Social Influence and Sustainable Consumption

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.

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).