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The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature

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3.68 · Rating details · 473 ratings · 53 reviews

For anyone interested in the biological basis of human behavior or simply in what makes consumers tick—marketing professionals, advertisers, psychology mavens, and consumers themselves—this is a fascinating read.
What do all successful fast-food restaurants have in common?
Why are women more likely to become compulsive shoppers and men more likely to become addicted to porno ...more

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Hardcover, 374 pages

Published June 21st 2011 by Prometheus Books (first published January 1st 2011)

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Lists with This Book

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Alicia Fox

Nov 24, 2012 Alicia Fox rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction

This book describes common human behaviors (from why guys like driving fast cars to why women are willing to kill their feet wearing high heels) from an evolutionary perspective. Saad teaches MBAs, so it's not surprising that his analyses center on how an understanding of evolutionary psychology can help advertising campaigns on a global scale (in terms of recognizing what human likes and traits are universal rather than culturally specific).

Saad goes out of his way to confer a "don't shoot the This book describes common human behaviors (from why guys like driving fast cars to why women are willing to kill their feet wearing high heels) from an evolutionary perspective. Saad teaches MBAs, so it's not surprising that his analyses center on how an understanding of evolutionary psychology can help advertising campaigns on a global scale (in terms of recognizing what human likes and traits are universal rather than culturally specific).

Saad goes out of his way to confer a "don't shoot the messenger" idea. For example, it's not his sexist nature that makes him say that men are naturally more sexually jealous--it's the fault of hundreds of thousands of years of "paternity uncertainty" that makes men this way. And I get what he's saying. Likewise, I fully believe that to get real answers to life's problems, we have to know the truth about what causes our behavior.

However, Saad seems at times gleeful when the scientific truths he espouses trumps the work of feminist writers and researchers (like Naomi Wolf). In the logic of evolutionary psychology, it's inevitable that, say, a guy driving a Ferrari will have his aggressive-sexual testosterone levels raised, and that the guy will all the more so want to have sex with the curvy woman he sees walking along the street in high heels (signifying fertility through her figure, and a sexually receptive position via her raised buttocks). I understand that Saad is simply explaining the "why" of this situation. But when he virtually laughs off the writings of a person like Wolf, Saad comes across (at least to me) as dismissive of the very real problems that Wolf (and her ilk) try to address. Sure, the man and woman in the scenario I've described are doing only what they feel is natural, but a very real problem does occur when the scenario goes too far (e.g., the man assumes that the woman is available to him, and ends up harassing her). Instead of kindly offering recommendations for how the knowledge of evolutionary psychology could be used to treat the wrongs and unfairness inherently present in a bunch advanced chimps wearing clothes (that is, all of us), Saad opts to crow rather too loudly over the fact that his academic discipline trumps another academic discipline.

As far as the book goes, it's a great read. The material is written in a way that pretty much anyone can understand. However, my concern is that people (particularly MBAs and marketers) will read it and use evolutionary psychology against us. And, in tune with what I stated above, they will offer no apologies for any harmful sexism, etc., that is perpetuated as a result of their use of evolutionary psychology in marketing campaigns. ...more

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May 舞

Oct 15, 2017 May 舞 rated it did not like it

Shelves: nonfiction

Evolutionary psychology is psuedo-science. No matter how many observations and generalizations one makes (if they are indeed statistically true), so long as it's not verifiable, it's not science .

I can't believe I wasted time reading this book. ...more

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Greg Linster

Nov 16, 2011 Greg Linster rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorites

The aphorist, Aaron Haspel, once wrote: "Once you see human interaction as a contest to signal mating fitness, you never see it as anything else." That's both interesting and true, but for the purposes of this review, I'm going to need to paint with a broader brush: once you see all aspects of human existence as a product of evolution, you never see them as anything else. Modern-day consumerism is no exception and it's the subject of Gad Saad's fantastic book The Consuming Instinct.

