The Role of Gender in Consumer Behavior

According to the theory of lateralisation developed by Robert Sperry and Robert Ornstein, the cerebral cortex in the two hemispheres perform the same motor and sensory functions but each of the hemisphere is specialized for different tasks. As the brain develops, the left hemisphere is superior in doing tasks that involve speech, language, reading, and writing. The right hemisphere shows superiority in tasks that involves creativity, intuition, facial recognition, non-verbal imagery, musical recognition, sense of direction, play and sports, learning experience and risk-taking. Lateralisation is developed for the task that is done, that is the right hemisphere is used for a particular function. This decision is influenced by genetics, childhood learning experiences and

Differences related to gender in spatial memory are most widely described and studied of cognitive sex differences. In 1974 Maccoby and Jacklin established that males usually perform better than females in measures of spatial performance, and this discovery has been constantly replicated in multiple studies covering various developmental stages (McGivern et al. 1997; Lewin et al. 2001) and spatial tasks (Dabbs Jr. et al. 1998; Driscoll et al. 2005).

According to Hetherington and Parke (2002), studies of brain imaging identified that in female bilateralism there were greater amounts of blood flow. The male brain reflects greater lateralization attributing to a higher success rate in spatial tasks and mathematics.

The splitting of products into two genders stemmed from fiscally conscious businesses; those who had two products to sell to different people made more money than those who sold only gender neutral clothing, razors, and drinks. In modern times, almost everything in the media and in advertisements is biased based on gender. Ads for fragrance are no longer equitable; they are for cologne and perfume separately. As the businesses made money, a latent consequence arose. Those who grew in the days of binary gender products and segregated items became socialized to fit what was advertised. Boys targeted by monster truck commercials became conditioned to believe that they could only play with monster trucks and should compete with their friend’s monster trucks. Girls became conditioned to believe that dollhouses and horses were the only toy for them. These influences from the media have affected gender socialization, relationships, and expectations throughout the life course of almost every American.

Researchers has identified other types of cells that further aid in the coding of cognitive maps. Grid cells, head direction cells, and border cells are all three cells that aid in the way people and animals find their way around. Wayfinding is a kind of navigation in which we take route that usually involves making turns. Our ability to get from one place to another may seem simple, especially for routes we have traveled many times. Wayfinding may be complicated to others, while it could also be simple. One difference in wayfinding can be traced to experience and how well you know the route. According to Carolyn Gregorie, studies have shown that men have a better sense of direction than women do. Previous studies including many decades old experiments on rats in mazes, have shown that men tend to outperform women on tasks requiring spatial awareness and wayfinding. Men are found to use cardinal directions more in their navigation meaning, men tend to use a “world-centered strategy,” going in the general direction of where something is

Fine dissects the greater male lateralization (GML) hypothesis that males “are more strongly left hemisphere dominant for language processing and right hemisphere dominant for visuospatial processing” (Fine 280). Females, on the other hand, are thought to engage in both hemispheres

In the world of toy marketing, choices are made with direction put in place for both genders (girl and boy). For example, as I walked down each toy aisle, I felt the gender conformity among the parents as they were with their children. With multiple aisles and two dominant colors (pink and purple) designated for girls, the message (in my perspective) marketed on the toy package yelled: “Your ambition is to be stylish, while a nurturing mother who partakes in domestic works!” In addition to the toy packages being in pink, the words (on the toy) were predominately frivolous and amusing. On the contrary, the boys’ aisle contained wide varieties of colors, although the color blue caught my eye the most. The boys’ toys entailed sports, building sets, as well as action figures. Conversely, the message in my perspective, marketed on the toy package screamed: “You have the power to do whatever you want; however, it is imperative that you build yourself physically, as well as train yourself in order to properly excel.” This type of act, referred to as the social role theory—“a gender difference that mainly results from the contrasting roles of females and males” (p.165),—gives a great cause of difference in gender regarding power, nurture, and

Structural brain differences also occur in humans. One significant behavior difference is between men and women. Men tend to be more sexually aggressive and aroused more often. Women are generally more fluent verbally. The suprachiasmatic nucleus is usually about 2.5 larger in the male brain than the female brain and there is a part in the amygdala that is also larger (9). The suprachiasmatic nucleus affects sexual behavior and larger amounts of testosterone cause it to be larger. In females, the corpus callosum and the anterior commissure are larger (9). Both of these structures are responsible for communication between the two hemispheres in the brain. The better communication between the two sides leads to better verbal fluency. These examples show how small differences in the brain can greatly affect human behavior. This means that it is possible that criminals have differences in their brains which cause them to act in socially unacceptable ways.

