Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature

by Gad Saad, David M. Buss (Foreword)

In this highly informative and entertaining book, the founder of the vibrant new field of evolutionary consumption illuminates the relevance of our biological heritage to our daily lives as consumers. While culture is important, the author shows that innate evolutionary forces deeply influence the foods we eat, the gifts we offer, the cosmetics and clothing styles we choose to make ourselves more attractive to potential mates, and even the cultural products that stimulate our imaginations (such as art, music, and religion). The book demonstrates that most acts of consumption can be mapped onto four key Darwinian drives-namely, survival (we prefer foods high in calories); reproduction (we use products as sexual signals); kin selection (we naturally exchange gifts with family members); and reciprocal altruism (we enjoy offering gifts to close friends). The author further highlights the analogous behaviors that exist between human consumers and a wide range of animals.For anyone interested in the biological basis of human behavior or simply in what makes consumers tick-marketing professionals, advertisers, psychology mavens, and consumers themselves-this is a fascinating read.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Business, Evolution, Economics, Anthropology

392 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Dr. Gad Saad is Professor of Marketing, holder of the Concordia University Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption, and advisory fellow at the Center for Inquiry. He was an Associate Editor of Evolutionary Psychology (2012-2015) and of Customer Needs and Solutions (2014- ). He has held Visiting Associate Professorships at Cornell University, Dartmouth College, and the University of California-Irvine. Dr. Saad was inducted into the Who’s Who of Canadian Business in 2002. He was listed as one of the “hot” professors of Concordia University in both the 2001 and 2002 Maclean’s reports on Canadian universities. Dr. Saad received the JMSB Faculty’s Distinguished Teaching Award in June 2000. He is the recipient of the 2014 Darwinism Applied Award granted by the Applied Evolutionary Psychology Society and co-recipient of the 2015 President's Media Outreach Award-Research Communicator (International). His research and teaching interests include evolutionary psychology, consumer behavior, and psychology of decision making.

Professor Saad’s trade book, The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature (Prometheus Books), was released in June 2011, and has since been translated to Korean and Turkish. His 2007 book, The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption (Lawrence Erlbaum) is the first academic book to demonstrate the Darwinian roots of a wide range of consumption phenomena. His edited book, Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Sciences, was also released in 2011 (Springer), as was his special issue on the futures of evolutionary psychology published in Futures (Elsevier).

He has over 75 scientific publications covering a wide range of disciplines including in marketing, consumer behavior, psychology, economics, evolutionary theory, medicine, and bibliometrics. A sample of outlets wherein his publications have appeared include Journal of Marketing Research; Journal of Consumer Psychology; Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes; Journal of Behavioral Decision Making; Evolution and Human Behavior; Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics; Marketing Theory; Journal of Social Psychology; Personality and Individual Differences; Managerial and Decision Economics; Journal of Bioeconomics; Applied Economics Letters; Journal of Business Research; Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences; Psychology & Marketing; Journal of Consumer Marketing; Medical Hypotheses; Scientometrics; and Futures. His work has been presented at 170 leading academic conferences, research centers, and universities around the world.

Dr. Saad has supervised or served on the committee of numerous Master’s and Doctoral students, as well as one post-doc. He has been awarded several research grants (both internal as well as governmental). Using his own grant money, he created an in-house behavioral marketing lab. He serves/has served on numerous editorial boards including Journal of Marketing Research; Journal of Consumer Psychology; Psychology & Marketing; Journal of Business Research; Journal of Social Psychology; Evolutionary Psychology; Open Behavioral Science Journal; Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics; Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology/Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences; The Evolutionary Review; and Frontiers of Evolutionary Psychology; and is an associate member of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. He has consulted for numerous firms, and his work has been featured in close to 500 media outlets including on television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and blogs. He has been designated Concordia's Newsmaker of the Week five years in a row (2011-2015).

Dr. Saad holds a PhD (Major: Marketing; Minors in Cognitive Studies and Statistics) and an MS from Cornell University, and an MBA (Specialization: Marketing; Mini-Thesis: Operations Research) and a BSc (Mathematics and Computer Science) both from McGill Uni

Reviews

[Alicia Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book describes common human behaviors (from why guys like driving fast cars to why women are willing to kill their feet wearing high heels) from an evolutionary perspective. Saad teaches MBAs, so it's not surprising that his analyses center on how an understanding of evolutionary psychology can help advertising campaigns on a global scale (in terms of recognizing what human likes and traits are universal rather than culturally specific).