Saad is a p ...more

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John Kennedy

Jun 30, 2011 John Kennedy rated it it was ok

This book has some great brief bursts of interesting and creative insights into topics such as tattoos, hospitality, pets, friendships and toys. Saad can be quite interesting in analyzing why we eat as if there's no tomorrow. But the book is uneven, and long stretches are dull. Saad is an atheist and traces everything to Darwin evolutionary causes. Comparisons between animals and humans abound. He posits that humans act devoid or morality, and some theories (e.g. men who view porn treat women be ...more

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Joe Robles

Jan 10, 2014 Joe Robles rated it really liked it

Overall this is a good book that examines the relationship between our evolved psychologies and how marketing and business tap into that, whether consciously or unconsciously. The two problems I had with this book are that, first, it basically pre-supposes an acceptance of Evolutionary Psychology as a guiding force in our lives. As someone who studied E.P. at U.T. Austin, and enjoyed learning from David Buss, I accept the points laid out in the text(and usually knew the studies referenced in mor Overall this is a good book that examines the relationship between our evolved psychologies and how marketing and business tap into that, whether consciously or unconsciously. The two problems I had with this book are that, first, it basically pre-supposes an acceptance of Evolutionary Psychology as a guiding force in our lives. As someone who studied E.P. at U.T. Austin, and enjoyed learning from David Buss, I accept the points laid out in the text(and usually knew the studies referenced in more depth). But if you're a layperson with a passing interest in why people consume porn and why people smoke cigarettes and eat fatty foods when we know it's bad for us, the supporting arguments may be a little harder to swallow (pardon the pun). The areas where Gad Saad goes the most in-depth, which happens with all scientists who write, are the areas where he personally conducted the studies and experiments. Of course, had he gone more in-depth on every point this would have been a much larger book. To that end, I feel this is a good introduction to E.P. as it relates to consumer behavior. For more on the subjects mentioned in the book, I recommend the works of David Buss and Steven Pinker, as well as the book A Billion Wicked Thoughts by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam.

My second problem is that the author seems to go out of his way to pick a fight with religion and religious beliefs. I just don't think that was necessary. I'm an atheist myself, so I agree with his positions, I just feel he'll probably turn off a lot of people who might otherwise have picked up the book and enjoyed it. I do think he should have examined how religions use our Evolved Psychologies to convert and keep people in particular religions, I just think it could have been done in a more, shall we say, diplomatic manner.

I was reminded of a class I took at U.T. called Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Basically this class was a class on debunking the paranormal. It was a class in the Physics department and was a great way to learn the scientific method and how it could be applied to areas outside of traditional Physics and Chemistry. The class took on cults but not religion, though you could apply the principles to traditional religion as well. The professor never made the explicit argument that religion was a "hoax" the way Gad Saad did, but instead left you with the tools to make that assumption yourself.

I believe if Gad Saad had gone this route, it would have been a better book. You could have still pointed out how religion uses our fear of death and need to belong to keep us in check, without restating Richard Dawkins position that "targeting religious messages to children is tantamount to child abuse". The section on religion, while pointing out how it uses evolved psychology to market itself, seems needlessly antagonistic.

I loved the book and thought it presented some great ideas, however, I know I wouldn't be able to recommend this to several of my non-atheist friends and family for fear of insulting them.

Oddly enough I didn't have the same feeling when he attacked homeopathic and naturalistic "medicine" as I am really antagonistic towards quack medicine myself. My entire family is deeply religious, but they aren't quack doctors. So maybe his book triggered my "us versus them" evolved psychology.

So, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a basic introduction into how marketing and business exploit our evolved psychologies, with the caveat being that you should probably be an atheist or at the very least hardcore agnostic before reading. Alternatively you could skip the chapter titled "Marketing Hope by Selling Lies". ...more

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Vlad

Jan 26, 2020 Vlad rated it it was ok

The author too enthusiastically applies the hypothesis that culture is based on behaviors evolution has taught us. Saad comes across as seeming to believe that 80% of our behavior is genetically predispositioned, and I think that's just too extreme a position.

With regards to the nature vs. nurture debate, this author is strongly in former camp, using it to describe all manner of consumer behaviors. I don't think he's wrong in some of his statements, but the certainty with which he applies the th ...more

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Stephanie

May 14, 2011 Stephanie rated it did not like it

Basically boils down to "Men buy sports cars and are into excessive risk-taking so that they can attract a mate. Women buy shoes and makeup and diet products so that they can attract a mate. Men are attracted to youth and beauty and facial symmetry. Women are attracted to successful powerful men." I've heard it all before and it doesn't interest me. Also the writing style was too much like an academic paper and relied too heavily on listing 27 examples of everything.
...more

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Ben Rogers

Nov 30, 2020 Ben Rogers rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Really great read. Learned so much about humanity and the psychology behind humanity's craziest consumption habits.

Saad is the best.

