Political Consumerism: How Communication and Consumption Orientations Drive "Lifestyle Politics"

Historians and cultural theorists have long asserted that a desire to express political concerns often guides consumer behavior, yet such political consumerism has received limited attention from social scientists. Here, the authors explore the relationship of political consumerism with dispositiona...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 2007-05, Vol.611 (1), p.217-235
Main Authors: Shah, Dhavan V., McLeod, Douglas M., Kim, Eunkyung, Lee, Sun Young, Gotlieb, Melissa R., Ho, Shirley S., Breivik, Hilde
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American studies
Communication
Consumer advertising
Consumer behavior
Consumer psychology
Consumerism
Consumers
Consumption
Demography
Environmental Attitudes
Ethical consumerism
Life styles
Lifestyle
Lifestyles
Modeling
News content
Paternalism
Political advertising
Political behavior
Political Participation
Political sociology
Regression analysis
Socialization
U.S.A
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Summary:Historians and cultural theorists have long asserted that a desire to express political concerns often guides consumer behavior, yet such political consumerism has received limited attention from social scientists. Here, the authors explore the relationship of political consumerism with dispositional factors, communication variables, and consumption orientations using data collected from a panel survey conducted in the United States between February 2002 and July 2005. The authors test a theorized model using both cross-sectional and auto-regressive panel analyses. The static and change models reveal that conventional and online news use encourage political consumerism indirectly through their influence on political talk and environmental concerns. However, media use may also have some suppressive effects by reducing the desire to protect others from harmful messages. Results demonstrate how communication practices and consumption orientations work together to influence political consumerism beyond previously delineated factors. Implications for declines in political and civic participation and youth socialization are discussed.
ISSN:0002-7162
1552-3349
DOI:10.1177/0002716206298714