Saad goes out of his way to confer a "don't shoot the messenger" idea. For example, it's not his sexist nature that makes him say that men are naturally more sexually jealous--it's the fault of hundreds of thousands of years of "paternity uncertainty" that makes men this way. And I get what he's saying. Likewise, I fully believe that to get real answers to life's problems, we have to know the truth about what causes our behavior.

However, Saad seems at times gleeful when the scientific truths he espouses trumps the work of feminist writers and researchers (like Naomi Wolf). In the logic of evolutionary psychology, it's inevitable that, say, a guy driving a Ferrari will have his aggressive-sexual testosterone levels raised, and that the guy will all the more so want to have sex with the curvy woman he sees walking along the street in high heels (signifying fertility through her figure, and a sexually receptive position via her raised buttocks). I understand that Saad is simply explaining the "why" of this situation. But when he virtually laughs off the writings of a person like Wolf, Saad comes across (at least to me) as dismissive of the very real problems that Wolf (and her ilk) try to address. Sure, the man and woman in the scenario I've described are doing only what they feel is natural, but a very real problem does occur when the scenario goes too far (e.g., the man assumes that the woman is available to him, and ends up harassing her). Instead of kindly offering recommendations for how the knowledge of evolutionary psychology could be used to treat the wrongs and unfairness inherently present in a bunch advanced chimps wearing clothes (that is, all of us), Saad opts to crow rather too loudly over the fact that his academic discipline trumps another academic discipline.

As far as the book goes, it's a great read. The material is written in a way that pretty much anyone can understand. However, my concern is that people (particularly MBAs and marketers) will read it and use evolutionary psychology against us. And, in tune with what I stated above, they will offer no apologies for any harmful sexism, etc., that is perpetuated as a result of their use of evolutionary psychology in marketing campaigns.

[May · Rating 1 out of 5]

Evolutionary psychology is psuedo-science. No matter how many observations and generalizations one makes (if they are indeed statistically true), so long as it's not verifiable, it's not science .

I can't believe I wasted time reading this book.

[John Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some great brief bursts of interesting and creative insights into topics such as tattoos, hospitality, pets, friendships and toys. Saad can be quite interesting in analyzing why we eat as if there's no tomorrow. But the book is uneven, and long stretches are dull. Saad is an atheist and traces everything to Darwin evolutionary causes. Comparisons between animals and humans abound. He posits that humans act devoid or morality, and some theories (e.g. men who view porn treat women better than men who don't) are dumb. Saad ventures into areas outside his expertise, particularly religion. He believes teaching children about God is tantamount to child abuse. He should have stuck to verifiable research.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mostly had a 'heard it all before' feeling reading this and author comes across as so arrogant. No respect for any religion, and frankly, whether you are a believer or not, his type of smug, superior atheism comes across as unnecessary, boring and rather ignorant. Lots of better books cover topics in this book so dont waste your time/money is my recommendation.

[J.D. Steens · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book traces consumption patterns back to their evolutionary origins. In many ways, this is an update of The Naked Ape of the 1960s. Helpfully, Saad reminds us that evolutionary psychology must look at behavior from two different levels. Most of us stay at the "proximate" level that describes what we do and how we do it. The author goes deeper and looks for the "ultimate," evolutionary, explanations for what we do.

Regarding those who oppose "the explanatory power of evolutionary theory" because of ideological dangers or biological determinism, Saad in many ways shows how the advertisers see the truth about human nature better than most of us. We are not about "self-actualization," he writes. We are really about food, sex, family, status and so forth, even though much of our behavior is malappropriate because "multiple Darwinian instincts" tug us in different directions. Darwinian rationality he says trumps economic rationality.

Saad references four overriding Darwinian "drives" (survival, reproduction, kin selection, reciprocity). That selection seems arbitrary. Why is kin selection and reciprocity the equal of reproduction when kin selection is, at least as argued by its proponents, subsidiary to reproduction. Also, reciprocity is one of many ways we survive and reproduce so it too is subsumed by the more "ultimate" drives of survival and reproduction. In addition, what role does fear and other-oriented social traits play in our lives? What role does group belongingness play? Etc. These fall outside Saad's "meta drive" concept, yet seem central to who we are.

In a way, Saad seems to repeat what others have argued, and then places "the consuming instinct" on all of it without much of a critical eye. He stamps "kin selection" as true and then turns around and says that friendships are often more important than family ties without accounting for the contradiction. Do we really care about promoting the genes of those relatives who are not our direct offspring, or do we happen to promote our kin's welfare because they are the first members of our group, and we are bred to seek support from and to support our group because it is essential for our survival?