4.6/5 ...more

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Bob Nichols

Aug 17, 2012 Bob Nichols rated it it was ok

This book traces consumption patterns back to their evolutionary origins. In many ways, this is an update of The Naked Ape of the 1960s. Helpfully, Saad reminds us that evolutionary psychology must look at behavior from two different levels. Most of us stay at the "proximate" level that describes what we do and how we do it. The author goes deeper and looks for the "ultimate," evolutionary, explanations for what we do.

Regarding those who oppose "the explanatory power of evolutionary theory" bec This book traces consumption patterns back to their evolutionary origins. In many ways, this is an update of The Naked Ape of the 1960s. Helpfully, Saad reminds us that evolutionary psychology must look at behavior from two different levels. Most of us stay at the "proximate" level that describes what we do and how we do it. The author goes deeper and looks for the "ultimate," evolutionary, explanations for what we do.

Regarding those who oppose "the explanatory power of evolutionary theory" because of ideological dangers or biological determinism, Saad in many ways shows how the advertisers see the truth about human nature better than most of us. We are not about "self-actualization," he writes. We are really about food, sex, family, status and so forth, even though much of our behavior is malappropriate because "multiple Darwinian instincts" tug us in different directions. Darwinian rationality he says trumps economic rationality.

Saad references four overriding Darwinian "drives" (survival, reproduction, kin selection, reciprocity). That selection seems arbitrary. Why is kin selection and reciprocity the equal of reproduction when kin selection is, at least as argued by its proponents, subsidiary to reproduction. Also, reciprocity is one of many ways we survive and reproduce so it too is subsumed by the more "ultimate" drives of survival and reproduction. In addition, what role does fear and other-oriented social traits play in our lives? What role does group belongingness play? Etc. These fall outside Saad's "meta drive" concept, yet seem central to who we are.

In a way, Saad seems to repeat what others have argued, and then places "the consuming instinct" on all of it without much of a critical eye. He stamps "kin selection" as true and then turns around and says that friendships are often more important than family ties without accounting for the contradiction. Do we really care about promoting the genes of those relatives who are not our direct offspring, or do we happen to promote our kin's welfare because they are the first members of our group, and we are bred to seek support from and to support our group because it is essential for our survival?

Saad does come right out and refers to many instincts as "drives." That was refreshing. Typically, "drives" seem reserved for our animalistic hunger and sex needs, with the rest of our emotions being largely reactive to environmental stimuli. What Saad does is to show that we have a full suite of inner needs that push us into the world. We are consumers of the world. Advertisers know this and respond to these needs. Advertisers can influence, manipulate and deceive us because we want things from that world (food, sex, status). Behavior is not just responding. Behavior is seeking and responding, working together, both in the service of survival and reproduction.

...more

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Joshua

Aug 10, 2020 Joshua rated it liked it

An interesting exploration of human behavior through the lens of evolutionary psychology. Through vigorous research, Saad offers evolutionary explanations for a wide array of human behaviors. He rejects the absurd notion of human beings as "tabula rasa" - instead delivering a theoretical framework that takes into account both genetics (nature) and environmental expression (nurture).

One aspect of this book that I did not enjoy is the author's smug, dismissive attitude (an attitude that persists ...more

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Donnie Edgemon

Dec 08, 2011 Donnie Edgemon rated it it was ok

"The Consuming Instinct" is about the application of evolutionary psychology to consumer behavior. The basic idea is that natural selection and sexual selection in ancestral environments have determined the wiring of the modern human brain and vestiges of those primal influences drive human tendencies in consumption. That's right, it's an important concept for marketers and policy-makers, and it's a field that is still under development. However, this book disappointed me. It seems to me that so ...more

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Mimi

Sep 12, 2018 Mimi rated it really liked it

Really eye-opening but depressing. Saad reduces humans to nothing more than their biology for the purposes of understanding how they tick, then never lifts humans back up to anything more than that. He paints people as nearly devoid of 'human' agency and suggests that only the truly careful can avoid reacting in the instinctual ways he lays out in this book. The person who thinks is the exception here, and that was an idea that really left me despairing when I read it.

I would like to read a res ...more

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Andrew Tollemache

Feb 09, 2018 Andrew Tollemache rated it liked it

Evo Psych vs. Blank Slaters is one of the great grudge match intellectual debates of our age and so I was squeamish about stepping into some part of it by reading this book. That said Gad Saad has written a pretty good book detailing how Darwinian type insights can be very predictive of patterns of consumer behavior. That the spending patterns of various demogrpahics and between the sexes. The book is written to inform people in marketing about how best to tailor messaging.
Sometimes evolutiona ...more

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Holly

Oct 18, 2011 Holly rated it did not like it

Mostly had a 'heard it all before' feeling reading this and author comes across as so arrogant. No respect for any religion, and frankly, whether you are a believer or not, his type of smug, superior atheism comes across as unnecessary, boring and rather ignorant. Lots of better books cover topics in this book so dont waste your time/money is my recommendation. ...more

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Jcon4307justin

Jan 13, 2021 Jcon4307justin rated it really liked it

I wanted to read Saad's latest book but it was out so I gave this a shot.

