitant segments would wait 6 months for standard counseling. Conclusions: E-Mental Health options could engage students who may not wait for standard services.     

Who becomes an online activist and why: Understanding the publics in politicized consumer activism

This study draws attention to the emerging phenomenon of politicized consumer activism and uses public segmentation to identify the publics involved. The unique characteristics of politicized consumer activism (i.e., consumers acting for political rather than economic reasons and being driven by a political stance rather than morality or identity) render it distinct from other frameworks, such as self-interest-motivated consumer activism, political consumer activism, and consumer nationalism. To shed light on the participants involved in politicized consumer activism, the present study includes a public segmentation analysis of a case in a Chinese context. Building on the situational theory of publics (STP), this study incorporates three objective resources—economic, social, and cultural capital—as segmenting criteria. Data were collected by sending out self-administered questionnaires, resulting in 450 valid and complete questionnaires. A two-step cluster analysis identified three segments: the inactive unprivileged group (cluster 1), the moderate elites (cluster 2), and the active middle class (cluster 3). The degree of activism was lowest in cluster 1 and highest in cluster 3. The sociological significance of segmenting publics and the manifestation of the characteristics of politicized consumer activism through the segments are discussed.     

In search of the mechanisms conducive to class differentials in educational choice: a mixed method research

This paper inquires into the mechanisms conducive to social class differentials in educational choice in Flanders (the Northern, Dutch‐speaking part of Belgium) using both quantitative data gathered from parents (N = 1339) and qualitative data gathered during two focus groups with pupils (N = 16). Unlike most of the previous studies, this study takes into consideration all three theoretical perspectives that have driven research on class differentials in educational choice so far, namely cultural reproduction theory, rational action theory and the notion of social capital. Logistic regression analysis shows that self‐selection does also occur in Flanders and that the effect of parental SES cannot be explained by a specific measure of cultural capital centred on knowledge of the educational system, nor by measures of social capital. What emerges most clearly from this study is that pupils' perception of their choice process is powerfully framed by deep‐rooted conceptions about the educational alternatives available to them. Furthermore, children's choices seem to be delimited by parents' opinions of which educational alternatives were acceptable, and which ones not. Our study calls for future research to take the wider context of decision‐making processes more explicitly into account.     

The consumer expenditures of elderly women: Racial,marital, and rural/urban impacts

This research, using data from the interview component of the 1990 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES), examines the main and interaction effects of race, marital status, and residence on the economic well-being of women 65 years or older (N=3,205). Economic well-being is measured by total annualized expenditures of the household for goods and services. The first hypothesis is supported: race, marital status, and urban or rural residence each has a major effect on the economic well-being of older women after adjusting for the effects of age and household size. The characteristics of nonwhite, nonmarried, and rural are associated with lower economic well-being. The second hypothesis is not supported: race, marital status, and residence do not interact to produce differences in the economic well-being of older women. Both hypotheses are examined by analysis of covariance. The results show the economic diversity of older women and the persistent effects of race, marital status, and rural or urban residence on the economic well-being of older women regardless of age and household size. This research was conducted at the Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture (Family Economics Research Group), Hyattsville, MD, July 1992, where Dr. Kivett was a Visiting Scientist at the time. Appreciation is expressed to the staff of the Family Economics Research Group for their technical assistance at all stages of the research. and 1992 Visiting Professor at the Family Economics Research Group, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her current research interests include the family supports and relationships of older retired migrants. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her current research interests include the economic status of elderly American households. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.     

Scrutinizing impacts of conspiracy theories on readers' political views: a rational choice perspective on anti‐semitic rhetoric in Turkey

Although conspiracy theories have been politically significant throughout history, only a few empirical studies have been about their influence on readers' views. Combining a rational choice approach with a content analysis of an anti‐Semitic best‐selling conspiracy theory book series in Turkey – the Efendi series – and semi‐structured interviews with its readers, this paper reveals the effects of the conspiracy theories on readers' political perspectives. The findings suggest that whereas the rightists are reactive to the Jewish origins of the Dönmes, the leftists oppose the Dönmes as dominant bourgeois figures. This paper concludes that left‐ and right‐wing adherents use the conspiratorial accounts in line with their political views and ontological insecurities. It expands the existing academic literature, which conceptualizes conspiracy theories either as paranoid delusions or as neutral, rational narratives, by showing that they can be both.     

Conflict and the separateness of peoples: investigating the relationship between multiplicity,inequality and war

ABSTRACT

The discipline-defining claim that anarchy leads inevitably to security-competition and war between states is unsustainable. This article investigates whether the concept of multiplicity can offer a reintegrated account of insecurity in world politics. As highlighted by rational choice approaches, substantive conflicts of interest are a necessary condition for organized violence to be a permanent possibility within, across and between societies. A materialist argument is presented that the most enduring incompatible interests arise from clashes over the rules of economic appropriation and redistribution, and the appropriate boundaries between social groups. Historically, unevenness and the possibility for exploitation have created structural pressures towards simultaneous social stratification and the institutionalization of inter-societal warfare. Because of the central importance of social boundaries for structural inequalities, multiplicity has profound implications for both patterns of organized violence and the fundamental issue in the study of politics: who gets what, when and how.     