Saad does come right out and refers to many instincts as "drives." That was refreshing. Typically, "drives" seem reserved for our animalistic hunger and sex needs, with the rest of our emotions being largely reactive to environmental stimuli. What Saad does is to show that we have a full suite of inner needs that push us into the world. We are consumers of the world. Advertisers know this and respond to these needs. Advertisers can influence, manipulate and deceive us because we want things from that world (food, sex, status). Behavior is not just responding. Behavior is seeking and responding, working together, both in the service of survival and reproduction.

[Vovka · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author too enthusiastically applies the hypothesis that culture is based on behaviors evolution has taught us. Saad comes across as seeming to believe that 80% of our behavior is genetically predispositioned, and I think that's just too extreme a position.

With regards to the nature vs. nurture debate, this author is strongly in former camp, using it to describe all manner of consumer behaviors. I don't think he's wrong in some of his statements, but the certainty with which he applies the theory doesn't feel even-handed or fair. Ultimately, reading this might have shifted my assignment of behaviors to the "nature" camp 5%, but I didn't find it a very convincing set of arguments overall.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great read. Learned so much about humanity and the psychology behind humanity's craziest consumption habits.

Saad is the best.

4.6/5

[Joe Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this is a good book that examines the relationship between our evolved psychologies and how marketing and business tap into that, whether consciously or unconsciously. The two problems I had with this book are that, first, it basically pre-supposes an acceptance of Evolutionary Psychology as a guiding force in our lives. As someone who studied E.P. at U.T. Austin, and enjoyed learning from David Buss, I accept the points laid out in the text(and usually knew the studies referenced in more depth). But if you're a layperson with a passing interest in why people consume porn and why people smoke cigarettes and eat fatty foods when we know it's bad for us, the supporting arguments may be a little harder to swallow (pardon the pun). The areas where Gad Saad goes the most in-depth, which happens with all scientists who write, are the areas where he personally conducted the studies and experiments. Of course, had he gone more in-depth on every point this would have been a much larger book. To that end, I feel this is a good introduction to E.P. as it relates to consumer behavior. For more on the subjects mentioned in the book, I recommend the works of David Buss and Steven Pinker, as well as the book A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam.

My second problem is that the author seems to go out of his way to pick a fight with religion and religious beliefs. I just don't think that was necessary. I'm an atheist myself, so I agree with his positions, I just feel he'll probably turn off a lot of people who might otherwise have picked up the book and enjoyed it. I do think he should have examined how religions use our Evolved Psychologies to convert and keep people in particular religions, I just think it could have been done in a more, shall we say, diplomatic manner.

I was reminded of a class I took at U.T. called Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Basically this class was a class on debunking the paranormal. It was a class in the Physics department and was a great way to learn the scientific method and how it could be applied to areas outside of traditional Physics and Chemistry. The class took on cults but not religion, though you could apply the principles to traditional religion as well. The professor never made the explicit argument that religion was a "hoax" the way Gad Saad did, but instead left you with the tools to make that assumption yourself.

I believe if Gad Saad had gone this route, it would have been a better book. You could have still pointed out how religion uses our fear of death and need to belong to keep us in check, without restating Richard Dawkins position that "targeting religious messages to children is tantamount to child abuse". The section on religion, while pointing out how it uses evolved psychology to market itself, seems needlessly antagonistic.

I loved the book and thought it presented some great ideas, however, I know I wouldn't be able to recommend this to several of my non-atheist friends and family for fear of insulting them.

Oddly enough I didn't have the same feeling when he attacked homeopathic and naturalistic "medicine" as I am really antagonistic towards quack medicine myself. My entire family is deeply religious, but they aren't quack doctors. So maybe his book triggered my "us versus them" evolved psychology.

So, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a basic introduction into how marketing and business exploit our evolved psychologies, with the caveat being that you should probably be an atheist or at the very least hardcore agnostic before reading. Alternatively you could skip the chapter titled "Marketing Hope by Selling Lies".

[Mich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but sooo many examples and wordvomit. I'll admit I flipped through the last chapters and only read the conclusions.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book practically jumped off the library shelf and on top of my pile of library books. The cover is a (presumably) naked woman wearing nothing but a price tag around her neck stating that food, fast cars, porn, and giving gifts can reveal something about human nature. I'm fascinated by the human brain and by our biology, especially as it relates to or explains commonplace aspects of our lives. For example, I never thought that giving a gift to someone could be explained by something having to do with Charles Darwin and evolution. Did you?

Author Gad Saad, according to the bio on the back jacket of the book, is "a popular blogger for Psychology Today, is a professor of marketing at the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. He holds the Concordia University Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption and is the author of The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption, as well as numerous scientific papers." To sum it up, Gad Saad knows his stuff when it comes to evolutionary psychology.