It's basically a primer on evolutionary psychology which I gotta say seems pretty commonsense, but maybe I've just been indoctrinated by the ideas since this book was published.

Let's see if I can explain what I think it is having just finished the book:

Evolutionary psychology is a field that looks for insights into human behavior through the lens of evolution. Sort of tautological but not bad.

So ideas such as:

--Men use con ...more

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Mike Cheng

Jul 12, 2020 Mike Cheng rated it liked it

The author Gad Saad (who's had interesting takes on Rogan's podcast (including JRE 1218) explains a variety of human behaviors with theories from evolutionary psychology, with a focus on consumer preferences. Quite the interesting take on (supposedly and generally) why we're drawn to fatty foods, males want expensive / fast cars, females wear jewelry and heels, and some bases for certain religious doctrines. There's also tangential discussion about sexual selection, including why males are typic ...more

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Michael

Oct 28, 2020 Michael rated it liked it

This book is a mix between how evolutionary psychology can inform marketing and an argument for the value of evolutionary psychology as a belief system. I thought there were a lot of interesting points made; however, I don't think the author did himself any favors when trying to make the argument for stronger support of evolutionary psychology. Not to say that I don't agree with many of his claims, but he has an attitude that comes across as, "Evolution tells us that X is this way because of Y, ...more

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Daksh Gupta

Jul 16, 2020 Daksh Gupta rated it liked it

I picked up this book for the answer to one question that is if we actually are a blank slate and everything we do is influenced by environment as we're cultural beings.

Book is kept short, that's neat. Writing could have been easier for an average reader. Scientific mumbo jumbo is thrown around usually all the time , even for narrating simple stuff which increases tedium as actual stuff is rather easy to understand.

I did love the analysis of self help books, religion and God. It's so tangled th ...more

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John

Mar 23, 2017 John rated it really liked it

Shelves: business, non-fiction

Less interesting than I was hoping.

I loved applying evolution to marketing and business, but it felt a little bit less academic than I was expecting from a professor (i.e. using selective pop-culture references as examples).

The author's personality definitely comes through, which is a positive. There are hints of sarcasm mixed in with the information and a certain level of snarkiness that is pleasant if you agree with him and grinding if you don't.

I think the concepts are important to consider i ...more

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ger

Jun 21, 2017 ger rated it it was ok · review of another edition

A lot of the stuff is obvious and a bit repetitive. I also look at a lot of ' Psychological experiments ' with scepticism in light of recent revelations about poor standards and lack of solid science. I do think evolutionary views are extremely important and of a great help but that said the hard science has to be transparent. Robert Kurzban seems eminently more trustworthy. At times Saad seemed full of himself and to be honest isn't a great communicator. Some interesting points though. ...more

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Grace

Nov 30, 2011 Grace rated it it was ok

Shelves: cultural-studies, non-fiction, psychology, read-in-2011, science-brain

This book practically jumped off the library shelf and on top of my pile of library books. The cover is a (presumably) naked woman wearing nothing but a price tag around her neck stating that food, fast cars, porn, and giving gifts can reveal something about human nature. I'm fascinated by the human brain and by our biology, especially as it relates to or explains commonplace aspects of our lives. For example, I never thought that giving a gift to someone could be explained by something having t ...more

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An Do

Dec 01, 2020 An Do rated it liked it

While I appreciate the up front treatment of common rebuttals to evolutionary theories, I'm not fully convinced of the effects mentioned, perhaps the author could have addressed his framework more thoroughly and how that would support and falsify, rather than dwelling on anecdotes. ...more

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Eli

Jan 23, 2021 Eli rated it did not like it

Good example of privilege effecting science. This is a white supremacist and homophobic book. Downplays the role of oppression, technology, and social networks in human behavior, and acts as if gay and trans people don't exist ...more

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Martha Greenough

Jun 15, 2017 Martha Greenough rated it it was ok

Shelves: science

nothing you don't already know ...more

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Yanick Punter

Jun 20, 2017 Yanick Punter rated it liked it

Shelves: evolution

It had some interesting information. The rest of the information I was already aware of. Was not fond of the preaching.