On suicide bombings: questioning rationalist models and logics of gender

The theories of rational choice have been widely used in analysing suicide bombings. Such a use is here critically examined along three lines. First, the limits of this theoretical framework when applied to sacrificial violence are assessed and especially the internal contradictions which appear with the notion of ‘symbolic posthumous rewards’. Second, differences emerge in the use of rational choice theory when the focus is upon female suicide bombers. Indeed, deprivation theories come then to the fore, the idea of personal crisis and the impact of patriarchal social relationships. This switch in the analysis, which does not seem based on differences in the data, confirms gender studies which underline the specific difficulty to envisage female political violence. Finally, to go beyond both reductionisms, a compared analysis of suicide attacks in Chechnya, Iraq and Israel/Palestine is proposed. It aims at restituting the context of action and the narratives at work, making a clear distinction between two levels of analysis, the one of the organizations, which can largely be understood in terms of their strategic rationale, and that of the suicide bombers themselves, for whom it seems more heuristic to use the concepts of narratives and horizons of expectation.     

Problems associated with choice and quality of life for an individual with intellectual disability: a personal assistant's reflexive ethnography

A gap exists between research and practice within the field of intellectual disability. In particular, researchers suggest that personal choice enhances quality of life. Following Bourdieu's suggestion to focus on improving the practice of theory rather than the theory of practice, this paper is a reflexive ethnography detailing my struggles to provide choice to an individual who, it turned out, cannot think in the ways necessary to make choices that would improve his subjective quality of life. A narrative is included with the hope of revealing social processes outside and within the field of intellectual disability and to provoke discussion regarding problems with choice and quality of life in the field.     

Step by step: tenant accounts of securing and maintaining quality housing with a housing choice voucher

Previous research on renters’ experiences in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program is robust, but much of it has been conducted in the context of mobility interventions providing added resources. In contrast, this study focuses on HCV renters’ experiences searching for housing without the support of a mobility intervention. In semistructured interviews, 34 HCV renters describe their housing search processes and outcomes. We find that renters struggle to secure housing in their preferred neighborhoods due to limited information and financial costs such as application fees and security deposits. Discussion focuses on practice and policy reforms that might support greater housing choice.     

Fashion as consumer entrepreneurship: Emergent risk culture,social network markets,and the launch of Vogue in China

China has a reputation as an economy based on utility: the large‐scale manufacture of low‐priced goods. But useful values like functionality, fitness for purpose and efficiency are only part of the story. More important are what Veblen called “honorific” values, arguably the driving force of development, change and value in any economy. To understand the Chinese economy therefore, it is not sufficient to point to its utilitarian aspect. Honorific status‐competition is a more fundamental driver than utilitarian cost‐competition. We argue that “social network markets” are the expression of these honorific values, relationships and connections that structure and coordinate individual choices. This paper explores how such markets are developing in China in the area of fashion and fashion media. These, we argue, are an expression of “risk culture” for high‐end entrepreneurial consumers and producers alike, providing a stimulus to dynamic innovation in the arena of personal taste and comportment, as part of an international cultural system based on constant change. We examine the launch of Vogue China in 2005, and China's reception as a fashion player among the international editions of Vogue, as an expression of a “decisive moment” in the integration of China into an international social network market based on honorific values.     

Writing in a role for structure: low-income young people's dual understanding of agency,choice and the welfare state

Young people, it is often argued, are more individualised and more free of older, class constraints than ever before. This has led some thinkers to debate the (positive) possibilities of ‘choice biographies’ and self-making among the young, alongside the (more sinister) possibilities of ‘epistemological fallacies’ blinding them to the limits of these self-making capacities. This article interrogates the idea of ‘epistemological fallacies’ for five groups of young people from low-income backgrounds in England. Comparing focus group discussions they had about their lives, with policies they wrote to address the problems of their lives, this article suggests that these young people were less blind to the limits of their own agency than individualisation theorists may predict, and were in fact acutely aware of the difficulties behind finding personal solutions to social problems.     

Climbing out of an economic crisis: A cycle of consumer sentiment and personal stress

This research examines bidirectional relationships between consumer sentiment and personal stress. It seeks to answer the question whether reduced consumer sentiment (consumer perceptions about the global, national and personal economic situation) raises personal stress levels, and whether increased personal stress levels depresses consumer sentiment. Finding such relationships would reveal a pathway from economic to personal well-being, as reflected in personal stress, and the other way around. A large longitudinal study in the Netherlands with a total of eight waves across three years (2012–2014), 4 waves during and 4 waves after the recent worldwide economic crisis, finds on average low personal stress levels among consumers, which is reassuring. Also and as expected, consumers are more positive about the state of the economy after than during the crisis. Importantly, more positive consumer sentiment indeed contributes to lower levels of personal stress. Moreover, the more personal stress consumers experience, the more pessimistic they are about the state of the economy after the crisis, whereas this connection is weaker during the crisis. This sheds new light on the pathways between consumer sentiment about the economy and their personal well-being.     