​Historically, men have displayed a stronger spatial memory than women ("Sex Differences in Memory"; Loftus et al. 82). What this means is that men are generally better at remembering things such as where the car is parked, driving directions (Loftus et al. 71) and, as exemplified in "Sex Differences in

On television commercials, billboards, the radio, public transportation advertisements, planes, the internet, and almost everywhere people go there is always directed broadcasting of advertisements for companies to sell their product; a product that is never promoted for all of the general public to use, but instead to emphasize on specific categories of consumption . Whether it may be categorized in the decadent, the money saving, health, cleaning, cooking, automotive, or whatever sub category it may be; and bigger roles that play in to commercialism are gender roles . Men and women have very different lifestyles, what they buy, do, consume, and produce. As stated in Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes, “Popular conceptions of femininity

Understanding consumer buying behavior entails marketing, relationships, and consumer behavior. Consumer behavior comprises all the consumer decisions and activities connected with the choosing, buying, using and disposing of goods and services. Marketers must pay very close attention to consumer behavior that occurs before the purchase and after the particular product has been used. Studying consumer habits is one of the steps in marketing search and analysis. In addition to other basic principles of consumer buying habits, marketers also need to study the decision and actions of real people. Until recent history the study of consumer behavior was focused on generalized consumer decisions. With

Studies have also been carried out into whether or not there are differences between male and female brain size and whether this affects how we relate to each other in terms of gender. Simon Baron-Cohen believes that male brains are wired towards systematic understanding and females are wired towards empathy. In addition he says that this is not necessarily always the case but the majority are wired in this way: “Both sexes have their strengths and weaknesses. Neither sex is superior overall.” (Baron-Cohen, S. 2003).

No one would argue the fact that men and women are physically different. The physical differences are rather obvious and most of these can be seen and measured easily. Men, who are essentially built for physical confrontation and the use of force, usually have greater upper body strength, build muscle easily, have thicker skin, and mostly use the left side of their brain. Women on the other hand, have a higher percentage of body fat, and a wider pelvis. Women also have four times as many brain cells connecting the right and left side of their brain. This provides physical evidence that supports the observation that men rely easily and more heavily on their left brain to solve one problem one step at

Gender Marketing is not about male versus female. It is about understanding your customer and his profile thoroughly. Marketers generally adopt the approach of neutral marketing to play safe; by and large both men and women feel that they have not been targeted by the marketers properly. The marketers should continuously strive for competitiveness and take benefits from the ever changing environment which can be facilitated by the realization of the concept of gender marketing. In this article I will discuss about the changing role of women today and how it has an impact in marketing of products like online selling, car purchase, garment purchase and food & drinks.

In India there are various resources and people are more prone to use variety of products for their consumption. The process of consumption in the post liberalized era has started dominating the consumer community particularly in the women section. There are numerous products are available in the market for the consumption and this situation has created for consumers. The multiple products with similar utility have created a competitive situation in the market. People at one side are unable to decide what to buy and on the other side they remain faithful to some products in particular. Thus, consumer behavior is one of the significant areas to be studied. The globalization and liberalization operation of businesses have given an opportunity to the customers/ consumers to select one out of various similar products available in the market. The global trend in the market have affected the consumer 's behavior to a great extent, whether it is a case of seller operating in international, regional, local level or a case of consumers involved in purchasing consumable/ industrial products. Due to globalization of business and liberalized policies of the government the auto industry has witnessed a major selling prospect. Many multinational companies have entered to fray, turning the market place into a virtual battlefield.