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Joske Vermeulen

Nov 15, 2017 Joske Vermeulen rated it liked it

Author was kind enough to answer a question I had

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Geoff

Feb 24, 2019 Geoff rated it it was amazing

I found this fascinating and I feel better armed against the tools and tricks of marketers.

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Entangled

Feb 18, 2020 Entangled rated it really liked it

Bursts of great insights but some stretches are dull. Overall a worthwhile read.

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Frankhudson

Mar 29, 2020 Frankhudson rated it really liked it

Good information, but read like a college paper than a book.

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Dominic

Jun 09, 2020 Dominic rated it it was amazing

Loved it, quite clearly written and simplified explanations of evolutionary behaviour 👏👏

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About Gad Saad

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Dr. Gad Saad is Professor of Marketing, holder of the Concordia University Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption, and advisory fellow at the Center for Inquiry. He was an Associate Editor of Evolutionary Psychology (2012-2015) and of Customer Needs and Solutions (2014- ). He has held Visiting Associate Professorships at Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Dr. Gad Saad is Professor of Marketing, holder of the Concordia University Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption, and advisory fellow at the Center for Inquiry. He was an Associate Editor of Evolutionary Psychology (2012-2015) and of Customer Needs and Solutions (2014- ). He has held Visiting Associate Professorships at Cornell University, Dartmouth College, and the University of California-Irvine. Dr. Saad was inducted into the Who’s Who of Canadian Business in 2002. He was listed as one of the “hot” professors of Concordia University in both the 2001 and 2002 Maclean’s reports on Canadian universities. Dr. Saad received the JMSB Faculty’s Distinguished Teaching Award in June 2000. He is the recipient of the 2014 Darwinism Applied Award granted by the Applied Evolutionary Psychology Society and co-recipient of the 2015 President's Media Outreach Award-Research Communicator (International). His research and teaching interests include evolutionary psychology, consumer behavior, and psychology of decision making.

Professor Saad’s trade book, The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature (Prometheus Books), was released in June 2011, and has since been translated to Korean and Turkish. His 2007 book, The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption (Lawrence Erlbaum) is the first academic book to demonstrate the Darwinian roots of a wide range of consumption phenomena. His edited book, Evolutionary Psychology in the Business Sciences, was also released in 2011 (Springer), as was his special issue on the futures of evolutionary psychology published in Futures (Elsevier).

He has over 75 scientific publications covering a wide range of disciplines including in marketing, consumer behavior, psychology, economics, evolutionary theory, medicine, and bibliometrics. A sample of outlets wherein his publications have appeared include Journal of Marketing Research; Journal of Consumer Psychology; Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes; Journal of Behavioral Decision Making; Evolution and Human Behavior; Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics; Marketing Theory; Journal of Social Psychology; Personality and Individual Differences; Managerial and Decision Economics; Journal of Bioeconomics; Applied Economics Letters; Journal of Business Research; Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences; Psychology & Marketing; Journal of Consumer Marketing; Medical Hypotheses; Scientometrics; and Futures. His work has been presented at 170 leading academic conferences, research centers, and universities around the world.

Dr. Saad has supervised or served on the committee of numerous Master’s and Doctoral students, as well as one post-doc. He has been awarded several research grants (both internal as well as governmental). Using his own grant money, he created an in-house behavioral marketing lab. He serves/has served on numerous editorial boards including Journal of Marketing Research; Journal of Consumer Psychology; Psychology & Marketing; Journal of Business Research; Journal of Social Psychology; Evolutionary Psychology; Open Behavioral Science Journal; Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics; Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology/Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences; The Evolutionary Review; and Frontiers of Evolutionary Psychology; and is an associate member of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. He has consulted for numerous firms, and his work has been featured in close to 500 media outlets including on television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and blogs. He has been designated Concordia's Newsmaker of the Week five years in a row (2011-2015).

Dr. Saad holds a PhD (Major: Marketing; Minors in Cognitive Studies and Statistics) and an MS from Cornell University, and an MBA (Specialization: Marketing; Mini-Thesis: Operations Research) and a BSc (Mathematics and Computer Science) both from McGill Uni ...more

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Evolutionary Psychology In The Business Sciences

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“humans have an evolved capacity to engage in self-deception in order to navigate through life in a delusional state of blissful ignorance.” — 8 likes

“An infinite advertising budget cannot counteract products that are disconnected from our biological heritage.” — 5 likes