He also knows how to present information in easy to understand ways. I attributed this to his time spent as a college professor. The beginning of The Consuming Instinct takes time to outline what evolutionary psychology is and is not as well as the four Darwinian drives:

1. Survival. This drive explains our penchant for fatty, high caloric foods. Early humans ate fatty foods to build up reserves because the next meal wasn't always guaranteed.

2. Reproduction. This drive explains our courtship rituals like a man giving a woman flowers or an engagement ring and why men are risk takers and women wear make up.

3. Kin selection. This drive explains why we do more to aid our close family members than anyone else. We want our genes to develop and last.

4. Reciprocity. This drive explains why we do for close friends and even strangers. We may want or need someone to do something for us with little to no motivation from the previous three drives.

Saad continues his arguments by elaborating on these four drives in regard to every day cultural consuming and the marketing that often times drives it. From an evolutionary psychological standpoint, he explains our desire for fast food from chains like McDonalds and Taco Bell, why men give women flowers or engagement rings, why men use cars and clothes to show their appeal to women and why women use cosmetics and high heels, why we spend more money on gifts for close family than we do extended family or friends, and why men prefer hardcore porn and women prefer erotica. Then he uses this framework to prove his (potentially offense to some) opinions on religion, self help books and those who use them, and gender socialization and stereotypes.

Wait, what?

This is where Gad Saad lost me. It's one thing to disprove a commonly held assumption, such as traditional gender roles being biological rather than social or environmental. It's one thing to use your knowledge of evolutionary psychology to back up atheist beliefs. But it's not okay to use a general interest book targeted to the average person to shove your beliefs down readers' throats. That's not what I signed up for when I picked up this book.

As the book progressed, Saad's underlying attitudes became more forceful and the book became more of a soap box for him to air his opinions, grievances, and gender biases even when they were irrelevant to the subject at hand. As a narrator charged with presenting knowledge and facts to a general readership, Saad failed because he couldn't keep these unwanted and unnecessary opinions to himself. I finished the book with little to no interest in evolutionary psychology, which was something I was extremely interested in at the beginning of the book. Gad Saad's male superiority complex and utter disdain for anyone who thinks differently from him lost any credibility he may have had with me. I also got the impression that this Lebanonese born, Canadian raised man writing mostly about and for Americans looked down on his neighbors to the south as being vapid and stupid. And, I still have no idea why this man thinks "targeting religious messages to children is tantamount to child abuse" (p. 206).

Needless to say, I wasn't pleased with this book. I am giving it a two out of five though because I learned a lot of fun facts in the first half of the book like:

The use of spices in cooking is positively correlated to a country's ambient temperature. The hotter the temperatures, the hotter the spices used in food. (p. 47)
We make over 225 food related choices per day. (p. 53)
When a red light turns green, drivers are more likely to honk at lower status cars than their own and to do so more quickly than when at a higher status car. (p. 74)
High heels elevate a woman's backside 20 to 30 degrees. (p. 82)
The average amount of time Americans spend watching TV is 153 hours and 27 minutes per month. If you live until 75 and begin watching TV at the age of 5, you spent 14.5 years of your life watching television. (p. 158)


This review originally appeared on Feeding My Book Addiction: http://feedingmybookaddiction.blogspo...

[Andrés Astudillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a rating of 3.69 out of 5. why?
Well, there is an old saying "veritas odium parit". People just don't like to hear awkward truths. The book is filled with them. Evolutionary psychology, dut to its nature, defies constructivism. Social constructivists propose that we, human beings are socially and culturally developed, and thats it. A male baby, at five years old decides to be a baby girl and its ok, gender studies are ok with that.
Well, this is where probably Goodreads may ban my account, or any lgbt member may ask for it, but there's a problem where ideologies meet objective truths.

The book states (well-written) that we are a species shaped by the forces of nature, thus evolution. And that's it. We react the way we do because our brains are shaped to do so. Our bodies, genitalia, hormones, muscles and proteins react because of a evolutionary drive. Differences between men and women are there, for us to see, but new ideologies do not take them into account.

Why do men watch more porn than women?
Why do men live shorter than women?
Why women resist more pain than men?
Why do men create more muscle than women do?
Why do men prefer the hourglass figure instead of morbid obese women?

People may find some questions patriarchal or sexist, but these are just questions quickly answered using the scientific method. And the book its not just about men and women, but also about what we may call "human universals". Human universals are behavioural patterns that trascend time and boundaries. Why? because every human being, despite their origins, cultural approach or geographical location, belong to the same species. Simple as that.

The book will be unconfortable to people who are a part of these new gender, inclusive or "whiteness" studies (yeah, that shit is real), because it shows and explains facts, and not subjective criteria.

