The Self-Actualizing Socially Conscious Consumer

A personality-related study was made of individuals exhibiting socially conscious consumer behavior. It was found that these individuals may be characterized as self-actualizing as Maslow uses the term. The findings expand previous findings by Webster, and they are evidence that a holistic approach to personality measurement is possible in consumer research. The past ten or fifteen years have seen a growing concern with a concept usually referred to as the quality of life. Various social and ecological problems have been associated with a felt decline in lifes quality. In particular, the potentially deleterious effects of many consumer products available in the marketplace have been singled out as sources of worry. Numerous studies have explored aspects of the eco-logical movement/consumer action relationship