Symbolic consumption in teenagers' clothing choices

The importance of the symbolic properties of goods has been explored in depth among adult consumers, but there has been less attention given to the symbolic consumption of young people. This study explores the subject of symbolic consumption with specific reference to clothing in the teenage market. Thirty‐eight young people were interviewed, and age, sex and social position variations were considered. The results of this study suggest that conspicuous consumption is relevant for young people, and that they are a group which is adept at reading the signals represented in clothing choices. The authors found that the clothes choices made by young people are closely bound to their self‐concept, and are used both as a means of self‐expression and as a way of judging the people and situations they face. Evidence was also found that clothing has a function in role fulfilment, making the wearer more confident and capable. Overall, clothing can be viewed as an essential social tool in the lives of teenagers. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications Ltd.     

《管子》与《蜜蜂的寓言》消费观之比较

在人类消费文化发展史上,有两本书的消费观点格外引人注目。分别是成书于我国先秦时期的《管子》和西方18世纪荷兰经济学家曼得维尔的《蜜蜂的预言》。撇开时间和空间的诸多差异,两书的消费思想竟有惊人的相似之处：它们都在一片尚俭声中主张适度消费,发挥消费对社会生产的积极作用;反对过度节俭,认为奢靡能增加社会财富、提供就业机会;两书虽是它们所处时代论述消费问题的开天辟地之作,却并未受重视,反而对后人产生了深远影响。     

《管子》的生态经济思想论

本文论述了《管子》的生态经济思想：《管子》认为经济系统必须顺应这个生态系统的生态法则：“天时”;《管子》阐述了正确处理人口、生产与资源、环境保护间关系的“务地利”的可持续经济思想;《管子》提出了修德、贫富有度及适度消费的生态经济管理思想。     

发展中的行为决策研究

行为决策研究人们如何进行判断与选择。该学科希望能在描述决策的过程中帮助人们更好地进行决策,其研究的使命是促进和改善我们对人类决策行为的理解。在过去的1年里,中国科学院心理研究所行为决策课题组在社会与经济决策领域中已开展的研究包括：行为决策与脑、社会互动与决策、决策的文化差异、消费与投资的行为决策、效用最大化与幸福感。该文着重报告并讨论了我们在行为决策及其跨文化比较研究中的一些最新的主要发现     

时间贴现的性质与脑机制

时间贴现是指个人对事件的价值量估计随着时间的流逝而下降的心理现象,它是行为选择理论的一个重要组成部分。着重介绍了时间贴现的数学模型（指数模型、双曲线模型族、非双曲线模型）、时间贴现现象和概率贴现现象的联系、延迟兑现与提前兑现时间贴现不对称现象及其理论解释,还讨论了时间贴现现象的神经机制研究。提出了时间贴现未来研究的几个主要问题     

Amount consumed varies as a function of feeder design.

Studies of pigeon behavior in which magazine-cycle duration is varied suggest that many researchers assume that feeders of different designs dispense food at roughly the same rate. However, Epstein (1981) showed that, with a commonly used feeder, the amount of grain a pigeon consumes is a negatively accelerated function of magazine-cycle duration. The present experiment shows that, with a different commonly used feeder, amount consumed is roughly a linear function of magazine-cycle duration. At a duration of 60 seconds, the second feeder dispenses roughly 10 times as much food as the first. Thus, reports of studies in which magazine-cycle duration is varied should identify the design of the feeder employed, and in some cases, authors should consider determining the feeding functions for those feeders.     

亲亲相隐何时休?关系对揭发意向影响的边界

当组织中做出不道德行为的人跟自己关系非常亲近时,员工可能不会揭发他们的不道德行为,进而给组织带来潜在的隐患。鉴于先前研究较少关注如何降低不道德情境中关系的包庇作用,本研究考察了组织和个体特征在削弱关系与揭发负向关系方面扮演的调节角色。结果表明,关系会抑制员工对不道德行为的揭发意向(研究1~3),且关系对员工揭发意向的负向影响受到了组织关系取向(研究1和3)与员工正直(研究2和3)的调节。随着组织关系取向的下降或员工正直程度的提升,关系对员工揭发意向的抑制作用逐步降低。这些结果对于组织内部揭发机制设计具有借鉴意义。     

Positional Goods and the Social Rank Hypothesis: Income Inequality Affects Online Chatter about High‐ and Low‐Status Brands on Twitter

According to a social rank hypothesis, consumers who live in regions with higher income inequality will show greater interest in, and attention toward, positional goods and high‐status brands that serve a social signaling role. We analyze millions of posts on the microblogging platform Twitter for mentions of high‐ and low‐status brands. We find that luxury brands such as “Louis Vuitton” and “Rolex” are more frequently mentioned in tweets originating from US states, counties, and major metropolitan areas with higher levels of income inequality. In contrast, mentions of everyday brands such as “Walmart” or “Kmart” are more frequent in regions with a more equal distribution of income. Using sentiment analysis, we find higher valence (positivity) and arousal (excitement) for tweets that both mention high‐status brands and originate from regions with high levels of income inequality. These results corroborate the social rank hypothesis, showing that more psychological resources are allocated to positional consumption when the income gap between the rich and the poor is larger.