We gotta give evolution a chance, in a world where people believe the Earth is flat and creationism is found in every corner.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother...

[Douglas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite his vehement and sometimes rude arguments, I'm not convinced evolutionary psychology is valid.

[Dana Bentzen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting anecdotes here and there, but very high-level overall. Feels like studies have been cherry picked to align with the authors arguments, and counter-points ignored. A pop-science book light on the science.

[PJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Consumentengedrag bekeken vanuit evolutionaire psychologie. Best interessant.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting exploration of human behavior through the lens of evolutionary psychology. Through vigorous research, Saad offers evolutionary explanations for a wide array of human behaviors. He rejects the absurd notion of human beings as "tabula rasa" - instead delivering a theoretical framework that takes into account both genetics (nature) and environmental expression (nurture).

One aspect of this book that I did not enjoy is the author's smug, dismissive attitude (an attitude that persists beyond his writing - see his appearances on JRE and his own show). Despite that drawback, I can easily recommend this book. I look forward to reading his latest: The Parasitic Mind.

[John Martindale · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do we explain the universal tendencies of humans—that is, how people all over the world and throughout history as predictably irrational, biased, and obsessed over particular things? Individuals like Augustine of Hippo would attribute it to a "sinful nature" that sprung into being immediately upon Adam taking the bite of the forbidden fruit, which has been passed on through the seed, thus spreading on to all humanity (except for Christ Jesus).
In modern history, evolutionary psychologists have thought up stories that explain the tendencies that are so common to mankind regardless of human culture. What I think is appealing about the evolutionary explanation is how it explains the particularities and oddities of behavior, showing how they made such good sense in light of developing in an ancient context, but now pose major problems due to the mismatch of civilization. Think of how a dog lives in the wild, and how that dog is brought into a civilized context and its nature must be remolded. It does seem that just about everything that is so common for how chimps live and interact with other chimps, is also common to people, but each human being needs to live in a civilized society where many of these behaviors are now maladaptive. We are complicated creatures--both animal and human, and it is like we must tame and make our inner chimp well-behaved, and have our human take the steering wheel most of the time.
Gad Saad I think did a fine job of sharing some of those universal tendencies that make good sense in light of an evolutionary story. It brought to mind why Saad is so at odds with the woke constructivist, who act as if there is no nature, that everything is infinitely malleable--that humans can simply take the role of god and shape humans and society however they desire. Saad I believe highlights the absurdity of this extreme. There is a human nature that is common to all people and yes, within limits it can be melded and shaped by culture--but there are limits and it is important to recognize these.

I should say that I think that Saad, especially on areas he is particularly opinionated on, is likely to suppress evidence, and he occasionally overstates points. He for example acts as if scientific research has revealed entirely negative outcomes for religious faith, or as if there are only positives connected to the watching of hardcore pornography. In cases like this, it is fine I think to mention his evidence and even seek to be persuasive, but I think he should at least qualify his bold statement—since the data is nowhere as univocal as he makes out.

[Dmitry · Rating 1 out of 5]

(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)

Удивительно видеть такую книгу от профессора по маркетингу. Удивительным является факт чрезвычайной поверхности рассмотренной темы, более свойственной глянцевым журналам, а не профильной литературе. А профильной ли литературой она в действительности была? Похоже, что нет. Похоже, автор решил взять за образец те самые глянцевые журналы или просто не захотел напрягать себя проведением более глубокого анализа, более сложной работы. Поэтому я повторю главный свой тезис касательно этой книги: она очень поверхностна (как глянцевый журнал). Вторым минусом является слабая связь рассматриваемых в книге тем. И третьим минусом я назову наличие слабой доказательной базы. Возможно, первый и третий пункт являются главными.

