Social Influence and Sustainable Consumption

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

   PDF

2. Social Influence

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Introduction to Social Influence: Why It Matters

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith

      Pages 3-22

   3. Social Influence History and Theories

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith

      Pages 23-39

   4. Values, Attitudes, Opinions, Goals, and Motivation

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith

      Pages 41-54

   5. Communication and Social Media

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith

      Pages 55-69

3. Consumption

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 71-71

      PDF

   2. What We Buy and Who We Listen to: The Science and Art of Consumption

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith

      Pages 73-90

   3. Decision Making and Problem Solving

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith

      Pages 91-103

   4. Households: Productivity and Consumption

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith

      Pages 105-123

4. Sustainability

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 125-125

      PDF

   2. Social Influence and Sustainable Behavior

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith, Ronald E. Goldsmith, Todd Bacille

      Pages 127-154

   3. Sustainably Managing Resources in the Built Environment

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith, David Scott Goldsmith

      Pages 155-169

   4. Influencing Behavior: Four Strategies

      • Elizabeth B. Goldsmith

      Pages 171-184

5. Back Matter

   Pages 185-187

   PDF

This forward-looking volume examines the role of social influence--including social media--in creating and fostering sustainable consumer behavior. Using the concepts behind social influence theory as a launching point, it describes humans' need for social networks and identifies the core components of buying, such as consumer goals and the gathering of opinions. From here, chapters examine ways social influence can encourage and support sustainable consumption, from buying green products to recycling packaging materials to supporting environmentally responsible brands. Real-world examples, critical thinking questions, a breakdown of strategies for influencing behavior, and pertinent references give the book extra dimensions of value. Among the featured topics: 

• Social influence: why it matters.
• Values, attitudes, opinions, goals, and motivation.
• What we buy and who we listen to: the science and art of consumption.
• Decision making and problem solving.
• Households: productivity and consumption.
• Sustainably managing resources in the built environment.

Between its nuanced understanding of social connections and its up-to-date lens on technology, Social Influence and Sustainable Consumption is must reading for researchers in the fields of consumer psychology, consumer behavior, and consumer sustainability.

• Consumer Behavior
• Consumer Decision Making
• Consumer Interests
• Consumer economics
• Family resource management
• History of Social Influence
• Household Consumption
• Sustainability in Households

• Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA

  Elizabeth B Goldsmith

Dr. Elizabeth B. Goldsmith’s interest in family resource management was ignited in the 1970s in graduate school at Michigan State University. The journey has since led to teaching at New Mexico State University, the University of Alabama, and Florida State University with Fulbright stays at the University of Malta (2011) and the University of the West Indies (2006). For three years, she was on the Fulbright National Screening Committee and the Economics Review Panel. Currently she is on the Board for the North Florida Fulbright Alumni Chapter and a Commissioner with the Leon County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. She has had visiting appointment/grants from Stanford University, Duke University, and the Smithsonian Institution, published over 50 journal articles, given speeches around the world, been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, been a domestic policy advisor to the White House on women’s and girls’ economic education and to the United Nations, and published over a dozen books including Resource Management for Individuals and Families, 5th Edition (Pearson, 2013) and Consumer Economics: Issues and Behavior, 2nd Edition, Pearson, 2009).

Policies and ethics