Negotiating independence,choice and autonomy: experiences of parents who coordinate personal assistance on behalf of their adult son or daughter

Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires states to provide personal assistance services. This article is based on qualitative research in Iceland, Norway and Sweden, carried out between 2012 and 2013. The overall study focused broadly on the implementation of Article 19. This article, however, reports findings based on a particular group of participants within the larger study: non-disabled parents who coordinate personal assistance schemes for their adult son or daughter. The article examines the various ways in which the parents, the majority of whom were mothers, negotiate principles of independence, choice and autonomy for their adult son or daughter who requires intensive support, including assistance with communicating. The aim is to explore, in the context of the Convention and the principles of the independent living movement, how to acknowledge and conceptualise personal assistance schemes that require another person to manage on behalf of the user.     

Service user involvement in Swedish mental health and social care: an analysis of ideological dilemmas and subject positions in a collaboration context

Service user involvement is steadily on the rise, bringing questions of tokenism and power imbalance. This article studies service user organisation representatives (URs) and human service organisation representatives (HSORs) in mental health and social care strategic collaboration councils through qualitative interviews and participant observations. Talk on service user involvement through UR is studied through the discourse analytical concepts of ideological dilemmas and subject positions. The participants' constructions, actions, and rhetoric therein are considered. Findings show participants' oscillation between standpoints within two main themes: the ideal vs. the inadequate UR and balancing power positions. The first theme discusses the missing perspective brought by UR narrations in terms of expected conduct and awareness of organisational conditions. This also concerns service users' positions as being simultaneously dependent and independent. The second theme concerns the implicit UR influence and the explicit HSOR influence. User involvement through URs is construed as a needed narration told by citizens with rights and responsibilities, while conditioned, as the UR is a layperson with mental health problems. The actions accompanying such constructions cause HSORs to balance between paternalism and professionalism and URs between adaptation and using their voice. In this, the URs have a stronger influence than acknowledged.     

Breaking the in‐group out‐group: shifting boundaries in transnational partner choice processes of individuals of Moroccan,Tunisian, Algerian,Turkish, Punjabi Sikh,Pakistani and Albanian descent in Belgium

The ongoing popularity in some second and third generation migrants in Western Europe of marrying a partner from the countries of origin of their (grand)parents is considered to be problematic for micro and macro level societal integration of some migrant populations. Partner choice and marriage practices in migrant communities are problematized in public, media and political discourses by discriminating them from marriage practices in the ‘native’ population on the basis of three related dichotomies: (1) agency versus structure, (2) us versus them and (3) romantic versus instrumental marriage intentions dichotomies. By means of in‐depth qualitative research methodologies on the partner choice processes of women and men of Turkish, Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Punjabi Sikh, Pakistani and Albanian descent in Belgium and an intersectional theoretical approach, this article aims to deconstruct popular and simplifying dichotomous representations of partner choice processes in these migrant populations. Our study reveals how religious, gender and social class boundaries are stretched to meet personal/individual desires and preferences. Individuals do experience social restrictions when it concerns social group boundaries and the potential partners that they can look for. At the same time individuals are never fully determined by their social environment, they creatively develop strategies to by‐pass certain restrictions and to some extent are able to meet their personal needs while being sensitive to the desires of their social environment.     

An evaluation of undergraduate public administration programs at Turkish Universities: Reviewing the literature and proposing a model of cultural competence development

This study aims to identify the main predictors of cultural competence (CC). In the study, the cultural competence of the public administration students was analyzed. A total of 599 public administration students from twenty public and two foundation universities in eighteen different provinces of Turkey responded to a survey. The questionnaire survey was derived from a literature review; validated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The study proposes a CC evaluation model with five principal attributes: political awareness, civic action, belief in collective action, social justice attitudes, and ethical leadership. Accordingly, the model included 29 items that address all aspects of cultural competence. The model can be used to evaluate the CC level of public administration students. Besides, this model can also be applied in public organizations to evaluate their responsiveness to the public. Because public institutions today are supposed to be responsive to the cultural needs of citizens.     

Outcomes of an interdisciplinary study abroad course: learning Spanish and multicultural education concurrently

This study reports the outcomes of undergraduate students completing a pilot Interdisciplinary Intensive Course Abroad (IICA) with a service learning component. The IICA model is comprised of a three-part sequence of study that includes a seven-week course on campus, followed by three weeks of study abroad, and a summative seven-week course back on campus. The additional summative component gives students the opportunity to bring together their newly acquired knowledge and skills, and to reflect on how to integrate these experiences in their future. The sequence integrates discipline-specific content studies with foreign language classes, and grounds them with a study abroad experience. A mixed-method design was used to measure students’ development of language skills, understanding of multicultural education concepts, and intercultural skills. Primary data sources were pre/post-assessments, student field notes and reflections, and a post-course survey. Results indicated that students gained confidence in their Spanish skills and were likely to enroll in further Spanish courses, their ability to define multicultural education concepts increased, and service learning, homestays abroad, and their time in an indigenous reservation contributed to development of intercultural skills.