Автор в своей книге хочет показать, что поведение покупателей предрешено эволюцией или что его можно просчитать (предугадать) используя эволюционную психологию. К примеру, когда женщины находятся в подавленном состоянии, когда они в расстроенных чувствах, они любят потреблять мороженное (помимо ��вух других продуктов питания), а когда то же самое происходит с мужчинами, они предпочитают потреблять, помимо прочих двух блюд, которые упоминает автор, суп. Во-первых, к чему это всё? Во-вторых, это разве является правилом? Определённо нет. Или автор пишет о важности совместного приёма пищи в культуре людей разных стран и в качестве примера приводит свидания, когда мужчина приглашает женщину в ресторан (или использует какой-то аналог, как например ужин при свечах у мужчины дома). Опять же, что это даёт маркетологу или предпринимателю? Практически ничего. Или вот другой пример из книги. Автор пишет что для мужчин социальный статус женщины, которую он рассматривает в качестве потенциального сексуального партнёра, менее важен чем для женщины, для которой социальный статус мужчины является одним из важнейших факторов. Поэтому, пишет автор, мужчины стремятся к приобретению роскоши, в особенности роскошных автомобилей (как самый яркий показатель их социального статуса), ибо это повышает их шансы на секс, т.е. они становятся более желанными с точки зрения женщин. Другими примерами являются использование помады женщинами, приятных запахов как, например духи, подарки и т.д. и т.п. Что связывает все эти темы? Автор пытается нам показать, что за объяснением многих покупок (или приобретений) стоит эволюционная психология, как например, за приобретением дорогих и роскошных автомобилей или использования губной помады женщинами. Выглядит такие выводы автора как бы логично, однако, это лишь предположения, догадки, а не факты, т.е. это чисто авторское умозаключение о природе поведения потребителей. Автор не предложил никаких фактов, статистики, которые бы подтверждали бы его выводы. Далее, всё это не является правилом в отношении абсолютно всех мужчин и женщин. В третьих, это мало что нам (т.е. маркетологам) даёт с практической точки зрения. И в четвёртых, автор для подтверждений своих идей приводит только одну-две истории, и этим ограничивается всё так называемые исследования. Как я сказал в самом начале рецензии, автор очень поверхностен. Из-за того, что в книге очень много таких вот небольших тем, читатель тонет в незначительности поднятых вопросов, не видя сути всей книги. Всё это очень спорно и незначительно одновременно. Уж лучше бы автор взял одну-две темы, но проанализировал бы их подробнейшим и глубочайшим образом, снабдив всё это множеством солидных доказательств в пользу своих выводов.

It is surprising to see such a book from a marketing professor. What is surprising is the fact of the extreme surface of the topic covered, more typical of glossy magazines rather than specialized literature. Was it really specialized literature? Apparently not. It seems that the author decided to take as a model those very glossy magazines or simply did not want to bother himself with a deeper analysis, more complex work. Therefore, I will repeat my main thesis about this book: it is very superficial (like a glossy magazine). The second disadvantage is the weak connection between the topics discussed in the book. The third disadvantage is the weak evidence base. Perhaps the first and third points are the main ones.

The author, in his book, wants to show that consumer behavior is predetermined by evolution or that it can be calculated (predicted) using evolutionary psychology. For example, when women are depressed when they are upset, they like to consume ice cream (in addition to the other two foods), and when the same thing happens to men, they prefer to consume soup, in addition to the other two foods the author mentions. First of all, what is the point of all this? Second, is this really a rule of thumb? Definitely not.

Or the author writes about the importance of eating together in the culture of people of different countries and gives as an example dates when a man invites a woman to a restaurant (or uses some analog, such as a candlelight dinner at a man's home). Again, what does this give the marketer or entrepreneur? Practically nothing. Or here's another example from the book. The author writes that for men, the social status of a woman he considers as a potential sexual partner is less important than for a woman for whom the social status of a man is one of the most important factors. Therefore, the author writes, men tend to acquire luxuries, especially luxury cars (as the most striking indicator of their social status), because this increases their chances of sex, i.e., they become more desirable from the point of view of women. Other examples are the use of lipstick by women and pleasant smells such as perfume, gifts, etc., etc., etc. What connects all these themes? The author tries to show us that evolutionary psychology is behind the explanation of many purchases (or acquisitions), such as the purchase of expensive and luxurious cars or the use of lipstick by women. Such conclusions of the author seem to be logical, however, they are only assumptions, guesses, and not facts, i.e., they are purely the author's inferences about the nature of consumer behavior. The author has not offered any facts, or statistics that would support his conclusions. Further, all this is not a rule for absolutely all men and women. Thirdly, it gives us (i.e., marketers) very little from a practical point of view. And fourth, the author cites only one or two stories to support his ideas, and that's the limit of all the so-called research. As I said at the very beginning of the review, the author is very superficial. Because there are so many such small topics in the book, the reader drowns in the insignificance of the issues raised without seeing the essence of the whole book. All this is very controversial and insignificant at the same time. It would have been better if the author had taken one or two topics but analyzed them in the most detailed and in-depth way, providing a lot of solid evidence in favor of his conclusions.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read Saad's latest book but it was out so I gave this a shot.

It's basically a primer on evolutionary psychology which I gotta say seems pretty commonsense, but maybe I've just been indoctrinated by the ideas since this book was published.

Let's see if I can explain what I think it is having just finished the book:

Evolutionary psychology is a field that looks for insights into human behavior through the lens of evolution. Sort of tautological but not bad.

