Note on Griskevicius and Kenrick (2013) – Fundamental Motives Framework

Main Topic or Phenomenon

This paper addresses how deep-seated evolutionary motives continue to influence modern consumer behavior and decision-making processes. The authors examine consumption and choice through the lens of ancestral psychological adaptations, arguing that seemingly contemporary consumer decisions are fundamentally connected to the same motivations that drove our ancestors’ survival and reproductive behaviors.

Theoretical Construct

The Fundamental Motives Framework serves as the central theoretical construct. This framework identifies seven evolutionary challenges that humans had to solve for survival and reproduction:

1. Self-protection - evading physical harm
2. Disease avoidance - avoiding infections
3. Affiliation - making and maintaining friendships
4. Status - gaining respect and prestige
5. Mate acquisition - finding a romantic partner
6. Mate retention - keeping a long-term partner
7. Kin care - caring for family members

The framework operates on three core tenets:

• Fundamental motives can be activated by external or internal cues
• The currently active motive shapes preferences and choices
• The active motive guides decision-making processes

Key Findings

The paper presents several important findings across different motivational systems:

Self-Protection System:

• When activated, leads to increased conformity and preference for popular products
• Increases loss aversion and risk avoidance
• Promotes “strength in numbers” mentality in product choices

Disease Avoidance System:

• Triggers preference for “clean,” familiar, and domestically-made products
• Increases avoidance of used or foreign products
• Can be activated by pregnancy hormones, leading to xenophobic tendencies

Mate Acquisition System:

• Creates opposite effects in men vs. women regarding conformity (men seek uniqueness, women seek cooperation)
• For men: increases conspicuous consumption, risk-taking, and luxury spending
• For women: increases focus on beauty enhancement and cooperative behavior
• Reverses loss aversion in men (gains loom larger than losses)

Status System:

• Drives luxury consumption and conspicuous display
• Can lead to prosocial behavior through “competitive altruism”
• Increases overconfidence bias
• Makes individuals less price-sensitive

Boundary Conditions and Moderators

The framework identifies four key moderating factors:

Life Stage:

• Different motives become prominent at different life stages
• Mate acquisition and status motives peak during “mating stage” (puberty to parenthood)
• Self-protection and disease avoidance more relevant in early and later life stages

Biological Sex:

• Men and women show different responses to mate acquisition cues
• Parental investment differences create distinct consumption patterns
• Hormonal fluctuations (ovulation, pregnancy) moderate motive activation

Individual Differences in Life History Strategy:

• Fast strategists prefer flashy, attention-grabbing luxury goods
• Slow strategists prefer inconspicuous, high-quality luxury products
• Different time horizons affect response to motive activation

Culture:

• Cultural context influences how motives are expressed behaviorally
• Determines thresholds for motive activation
• Shapes the specific products/behaviors used to fulfill evolutionary needs

Building on Previous Work

This paper extends evolutionary psychology into consumer behavior by:

Challenging Traditional Approaches:

• Moves beyond proximate explanations (immediate triggers) to ultimate explanations (evolutionary functions)
• Questions the assumption that consumer behavior is purely cultural

Integrating Diverse Literature:

• Synthesizes findings from evolutionary psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, and consumer behavior
• Builds on life history theory and sexual selection research

Extending Existing Frameworks:

• Goes beyond simple “sex sells” approaches to identify specific conditions when and how evolutionary motives influence consumption
• Provides more nuanced understanding than broad evolutionary approaches

Major Theoretical Contribution

The paper’s primary theoretical contribution is establishing that consumer preferences and decision-making processes systematically change depending on which fundamental evolutionary motive is currently active. This represents a paradigm shift from viewing consumer behavior as primarily driven by contemporary cultural factors to understanding it as rooted in ancient psychological adaptations.

Key theoretical insights include:

• The same person can make entirely inconsistent choices depending on activated motive
• What appears “irrational” may actually be adaptive from an evolutionary perspective
• Consumer biases and errors may be design features rather than flaws
• Different motives can produce opposing behavioral effects (e.g., conformity vs. uniqueness seeking)

Major Managerial Implications

Marketing Strategy:

• Marketers should consider which evolutionary motive their advertising activates
• Product positioning should align with the evolutionary function it serves
• Timing of campaigns should consider when target motives are most likely to be active

Product Development:

• Products can be designed to fulfill specific evolutionary needs
• Understanding sex differences in motive expression can guide product differentiation
• Life stage considerations should inform product portfolio decisions

Advertising Effectiveness:

• “Sex sells” depends on context - mate acquisition vs. mate retention motives require different approaches
• Appeals to safety vs. status create fundamentally different consumer responses
• Cultural adaptation of evolutionary appeals enhances effectiveness

Consumer Segmentation:

• Segmentation based on life history strategies (fast vs. slow) may be more predictive than traditional demographics
• Understanding individual differences in motive sensitivity can improve targeting
• Life stage segmentation gains theoretical foundation through evolutionary lens

This framework provides managers with a deeper understanding of why certain marketing approaches work and offers a systematic way to predict consumer responses across different contexts and populations.

Reference

Griskevicius, Vladas and Douglas T. Kenrick (2013), “Fundamental motives: How evolutionary needs influence consumer behavior,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 23 (3), 372–86.