So ideas such as:

--Men use conspicuous consumption as a way to signal to prospective mates that they are resource-rich (think Ferraris which Saad says are purchased by some massive fraction by men)
--Men pick mates on looks (health and fitness markers, hip-waist ratios), women pick mates on resources
--Women have more to lose in child-rearing so they are choosier about mates while men are sluts. He emphasizes this isn't cultural
--Gift-giving isn't altruism, it's savvy behavior from members of a social species that keeps score of such things.

The broader points made are that all these arguments about "fat-shaming is wrong and culturally driven" are horseshit because we are biologically built to prefer not fat mates. He said something like "If men preferring supple titties and fat asses is wrong, so is women preferring muscular CEOs to unemployed short janitors."

He's much funnier in his podcast. A little of his humor shone through here, but I got the feeling he was still finding his way with writing in this book.

[Donnie Edgemon · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Consuming Instinct" is about the application of evolutionary psychology to consumer behavior. The basic idea is that natural selection and sexual selection in ancestral environments have determined the wiring of the modern human brain and vestiges of those primal influences drive human tendencies in consumption. That's right, it's an important concept for marketers and policy-makers, and it's a field that is still under development. However, this book disappointed me. It seems to me that somebody suggested to Saad that he put together a few hundred pages on this topic with some provocative examples, and it would be a sure best-seller because there is enough market interest. Unfortunately, Saad's work seems slapdash and superficial. He included fewer research examples than expected, in some cases failing to support his (correct) point much at all. If I had not studied the subject some before reading the book, I might have come away unconvinced of some of his assertions because of the lack of evidence he presented. Despite the important topic, the book just has the feel of a "mailed in" effort.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really eye-opening but depressing. Saad reduces humans to nothing more than their biology for the purposes of understanding how they tick, then never lifts humans back up to anything more than that. He paints people as nearly devoid of 'human' agency and suggests that only the truly careful can avoid reacting in the instinctual ways he lays out in this book. The person who thinks is the exception here, and that was an idea that really left me despairing when I read it.

I would like to read a response to this book by someone with a different perspective or even a follow-up by Saad himself. Although it is possible with effort to put a positive, hopeful spin on the conclusions therein, in 2018, the last thing we need is the message that most people's actions and thoughts are beyond their control. If anyone has any recommendations, feel free to let me know.

[Andrew Tollemache · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evo Psych vs. Blank Slaters is one of the great grudge match intellectual debates of our age and so I was squeamish about stepping into some part of it by reading this book. That said Gad Saad has written a pretty good book detailing how Darwinian type insights can be very predictive of patterns of consumer behavior. That the spending patterns of various demogrpahics and between the sexes. The book is written to inform people in marketing about how best to tailor messaging.
Sometimes evolutionary explanations get a little cutesy and feel back fitted for the phenomena they are explaining, but this book had definite good singhts for sure.

[J.J. Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. As sexist and condescending as it is interesting.

[Stephanie Fairey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reading

Dr Saad is one of my favourite people, and this book does not fail to impress. An eye opening dive into human motivations. Well worth your time.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 1 out of 5]

an incredibly lousy and shallow sequel to The Naked Ape

it feels like 19 great things and 78 lousy things
tangled up in a highly arrogant and uneven work

one of these writers who gets it right 25% of the time, and 75% of the time he's wrong or out of his depth

evolutionary psychology can be sorta like freud, they'll just massage people's behaviour (or dreams) and fit square pegs into the round holes

one of those books that'll trigger people if they find one page they totally agree with, or for others, another page will be so full of unbearable crap they'll throw the book across the room

...........

next time you're in your Ferrari to eat a burger
maybe you'll bump into Gadsters
and notice his Ferrari outside the burger place

and discuss the sorry state of pop-psychology books

Just because he smirks and says that infidelity might be imbedded in the genes of a cheating husband, rabbits also eat their crap.

..........

Amazone

Trivial
For a professor of marketing, this is very trite and symplistic. I could not finish it. Nothing new here and MANY stereotypes not based on science.

Lynn

........

Not what I was hoping for. I am a fan of Professor Saad and follow him closely but was surprisingly dissappointed with the contents of this book. I was hoping this book would contain more applicable knowledge in regard to consumer behavior, but the book instead reads as a justification for evolutionary psychology; as if he is trying to convince me that his views are correct instead of inform me about how to use this knowledge. Essentially, the book is a sales brochure for Evolutionary Psychology that fails to provide any realistic applicable knowledge.

My only real takeaway was: What's the point?

Slntdan

..........

Kirkus

Celebrated Psychology Today blogger Saad comes out punching, and the ghost of Charles Darwin just might be in his corner, cheering him on. Accepting that human beings evolved from earlier primates may be hard enough for some, but the author aims for the jugular when he suggests that infidelity might be imbedded in a cheating husband’s genes.

Like an oncologist trying to understand a cancerous tumor, Saad insists he’s only trying to get a handle on what makes humans tick.

But viewing the human experience solely through the lens of evolutionary psychology will make many uncomfortable.

Corporate giants who spend millions of dollars each year in an attempt to mold and manipulate consumers get a pass.

..........

[Julio Astudillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a rating of 3.69 out of 5. why?
Well, there is an old saying "veritas odium parit". People just don't like to hear awkward truths. The book is filled with them. Evolutionary psychology, dut to its nature, defies constructivism. Social constructivists propose that we, human beings are socially and culturally developed, and thats it. A male baby, at five years old decides to be a baby girl and its ok, gender studies are ok with that.
Well, this is where probably Goodreads may ban my account, or any lgbt member may ask for it, but there's a problem where ideologies meet objective truths.

The book states (well-written) that we are a species shaped by the forces of nature, thus evolution. And that's it. We react the way we do because our brains are shaped to do so. Our bodies, genitalia, hormones, muscles and proteins react because of a evolutionary drive. Differences between men and women are there, for us to see, but new ideologies do not take them into account.

Why do men watch more porn than women?
Why do men live shorter than women?
Why women resist more pain than men?
Why do men create more muscle than women do?
Why do men prefer the hourglass figure instead of morbid obese women?

People may find some questions patriarchal or sexist, but these are just questions quickly answered using the scientific method. And the book its not just about men and women, but also about what we may call "human universals". Human universals are behavioural patterns that trascend time and boundaries. Why? because every human being, despite their origins, cultural approach or geographical location, belong to the same species. Simple as that.

The book will be unconfortable to people who are a part of these new gender, inclusive or "whiteness" studies (yeah, that shit is real), because it shows and explains facts, and not subjective criteria.

We gotta give evolution a chance, in a world where people believe the Earth is flat and creationism is found in every corner.

[Mike Cheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author Gad Saad (who's had interesting takes on Rogan's podcast (including JRE 1218) explains a variety of human behaviors with theories from evolutionary psychology, with a focus on consumer preferences. Quite the interesting take on (supposedly and generally) why we're drawn to fatty foods, males want expensive / fast cars, females wear jewelry and heels, and some bases for certain religious doctrines. There's also tangential discussion about sexual selection, including why males are typically more promiscuous, and how females are much more discriminate in choosing mates. (In this vein fans of Matt Ridley's work, such as The Red Queen, may find the arguments enjoyable). Whether or not you're inclined to agree with the book, it's interesting to see through the lens of evolution how certain products are being marketed to us; it’s also important to protect ourselves from mass marketing manipulation (if you believe such exists).

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a mix between how evolutionary psychology can inform marketing and an argument for the value of evolutionary psychology as a belief system. I thought there were a lot of interesting points made; however, I don't think the author did himself any favors when trying to make the argument for stronger support of evolutionary psychology. Not to say that I don't agree with many of his claims, but he has an attitude that comes across as, "Evolution tells us that X is this way because of Y, and you're an idiot if you think any differently." It seemed like he didn't feel the need to provide supporting evidence for some of his claims, because in his mind it should be obvious to everyone that that's just how it is. All that aside, I think anybody interested in human behavior and marketing will find the book interesting and worth checking out.

[Mr Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book for the answer to one question that is if we actually are a blank slate and everything we do is influenced by environment as we're cultural beings.

Book is kept short, that's neat. Writing could have been easier for an average reader. Scientific mumbo jumbo is thrown around usually all the time , even for narrating simple stuff which increases tedium as actual stuff is rather easy to understand.

I did love the analysis of self help books, religion and God. It's so tangled that we are always at fault. Humans are so insecure about everything in life. The above three are often sugar coated to cash out on insecurities about morality and life it's based on on hope and therefore immune to failing.

References are appreciated, but I think more researchis required.

[Glenn E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is a must read. Up through the end of chapter 3, I thought it was somewhere between Steven King and Dean Koontz for marketing people. I devoured it. After that, I made an effort, but I enjoyed it none the less. I love the author's name! It's even better when drunk Americans try to say it incorrectly. Way funny pun! In fact, if the author reads this, please accept my friend request if you're really in Egypt. I want to go to one of your lectures and hear you talk about William James Sidis, Nietzsche, Calvin, and Goebbels all in one conversation. I love my memory of the '80's way better than the reality of today. It was a thrill up through Chapter 3, but I was a little foggy by the end of the 80's so I can't really comment after that.